Finally back in the sunshine and warmer weather. About an hour north of wellington, where we plan to explore the rest of today and spend the night.

came across new facial hair ideas

an interesting boat launch method

The weather didn’t cooperate with us, but we decided to give the Tongariro Alpine Crossing a shot.  Got started around 1pm, so that meant it was too late to try the entire thing but we would go as far as possible then turn back around for a roundtrip.  Made it about 6.5km up the mountain to a place called south crater before turning back.

Rain gear ready for our hike up to see Mt Doom

Arrived at the South Crater with mountain peak in the background

Snacks!!

Finished up the hike and drove further south to a ski town named Ohakune.  Planned on staying at a campground to hook up to power, shower, etc.  Had read that this place is a ghost town after the ski season ends and we found that to be the case.  Along our way exploring the town we stopped into a few motels to check prices.  The van can get a bit small after a week, plus the weather being chilly kinda restricts our ability to spread out with table and chairs.  Found a quaint little place called the Hobbit and the kind innkeeper hooked us up with a bunk room in the backpackers lodge.  Place was empty so we had it to ourselves!  Had everything we needed for a kitchen, laundry, showers and even a hot tub.  Kinda reminded me of the movie “The Shining” with the place being so empty..

On our way towards Wellington today to catch the Thursday morning ferry over to the south island.

Spent the night near huka falls at a free camping spot after having a happy hour beverage downtown taupo at jolly good fellows. Rained most of the night and into the morning. Still cloudy today, but hoping to hike part of the tongariro crossing. Weather forecast is sunny tomorrow, so maybe hike, fly fish or sky dive before continuing our drive south.

another view on lake taupo on our way up the mountain

Arrived in lake taupo today after a few hour drive from cormandel. Weather isnt great, but hopefully the rain holds off tomorrow for a long hike up into the mountains and possibly some sky diving on wednesday.

Had a nice stop our drive today at kerosene creek, which is a heated natural pool fed from thermal springs nearby.

Hot showering all-natural

Thermal pool relaxation after a day of driving

Tattooed creeper in the pool

Got our first warning this morning from a police officer after free camping in a parking lot back hihei beach area. They’ve really cracked down on free camping it seems..

On our way south today to a peninsula southeast of auckland, named Coromandel.  Many recommendations from locals as a must-visit so we decided to change from our original plan of the west coast.

Weather forecast is cloudy and rainy the next few days…

passing thru downtown Auckland

Doing well here in New Zealand!  Weather has been great and the people are really nice as everyone said before we came.  Working our way north from auckland along the east coast.

Sitting 3-wide when riding in the van

Stayed in orewa on thursday night at a campground.  Drove on friday along the coast thru waipu for lunch then east of wangerie to check out abby caves and some glow worms.  Cindy’s hiking boot broke, so we drove back to town and found a sport store to get a new pair.

Drew considered adopting some Japanese kids at the caves

Survived our first cave exploration at Abbey Caves

Stopped at the local DOC office and got info on a free camp spot near mount manaia.  Parked the van around 5pm and hiked up to the peak.  What great views!  Hiked back down and grabbed some beers and food at a club next door.  Friendly folks, good food and cold beer.  Headed back to the van to cook dinner and called it a night.

Conquered Mount Manaia

Quite a view!

Friendly “private club” next to our free camping lot

Lovely sunset behind the mountain and bay

Woke up on saturday and drove further east out to ocean beach.  More amazing views and watched some surfers catch some swell.  Headed towards the bay of islands today.

More amazing views at Ocean Beach

Cindy’s barefoot hiking method learned from her brother Michael

Sleeping and cooking in the van has been working out well so far.  Nights have been cool making for good sleeping. Planning to head south on Sunday towards Hamilton. Possibly surf near that area or continue south into the mountains.

Arrived in new zealand on thursday afternoon.  Picked up the van and headed north to our first campsite.  All is well so far!

Weather has been fantastic here in San Diego for our visit, so we took advantage with a bunch of outdoor activities the last couple days.

On Sunday, we surfed in the morning just outside our door in Pacific Beach.  The waves were smaller and the right tide which gave us a chance to catch some nice rides.  Spent a few hours catching waves before the cold really set in on our hands and feet.  Only bummer out here is the cold water temp, but amazed that some people can surf in just shorts.  Came back in to warm up in the hot tub then prepared some lunch in the kitchen.  Relaxed on the couch to watch some football for a bit, ended up taking a short nap.  Appear to have caught a cold, so my energy levels are not normal.  Strange to be watching NFL football at 11am..

Refreshed after a nap, we ventured out on the bikes heading south along the boardwalk thru Mission Beach.  Great people watching along the way and nice to see roller blades still in fashion here.  Stopped for a cold beverage at a place called the WaveHouse, which is a huge outside bar with a couple standing wave machines.  Entertaining to watch people surf it.

Continued on our way south towards the jetties taking in the sights along the way.  Once we got to the jetties we headed east and back north along Sail Bay.  Amazing how many houses they pack into a square block in this part of town.  Stopped near our condo at a bar named Longboards for another beverage and caught the end of some NFL games.  Once again, my cold had drained most of my energy so we stayed in for the night and cooked up a tasty veggie and tempeh mix served on corn tortillas with a side of black beans.  Got in bed early to try to sleep off some sickness..

Woke up Monday to similar conditions of sunny, warm and light winds.  Surf wasn’t looking great outside our place, so we decided to load up the car and take a trip further north near Torrey Pines.  Could only fit 1 surfboard in our rental Altima, but didn’t end up using it.  First stop was Torrey Pines State Park which is just north of the famous golf course.  Changed into some more appropriate hiking clothes and shoes and headed off on the trails towards the beach.

Quite an amazing difference in landscape compared to Florida

Numerous viewpoints along the trail

Hiking down towards the beach

Blacks beach in the background, watch out for nudes!

Somehow the hike back up the cliff was more difficult?

Just completed a perilous hike according to the sign

Sprinting back to the car!

We ended up walking and running about 5 miles roundtrip; seeing beaches w/ nudes, cliffs, big surf and golf courses.  Unsure any other place in the country has that combination of sights.  Got back to the car and drove back down the road to check the surf.  Still was too big for us, so we decided to go see the sights at Point Loma (Viper’s house for Top Gun film fans..)

Stopped on our way to grab some lunch.  Referred to Yelp again for some assistance in finding a one dollar sign seafood place.  Mitch’s seafood served a great lunch at a reasonable price with a nice view of the harbor.  Pulled into the guard station at Point Loma and paid our entrance fee, then drove down to check out the tide pools on the ocean side.  Tide was too high for exploring the pools, but watched some of the surfers for a bit.  Waves are significantly faster here compared to Florida.

Top Gun filming location

Drove back to the condo to surf for a bit before sunset.  Quickly changed into wetsuits and paddled out.  Tide was outgoing and too low already, so it was mostly shore pound which normally equals injuries..  Tried catching a a few waves but was mostly just enjoyed the sunset on the water.  Finally caught one and got barreled into the sandbar, luckily unharmed, but called it a day on that one.  Showered up and enjoyed another round of veggies and tempeh for dinner.  Packing up and heading back to LA tomorrow.

Started the day with a refreshing surf sesh, can’t think of a better way to start the day! The water sure is a lot colder than in Florida, so we warmed up in the hot tub, then had some lunch in the condo. Something about surfing that really works up an appetite! Afterwards, we headed to Balboa Park to check out the San Diego vegetarian festival and walked around balboa park for a while. Then we found an outdoors store so that Chris could purchase a pair of hiking shoes for New Zealand and were helped by Rick and his dog, a very friendly and interesting employee. We were recommended by a friend to check out a little mining town in the mountains called Julian, which is known for growing apples and famous for having the best apple pie. The town was quaint and the apple pie didn’t disappoint! Since we had a couple more hours of daylight left, we decided to continue on another 45 minutes to the desert, which was the first time I have ever seen one. Amazing how quiet it was, and we even saw a few coyotes! Headed back to pacific beach with a stop in Old Town for some local Mexican food. Talk about seeing it all!