Bus to Bangkok

Daron about to swim in the rooftop pool

We decided to head north into Bangkok after spending ten days in southern Thailand – the weather was forecasted to be rain everyday for the next week (not a surprise for us!), and we wanted to see some other areas of the country before our 30 day visa expired.  The quickest and cheapest way to travel in Thailand is via the bus.  They have various levels of buses:  VIP, 1^st class, 2^nd class, and then the rest.   We decided to do an overnight bus to Bangkok, which would take 12 hours, leaving at 5pm and arriving at 5am.  The VIP buses were sold out so we ended up on a 1^st class bus.  We weren’t sure what to expect, since our level of bus was second tier, but were pleasantly surprised.  Our bus was a double-decker, with 38 seats, all which reclined quite a bit back for resting comfortably.  We were each provided with a blanket too.  The bus had its own attendant that did drink and food service.  Upon sitting down we were given a snack of buttered sugary bread –closer to bread with frosting on it.  It was actually good, in a Little Debbie kind of way.  The next treat was bottled water, followed by a glass of coke with a straw.  Such good healthy fare!  J  After we left the station they turned on two big plasma screens and started up a movie:  Inception.  Daron and I were thrilled at the distraction until we realized that it was dubbed in Thai with English subtitles!  It was strange to watch Leonardo Dicaprio speak Thai in a totally different voice!  Strangely, the subtitles disappeared about a half hour into the movie.    

Monks walking through the market

Two hours into the ride there was an announcement made in Thai over the loudspeaker.  We have no idea what they said.  Shortly afterwards we made a stop and everyone got off the bus.  We followed the crowd to the restrooms, and then we got back on the bus.  Minutes went by and nobody else got back on the bus – it was just us.  So we disembarked again, only to find that everyone was in the next building eating dinner!  We figured out that it was included in the bus fare.  By now we’re the last ones to eat, so we scarfed down what food was left at the table where they sat us.  I was nervous about getting left behind (we almost got left by a greyhound bus in central California about 15 years ago – had to chase it down in a parking lot), so we headed back to the bus where just about everyone was already seated.  Shortly after, the bus continued down the road but they never turned the movie back on.  I wondered if the people who were watching it were curious how it ended. 

Me shopping at the outdoor market

We arrived at the bus terminal at 4am, one hour ahead of schedule.  It was dark out and we were latched onto by a taxi driver who would not leave us alone.  We negotiated a set price to our hotel, even though our guidebook told us to only hire taxis that will use the meter.  We didn’t see any other taxis around until the guy took us to his car – they were all parked away from the terminal.  All we could figure is that maybe they aren’t allowed inside the bus complex.  Oh well, too late for us – we were whisked away by the persistent man, who we realized wasn’t an official taxi driver at all, just an entrepreneurial guy with a vehicle.  It worked out in the end – he got us to exactly the right hotel in no time at all. 

Of course our hotel wouldn’t let us check in that early without charging us for another night.  So they stored our bags and we walked around the area.  We picked the Pratunum area, near Siam Square, for its central location and large market.  The market was setting up (it was 4:30am) so we sat on a street corner and watched it all get put together.  An hour or so later we saw the Buddhist monks come through the area and stop at each shop so the owners could give them parcels of food and receive blessings in return.  Daron even made a donation of a couple of cartons of soy milk that they gave us on the bus.  Despite us not knowing the proper way to make an offering, the monk seemed happy with the donation.

Daron & Ronald doing the wai

During the two days we stayed in that area our goal was to get a new digital camera.  Our old one died in Phi Phi after getting dropped (is that supposed to be bad for a camera? J).  It was old anyways and had issues – we were due for a younger model by now.  We picked up one in Bangkok that seemed like a good deal (hopefully it’s not a counterfeit!).  The only problem is the power cord only fits into the Asian outlets, so we’ll need an adaptor when we use it in other countries.  Oh well.

We visited all the malls in the Siam area near our hotel.  I think there were five of them total, all in a row.  Three of them were newer, one was recently renovated and looked new, and the last was a crowded building with six floors of markets, where all the locals shop.  The newer malls are beautiful, and rival anything we have in the U.S.  Many of the stores are the same as what we have, and the prices are the same too.  One mall was all high-end stores like Gucci, etc.  We spent some time in the mall with the local markets where I bargained for an imitation LowePro backpack from a young guy who spoke English well (they do imitation North Face too!).  We couldn’t agree on the final price so Daron flipped a coin to see which price would win – and we did.  It was good for a laugh between all of us! 

We visited a nearby McDonalds, just to check it out, and it was one of the nicest Mickey D’s I’ve ever seen.  The menus were computer screens that flipped through the burger options and jumped out at you with animation.  The seating was small and low to the ground, but very modern, almost like someone’s living room.  Lots of folks were hanging out – it was definitely a popular place.  The only differences we saw on the menu were a pineapple pie and a corn pie, in addition to the regular apple pie.  Prices were about the same as in the U.S. 

Erawan Shrine

Near the McDonalds was the Erawan Shrine.  You know when you’re there because of the haze of incense smoke surrounding the place!  The shrine was originally a spirit house.  Just about every building in Thailand has a spirit house, or at the very least an altar.  Thai people believe that the actual owners of any piece of land are spirits, and if a person wants to build on the land, the spirits must be placated with a house of their own (plus then they won’t be tempted to move in with the new owners!).  The Erawan Shrine was originally a spirit house for the Erawan Hotel, but was deemed ineffective after much bad luck befell the construction of the hotel.  The shrine was constructed in 1956 to replace the spirit house – it halted the bad luck, and became known for its strong talismanic powers.  That shrine was hacked up in 2006 by a madman, who was immediately lynched by an angry mob (this shrine is very special to the Thai people).  The shrine was  .

There is a small troupe of Thai dancers and singers at the shrine that can be hired by the folks whose prayers have been answered.  We enjoyed watching the dancers and listening to their singing, as well as watching the Thai people leave offerings at the shrine.  Ninety percent of the population is Buddhist, six percent is Muslim (mostly located in the south, close to the Malaysian border), and the rest is a mix.  Although it appears that they are doing so, the people are not worshiping Buddha or his image; it is just a formal background for their prayers.  It is thought that the Buddhist beliefs regarding the impermanence of life and possessions, the imperfection of all beings, and the necessity to avoid extreme emotions and behaviors, have contributed to the relaxed, carefree charm of the Thai people.  

Sawadee Kha (Hello) from Thailand!

At an overlook on Phi Phi island

Well here we are, having been in Thailand for ten days now.  Traveling from Auckland, New Zealand to Phuket, Thailand, took some time, starting with a 6am flight to Melbourne.  After a two hour layover there, we were on the plane heading for Phuket ( an eight hour flight).  We flew with V Australia, an arm of Virgin Airlines, and I would highly recommend them for any long flight.  Each seat had its own little touch screen that you could use to select various new release movies, TV shows, music videos, etc, for free for the duration of the flight.  I watched three movies and wished I had time for more (it was a good chance to catch up on all the new releases we've missed)!  During the flight we were fed a hot lunch with complimentary wine, as well as a sandwich snack a few hours later (and the food was fairly decent).  All of this helped to make the time go by - before we knew it, we had arrived in Phuket!  It was 5pm there, which was a nice time to arrive, not being too late.  Customs was a breeze, we collected our bags, and worked up the courage to exit the airport into the gauntlet of taxi drivers.  We survived the onslaught, and before I knew it we were on our way to our hotel in Phuket City. 

First impressions so far….

Poor elephant!

ROOM RATES

Room rates make no sense.  This one has been interesting to learn.  We paid 1200 baht ($40 USD) for our first night’s stay in Phuket City, booked through a gal at the Phuket airport, who received part of the 1200 baht as commission for booking it (very common here).  When we asked at the hotel how much it would be to stay a second night, we figured it would be cheaper since we took out the middleman and no commission was being paid.  Wrong!  The rate for the second night would be 1500 baht.  At the time I remember thinking, this is crazy and makes no sense (like a lot of things here!).  We decided to check out of the hotel instead and went to find a guesthouse (basically a small hotel) at the beach.  We looked at a few guesthouses, then went back to our favorite and said we’d take the room she showed us for the price she quoted, 1200 baht.  That’s all great, except the room is now suddenly 1400 baht!  She told us it was her last room (all the others had suddenly and mysteriously been booked while we were looking at other guesthouses!).  Daron got her back down to 1200 baht, by booking for two days.  In the morning we noticed that there were at least seven empty rooms in the hotel (they leave the doors open, all made up, if they’re not booked).  These two events bothered me for a while – I felt we had been lied to, but now I realize it is how things work around here.  Basically anything for a buck (or baht!). 

Cheap beer and a beach...a little slice of heaven on Phi Phi!

FOOD

The food has been amazing!  We haven’t had a bad meal yet.  We’ve been thoroughly enjoying the food after living on peanut butter and jelly in Australia and New Zealand.  The local food is cheap and delicious.  Thankfully in the tourist areas many of the menus are in English and a lot of them also have pictures so you can see how the dish looks, which is helpful.  My favorite is the little street stands that sell what they call “banana pancakes.”  It’s not a pancake at all (and not traditional Thai food either)– it’s basically a crepe they will make you with the fillings of your choice.  My favorite is banana nutella.  YUM!  They only cost about 1.50 USD – I had one every day for my first three days here.

SMELLS

There are three distinct smells in the air:  incense (love it), cooking spices (mostly love it), and rotting rubbish/rancid water (yuck!).  Whenever we’re walking around, one or two or all three smells are wafting through the air.

Maya Bay

THE PEOPLE

The Thai people are mostly very sweet and nice – they smile all the time and are quick to laugh.  They are very good natured overall.  In the tourist areas, most speak good English, which has been helpful.  The language barrier makes it tough to have any meaningful interactions with them though.  That and the fact that they see us as walking ATM machines (sometimes I swear it must be printed on my forehead!).  We are constantly approached by people wanting to sell us something:  a taxi ride, a tuk tuk ride, a tour, a tshirt, a meal, a tailored suit, a massage, you name it!  I can appreciate that they are trying to make a living, no problem there – it’s just a little much sometimes. 

SCAMS

Our guidebook warned us about the various scams here – they are hard to avoid.  In our first hour here, our taxi driver from the airport stopped suddenly while taking us to our hotel and went inside a building, leaving us in the car. Right away a nicely dressed woman came out and opened up the car door to try to sell us a room, then a tour, then tickets to a show.  Lots of places pay commission to get the tourists to their place and everyone seems to be a part of it.  The constant bombardment of sales is annoying.  We hired a tuk tuk driver to take us on a tour of Phuket island, and most (but not all) of the places he took us to gave him a commission to bring us there:  gem shops, a cobra show (which we declined to purchase), and an elephant ride (which we did- it’s something Daron’s been wanting to do).  The tuk tuk driver was so personable and friendly when making the sale of his tour to us, then once we booked he pretty much stopped talking to us.  At one point he picked up his wife and brought her along too – she didn’t talk to us either!

My favorite longboat pic

TRAVEL INFO

We interact a lot with other tourists, which has been our best source of information.  It’s been a great way to get recommendations, etc.  We have yet to find an official visitor center – each one we’ve seen that claims to be one is actually a travel agency (again, commissions!).  It is hard to find information on what’s in the area without getting a hard core sales pitch.  We were able to trade our New Zealand guidebook for a Thailand one at a bookstore here.  Our guidebooks have been invaluable.

PRICES

The prices here are not as cheap as we heard they would be.  We’ve been mostly in the touristy areas, so that’s probably part of it.  Food is a great deal by far, but rooms and transportation can get pricey.  Perhaps as we travel to different areas of the country the prices will change – I’ll have to get back to you on this one…

Street market

OVERALL

So far Thailand seems to be a dichotomy of good and bad, beautiful and ugly - definitely a land of contrasts.  In our first ten days here we traveled from Phuket City (pronounced poo-ket), to Patong Beach, then to the island of Phi Phi (pronounced pee-pee), then to Ao Nang (near Krabi).  The beaches of Phuket are beautiful, as are the beaches on the island of Phi Phi.  We rented a longboat while on Phi Phi so we could spend some time at Maya Bay where they filmed the movie “The Beach” with Leonardo Dicaprio.  It is drop dead gorgeous!  We also spent a day at a mainland beach in the Krabi area called Railay Beach that had lots of limestone cliffs – such dramatic and beautiful scenery!  So much natural beauty, and yet when you look a little closer you will find garbage strewn about, piles of it in some places just rotting away.  There are beautiful fancy resorts just down the street from locals living in shanty-town conditions. 

There you have it, our first ten days in Thailand.  Our plan is to head to Bangkok next and check out the big city.  More to come…. 

Farewell New Zealand!

Daron on the strange boulders at Moeraki

Unbelievably, our time here in New Zealand has already come to an end – today we get on a plane to Phuket, Thailand.  We enjoyed the time we had here exploring the two islands that make up this country.  We found the kiwis very friendly and genuine, and enjoyed all our interactions with them.  Their accents were sometimes difficult to understand – in fact, Daron hardly understood any of them, and to be honest I don’t think any of them understood him either!  We did more camping here than in Australia, and found their campgrounds (called holiday parks) very nice.  They were similar to Australia’s campgrounds, with great camp kitchens sometimes stocked with dishes, etc.  Lots of tourists rent caravans (camping vans) for traveling, and the backpacker culture is alive and well here.  All the tourists seem to be on the same sightseeing circuit, as we kept running into the same folks at various campgrounds amongst the two islands.  In that way New Zealand almost felt like a small town!  The locals love to camp too, especially during the time we were here, which is their summer and holiday break.  The weather was good during our stay, on the whole, if you don’t mind constant wind and cooler temperatures.  We didn’t hit too much rain (besides the flood!), which was nice since we did so much camping.  The clouds would come and go throughout the day, and sometimes were so low in the sky you felt like you could reach up and touch them!   New Zealand definitely lived up to its Maori name, Aotearoa, translated as “land of the long white cloud.” During our travels we saw the ocean practically every day, and if we couldn’t see the ocean, we were amongst green rolling hills, or had beautiful mountain views in the distance.  



Bluff, the southernmost point of NZ



Speaking of the terrain, very little of New Zealand is flat – almost all of it is covered with rolling hills and mountains.  The roads are all very curvy and steep.  I am glad that we were already comfortable driving on the left side of the road before we arrived here, since many of the roads were narrow and had steep drop-offs with no guardrails.  One-lane bridges were very common.  Except around Auckland, pretty much all the roads are one lane each way, so there was a lot of passing of slower vehicles happening.  And it must be said:  Kiwi drivers are crazy!  They drive too fast on winding roads and will pass another car anywhere and everywhere!   We were passed on blind corners constantly!  We read quite a few articles in the paper about the government trying to get kiwis to slow down (rarely did we see cops); and we read about some terrible accidents.  You would think the price of gas would have slowed them down somewhat – it shocked us the first time we filled up.  We thought Australia was expensive at about $4.60 USD per gallon - we paid $7.60 USD on average per gallon here!   Yeesh!



Cape Reinga, the northernmost point of NZ



Some interesting things we learned while we were here:  



--New Zealand no longer uses pennies or nickels – the dime is their smallest coin.  Everything is rounded to the nearest ten cents.  Just like in Australia, tax is always included in the stated price (love that!).

--Books are ridiculously expensive!  We bought our Southeast Asia guidebook here for $70 NZD ($54 USD)!  The USD price was pre-printed on it, and it was $26.99, so we paid double what it would have been in the States.  We looked in bookstore after bookstore to try to find a cheaper price and they were all $70 NZD.  Even used bookstores were outrageous (in our opinion).

--We saw sheep pretty much everywhere we went. In the 1980s there were 20 sheep for each person in New Zealand (that's probably when the sheep jokes started!).  The government has since stopped subsidizing sheep and now there are about five sheep per person.  

 --Bungy-jumping was invented in New Zealand by a couple of kiwis.  It’s everywhere here – in fact, New Zealand is definitely the place for adrenalin-spiking activities.  Skydiving is popular, as well as other crazy sports they came up with like zorbing (rolling down a hill inside a giant blow up ball, sometimes with water in it), and the flying fox (never quite understood this one).  We had lots of chances to ride in jet boats too (with seat belts this time), but I’m not quite ready for that one again.



--A little history tidbit:  New Zealand was the first country to give women the vote, in 1893.  The leader of the women’s suffrage movement, Kate Sheppard, is pictured on the $10 note.  Since then, the country has had two female prime ministers.

Enjoying hokey pokey ice cream, a kiwi favorite!

--And now for a little geology and biology lesson:  The separation of New Zealand from the greater landmass happened before mammals appeared on the scene, so birds and insects here have evolved in strange ways to fill in the gaps.  For example, the kiwi bird rummages among the forest for insects and worms (something that mammals do elsewhere), and is actually the only bird to have nostrils at the end of its bill (in order to sniff out food).  The weta (a giant ugly looking insect) has taken on a scavenging role that is filled by rodents in other parts of the world.  Bats are New Zealand’s only native land mammal. 

We say a fond farewell to New Zealand and all of its natural beauty, and look forward to a completely different experience in Thailand.   On to the next one!  J





Driving on the "Wrong" Side of the Road




A reminder for the tourists

  We’ve been driving on the “wrong” side of the road now for about three months.  It took some time to get used to, and we pretty much have it down now (although we occasionally mess up – all those years of driving on the right side are hard to erase!).   For our first car rental in Australia, I volunteered to be the guinea pig to try driving on the left – we figured it would be good for one of us to get good at it, then the other could give it a try.  Now that we both have it down, we’ve fallen into our regular roles:  Daron as driver and me as navigator. 

When I first took over the wheel, it felt very strange to be sitting in the driver’s seat in the right side of the vehicle.  When I would look over at Daron in the passenger seat, it looked like he had SO much room, only because I was used to seeing the steering wheel, etc., on that side of the car.  At the beginning, I barely used my mirrors at all (rear view and side) because I wasn’t used to looking for them where they are now.  I had to force myself to remember them and peek in them occasionally.  It felt like I was driving a car with a growth on the left side, or like I had a sidecar on the left side with Daron in it.  You know how you have a sense of the size of your car and the space it takes up when you’re driving?  Well, my sense of the car was all messed up!  I would drift to the left of the lane because I wanted to position myself where I was used to driving, on the left side of the vehicle, only I ended up taking the vehicle with me to the left side of the lane!  The ignition of the vehicle is on the right side of the steering wheel, same as it is at home, and the gas pedal and brake are also the same as usual.  The blinker is on the right side of the steering wheel, while the windshield wipers are on the left.  At first (and sometimes even now) both of us would accidentally turn on the windshield wipers when we wanted to make a turn!  I’m sure it’s a dead giveaway that we’re new to this! 

Daron driving in Australia

Turning is a whole other ordeal!  The turn that used to make my heart pound was turning right from the left lane!  It felt totally foreign to my body and I always felt like I wasn’t paying attention to something.  Plus I never wanted to make the mistake of turning into the right lane – that would be tragic.  A fellow passenger on the cruise ship gave us a good piece of advice – he said to always make sure that the driver is in the center of the road (close to the center line).  If you’re the driver and you’re on the far edge of your lane, then you know you’re in the wrong lane!  There are roundabouts galore both here in New Zealand and in Australia, which aren’t bad at all (surprisingly).  They are very convenient for making U-turns when you discover you’re not going the direction you want to be going.

The other thing I still have trouble with is using my left hand to put the car in reverse, or park, or drive (thankfully, all our cars have been automatics).  I’m so uncoordinated with my left hand that I can’t ever seem to get it in the gear I want.  Even though I’m used to our car having the driver on the right side of the vehicle, when I look at other vehicles, I still expect the driver to be in the left seat.  Inevitably, when I look over there is a dog or a child in that seat, which is a surprise at first.  It's a bigger shock when that seat is empty!  I guess 20-some years of driving on the other side is hard to erase!

The Far North

Cape Reinga, where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean

We spent the last few days in Northland, which is basically the area north of Auckland.  It is known for its warm climate, nice beaches, and strong Maori culture.  Colonization of New Zealand started from the north, as this is the area where the Polynesians landed when they originally arrived on the island. The British also populated this area first, before spreading southward.  It is known as the “winterless north” because it has a subtropical climate.  The temperature can get as low as 45 degrees Fahrenheit, and never gets below zero. It averages seven rainy days per month in the summer, and 16 in winter.  The entire area has a remote feel to it, which is nice, like we’re away from all the hustle and bustle. 

We spent one day exploring the beaches of the Karikari Peninsula, all of which are stunningly beautiful.  Gorgeous white sand and clear turquoise water (if only the water was warmer!).  Daron did some snorkeling, and I was basically a lazy bum on the beach!  SO nice! 

Daron on 90 Mile Beach

The next day we decided to splurge and take a tour of the far north, all the way to the tip.  It was nice to let someone else do the driving for a change.  The west coast of this area consists of one loooong rugged beach.  Captain Cook estimated its length and named it 90 Mile Beach, when in fact it is actually 67 miles long (still an impressive length!).  A person can drive along the beach, which is what our tour bus did – the entire length of it.  It is very rugged and feels untouched, a rarity in today’s world.  We hardly saw a soul during the entire drive up the coast.  Our driver even did donuts with the bus on the beach! 

At the end of 90 Mile Beach our tour guide drove the bus up a shallow stream (only in NZ!) to the giant sand dunes at Te Paki.  He brought out sleds for us to use to slide down the dunes.  Daron and I had tried this before in Great Sand Dune National Park in Colorado - we hauled two sleds up the highest dune in the Park (ugh!), only to discover that all we did was sink into the sand, rather than slide anywhere.  Lots of effort for nothing!  We were skeptical about it working this time around, but lo and behold, it did!  The lighter folks slid down the hill with speed, while the heavier ones had to almost push themselves down.  I’m not sure what is different with the sand dunes here, but it was a thrill to sled down them! 

Getting ready to shred a sand dune!

We were able to spend some time at Cape Reinga, which is the northernmost point of New Zealand.  It is where the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean meet.  In stormy weather the place where the two oceans meet can produce waves up to 33 feet high!  Maori believe that Cape Reinga is the departure place for the spirits of the recently deceased.  The spirits are believed to climb down the twisted 800 year old pohutukawa tree on the cliff to reach the ocean, and then they swim north to the ancestral lands of Hawaiki.  The views from this point are magnificent – blue, blue ocean all around and as far as the eye can see.  I can see why the Maori thought it was a special place – it definitely has that feeling.  

Giant kauri tree

Northland also contains the last of the kauri forests.  The giant kauri trees are the largest and oldest rainforest trees left in the world.  The tree Tane Mahuna is the 2,000 year old “Lord of the Forest,” with a girth of 45 feet and a height of 168 feet.  Quite a massive tree!  We felt like we were in the presence of royalty while visiting him.  The trees once covered much of the north island, before the Europeans discovered how useful the wood was for building houses and ships - they started logging the trees in 1820. Logging was finally halted in 1972 – today it is thought that only 4% of the original kauri forests are left.  I can only imagine how an entire forest of giant kauri trees must have looked like – a person would feel like a miniscule ant amongst them. 

Originally we didn’t think we would have time to get to the far north of New Zealand, but somehow we were able to fit it in.  I’m glad we did because it turned out to be one of our favorite places here!     

Auckland Area



Me at One Tree Hill



We passed through the Auckland area on our way to the north part of the north island and spent the better part of a day outside the city (and we were able to get our passport photos, no problem).  We decided not to go into the city since we had already been there with the cruise ship.  Our destination was One Tree Hill, as well as Mt Eden; both are volcanic cones with nice views of the city area.  U2 has a song called One Tree Hill (on their Joshua Tree album), that was dedicated to a former roadie of theirs who was killed in a road accident - the hill was a favorite place of his.  Incidentally, One Tree Hill no longer has a tree on it!  Long, long ago there was a totara tree at the top – the Maori considered it sacred. The British settlers chopped it down in 1852 and planted a Monterey pine tree in its place.  Maori activists attacked the non-native pine in 1994 and finished the job in 2000. The result is One Tree Hill has no tree and probably won’t until local land claims (between the Maori and the government) have been resolved.

Daron has been itching to snorkel, having brought his snorkel and mask along on the trip and not been able to use it much.  New Zealand is famous for its diving spots, but not so much for snorkeling places.  We found one area north of Auckland that was rated as a great place to snorkel called Goat Island Marine Park (they used to call all islands…).  The marine park was a small inlet behind an island, with an even smaller beach.  Yet again, we and 1,000 of our closest friends were there. 

Daron and his wounds

Snorkeling in New Zealand is not for amateurs, that’s for sure!  For one, the water is cold – a lot of people wear wet suits, others (like my warm-blooded hubby), do not.  The current can be quite strong and can be dangerous if you’re not a confident swimmer.  Daron was snorkeling in one area and looked up to find the current had taken him way down the beach!  Besides the current, there are sharp volcanic rocks along the shore to watch out for too.  Daron took two turns of snorkeling (had to get warm in between sets) during our time at the marine park.  The second time he went out a little farther to a small cove on the island across the way.  While in shallow water, a wave picked him up and pushed him against the volcanic shelf, turning him upside down and scraping up his forearms and shins.  He was able to right himself before the next wave came along and tossed him up on the shelf.  Bleeding from his arms and legs (and Daron is a bleeder – sometimes I think he’s part hemophiliac!), he swam back to shore to recuperate.   His wounds are healing fine now, but it’s a good reminder of the power of the sea, even in the most serene looking bay! 

Lake Taupo

Maori carving

Lake Taupo is New Zealand’s largest lake (covers 234 square miles), and is located pretty much smack dab in the middle of the North Island.  It is actually a caldera of a volcano that has been filled in with water.  The lake is said to be the same size as Singapore - equally amazing is that Singapore has a population of 4.8 million, while all of New Zealand has 4.3 million people!  The Taupo volcano last erupted 26,500 years ago, and we learned that its eruption would have spewed debris over the south and north islands, as well as parts of Australia.  Yikes!  The entire area is still volcanically active – in fact, there’s a section of shore on the lake where you can dig a hole in the sand and it will fill with hot water – you can create your own thermal pool! 

Lots of black swans live at the lake

Besides all things to do with the water (fishing, swimming, etc), one of the lake’s main attractions are Maori carvings (33 ft high) in a cliff on the lake, only accessible by boat.  They were carved by a master Maori carver in the 1970s and took about a year to complete.  They depict the visionary Maori navigator who guided two Maori tribes to the Taupo area over 1,000 years ago.  We took a boat out to see them and they were quite impressive.  Being on the lake gives you a sense of how massive it truly is.

On another note, here is a funny story we heard about a town we drove through on our way to Lake Taupo called Palmerston North.  It is a dairy and sheep farming region, which also happens to be the home of New Zealand’s largest college, Massey University.   The town is described as having “an open minded, rurally bookish vibe.” John Cleese visited the area (for some reason) and said, “If you ever do want to kill yourself, but lack the courage, I think a visit to Palmerston North will do the trick.”  In return, the city named its landfill after him:  Mt. Cleese!  J

Daron swimming in the lake

We are headed to Auckland next, mainly because we lost the visa photos we brought with us.  They are necessary when you apply for a visa for different countries.  The photos have very specific requirements and we found a place online that can do them for us quickly.  We’re not sure where we lost them along the way, but in the whole scheme of things I can think of worse things to lose!  

Hike to Mt. Doom



Partway up the trail...



On New Year’s Day we took the ferry to the north island of New Zealand (we figured new year, new island!).  Our first destination was the volcanic area in the center of the island, specifically Tongariro National Park.  Another of New Zealand’s Great Walks is located here – there is a three to four day hike as well as a long dayhike that only hits the best part of the trail.  Since we didn’t book six months in advance for a hut along the trail, the dayhike was our best (and only) option.  Not a bad option either, since this hike is rated the best dayhike in New Zealand (and some say the world!). 

Daron and Mt. Doom

Tongariro National Park encompasses three volcanos:  Mt Ruapehu (9,144 feet), Mt Tongariro (6,457 feet), and Mt Ngaruhoe (7,513 feet).  Mt Ruapehu is an active volcano with multiple summits, and had volcanic hiccups in 1969, 1975, and 1988.  In 1995 Ruapehu spurted vocanic rock and cloaked the area in ash and steam.  The next year, over the winter months, it rumbled some more and thrust ash clouds high into the sky, effectively ruining the ski season (there are three ski fields on its slopes).  Mt Tongariro last erupted in 1926 and is basically just a crater, but still active.  Mt Ngaruhoe is a conical, single vent volcano, and is much younger than the other two.  It looks like a stereotypical volcano, which is why it was chosen to star as Mt. Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies.  



Beautiful (but smelly) pools

Our hike would traverse the park near Mt Tongariro and Mt Ngaruhoe, staying plenty clear of Ruapehu (not like that would help us if it decided to hiccup again!).  The hike is 12 miles one way, which meant we needed to arrange transport from one end of the trail to the other.  One of many things New Zealand does well is trail transport.  We had plenty of options to choose from, and it was very easy to set up transportation to take us there and pick us up.  We took the earliest shuttle, at 7am, and got to the trailhead with about 1,000 other people (maybe not quite 1,000 although it sure seemed like it!). 


The first part of the trail crossed a huge lava field on its way up the side of Mt Doom (we loved the Lord of the Rings movies so it will always be Mt Doom to us – we can’t pronounce it’s real name anyhow!).  Another thing New Zealand does well is trail maintenance.  This one had quite a few long boardwalks to make it easier to cross the uneven lava field.  The trail went up around one side of Mt Doom , where it then veered off towards Mt Tongariro.  There was a side trail up to the top of Mt Doom, more of a steep scree scramble than a real trail.  After traveling for three months with my hubby, I considered huffing and puffing to the top of Mt Doom, only so I could throw in my ring that binds and break the spell (inside joke for you LOTR fans! J).  In reality, we chose not to take the side trail to Mt Doom, knowing we had a full day of hiking ahead of us.   We did, however, take the less strenuous side trail to the “top” of Mt. Tongariro, which was really just a high point along its large crater (great views though!).  Amid the dry and desolate landscape were a few blue-green pools, quite beautiful if you ignore the sulphur smell.  On the other side of the volcanoes the trail wound its way down into a nice shady forest, much appreciated after being exposed on the hot rocks all day.  It took us about seven hours to complete the hike, and we were tuckered out at the end.  Trail transport picked us up as promised and took us back to our campground.  We celebrated with not one, but two ice creams each!  Yum!