Going with the Flow

So we caught the InterIslander Ferry from Picton to Wellington, NZ’s capital city.  The Ferry is described as one of the world’s great boat crossings and it didn’t disappoint.  With an onboard cinema, it even meant Shoshi and I got 90 mins alone to enjoy the scenery in peace while the kids watched Mary Poppins!  

So if the South Island is all alpine views, blue glacier lakes and rugged coastlines, then the North is all about volcanoes, lava flows, geothermal activity and golden beaches. In the UK, the common claim is that 'it's grim up North'.  Well, in NZ, the North is a bubbling, steaming mix of scenery and geology that is anything but grim.  In fact, it's brilliant up North in NZ'!

We spent 2 days in Wellington.  The weather wasn’t great but I was lucky enough to spend the afternoon with Angus, my old Uni friend from Glasgow who I hadn’t seen for over 20 years. It was great to see him although slightly worrying that it is almost 29 years since we sat together in 1^st Year of University.  Perhaps it was a sign of onset early stage dementia, but we both forgot to take a photo, denying any photographic proof of how well Angus has aged.

After Wellington, he headed up to the Tongariro National Park to trek the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, often listed in the list of the world's greatest day walks.

It didn't disappoint.  Volcanoes, lava flows, blue lakes, snow capped peaks, steaming sulphur, all wrapped up in a 25km hike.  It took us 8 hours, the kids did it without blinking, it deserves its reputation as a world-beater.

We continued up the centre of the Island, heading towards Lake Taupo.  It was Pesach (Passover) so we had a truncated Seder which the kids enjoyed, knocking back the non-alcoholic wine like true little Scots.

We then had a crazy busy day, hiking up Mt Tahuara  in the morning for some amazing views, visiting the Huka Falls, over which 220,000 liters of water flow every second (!!), enjoying a dip in the Hot & Cold Springs and then finally holding our noses at the Mud Pools.  Back home, it could be weeks for us to do so much, let-alone in a single day but NZ just has something to do or see at every turn

This brought us to Rotorua, the centre of NZ geothermal activity - geysers, steam pools, dormant volcanoes - it has the lot.  We spent 3 days in a brilliant US-style motorhome on the shores of Lake Tarawera, real luxury 'glamping', we absolutely loved it and took the chance to explore the area, some hiking, Redwood Forest, some geyser watching and generally just enjoying.

From here, we decided to head up to the Coromandel Peninsula for 4 days and it proved to be a great decision.  We stayed in the beautiful coastal town of Tairua, loved this place.  This area has some glorious coastlines and beaches and some top natural attractions. We hiked to Cathedral Cove and had a brilliant afternoon at Hot Water Beach, where we dug under the sand for boiling spring water along with another 1000 or so people!

We spent the day in Coromandel Town, exploring the beaches and coves and learning about the endangered, native Kauri Tree, which can live up to 2000 years old!

We climbed Mt Paku, a dormant volcano which gave breathtaking views of the coastline and Tairua.  Mt Paku itself if only around 350m high but it dominates the area and was one of the most picturesque views we saw on the North Island.

On our final day in the area, we trekked the Collins Road, an old goldmine from the 1800s.  This was a brilliant hike, combining great views with a 500m walk through a 150 year old mining tunnel.  The kids frantically searched for any remaining gold but had to make do with the Glowworms inside the tunnel.

We left Tairua on the 28th April and had just 3 days left in NZ.  We couldn't believe it was coming to an end, our 7+ weeks had gone in a flash.

But we were in for one final treat, ending with a real big finish.  We headed an hour north of Auckland to stay with an old friend of mine, Scott, we worked together in Glasgow around 20 years ago. We met him at his art gallery, The Vivian, where he gave us a tour of the paintings and sculptures, then we headed back to his expansive clifftop 'Grand Designs' home in the tiny village of Pakiri.  Words can't describe how beautiful his home is, ocean views, architecturally stunning, we had it all to ourselves as he headed off to Auckland for an art fair, Scott, we can't thank you enough!

We spent a couple of days exploring Northland - the Waipu Caves, Mt Manaia with its Scottish history and our last day was spent on the Mangawhai Coastline, one of the most beautiful places we have been on the North Island.

And that was that! It was a quite amazing end to a quite brilliant 53 days.

On the 1st May, we headed to Auckland to catch our flight to Nepal, via a stopover in Bangkok.

The mountains are about to get a whole lot higher, while the toilets will get a whole lot dirtier.  It's going to be interesting...

The North of the South

After leaving Wanaka, we knew we had around 10 days left in the South Island before we crossed over to the Dark Side (the North Island). 

We stopped for a night in Temuka and spent a very cold evening in Timura, trying to catch a glimpse of the world’s smallest Penguin.  We were lucky, we saw two and the kids were finally able to tick the last box on our ‘must-see wildlife in the NZ South Island’ chart.  I should add, it's not easy to photograph a 40cm tall Penguin in the pitch dark with a Huawei P9!

We spent a couple of days in the Nelson Lakes area, at a brand new AirBnB house on Lake Rotoroa then headed on to Malborough Sound for 5 days.  This is the most northern part of the South Island, a beautiful area of mountains and sounds, little villages, winding roads and stunning views.

We had been given the use of a traditional Bach house for 5 days by a lovely couple who host Israelis in their home.  They didn’t have room for all 5 of us so instead they gave us their holiday home just outside the beautiful village of Havelock.

The place was beautiful, the views were amazing, the gift of a home for 5 days was something we won’t forget in a hurry and we hope to return the favour to Wayne and Jane when they visit Israel next year.

We had a brilliant 5 days in the area.

We walked 20km of the Abel Tasmin Walk, enjoying the stunning beach views and turquoise waters.

We climbed the highest mountain in the area, Mt Stokes, which at 1200m had been described to us as the ‘hidden gem’ of New  Zealand, giving breathtaking views of the entire area.  Well, after 3 hours climbing straight up, it was certainly all hidden!  Suffice to say, the 2 hour hike back down wasn’t the most fun after the disappointment at the top.

Another couple of great hikes in the area and our time was up.  We headed to the picturesque town of Picton to catch the 4 hour ferry crossing to Wellington.  We managed to grab some final views of the area, I guess we were trying the savour the last moments on this magical place before leaving. 

And just like that, our 5 weeks on the South Island had come to an end, 5 weeks that far exceeded our expectations and gave us so many truly amazing experiences.  We got back to nature, hiked up mountains, enjoyed boat trips, celebrated 2 birthdays, got close to seals, sea lions, dolphins, penguins and just had a brilliant, brilliant time.

Here’s hoping that the North Island can live up to the standards set by her big brother!

Jesus, Wanaka is beautiful!

Wanaka.

What a brilliant place.

One of those places you don’t want to leave.

We spent 2 days there on the way down to Queenstown and had planned to spend another 3 days after returning the campervan.  Those 3 days turned into 5 as we couldn’t leave.

We stayed at The Zula Lodge that offers 3 nights free accommodation for Israelis.  It is run by Messianic Christians who believe that Jews are The Chosen People and that Jesus was the Messiah (Ed. - this author offers no opinion on the existence or otherwise of the Messiah, past, present or future!).  Beliefs aside, we had a great time there, so much so that we paid to stay on for another 2 nights.  The place was full of younger, travelling Israelis plus a nice German family who were volunteering and so the kids had a ball, we shared meals together, they played games, chatted and generally just felt at home.

Guy celebrated his birthday there and with Eyal having alsojust celebrated his birthday, we threw a joint party for them.  They loved the attention and it certainly made up for them not celebrating with family and friends back in Israel.

Away from The Zula, we had a packed 5 days.

In a crazy coincidence, an old work colleague from London had moved to Wanaka in 2017 and having not been in contact for 16 years, we met up thanks to Facebook.  As an added bonus, Orlando happens to have a speedboat so him and his wife Melissa took us out for the day on the Lake, we stopped at a deserted island for a BBQ picnic and soaked up the breathtaking views.  It was an absolutely brilliant day, both for catching up and for experiencing the Wanaka good life.  16 years after sharing bottles of wine in Soho pubs, here we were, 12,000 miles round thw world, sharing wine on the shores of Lake Wanaka, both a bit older, perhaps a little wiser but certainly both enjoying life.

We spent a couple of days trekking.  First, the amazing Rob Roy Glacier Trek which we did with some of the volunteers from The Zula.  A 10km walk to get up close and personal with the Rob Roy Glacier.  The weather was fantastic and the scenery likewise.  A nice walk through forest but the end point opens to close-up views of the hanging Glacier, breathtaking.

The second trek was Diamond Lake.  The views should have been spectacular but the weather wasn’t with us so although it was a nice 3 hour hike up and down Rocky Mountain, we didn’t get the best of the views at the top.  But that is New Zealand, the weather is changeable, you just have to learn to take it as it comes and appreciate the moody grey skies as much as the clear blue ones.

Our final day in Wanaka was a little damp so we headed to Puzzling World, a world of mazes, optical illusions and puzzle games.  The kids loved it, they beat me and Shoshi to escape the maze, finishing in just over 1 hr as we struggled to find our way out.  Oh, how we got lost. Oh, how they laughed. 

That brought an end to our time in Wanaka and really our time in the Southern reaches of the South Island.  We might not have found Jesus, but we certainly found a brilliant town, set in quite breathtaking scenery and we all admitted we’d hate to think we will never return to this special place.

יציאת מצריים

We left Israel exactly 6 months ago today, the 19^th October.

Today, the 19^th April is Passover Seder Night.

Jews all around the world are recounting the story of when the Jewish People left Egypt and their lives of slavery.

We didn’t exactly leave a life of slavery although for Shoshi, being a teacher is pretty close.

Travelling is certainly not all beautiful photos and relaxation and we’ve experienced something of our own Ten Plagues during our travels…

1. Dengue
2. Typhoid
3. Hernia
4. Bicycle Crash
5. Stolen Wallet
6. No break from kids
7. Philippino Food
8. Travelers who don’t use deodorant (what is that all about Frenchies and Germans, sort it out!)
9. The price of beer in Vietnam – makes it too easy
10. The thought of going back to normal life.

The Jews apparently then spent 40 years in the wilderness of the Sinai Desert.

We have spent 180 days travelling through Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong and now New Zealand.

Not so much wilderness, more like wonderment.

And then after all of that, Moses/ Charlton Heston received The Ten Commandments.

We’ve discovered a lot on our travels so far, so not really Commandments but more like lessons we have learnt:

1. Don’t take anything for granted, each and every day is a lucky one when travelling.
2. Long term travel is cheaper than staying at home in Israel.
3. 24/7 with kids is tough but definitely gets easier with practice.
4. Most people in most places are pretty fair and decent.
5. Fast travel suits us better than slow travel.
6. Always listen to your instincts, they are 99.99% right.
7. Always have food in your backpack, otherwise kids will go crazy.
8. A good bed and pillow are a luxury worth paying extra for every now and then.
9. A few days without Wifi is a real gift from the gods.
10. The 5 of us know each other better today than we did 6 months ago, for good (and for a little bad!).

So as we bring up 6 months on the road, with only another 4 months of this incredible journey left, our overriding emotion is one of contentment of how things are going but anxiety at how little time we have left.

שנה הבאה באולנבטור הבנויה