After finishing up my 3 nights in Raglan I was on the road again, but for much different pastures – next stop was Hamilton.
Category Archives: New Zealand
Around Raglan
After spending an afternoon surfing, I had a day to myself to relax in Raglan. What better way than to explore and hike some of the highlights?
First up was the Bridal Veil Falls. From the top, other than the height they weren’t overly special.
It’s only when you move off to the side viewing platform that you really get a good view of them. The water cascades over the cliffs and fall 55 meters into the pool below.
Mecca
Because I hadn’t spent enough hours the day prior in a cold, damp wetsuit, I opted to head to Raglan next. Raglan’s on the west coast of New Zealand’s north island. It is known for but one thing really. As New Zealand’s surfing mecca.
Much like snowboarding, surfing was something that I’d always wanted to try. So here in Raglan I gave it a shot. The weather wasn’t great but the instructor was very good at keeping everyone moving. The waves were much larger than normal for beginners and the wind was howling, but we made the most of it.
Into the Abyss
The Waitomo Caves are famed for their glow worms, a small maggot that creates a bio-luminescent secretion that gives off a bluish light. Many people come to the caves and take a walking or boat tour of some of these caves. That’s not for me, and numerous other adventure seekers however.
For those that want a bit of adrenalin with their sightseeing, there are numerous other companies in Waitomo that cater to that kind of thing. The one I went with was the largest and most well established, a company called ‘The Legendary Blackwater Rafting Co.’ Blackwater rafting isn’t really related to whitewater rafting at all, other than it involves water. But more on that in a second. They had two different adventure options, a 3 hour ‘Black Labyrinth’ and the 5 hour ‘Black Abyss’. I chose the Abyss.
The Waitomo Walkway
After my 2 days in Turangi, specifically for the Tongariro Crossing, I once again packed up my things and headed off to a new destination – Waitomo.
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing
I’ve been talking up the Tongariro Alpine Crossing for a while, hoping and waiting for a perfect mix of weather and time to do it properly. The forecast and my location was finally right to give the Crossing a go on November 15th.
And DONE.
I’ll have a post up about it in a couple days (have hundreds of photos to sift through), but having finished over 20km of hiking today, I am thoroughly exhausted. That being said, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing more than lived up to it’s reputation as one of the best one day hikes in the world. Certainly, the best I’ve done in memory. Phenomenal.
Stopping to smell the flowers
The clouds rolled in today, but I’ve done most of what I wanted to here in Taupo anyways so I took it easy , only visiting the botanical gardens nearby to stretch my legs for an hour or two. Everyone likes pictures of flowers and bees, right? It’s right in the middle of spring right now so the flowers are quite colourful and the bees out en force.
One last day and then I’m on my way out of Taupo. I’ve got my fingers crossed that the weather forecasts hold – Tuesday I’m booked for the Tongariro Crossing (FINALLY), with a forecast of clear skies and warm winds until late in the afternoon, when the clouds return. All going well I should get some spectacular views during my walk.
Here are some random shots from the walk around the Botanical Gardens.