From North Island to South Island

The day after the Tongario crossing track, both of us couldn't walk, the 7 hours and 30 min walk killed us.
We drove to Wellington, to take late in the night the transislander to south island.

First thing that I do in wellington was to go at Air New Zealand office to asked what's about my baggage still missing. But they are really bad and I didn't have answer. So the best thing to do will be to looking for my backpack in sydney airport myself in the lost baggage room.

We spent the rest of day to walk in the city, and to visit Te Papa museum which is the best NZ's museum about maori culture and some other exhibition.
At night, we were going to see AVATAR in 3D at the cinema, it was a really good movie, I understood almost everything that they said in it.
We slept in the Transislander and arrived early the morning to PIcton in the south island,we drove to Morueka which is near Abel Tasman NP and then we slept all day in a backpacker !

This is my first sun rise in thesouth island :

Tongario Alpine Crossing

This track is one of the best NZ's one day walk about 20km in 7-8 hours.
From this trip, the most popular side trip is to Ngauruhoe summit, 3 hours walking.

We started at 6:30 am with a cloudy weather under the rain and crossed our fingers to have a better weather.






























We tried to go on the Ngauruhoe's top but after spending 2 hours under the rain, and didn't see the summmit, we decided to go back. We could do that but not with running shoes, when we did 1 meter up, we did 30cm down, it was too steep we walked on our hands, we couldn't see more than 10 meters, wind was really strong, rain really cold. It was really unsafe to continue.
But we were almost there because we walked on the red part which is almost on the top, next time, with good weather we'll come back to go up and bring the ring on the Mt Doom's top.





























We finished the trip at 1:45pm and did less than 8 hours to do 23 kms.
















Emerald lakes on the way down.

I don't know if it was to walking on the pathh where Frodo was, but at the end of the day, my feet was like hobbit one.

TAUPO

Taupo is the NZ's largest lake, a vast water filled crater, with the size of singapor, and 186m deep. He shook up the world 26500 years ago, and we could feel it till Rome.





























Mt Ruapehu and Mt Ngauruhoe

We spent one day in Taupo, to see Huka falls and some rapids.















Near Taupo, there is the Tongario National park where there are three volcano, Mt Tongario (1967m), Mt Ruapehu (2797m) which is the highest and most active volcano of the park and Mt Ngauruhoe alias Mt Doom in Lord of the Rings.





























Mt Doom in the Mordor

Along east cost

We drove along the east cost where there were some good bay, and took lunch in front of a turquoise water to go to TAUPO in the central region.

The east cost :

Coromandel peninsula

The coromandel peninsula juts defiantly into the pacific east of Auckland.
We drove all day to go to Whitianga. On the way to go, the road is just next to a turquoise sea before to go up through the mountain and go down on the east cost.















By night we were in a backpacker where we met a canadian girl who was going out of NZ. We bought her tent, 2 sleeping bags, mattress, and all the stuff for cooking at a really small price.

The day after we're going to Cathedral Cove, the famous gigantic limestone arch and the place where this rock is, is really like a paradise ! To see Cathedral cove, we walked 30min through some beautiful bays, and took our breakfast on one of them with bread and nutella.

I leave you enjoy !





























































After staying more than half day over there, we drove to East Cape and find a good spot on a black sand beach to put the tent.

Go back to Auckland

After sleeping in the car in the middle of nowhere in north island, we arrived the morning in Auckland to drop off the car. I'm going to Air New zeland office to know what's happen about my backpakc. When I was there, they talled me that they found it and it was arriving this morning in the backpacker where I stayed few days ago.
In few second, I'd got a good felling ! great I could change my underpants.

But when the delivery man dropp off the bag, it was the wrong one.

sO let's go to Coramandel peninsula !

Auckland To Cape Reinga

We hired the car the third day, and go to Pahia on the Bay of Island. On the way, beautiful landscape, It's really magnificient to see a green vegetation meet the sea.
We stayed at night in a family backpacker, where I met my first Swedish girl who was not blond, but she was so cute...

The day after, on the way to Cape Reinga, almost the northest point of new zealand, we stopped 40km before because the car was too hot and wait an hour, put some water in it, and go to buy some cooling liquid.













Like you can see, even if the car was dead, we find on the road probably the best place to eat a delicious ice cream.
We called the rental car to say that their car was almost dead, and we needed to drop off it the day after in Auckland and take a new one.
So first enjoy the Cape Reinga, this is the place where the Tasman sea meet the Pacific ocean, that's beautiful.

Auckland

I'm almost staying 3 days in Auckland, time to check rental car, to find the cheapest one and start our trip around new zealand.
I spent time in the city, around the port, garden and the famous Sky tower.
But I not really like Auckland, maybe because New zealand is more nature than city.

Hitch Hiking to Auckland

It's time to go to Auckland, the cheapest way to go was to do some hitch hiking. So we prepared a carton with "Auckland please :)" write on it. We find somebody after walk an hour on the road, who's going to Auckland airport, great. On the way to go, Air new Zealand called us because they found michel's backpack, but not mine. Too bad, but the good side, it's that I can so travel lighter.

Rotorua region

After doing the ultimate jump, I did some basic tourism.

I'm going to Wai-O-Tapu, it's the famous touristic attraction around Rotorua. This is a thermal area in Taupo volcanic zone. I see a geyser, some hot pool like "the champagne pool"















Champagne pool

Beneath the ground is a system of streams which are heated by magma left over from earlier eruption. It's why we can find in this area some beautiful natural spot.

SkYdIvE, I embrace the fear !

I couldn't do Mountain bike in the Wakarewarewa forest near Rotorua because my shoes were in my backpack lost in Sydney, so I'd need to find something to do that I can do without shoes.

I find it : skydive

It takes a certain time to step out of the aircraft 15000ft into the air, I was felling myself free, king of the world. From 15000ft over Rotorua, I could see the pacific ocean which is around 100km at the north.
I really enjoy this jump, it was so good !

Why I decided to do it ?

Deep in the human consciouness is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic. We do these things. It's something deep within us, the need to feed our voracious appetite for danger and glory.
It's the spirit of human.

This was the text from skydive's flyer.

New-Zealand

I flew from Sydney to Rotorua (NZ) the 2nd of Febuary, arriving middle of the afternoon without backpack, too bad.
The reason, the girl of the check-in at the Sydney Airport didn't put tag on my backpack. I think she was not really awake, or she was from public administration (like SNCF in France).
So I've waiting my backpack during 4 days in Rotorua, with no result, because i'm actually in Auckland still without backpack (but the find the one of my teammates yesterday so I hope...).
To spend time, I did skydiving, really really good...

ENORMISSIME !!!

... I feel myself free, really good to do, I embrace the fear !

And I discover some part of Rotorua region, like Wai-o-tapu, with the Champagne Pool, and some volcanic area. Nature is beautiful in New-Zealand, all landscape that I see are magical.

I would like to do some Mountain bike around Rotorua , but without shoes it's quiet hard.

Tomorrow, I leaving Auckland to go up to Cape Reinga, to see the meeting of Pacific Ocean and Tasman sea.

Sydney

I'm staying just 3 days in Sydney, just time to see the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. We spent a night in Kings Cross, this a the Sydney night life place, really hot by saturday night. It was like the Spring break in the american movie.
I'm not going to Bondi beach, maybe on the way back from new-zealand !

Lift Melbourne to Sydney

After spending time in Melbourne, going to see the Australian Open, relaxing on Federation square, drinking chocolate beer , I took a lift with my teammate Michel to Sydney.
We saw a relocation, big campervan, 6 seats-beds, but when we called, there was not anymore campervan. We meet a couple (slovienian man and korean girl), it was them that they had took the campervan.
We took the lift, with two guys from Bordeaux, and the couple to go to Sydney, we crossed Camberra on the way, but really not special to see, just the parlement house and the memorial war.
We spent more time on the Mc donald's car park in Camberra to prepare some pancakes in the campervan than to visit the city.
We arrived in Sydney three days after leaving Melbourne, time to fin d a backpacker where sleeping.