Island Hoppers

We hung around Mount Taranaki for four days, hoping the weather would improve so we could do a tramp, but we had no luck. It’s been hard getting used to having to be a slave to the winter conditions on some of the mountains, which often make them unhikeable.

We continued south, where we were finally able to do a hike outside of the tiny town of Levin (which Craig loves to pronounce as if it rhymes with “Ravene” of Trailer Park Boys fame). The three hour hike took us through the Tararua Range, but did not reward us with any spectacular views.

As we approached the Wellington area, we veered southeast, to the most southern point of the north island: Cape Palliser. Here we took the 249 or so odd steps to the lookout at the top of the Cape Palliser lighthouse. During our coastal walk to the lighthouse, we crossed paths with the north island’s largest seal colony. There were almost a hundred large, moustachioed, smelly seals all basking in the sunlight or rubbing up on the grass at the side of the road. We made sure not to get too close, as we did not want to lose our hand to a hungry seal, Buster-style (extra points to those who get the obscure television reference).

That night we stayed at a Department of Conservation campsite, which was cheap, but without power (and therefore without heat) we could see our breath inside the camper come morning. We quickly warmed up on our post-breakfast hike to a viewing platform that looked on one side to the south island, where we could see snowy peaks across the Cook Strait, and on the other side looked over the Putangirua Pinnacles, which were immense. They were also the site of the filming of “Dimholt Road”, for LOTR buffs, of which we are not.

Next up we spent a few days in Martinborough, another New Zealand wine region. Our caravan park was within 3 km of more wineries than we could visit in a day, so we indulged in a self-guided walking wine tour of the area. Considering bus tours charge upwards of $100/person, we enjoyed our slightly stumbly free tour.

For the past few days we’ve been in the Lower Hutt region, which is pretty much the closest we can camp to the city of Wellington. Yesterday we completed a five-hour, 12 km tramp to the top of Mount McKerrow, where we camped at the base of and this time did not wake up to being able to see our breath. Today we drove into Wellington and explored Te Papa, the free national museum, and the downtown. Unfortunately the weather turned extremely windy and rainy this afternoon, and if it continues overnight we may not be able to visit the zoo as we hope tomorrow.

We feel we have seen everything we can see (during the winter) on the north island, so we have booked our ferry ride to the south island for Thursday. We have heard nothing but amazing things about scenery and wildlife on the south island, and are eager to get there and see for ourselves. Considering the population of the entire south island is equal to the population of Auckland, it may be just the slower, more personal pace of place we tend to enjoy. We are heading first to Dunedin to visit with Andrea’s high school work friend who is studying there, since we are in need of socializing with people our own age – the last few caravan parks we have mostly had either to ourselves, or have shared with the over-50 crowd of “grey nomads”. A bit of time in a student town may be just what we need!