Warning: call_user_func_array() expects parameter 1 to be a valid callback, class 'collapsArch' does not have a method 'enqueue_scripts' in C:\inetpub\vhosts\globitrotter.com\httpdocs\blog\wp-includes\class-wp-hook.php on line 307

Month: November 2012

Coromandel

Coromandel is a peninsula just east of Auckland. In the center of the peninsula there is a mountain range that has a few nice trails. We spent one day hiking the Pinnacle which was a very nice trail. The last part up to the top included some climbing which always makes us happy. The views were also excellent.

Otherwise Coromandel is mostly known for its wonderful beaches including Hot water beach. Hot water beach is named after the thermal water surfacing at the beach. At low tide you simply dig a hole which fills with hot water and you have made yourself you own private spa. Unfortunately we do not have pictures of this because we did not want to get the camera wet. It looks quite amusing though with lots of people sitting in holes in the sand.

The weather was not very stable when we were at Coromandel but we managed to take advantage of the good moments which you can see in the images.

Click on the image to see photos from Coromandel.

Coromandel – New Zealand

Northland

In our “new” (actually quite old but therefore fairly cheap) home, the rebuilt Nissan van we rented for our stay in New Zealand, we headed north out of Auckland. The first day we did not drive far but checked in at a campground in Orewa to settle in and find a place for everything. The campground was situated at a very pretty beach perfect for an evening stroll.

Driving along the coast we made our way up to Russell and then on to Cape Reinga. There is an abundance of nice beaches, pretty islands and green, sheep filled hills in this part of the country.

Nice farmer’s market in Matakana.

Cape Reinga

Cape Reinga

At Cape Reinga we did a day hike along the coast. The trail was on grassy ridges with a view of the rugged coast line. The goal was to hike up to a lookout on one of the hills, supposedly the highest point in the area. We found the turn off but after climbing a hill we found ourselves at a locked gate. It did not say private property or anything so we decided to climb over the gate and continue. After a few hundred meters we found an old broken sign and continued along the trail only to find that it ended at a fence with no view what so ever. 🙁 The bush was so thick that is was impossible to try to find a spot with some sort of view. Disappointed we hiked back to an open area on the ridge where we cooked lunch and had a break. The rest of the hike though was lovely and definitely worth the effort.

Hiking along the coast

The day we did the hike there was a partial solar eclipse.

 

 

Auckland

Finally we arrived in New Zealand. There was a heavy rain welcoming us to this weather unpredictable country. To make us feel even more comfortable our bags arrived about 36 hours after us. Andy was only wearing shorts and being spring here it was a bit cold. We had to do some shopping to survive before we got our stuff.

View from Sky Tower in central Auckland.

We had already booked a few nights in Auckland before we were picking up our rental camper. We did some sightseeing although not so much because we were busy preparing a visa extension application and trying to transfer money from the States (which did not succeed btw due to rigorous restrictions and rules at the American bank. Once you have money at the bank it is almost impossible to use…). However a favorite restaurant was located, some views and yachts admired and parks strolled through. Auckland is a convenient and nice city. Everything is on walking distance or a short bus or ferry ride away. The outdoors seem to be important judging by amount of boats in the several harbors around town.

A yacht to die for.

Albert Park.

Hawaii

Our two weeks in Hawaii we regarded as a “vacation in the vacation”. Although we did some camping, hiking and sightseeing on the Big Island we have spent many days just hanging around the hotel, pool or beach without doing much at all. It has been great since the weather has been perfect with tropical temperatures without being too hot. The water is also warm enough for me to swim in without any larger issues (I really do not like cold water).

The pool at the Sheraton Waikiki. If you do decide to go to Waikiki we can really recommend this hotel. On the more expensive side but well worth it.

About a week we have been hanging in Waikiki which might be the most famous place in Hawaii with a nice beach, an abundance of restaurants and bars and hotels. The first two days before we went to the Big Island we actually got two nights in a luxury hotel free of charge from the travel agency where we booked our flights. That was really a treat and we hardly left the hotel for the entire time. They had a very pool by the beach and nice restaurants.

On the Big Island the main theme was volcanoes but we managed to spend some time on the coast as well. Kailua-Kona, on the west coast, turned out to be a very cosy little town with nice sunsets. If you want to escape the crowds in Waikiki this might be an alternative. Only thing is they don’t have a lot of nice, long, sandy beaches on the Big Island which might be what you are looking for in Hawaii.

Sunset in Kailua-Kona.

Unfortunately the volcanoes were not very active at this point. There was no place we could see lava which we were hoping for. We did have a pretty cool outing to the top of Mauna Loa, one of the two high volcanoes on the island. It is higher than 42oo m and we camped on the summit. It was hard carrying everything up there. Obviously we are not used to the altitude anymore after spending more than 2 months on sea level… We made it eventually and it was a lot more windy than we thought. But the views were nice and worth the effort.

Pinching the tent at the summit at sunset.

At the summit with the crater in the background. It is always cold above 4000 m, even in Hawaii.

For the last 5 days at Waikiki we had decided to treat ourselves a nicer hotel with a balcony for lazy mornings and the afternoon glas of wine or beer. We booked a balcony with pool view to avoid facing a street with lots of traffic. We were upgraded and ended up a bit higher so that we could also see the sea from our room. Nice.

The pool from our balcony at night.

The view from the balcony in the afternoon.

Tomorrow we leave for New Zealand where it is spring and probably about the same temperatures as in California. But summer is coming, again… 🙂

Here you can see more images from Hawaii:

Hawaii

Halloween in Waikiki

The day we returned to Waikiki after spending one week on the Big Island it happened to be Halloween. This was of course nothing we kept track of and were very surprised to find that the main street was full of people dressed up as all sorts of things.

We saw tigers, polar bears, frogs, bees, angels, devils, birds, Chip and Dale, Ironman, Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Darth Vader, Darth Maul, Leia, Luke Skywalker, doctors, nurses, patients, police, convicts, Pacman, Angry Birds, Super Marios, the Hulk, pirates, zombies, scary looking people and of course the people that are just wearing as little as possible just to get the attention.

We had a lot of fun just walking around looking at the spectacle. It reminded me a lot of the Halloween I spent in Castro, San Francisco, more than ten years ago. The difference being there was less alcohol in Waikiki, everyone seemed sober and it was really quite calm although lots of people. Everyone wanted to be photographed with the best dressed and often it was impossible to move because a photo session was going on with a Batman, a bunch of crayons (yes, people dressed up like crayons with different colors) or an octopus and Jack Sparrow meeting. The street performers had a rough night when the normal people were stealing all the attention. 🙂

A guy taking pictures of the Hulk and the Black Widow

My personal favorite, the cookie.

No dress up party without a Darth Vader. We saw a number of different Vaders with different costumes. This one was one of the better.

Wondering where to go next Halloween? Waikiki is not a bad place.