Kerb=Curb

From New Plymouth

Trash can: Please place this side towards kerb.

New Plymouth is the biggest city we've hit since Auckland. Towns we've stopped at or passed through have been about 3 blocks long. This one on the other hand is very happening. Part sleepy beach town and part shipping harbor. The entire city is situated along the water. It's Susanna's favorite spot thus far and we've already been here a couple days. Once again at a Top 10 Holiday Park of which we are now members. They have affiliate parks in Australia so we thought, "what the heck".

Today began with a surf check (it was flat) and an inquiry at the i-site center. Susanna wanted to hike a bit of the mountain that overlooks this beach city, but with all the rain, was advised otherwise. We grabbed a few maps and took to the towns own coastal walkway instead. We walked along the coastline, into the harbor port and summated the local lookout rock (100m climb). On the way back I was hurting and realized why I like being a fish so much better. Susanna-1, Tyler-0

The rest of the day has been allocated for chores. We've been able to grocery shop a bit and I finally got an Aus/NZ adaptor for my laptop. Stupid three-prong Americans. We cleaned the Zinny (our rental van) and did some laundry. Thank goodness. The thing started to wreak of dirty clothes, wet towels and wetsuit. Not a pleasing combination to the senses.

With another week in NZ, we have more time left than stops to make so we may stay here another day or too. It's Tuesday today and supposedly they'll be waves here on Thurs. Who knows. Maybe we'll stay, maybe we'll cruise. We've got nothing but time.

Proper=Good

From Roapuke Beach

We can either take the proper motorway to New Plymouth or we can take the scenic coast road and possibly surf on the way. "I'd like to take the coast, Susanna". Being the great sport that she is, we b-line back to the coast. The main little town we headed for was Maraokopa. A small fishing village, right next to Kiritihere Beach, where we were told to check out.

NZ's dry spell came to an end this day and it was pouring by the time we hit the coastline. We get to Maraokopa and head straight for K-Beach a few km down the road but the waves aren't that good. So we head back to the town where we it was breaking a bit better. I got ready and darted down the river mouth, probably 1/3 mile to the water. The rain brought all the surf fisherman in so I was the only one out there. The only person out there as far as I could see in any direction. It was pretty cool. In spite of the wind (offshore) and rain, the waves were fun. Waist high thumpers in shallow water. Reminded me of OCMD. Surf bug satisfied.

Mind you, almost every where in NZ there are sheep, cows, ostrich, pigs and more species of birds than you could ever recall. The next leg of our journey south brought more of the same. We basically we driving through farms and on access roads, but the backdrops were quite different. No more rolling grassing hills. We were driving through wooded forests, around steep cliffs, atop small tropical mountains, all the while with the coast line just of to our left. Half the drive was on gravel road and I thought we were lost more than a few times, but what we saw was worth it. Susanna remarked that some parts reminded her of the congo. Then before you know it you're down inside a valley straight out of Lord Of The Rings. The road was rough, the scenery was breathtaking and we even got caught in a little sheep herding traffic. Off the beaten path was definitely the proper way to go.

Motorways=Highways

From Waitomo Caves

From Roapuke Beach we headed south east for our next adventure, Waitomo Caves. The glow worm caves were another must do, recommended to us. The drive there was relatively easy. A few gravel roads here and there, but mostly open and more importantly, marked motorways.

We arrived late afternoon and checked into to the Top 10 Holiday Park - soon to be a favorite of ours. Made reservations for the next morning at the caves and grabbed some questionable food at Curley's along with some really good beer. "Lion Red" has become the beer of choice for me down here. Unfortunately, it's $18 a six pack ($5 a draft). A scrabble match broke out in the bar as well. Tyler-1, Susanna-0.

At this point Susanna hasn't driven yet. So the next morning when we leave our site for the cave expedition, she's ready to give it a try. Having been a great navigator thus far as well as admiring my suburb driving, she gets behind the wheel. Not two seconds after she puts it in reverse do we plow right into the picnic table at our campsite. Ripping the chain that holds it down right through the wood. Absolutely comical. We both look at each other and crack up. It was fixable, sort of. You couldn't really tell the damage from a distance. Not discouraged a bit Sus hoped back in and took us there in style.

During our checkin we met the other travelers, soon to be cavers as well as our guide. After a few laughs about all our countries of origin, the guide said he noticed we have a bit of trouble driving in today. Susanna looked at him almost stunned and asked him if he say her back into the table earlier. He said no, but he say her signal left and turn right. At that point everyone got a good laugh out of it.

Our guide was an Aussie (Tim). Traveling sort of fellow that works along the way, to support himself, wherever he wants to be. Extremely nice and funny. There was another couple from Ireland (Ozzie & Loraine) and a girl from San Fran (Helen). The gear was a wetsuit, rubber boots, climbing harness, helmet with headlamp and battery pack. Before we descended we got a quick but thorough lesson in repelling. After that we were on our way.

A 30 meter drop of is how we got down to the cave. In my opinion one of the cooler parts of the tour. Maybe just because I'd never done any climbing before. We each lowered ourselves down one by one with Tim's supervision. Once down there we trekked to one end of the cave and then back to our point of entry to grab inner tubes to float down to the opposite end. At different points we'd turn off our head lamps and stare up at the cave ceiling. It was like looking at the stars on a clear night. At others, we'd hop out of the water and Tim shoved us into some small cracks to slither through. Tim took shots of the group to the entire time and fed us hot tea and chocolate half way through.

Just when we were all pretty tired, smelly, dirty and had seen enough glow worms for the day, it was time for our accent. No, Tim wasn't going to hoist us all up the 30 meters, we were going to climb out. Up a fairly vertical rock wall, cover in moss and wet leaves, we each climbed out (clipped onto a life line of course). A little unnerving, but truly satisfying when done. After cheering each other on for a successful day, we were brought back to change, shower, snack and buy a $20 CD of ourselves. We loved it. What an awesome experience!

Indicators=Turn Signals

From Waiheke Island

Scratch that, everything is twice as much.

One of our new friends from the winery, "Frost" said, "Just get in a car and get lost." Now that we're well equipped with wheels, we've done just that. Although, the Kiwis have been very gracious offering directions. No matter how general they may have been. Still we've managed to do just fine with our "main roads only map".

Straight out of Auckland we drove to the nearest beach, Peha. Only about a 35-40 minute drive away. The striking cliffs, stacked with a few houses dropped down to a pristine black sand beach. The water temperature was similar to California in early fall and the waves were good. Talking to a local I come to find out that the swell had been hitting for the few days prior and just started dropping when we arrived. And a competition was to take place the following day.

Susanna couldn't have been happier to get into a bathing suit for some sun. I couldn't have been any happier to get into the water and wash off the city. Surfing for a while I made a friend and decided to get out when the crowd started to resemble Swami's.

Much like our California home, the waves can get crowded and rush hour traffic can ruin any quick trip to the next stop. Later that afternoon, we had to back track to the city to head toward Raglan. And we hit plenty of it. Along with a mess intermittent gravel roads. Winding through rolling hills and all of the sudden there's some gravel. Doesn't seem to bother anyone though. They all drive on it like rally cars. Oh, and all the cars here are the same with different names. Nissan Frontier in the states, Nissan Nararo in NZ.

Raglan was our destination after Peha. We rolled into the tiny town late afternoon and found a proper campsite. All the luxuries of home including internet. The first night in the camper-van was surprisingly comfy. All of our junk fit inside even with the conversion bed pulled out. BTW - We both packed way too much. No fires allowed at any sites here so far. Word is they are going through a serious drought.

Checked was at ten so we set out to find waves. Despite being a magnificent set up for waves, the surf was flat. The hype of raglan will have to be lived out another time. So on the advise of the campsite manager, we headed around a large mountain, with shady directions, to find a more exposed beach.

Passing countless sheep and cows, down countless gravel paths and through enough windy curves to make anyone car sick, we were lost. With no detailed map and out natural sense of direction failed, we lost site of the coast and were out of options. Fortunately, a friendly Kiwi, go figure, happened upon us and just by coincidence was coming from the beach we were looking for. Saved. Back the way we came and down some more unmarked roads we made it to the coast. More black sand and breathtaking views. Some fun punchy surf mixed in there as well. I was in heaven and Susanna was happy she didn't have to strangle me. We shared the beach with another couple and a few surfers in the water. Just wide open everywhich way you looked.

Lift=Elevator

From Auckland City

Mental note: When traveling to New Zealand, you need a departure date and a visa to enter the county. It seems they don't want to entertain anyone they can't eventually get rid off. At the LA ticket counter we were obliged to set a date to fly to Melbourne. We'll be leaving for the Outback on Wednesday the 9th. A total of two weeks in the land man has only inhabited for 800 years.

The flight was fine and only took a little longer then expected due to strong headwinds. Air New Zealand is one of the nicer carriers I've taken across the Pacific. I slept pretty much the entire time. Susanna wasn't as fortunate. There was a bit of commotion mid way that woke her up. A woman sitting a couple rows behind us has to have an oxygen tank brought to her. Apparently, she had packed her inhaler and had no access to it.

We're here and it's early (8 am). After catching the Airbus Express from the airport, and walking 5 blocks with 150 lb. (total) worth of luggage, we limp into the Albert Park Hostel covered in sweat. It's an adequate 3 star high rise filled with random people of all ages. Our hostel is located right next to Albert Park which is on the Auckland University campus. After our day long jaunt about town we come to find out the campus literally makes up for half the city.

Waking up, now in the afternoon, from complete body shutdown, we set out to see the city. The Link Bus will be our chariot. At $1.60 a ride, it's the best buy in town. Although, everything else is one and a half times what we pay in the states. Jobs must pay more here. Auckland is a beautiful city. It reminds me of the D.C., Northern Virginia area. It's also a very young and culturally diverse city. Most likely due to the college.

Auckland Domain was next on our agenda. A large park area filled with cricket fields (the sport), walking trails and museums. Not so different from The Mall in D.C. Within, we patronize "Tamaki Paenga Hira", the Aukalnd Museum. We hit up all 3 exhibits. (The Maori: New Zealand's native people, NZ War and NZ History) The Maori people are very similar to the Hawaiians. All exhibits were pretty amazing. so our duty to find out more about the culture we were visiting was fulfilled.

After wandering pretty much the entire museum grounds we ended up on Parnell St. There we hit a couple pubs and had some pizza . Non Solo Pizza was recommended to us and is a must stop. Note: The Kiwis love their bacon and manage to slip it into a lot of dishes. During our Parnell stroll we scheduled a camper-van for the next week.

Our day two adventure was to the Island of Waiheke. Just a 40 min ferry ride from the Auckland Harbor. It leaves on the hour so be sure to time it accordingly. We ended up making two coffee stops before departure. Waiheke is an absolutely beautiful place! and the ferry ride out there is pretty amazing as well. Plenty of lush green islands with nothing on them. If they were close to the states, I'm sure they'd be stacked with houses. Think Catalina Island with vineyards and sheep instead of buffalo. There's a local bus that will take you around all day for $8. Upon recommendation we went to StoneyRidge Vineyard. Great views, great food and great people. Here is were we met our first friends. A family that extended from NZ to England to Australia. They were a ton of laughs and weren't afraid to give some pointers on where to travel. Susanna took portraits of all of them!

That was an all day affair. So when we got back to the city we stuffed our faces with Kabobs (not really kabobs, more like gyros) and forgot about all the errands we wanted to run.

Right now we're waiting for the camper-van folks to pick us up. We are in sort of a communal eating area and when anyone opens one of the 3 refrigerators down here an overwhelming putrid smell comes over and smacks you in the face. I guess I'll harden up later on. It is only day 3. Our hostel check out time is 10 and the van peeps should be here by 10:30. Just enough time to run down to Starbucks and pay $8 for one of my foof coffees.

I'm really excited to head for the coast. I saw the surf as we landed but we haven't been in the water yet. We blanked on taking our suits to Waiheke and Auckland faces northeast and is surrounded by small islands so their swell opportunity is nil. It's only an hour drive to the closest surfing beach, but I think we're going to shoot straight down to Raglan (2.5 hrs max). I can't wait.

From the 24th to till infinity

Beginning March 24th @ 10:30 pm Susanna and I will officially be on the move. First stop Aukland, NZ. Looking forward to posting all about our adventure abroad.