We were up early and packed ready for the off to Mount Cook, it was going to be a long drive today with around 300km to cover. Again we had fantastic weather which only mean’t we would get hot in our non-air conditioned van but windows down and with a bit of a breeze we would be fine. Our first stop was at the Moeraki Boulders, unusually large spherical boulders sitting on a stretch of Koekahe Beach. It’s a popular tourist stop as we were met with crowds of travellers making their way up or down the coast. They are pretty random though and worth a picture or two if you’re passing.

So onwards from the famous boulders we turned onto State Highway 83 and started making our way inland towards the Mount Cook region. Not far from Duntroon we stopped to check out some Maori rock paintings on the limestone cliffs, they’re talked about in the Lonely Planet and so we thought it would be a good little spot for lunch. So with around 150 km to go (which in ‘Po’ means a good 2 hours of so) we continued on with our journey. It’s difficult not to stop as you approach Mount Cook because the views and colours of Lakes Behmore and Pukaki are shockingly blue with snow-tipped peaks all around. It’s a breathtaking part of the country to visit.

When we eventually arrived in Mount Cook Village we nipped into the DOC to get some information on walks for the next day. After some good advice from the warden on duty we picked up a route map for the area and decided we would take the Mueller Hut trail the following day up to Mount Olivia.

Our campsite for the evening was at The White Horse DOC camping ground, it’s the only place to camp in the area and was packed full of camper vans and tents. it’s a really popular place and has a large communal cooking shelter with lots of extra toilets to so for $6 per person it’s not bad at all. In terms of location it is fantastic, we were practically at the foot of Mount Cook with a lot of major paths leading from the campsite to various sites and valleys in the area, we walked out along the Hooker Valley track for around an hour before getting back to the van for a night in!

The next morning we were up early and ready for our hike, we’d heard it was pretty tough so we were ready for a work-out. Plus this would be a chance for us to test out our new packs and start getting in some training for Nepal. We loaded up our packs although both of us knew that in reality we’ll be carrying more weight, but we have to start somewhere. The hike itself is very tough, especially the first 2 hours up hill, we weren’t quite expecting it to be so steep and so we really were getting quite a sweat on. The terrain is a mixture of large steps built into the pathway, rocks, shale and snow, so we had it all as well as more fantastic views throughout the valley. We knew this would go on our list of epic walks as soon as we started out.

Closer to the top we were hit with cool wind and so wrapped up again before making our way around the corner to Mueller Hut. Here we stopped for lunch and had a good nosey around, they have volunteer wardens who stay on a weekly basis during the season to keep an eye on the place, so we enjoyed a good chat with them. Not long after we decided to take the extra hike up to Mount Olivier, although we didn’t make it quite to the top (it’s a little unclear as to where this is) we were at around 2000m and enjoyed being there very much indeed.

The path down was steep once again and so we felt a little jarred afterwards, but we loved the hike, the views and the challenge. Perhaps it won’t be quite so enjoyable all the time when we’re in Nepal but we’re already starting to anticipate to the highs and the lows! Mount Cook is a must on the agenda if you’re travelling around South Island. Later that night we stayed at Lake Tekapo and decided we would be heading to Christchurch earlier so we could start planning the sale of the van.

(Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

The following morning we revisited the pancake rocks to see if the high tide was making more of a blowing impression but it was not to be. Instead it was very grey and still, but once again this is not a place to be disappointed by as the true beauty is to look across the rocks and listen to the roaring waves. We also stopped at the Punakaiki Cavern, some caves that go quite far back into the rock face worthy of a 20 minute explore. Take a torch and some good footwear as its very slippery down there.

After we’d had our second dose of the rocks and a little peak into the giftshop we started our drive south towards Franz Josef. En-route we stopped at Hokitika renowned for it’s greenstone and gem factories. We popped into the friendly I-site and got a map of the town, it’s not a very big place so we figured we would tick off most of the central attractions. We must confess though that we did get a little bored of the greenstone shops and galleries as it’s all a ploy to sell their beautiful greenstone to you!

We weren’t convinced of buying any for ourselves, and instead opted for some free wifi at the Cafe de Paris where Dave enjoyed an excellent hot chocolate. We also decide to book ourselves onto another sky-dive attempt! This time we were targeting the Franz Josef Sky Dive company whose claim to fame is that they offer the highest skydive in New Zealand at 18,000 feet!! We were interested in a 15,000 feet dive and they had availability for the next morning. So back on the road and we drove a further hour or so to Okarito, a small residential village centred around the Okarito Nature Reserve.

As soon as we arrived we felt like we’d stepped back in time, the camping ground is beautiful and located in a sheltered spot away from the sea. It’s a community camping ground ran by locals and so the $12/person fee is really good value, plus the showers are free which is always a nice bonus.

For the afternoon we did an energetic hike around the Three Mile Pack Track – Ōkārito Coastal Walk, around 8km in total with a steep hill to finish. The first part of the walk goes along the seafront and can only be reached at low tide.

Later on we enjoyed left over curry from the night before and got to know Uta and Oliver who’d also stayed in Punakaiki the previous night. We were all heading in the same direction and after much chat decided we would meet at Gillespies beach DOC camping ground the following night for a spot of freedom camping.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

After a spot of skyping home from Hastings and a drive out to some of the beaches south of Napier at midday we got in touch with Roam located in Tongariro to see if the park shuttle service was operating for the next day. They answered with a yes and so we booked ourselves onto the 8am bus with the knowledge that the weather forecast was looking good for our hike.

The drive to Tongariro from Napier is via highway 60 which led us through some fantastic views across to the volcanic park and snow-peaked mountains. It took us 4+ hours or so to reach the campground in Mangahuia with a road-side picnic stop along the way. The DOC campground was already looking full and we found the last van spot. It’s only $4 per person at this campground but it does fill up quickly and by 7pm more and more people were driving in for the hike the next day. We ended up sharing our space with another van as they couldn’t get a spot. In anticipation of a very early start we were in bed by 9pm and wrapped up warm as we could tell it was going to be a chilly one.

It was freezing in the van over night and we did have frost on the windows in the morning for the first time too. We quickly changed from thermals to thermal layering and decided to get to Whakapapa village so we could get a parking spot early and have breakfast there. The campsite was packed so we figured it made sense to get out before the rest of the campground did the same. So we enjoyed breakfast as the sun was warming us up and we overheard locals talking about how good the weather would be today. Yes! We had picked a good day to do the walk which was confirmed when we got on the 8am shuttle bus and they kept going on about how it was the best day yet. After 30 minutes or so in the bus we arrived at the start of the track at Mangatepopo car-park and had a few safety briefings which took another 10 minutes or so. By which time more and more shuttles were turning up full of hikers so we could tell it was going to be a busy walk.

The crossing starts a little like the Miners path at Snowdon; very steady gravel paths and it’s pretty much like this until we reached the Soda Springs. We had both peaks surrounding us; the Mount Ngauruhoe Volcano aka Mordor in Lord of the Rings and the Mount Tongariro. We took the path out to the springs to get a few photos and then re-joined the main path along with what seemed to be around several hundred other hikers. It was busy! We zipped up the steps which has the name Devil’s staircase and at times does feel very devilish, passing by hikers along the way. It does get annoying as the paths aren’t that wide so we ended up backing up behind hikers who didn’t really let us by which annoyed Dave immensely. It took us around 2 hours to reach the first summit area which then gives you the opportunity to take the path up to the volcano. We decided to do the Mt Tongiriro Summit instead and so continued onwards along the plains below the two peaks. Its a flat muddy plain which leads you unto another steep path. This is where it starts getting volcanic. At the next rest stop we took the path toward the Mt Tongiriro Summit which is around an hour and twenty detour, not everyone does this so we got to avoid the busy paths and enjoyed less tourists making this crossing. We hiked along rocky to very unstable ash like terrain before eventually walking up the path on snow. The snow then led us back onto a rocky ridge and we enjoyed a little cereal bar break whilst taking in the views. We could see the car-park where we started from and across the valley to the mountain ranges.

On making our way back to the main path we skidded down the snow as others went down on their bums and rejoined the main path. At this point we came to the red craters which were different from the surrounding landscape and then along a very scree-rocky path which with the amount of hikers going down was really dusty. This path led us down to the Emerald lakes; a group of small aqua pools with sulphur smoking out from the rocks behind. We enjoyed another tuna lunch and then set off past the Blue Lake. This is the most volcanic and active part of the hike bringing in spectacular views all around. When we left the lake area we were on our way down.

It was a long path back to the car-park at Ketetahi and the terrain went from volcanic to grassy meadows and had a very Scottish highland feel to it all. We could see out to Lake Taupo and were really blown away by the contrast in landscapes from the start of the walk. We got down to the car-park at 3.45pm ready for the 4pm bus, the last bus was leaving at 5pm so we had given ourselves plenty of time. On the bus back to the main village we felt very satisfied with our hike, it goes on the list of epic hikes we’ve down so far. The shuttle service with Roam cost $35 each for a 2-way service. We didn’t really want to use the shuttle both ways but it’s difficult getting back to the car-park where the hike starts and its supposedly not as secure as leaving your car at the main car-park in Whakapapa so we decided to go for the easier option.

Back at the van we freshened up and decided to make our way to Wanganui which is around 100km south of the park. It took us a couple of hours to reach Wanganui and we stayed at Avro Motel and holiday park which cost us a measly $20, not bad with free showers and kitchen use. This was our second night of eating out since we made it to New Zealand and we opted for Thai Villa in the centre of town, the food was reasonable and it was nice to have someone else cook for us.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

We left fairly early and started on our drive to to top of North Island. We had to make a few stops along the way, it’s always recommended; fuel, food and water! At Katai we found all 3 and there was even a Pak’n'Save! It’s not exactly Aldi but it is cheaper than any other super-markets around and they stock pretty much everything you need for your home – or in our instance the van!

It was a further 3 hours drive north to Cape Reinga but we didn’t go to the top, instead we went to the DOC campsite at Tapotupoto Bay. It’s off the main road and pretty much gravel all 8km’s to the bottom, always take it slow with Po! When we got to the campground it was very windy and a little wet, but it wouldn’t be Cape Reinga without blustery winds, it is after all at the top of New Zealand and there isn’t much up there to shelter you! We found a spot on the campground that was a little baron but we did have some shelter from a  tree at least. As the evening came more and more people turned up to camp. We hiked from the campground heading towards Spirits Bay, but only managed a 2 hour return hike, mainly as it was getting late and the hills were so steep!

Back down at the campsite we sat in our van and listened to the wind around us, it was a pretty quiet evening. We’re grateful to have the van to shelter in on nights like that.

The following morning we prepared for our hike to the Cape Reinga lighthouse which is predicted to be a 2.5 hour journey from Tapotupoto Bay. With pack lunches and after a cold shower (not as bad as it sounds!) we ventured up the steep hills again. It actually took us 1.45 to get there with 2 very steep sections and further steep downhill paths that we would be returning along. It’s a pleasant walk though with a dip down to Stony Bay before heading back up again. We did think about Nicky and Cooky quite a bit when we were hiking as this would have been the last part of their 5 month hike from South to North and wow was it a tough one to end on. Amazing to read their blog and to now be hiking the same paths.

The Cape Reinga lighthouse is in an area called Te Rerega-Wairua a Maouri spiritual area; a place where souls jump off for their journey to their spiritual homeland, no-one is allowed to go to that point but we looked out across to the pohukutawa tree and where the Tasman and Pacific Oceans meet. It’s a wild place with high sand-dunes behind us and arrows above pointing to distances across the world. With half an hour or so at the top followed by the gruelling hike back to the van we ended up taking just over 3 hours in total, so we were please with that and it also meant we had time to get back down the coast again.

Later on after the drive back down Northland we ended up at Raetea Forest DOC campground via a quick non-inspiring stop at the 90 mile beach! This particular campsite is one of their free basic grounds heading towards the Kauri coast. It’s actually a really nice spot in a forest area and we had a few neighbours to keep us company too. Food was a real camping affair; Dave had sausages, tinned spaghetti and mushrooms.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)