Our Kauri Trip Begins
We woke up early to have breakfast and get ourselves ready for our adventure on the north island. We met our group in a hotel lobby. Shortly thereafter, we met our very excellent guides, Paul and Cam. It became clear immediately that Paul was the Clever One and Cam was the Good Looking One. Anyway, that is how they referred to themselves.
We were divided into two vans of 6 each and a guide. Our first stop was a crater in Auckland that previously served as a volcano and later as a storage spot for Maori food. At the moment, it is a park, with cows wandering around in the background. While the weather was not perfect, we still had some good views.
We then left to go to our first hiking spot. On the way, we stopped off at a farm where we had scones and coffee. We then wandered around and noticed an ingenious lawnmower. We also had a chance to meet the farm animals, including a baby horse.
Then it was back into our van and off to Karangahake Gorge. We walked along an old mining trail, going through old railroad tunnels.
Next we hit Orokawa Beach. The town was a beach town but shockingly, and unlike beach towns in the US, NO ONE WAS THERE. There are just no people in NZ. It is really wonderful! Anyway, we had lunch in the park across from the beach and then hiked on to another beach. We saw lots of bottle brush trees that were in bloom along the way. The weather was a little on the cloudy side so we weren't so eager to leap into the ocean. But it was really beautiful.
Later we arrived at our lodging and then headed into town to the Fat Dog Cafe for dinner. We were pleased to begin our sampling of local wines.
Click here for pics.
