In the interest of time and with the reality of more cycling looming on the horizon (lucky me!), I'm going to abbreviate my New Zealand posts. I spent about 10 weeks there at the cusp of 2013/2014 with the goals of hiking and generally playing outside.
Paihia:
Gentle hikes at the northern end of the island.
Waitomo:
Not even a week into my trip, I started to travel with Angela, a woman from Martinique I'd met at my Auckland hostel. Our first stop together was to see the glow worm caves at Waitomo. The caves were beautiful and super fun–hopefully I'll be able to retrieve those photos before too long to share with you. Perhaps just as enjoyable as the caves were the farm animals at our hostel.
Rotorua:
The whole town stinks of sulfer but the upside is that the hot springs are a good time. Further from the center of town is the Redwood Forest which is great for mountain biking if you enjoy finding yourself in a muddy creek, and even better for hiking.
Tongariro Crossing:
Lord of the Rings fan know this best as the home of Mount Doom, but for me it was a gorgeous and dramatic landscape to hike through.
Pouakai Circuit:
Our hostel was full due to the tattoo convention in town so Angela and I set out on a 3 day/2 night hike where we played cards all night with a pair of French backpackers.
Wellington:
I hardly took any photos here, due in equal parts to the rain which kept us inside and a thriving nightlife! Angela and I met up again with Corentin and Guillaume, the French guys from Pouakai Circuit, and from then on, the 4 of traveled together until it was time for me to leave New Zealand!
