Get The World

Sunday, March 23, 2008

21/3 - Cape Reinga

Hi All,

Cape Reinga is the northwest most tip of the Aupouri Peninsula, at the northern end of the North Island of New Zealand. Cape Reinga is located over 100 km north of the nearest small town of Kaitaia. It is generally considered the separation marker between the Tasman Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east. From the lighthouse it is possible to watch the tidal race, as the two seas clash to create unsettled waters just off the coast.
Here we met a nice Israeli couple - Amiad and Hilla, they are also at the end of their journey in New Zealand and about to fly away to Thailand, Nepal and India, Yoni helped them with some tips and sorts of information, it was nice to remember about some places over there, they really brought Yoni good 8 years old memories.

The good fun started when we arrived to the sand dunes, The biggest sand dunes in New Zealand, the climb to the top of the dunes was a challenge with sun, heat, loose sand and a long steep slope. We finally experienced the different views. Combination of Blue sky with green forest, deep blue see and yellow sand dunes all together made the efforts of driving here along the 90 mile beach.

Sunset a Cape Reinga:

Have fun,
Efrat and Yoni.

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19/3 - Bay of Islands

Hi All,

Whangarei
One of the biggest cities in northland (the part of New Zealnd which is northern than Auckland), here you can find the picturesque Whangarei Falls is 26.3 metres high and falls over steep basalt cliffs, The two viewing platforms above the waterfall give spectacular views of the falls.

The Bay of Islands is an area in the Northland region of the North Island of New Zealand.
It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations.

In Paihia town as usual we covered 2 view points and 1 waterfall, we are so full of it since looking at the same views over and over again, no doubt it's was very beautiful, but we couldn't see anything that was special in those places, kind of like: "been there, done that..."

for those who traveled in New Zealand and heard about Omri, it is worth to mention we met him at his so called "backpacker" and had a "nice conversation" (better to say a debate) about HIT etc...

A little bit of history: at Treaty of waitangi we finally found that unique place we were looking for, it has a great deal of history for the locals here, it was very interesting to explore it and learn a piece of history for a change.
This is a treaty first signed on February 6, 1840, by representatives of the British Crown, and various Māori (native land people) chiefs from the northern North Island.
the English and Māori language versions of the Treaty differ significantly, and so there is no consensus as to exactly what was agreed to, it caused some problems between the 2 sides, but generally it seems that two of those ethnic groups were able to solve their problems along the years.

House of Treaty:

Have fun,
Efrat and Yoni.

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Monday, March 17, 2008

17/3 - Coromandel

Hi All,

Framed by native Pohutukawa trees on the western side, beautiful white sandy beaches on the east and divided by ranges cloaked in native rain forest, the Coromandel’s 400kms of coastline offers the visitor a truly distinctive blend of experiences.
The peninsula is steep and hilly, and is largely covered in subtropical rain forest.

Hot Water Beach
Some volcanoes develop huge underground reservoirs of superheated water. Over time, this water will escape to the surface — cooling on the way. There are two fissures at Hot Water Beach issuing water as hot as 64ºC at a rate as high as 15 litres/minute. This water contains large amounts of salt (NOT salt water), calcium, magnesium, potassium, fluorine, bromine and silica.

Well, we went to this wonder with lots of expectations thinking how lovely it would be to lay down in the pool we will create to our self relaxing in the hot water, but unfortunately the waves were too strong at that time since the strong wind and it destroyed our plans. the only thing we could have done is to shove our feet in the sand underneath the water and to feel a little bit the hot stream coming out.

Cahedral Cove
This section of the Coast is a popular area, accessible from the Stone Steps Wharf at Ferry Landing and from the highway.
It took us about 30 minutes walking on the coast line to the cove to see and admire the hole in the limestone cliff. the sandy beach looked peaceful.

Kauaeranga Kauri Trail
At the bottom line we didn't like this trek since we couldn't see much other than bush and trees, which is great but not for us anymore, we are so bushed out, and this walk was a good example for it.

Generally, the peninsula offers a lot, there are several waterfalls and lookouts from the top of some mountains or hills, which view of beaches and other parts of the peninsula, but we felt after the first lookout the rest looks a bit the same.

Have fun,
Efrat and Yoni

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15/3 - Waihi

Hi All,

Waihi
Waihi is one of the most famous gold mining towns in New Zealand, the history of this period is apparent everywhere her, with production hidden behind the leafy slopes close to the main street.
here we met super-mom, Toya is a mom to 8 children, she raise them by herself and home-schooling them as well.

Karangahake Gorge:
The Karangahake Gorge region near Waihi town combines gold mining history and natural beauty, much of it accessible through a variety of walks.
we choose to do the windows walk trail, this spectacular walk passes through tunnels high up on a cliff face, with window-like openings which look down on a river gorge far below. to go inside the tunnels we had to use a torch.

Have fun,
Efrat and Yoni.

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14/3 - Tauranga

Hi All,

In Tauranga city we didn't do much except climbing on the Mount Maunganui which observe the city and the area along the beaches.

It is well recommended to stop at the strand and to try the great Hokey Pokey Ice-cream, Yoni found it delicious, he ate it like there is no tomorrow.

Have fun,

Efrat and Yoni.

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13/3 - Rotorua

Hi All,

Rotorua’s premier geothermal attraction is in New Zealand’s most colourful volcanic area, Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. Colours of every tint and hue are displayed in pools, lakes, craters and steam vents.
This place surrounded with sulphur hot springs. Ohhhhhh, they stink !!!!!

We arrived breathless 1 minutes before the biggest show here began: Lady Knox Geyser, the geyser persuaded to erupt every day with the aid of soap, which triggers an eruption, everyday at 10:15 A.M

it was nice walking around the thermal area, we slowed down at some colorful pools and sulphur steams which come out of the ground, but beside that it wasn't something special.

Have fun,
Efrat and Yoni.

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Wednesday, March 12, 2008

12/3 - Taupo

Hi All,

Taupo is a town on the shore of Lake Taupo in the centre of the North Island.
We will remember this town because of the extreme sport activities we did, of course we didn't skip the nice short walks, to Huka falls (2 hours) along the waikato river which was very impressive.

In Taupo we were lucky to find Ray and Robyn who hosted us, we got to meet them and Yoni (another Israeli guy who live with them and work in town). we had a lovely time with them and shared some nice conversations.

Bungy:
In a spontaneous way, after noticing this Bungy place and after realizing here is much cheaper than in Queenstown (the famous bungy place), Yoni decided to take the chance and do it, as you can see in this video:

Skydiving:
At the same day, after waiting for the wind to die we finnaly skydived later afternoon from 12,000 feet (=3600 meters). Efrat was the first one who jumped from the airplane, she thought she would be more scared than what turned out in reality, we really liked the free-fall which took us 45 seconds, while gliding with the parachute open was nice but not that thrilled.

Have fun,
Efrat and Yoni.

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Monday, March 10, 2008

10/3 - Tongariro

Hi All,

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing track passes over varied and spectacular volcanic terrain. In the presence of active volcanoes you can experience some of Tongariro National Park’s special gifts. A cold mountain spring, lava flows, an active crater, steam vents, emerald-coloured lakes and magnificent views of lake Taupo combine to make this an enjoyable and memorable trip.

It is consider to be the best one day walking track in New Zealand, now we can understand why. This track is so popular that at some point we felt like walking in a class trip because of all the people around us.
people say it is a very tough track, we found it not that bad, probably we are in a good shape, after doing lots of tracks in the country, it was total of 8 hours brilliant walk.