Travel stories from australia and new zealand

Travel stories from australia and new zealand, in 2004

Hi everybody,

My mailing habits have been disgraceful of late, so high time to write another report about my travel experiences.

I finished my last mail on the north island of new zealand. On the Coramandel peninsular there are some beautiful walks along the coast, and the sea has created huge caves and ´cathedrals´in the cliffs. For the walk, we enlisted the services of a local guide, a Jack Russel that faithfully guided us there and back again. In the evening we went to Hot Water Beach. And underground stream with really hot water that emerges just at the point where the sea meets the beach at low tide. The trick is to dig a hole that keeps most of the seawater out and the hot water in. So everybody is shoveling like madmen and then takes some well earned rest in the warm water. I think the sight of all the shoveling people was propbably better than the water. And since every once in a while a wave of cold seawater breaks the dam, all the fun can start agaim from scratch.

The next day we drove to Roturoa. You can smell the city from a distance. The whole area is filled with mud pools, geysers, steamholes and this makes the whole city smell like rotten eggs, 24/7. very different from the smell of potpourri, but i guess it´s an acauired smell. Near Roturoa there´s a park which contains the famous Lady Knox Geyser that `erupts` every morning at precisely 10:15, winter or summer time. How is this wonder of nature achieved? By pouring soap into the geyser about 15 min beforehand. Has a surprising effect, as convicts from a nearby camp first noticed when they tried to do theor laundry 100 years ago.

The next day we planned to do the Tongariro crossing, said to be one of the best once day walks in Nz. Foirtunately, we had some good weather that day for a change. You start of with a steep climb though vulcanic rock, and then cross one fo the old craters, now a barren black bowl. After some more climbing you get a beautiful view of the Emerald lakes, blue-green water in contrast with blue skies and brown/black rock. Some clouds are in the way though, and i can only imagine how beatiful it must be on a perfect day.

The next day we drive back to Auckland. Along the way we make two stops: the glowworm caves and a soda pool. The Waitomo caves house a bunch of glowworms, actually the larvae of a fly. They nest on the ceiling and lure their prey by producing a speck of light. In the dark it´s just like looking up at an exceptionally bright starry sky. My attempts to make them spell out my name unfortunately amounted to nothing. The soda pool was an unexpected bonus. We had time to kill, it was raining and it looked like a good idea. Turned out to be the oldest spa in Nz with natural soda water of between 40 and 45 degrees celcius. Aaaaaaaaah.

That´s it for beautiful new zealand. Back to Aus. Alice turns out to be slightly chillier than expected (still above 20 degrees). We first take a look at some canyons and then gead towards Uluru. Our Toyota now contains 6 people, their luggage, sleeping bags, 2 tents, gas cooker and bottle, eski, pots and pans, sleeping mats and food. A miracle of stacking and pushing. Ayers rock is very impressive, none of the photos seem to do justice to the gignatic proportions of that piece of red stone. We´re fortunate enough to have a full moon rising above the rock, a kodak moment for us and the 500 other tourists there ...

We drive up to darwin in a few days, and try to cañp near to waterfalls or swimholes every day as the temperature increases. Most memorable camping spot: right after a shower, humiditiy 200%, heat and a country duo that´s been performing since the 50ties but can still use a few pointers from the average karaoke singer. They play classics till late at night.

Kakadu national park is definitely worth mentioning. The boat ride on the river is beautiful and everywhere you look there´s birds and crocodiles. Lichfield park is gorgeous too aith a great swimming hole at the base of a waterfall, surrounded by steep cliffs and dense jungle.

Fron Darwin we take the plane to Cairns and take the boat to Fitzroy island. Two days of snorkeling, reading and general laziness concude my first month in style. Back in Sydney it´s goodbye to the belgian friends....

A lot of lines, and I even left out heaps. By now I´ve already spent a few weeks in Ecuador, so I need to start writing about that soon. Hope you enjoyed this part of my travels, and hope you´re having at least as much fun as me ;-)

Talk to you later,

nico