Week Two
Leaving the farmlands bordering Auckland on Wednesday, Isabel, Ally and I finally got a taste of the New Zealand wilderness. We began by driving to the Northlands, where we were met by beautiful, yet treacherous mountain roads on our way to our first camp site in Maitai Bay. Following the east coast down through Lang's Beach once the weather lightened up, we crossed inland and reached Piha for a beautiful night at a campsite in the centre of town. From there, we traveled to Coromandel for two nights before spending a long day of driving from Athenree to Rotorua with several hours at the Waitomo Caves in between.
Northlands
Although almost the entirety of our stay in Maitai bay was spent under a tarp through torrential rain, the weather let off for several short periods, during which we were able to swim in the bay and escape onto a peninsula of rock, clay and jungle, where I spent close to an hour wading in a cove, taking photos of the waves as they crashed over the rocks (and myself). We made several stops along the way, including a night at Motutara Farm and a spelunking trip in the Waipu Caves (glowworms included).
Piha
Although this was a single campsite and tramping spot, I thought Piha deserved its own gallery just for its serene beauty. Piha is a little cove town not far west of Auckland, with an interesting rock formation at the centre of its beach. There are a number of wealthy summer homes on the hills surrounding the centre of town, giving the hills to the east an interesting night-time glow below the stars as the sun bows below the west horizon.
Coromandel Peninsula
We were amazingly lucky to have calm, sunny weather in Coromandel. Both our campsites were stunning, as were Cathedral Cove and the Hot Water Beach. This area is especially touristic, as were the Waitomo Caves and Hobbiton. However, the further South we travel from Auckland, the less crowded and monetized the sights appear to become. Apart from Queenstown and Milford Sound, I hope to find far more disconnected tramping routes once we have passed through Wellington to the South Island.