Castlepoint was our destination for this morning. Jeanine hiked up to the lighthouse and took the photo below. I climbed up the central spine of Castlepoint Reef and put my drone to good use. On my way down, I almost tripped over a dozing seal. I am not sure who was more surprised, but I know who ran in the opposite direction as fast as he could. The seal was quite territorial and I was not able to descend past him without risk of being attacked. It took quite a bit of effort but I managed to scale my way down in a different area.

Next, we set out for Wellington, stopping only for the aerial photo below of a typical New Zealand farm and lunch.

Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne is a one-square-mile urban ecosanctuary set around a picturesque reservoir. It is home to some of New Zealand’s most rare and extraordinary wildlife. A perimeter fence keeps all the ground animals inside the park while birds stay for the food they find among the native trees. We toured the sanctuary for several hours before checking in at our AirBnb.

This morning, we drove for 2 hours to the Tongariro National Park, where we spent an equal amount of time hiking to the Taranaki Falls. The weather was perfect, and the 65-foot falls were full with yesterday’s rain. Tongariro is New Zealand’s oldest national park, a dual World Heritage area, and home to three active volcanic mountains, two of which are pictured below. After visiting the park, we drove 4 hours to Masterton. Despite my earlier claims about the lack of straight and flat roads in New Zealand, a good portion of our journey today had such stretches and a speed limit of 62mph which made the trip much less arduous.

Our primary destination this morning was Mount Taranaki in the Egmont National Park. Unfortunately, our good weather luck ran out and we faced high winds and driven rain. We had planned to hike to the Wilkies Pools and Dawson Falls but decided to forgo the former in the interest of safety. The falls were spectacular and more than justified the drive. I had hoped to photograph the three volcanoes in the park but they were covered in clouds while we were there. With a few extra hours on our hands, we decided to stop at Waihi Beach and were greatly rewarded for the detour. The beach is strewn with huge pieces of driftwood and rocks shaped by the waves and wind. During our visit, the wind speed rarely dipped below 20 mph.

Our final destination for the day was the city of Whanganui, where we visited the Durie Hill Memorial Tower before checking into our quaint AirBnb. Once settled we ventured into the downtown arts district where Jeanine purchased a pair of earrings and we enjoyed a Japanese dinner for a change of pace.

The Waitomo area features several limestone caves that are inhabited by glow worms. Only the Ruakuri Cave permits photography inside. It also contains stalactites, stalagmites, curtains, popcorn, and limestone formations of all manner. Access to the cave is by a spiral staircase that is beautiful in its own right. It also makes this the only wheelchair accessible cave in the southern hemisphere. Our guide allowed me to use my tripod for the glow worm photo which would have been impossible otherwise. Even so, the photo is not that great. You really have to see these in person to appreciate them.

After our visit to the cave, we had hoped to hike to the Three Sisters and Elephant Rock. Unfortunately, it started to rain so heavily that we opted to drive directly to our bed and and breakfast in New Plymouth.

Rotorua is known for its rich Māori culture and otherworldly geothermal landscapes. Today, our focus was on the latter. We spent several hours hiking through the Waimangu Volcanic Valley where we were treated to some very beautiful sights. When we arrived at the Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland we had just missed the entry time cut-off of 3 PM so I had to settle for a high altitude drone image so as not to disturb anyone in the park.

Prior to our geothermal adventures, we visited the National Kiwi Hatchery, where we got to see an 11-day-old baby kiwi and three juveniles. Regrettably, photography of birds within the facility is strictly prohibited, so I had to settle for the image below. It is estimated that a total of 25,000 birds remain in the wild and the hatchery has contributed 10% of that number to the total since its inception moving the national icon off the critically endangered list.

Here is what a real baby Kiwi looks like (from the Smithsonian website).

Rotorua is also known for its amazingly dark skies. For the second night in a row, we enjoyed a spectacular view of the Milky Way galaxy. It is a shame that this has become such a rare opportunity for most people.

Neither Jeanine nor I have read or watched the Lord of the Rings or the Hobbits trilogy. At the behest of our kids, who are rabid fans of Tolkien’s works, we included a visit to Hobbiton to our itinerary. I am thankful we did. Even absent context, the place is magically wondrous. The attention to detail and whimsy that can be found everywhere is amazing. Note to kids: These photos are but a tiny sampling of all the photos I shot. We thank you for encouraging us to visit this special place.

After a light snack at the Green Dragon, we drove to Hell’s Gate, a sulfurous geothermal site near Rotorua. It was interesting but not particularly photogenic, and neither one of us was interested in taking the mud baths for which it is best known.

Jeanine learned of a nearby Kiwi bird rescue sanctuary, but we just missed their last tour when we arrived. After reserving a spot for tomorrow, we took a tour of the next-door Agrodome, where we were introduced to 19 species of live sheep, three breeds of sheep herding dogs, watched demonstrations of sheep sheering and the dogs playing (literally running across the backs of all the sheep in the back row) and working (driving sheep into a pen). On a tractor tour of the farm we had a chance to feed the sheep and lamas.

Our day finished with a Mitai Maori Village dinner and cultural experience. We learned about the Indigenous people of the area and witnessed their forms of welcome, celebration, and warfare. I was chosen as Chief of the visitors and had to meet with the local Chief on stage and give a speach on behalf of my tribe (the 200-person audience). Maintaining uninterrupted eye contact was crucial to demonstrate our good will and to prevent the outbreak of hostilities.

The tiny town of Hahei, population 300, receives half a million visitors a year who flock here to visit Cathedral Cove and the other natural wonders of the coastline. We started the day with a boat tour that was both informative and thrilling as we flew over the 1 meter swells en route to the geographic features of the coastline and into the Te Whanganui-A-Hei Marine Reserve. Our fist destination was Cathedral Cove and the arched sea cave for which it is named. Later in the day we would return on foot.

The Orua sea cave, located further south, was equally impressive and large enough for us to maneuver into with the boat.

Mahurangi Island is a sanctuary for birds, sea mammals, fish, turtles. and also features sea arches and caves.

After our boat tour, we hiked back to Cathedral Cove. It was a relatively short 2.6-mile round trip with steep up-and-down sections that left my knees barking by the end. Totally worth it.

In the afternoon, we visited Hot Water Beach where it is possible to dig into the sand allowing hot water to escape to the surface forming a hot water pool. The water, with a temperature as hot as 147 °F, filters up from two underground fissures. Visitors dig large holes and relax and soak in the thermal baths. Click on the overhead aeriel view to observe the many excavations and styles of relaxation.

After Jeanine got her fish tacos at Hotties, we set out for a 2-hour drive to Matamata.