Auckland (day 1)
On the 18th of November, two of my roommates and I left really early in the morning to explore one of Australia's neighbours: New Zealand. With an early flight we arrived in our Auckland hostel around 2 pm, leaving us enough time to see the city. Seeking shelter from the rain we decided to hop into the art gallery to see some New Zealand and Maori art, after which we walked around the city to take in our first views of one of the world's most stunning countries. If you consider going to New Zealand, however, I'll tell you now that staying in cities is not worth your time. For us it provided a relaxed start to our trip as we were very tired from getting up at 3 am, but if you are short on time, get out of the bigger cities as fast as possible!

Taupo (day 2+3)
Our first stop after Auckland was Taupo, a city with about 30,000 inhabitants situated at the Taupo lake. Our hostel manager gave us the tip to walk to the Huka falls just downstream from the lake, and the tip could not have been better! After an hour walking up- and downhill, we were rewarded with an ice blue waterfall that carries down 220,000 litres of water every second!


An hour drive from Taupo we did the world-famous Tongrariro Alpine Crossing. This 7-hour hike is one of the most popular day hikes in New Zealand and is well-known for its stunning views along the track. With 19.4 kilometers in length, it is no wonder that there is enough to see. Crossing past 3 active volcanoes, glacial valleys, crater lakes while walking on the lava flows is surreal. Starting off with an easy 1.5 hour flat walk through the Mangatepopo Valley at 1120m, you have enough time to warm up from the cold blasting wind that blows through the valley before starting one of the most intense parts of the hike: the Devil's staircase. This steep increase from 1400 to 1600m up on the South Crater after which there is another steep increase up the Red Crater to the highest point on the crossing at 1886m. Though these climbs are intense, they are doable with a moderate level of fitness if you take your time, and we did it with our Nike shoes. The most difficult part, for me at least, was the descend down the Red Crater to the Ngarotopunamu or Emerald Lakes. The loose scoria  (a type of volcanic rock) moves with every step you take and made me end up with an extra (temporary) souvenir from New Zealand: a big bruise on my butt. After passing the blue-green Emeral Lakes, the hardest parts are over, however it now comes to perseverance. You are tired, your feet hurt and your bag is bouncing on your newly acquired bruise, but you still have 3 more hours to go. Most of this is descending down to the Ketetahi hut and then further down to the Ketetahi car park, and though that sounds easy, it puts a lot of strain on your knees and feet. Luckily, though, the views are so worth it! Down at the car park your shuttle awaits to bring you back to your car (after all, you do not want to hike back those 19.4 kilometers, so make sure you arrange this in time!)





Here are our beautiful before, midway-through and after selfies!

Taupo, and the Tongariro Crossing, were defnitely worth it, and should be on anyone's list when visiting New Zealand!

Rotorua (day 4+5)
After our intense hike it was time to see some more of the volcanic landscapes that make New Zealand so unique and diverse. We visited Wai-o-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, an active geothermal area in New Zealand's Taupo Volcanic Zone. We first went of to see the Lady Knox Geyser blasting water in the air, after which we set off to see the Champagne Pool, mud pools, hot springs and of course the unremarkable smell of sulfur. Due to the different minerals in the area, the different pools and undergrounds have remarkable colours, and the Artist's Palette gets its name from the blended range of colours in its pool. The temperature of some of the waters are near 100 degrees Celsius, leading to a lot of steam and bubbels. It really was fascinating to see so many different types of volcanic activity in one place!






Just 10 minutes from Wai-o-Tapu, still in the volcanic region, there is Kerosine Creek. Free free hot springs were you can bathe in, and despite its name it is totally safe to do so. The water is a perfect warm temperature and the forest around the stream creates a nice shelter from the burning sun. It took some effort to get there as I had to drive off-road, but it is definitely worth it!


Near Rotorua you will also find the Redwood National Forest, which is home to the Californian Coast Redwood trees. We did a very nice walk there and enjoyed the smells of nature while the tall trees around us sheltered us from the blasting sun.

A bit further north we did the Karangahake Windows Walk through the old mining shafts from that region. The views from the four 'windows' in the mining shafts were spectacular and it was a good stop on our way to Hahei.

Hahei (day 6)
Though the road there is very difficult as crossing the Coromandel National Park means endless bends in the roads with a dangerous cliff on your side, this quite northern part of the Island is well worth the trip. We didn't actually stay in Hahei due to very high prices, but in the small beach town Whitianga. We arrived just in time to see the sun set into the South Pacific Ocean leaving behind a rainbow of colours.

Near Hahei we first went to the Shakespear Cliff Reserve where we had a very good lookout on the surrounding cliffs and the ocean. We spent most of our morning on Lonely Bay, which name was chosen very well, as there was almost no one else on this stunning beach. Another highlight you cannot miss when you're around Hahei is the Cathedral Cove. After a 45 mintue walk along the coastline and down the cliffs you arrive at a stunning arched rock formation. Cathedral Cove is well-known for beind used in the movie version of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, when the children first re-enter Narnia. After this stunning walk we set off to one of the funniest things we have seen along our trip: Hot Water Beach. This part of the coastline is heated by thermal energy, warming up the water under the sand. For just $5 you can rent a shovel and dig your own hot spring. Nothing better than chilling in your own hot tub with a spectacular view on the cold ocean right (check the water first though, it can literally be boiling)? Just be aware it can be very very busy and that if you want to find a spot for your own hot tub, you need to arrive even before the tides have gone down enough. We did not arrive this early due to our chill morning at Lonely Bay, and thus we had to make do with watching tip toe-ing into some of the already digged pools.

Luckily, though, the beach itself provided enough stunning views and we enjoyed the last bits of the day in the car back to Auckland as we would catch a flight to the south Island the next day!