Winter in New Zealand: Part II

Laura and I planned on hiking the Karangahake Gorge in the Kaimai mountain range but the raindrops on our roof told a different story. We crawled out of bed Saturday morning and debated what to do in the rain. The weather forecast showed that the Kaimai range was in clouds all day, but the west coast would get periods of sun, so we set off toward Raglan.

Stop 1: Bridal Veil Falls walk.

We reached the carpark shortly after the rain let up. There were a few Kiwi's and various tourist on the trail. Most of them were bundled up in their winter coats, hats and gloves.

The walk to the falls was very well maintained, and after only 20 minutes of walking we reached the top. The sun broke through just enough for us to see a rainbow that formed in the mist.

The path wound around to the bottom so we followed it down. Caught some great views midway and at the bottom.

After walking back to the car, we ate a brief lunch and headed in the direction of Te Toto Gorge. On the map, all the roads were marked out with the same road symbol, but Laura will tell you that they are not all equal. My adventurous spirit led our honda along a road around a montain, in hopes of seeing some good scenery.

In addition to some scenery we had to swerve around boulders in the road and drive slowly for fear that our car would break apart! Apparantly as you get away from the cities, all the roads are unpaved and rough. Laura captured this image of an escapee sheep that was on the road.

When we got to Te Toto Gorge, the wind amazed us. We wanted to hike down to the coastline, but one step against the wind made us change our minds. Te Toto gorge is along the coastline and it looks as if the whole area has just sunken into the ocean.

Stop #3- Raglan

We finally reached paved roads as we approached Raglan, but not before we forded a stream. The drive to Raglan from the Southwest takes you past some really beautiful coastline. If you google "the best left hand break in the world", many of the results will mention Raglan. Some surfers bobbed in the tide, waiting to catch the perfect wave, but our hunger drove us onward, toward town.

We finally reached Raglan and after a coffee, we took a walk along the beach. Laura also mentioned to find a playground to bring out her inner child. (not sure if the springy horsey had a weight limit, but i didn't test it)

On our way out of town, we grabbed some greasy fish and chips for dinner, but given that we had spent the day in the blowing cool weather, it was a feast.

We vowed to return when better weather returns, maybe with some visitors (did I mention it has the best left hand break in the world Brian?)