Taranaki!

After a week of intense job hunting in Wellington, we treated ourselves with a trip up to Taranaki region, a mountainous outcropping on the west coast of the North Island.

We rented a tiny car and as we drove north, saw our first glimpse of the stereotypical New Zealand: lush green plains freckled with sheep as far as the eye can see. It was a beautiful 5-hour drive through the mist to New Plymouth where we decided on a Backpacker’s place called “EcoInn” to spend our first night. By the time we arrived, it was rather rainy and cold so when we asked the owners where to set up our tent ($25 less than renting a proper room) he promptly offered his treehouse instead. The backpacker lodge as well as their main homestead was all off-the-grid, using wind, water and solar energy and with lots of interesting information posted around the premises. We played some games in their fun room, crashed in the treehouse, enjoyed a free-range omelette for breakfast, and then headed up the mountain.

Again, it was a rainy day but we were determined to spend the night in a mountain hut so after a joint contortionist routine getting dressed and packed within the dry confines of our tiny rental car, we set off up Mt. Taranaki. Our spirits were high and the rainforest scenery was spectacular so the rain didn’t daunt us at all. The cold wind hit us like a wall as we hiked above the treeline but shelter soon appeared and our efforts were rewarded with a 20-bed hut and a gas heater all to ourselves.

We awoke to clear skies and a few inches of fresh fallen snow which looked beautiful but quickly turned to wet slush as we made our way to the next hut. The fair weather brought many other trampers and we bunked in a full house, ironically sharing a 5-person bottom bunk with three other Canadians.

The third day to hike out of the park provided still more beautiful views, but our bodies were clearly not happy with the workload of the past days. Cheryl’s ankle doesn’t seem ready for the long tramps so we may spend our first month on the South Island as cyclists rather than hikers. Still some details to iron out for that plan (not to mention finishing off the job search) but we’re hopeful that the big fun will start in just a couple weeks.