28/12/2017 - Cape Palliser - southernmost point of the North Island of New Zealand

We decided to spend New Year's Eve in the capital of New Zealand. But the journey from Napier to Wellington would have been too long for us in one day. That's why we made a stopover at the southernmost point of the North Island - Cape Palliser. But before we reached it, the drive took us past a place that bears one of the longest place names in the world: 'Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu' - so, when did you give up? ;) This place name is an abbreviation for 'The hilltop where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, who slid, climbed, and swallowed mountains, played his flute to his brother.' - Anyway, it is often used as a photo motif, and so we also posed on and beside the sign.
Afterwards, our car journey continued. After about 280 kilometers, we finally arrived at our destination. But where was the campsite? Shouldn't it have come much earlier? When we finally arrived at the southernmost point of the North Island and there was no further way for us to go, we had actually already arrived at the lighthouse, it was clear: We had passed the campsite, no matter how that could happen. Well, then we'll just visit the lighthouse today, which can only be viewed up close after 251 steps. But the view from the top is worth it - you have a breathtaking view over the endless sea and the beautiful surroundings with its rocky cliffs.
Now it was time to look for the campsite.
Since we were very far outside civilization, the choice of sleeping options was very limited. It is even recommended to make a reservation.
On our second attempt, we finally found the campsite. It is located in the middle of a hill and from every pitch you have a nice view of the sea.
The later it got, the stronger the wind became. Violent gusts of wind were announced for the next day.

The weather service had not promised too much - we could hardly get out of the car the next morning. The winds kept pushing the doors shut on Tobi's side. Pouring rain was added to this, so we spent the whole morning playing pool. As the weather gradually calmed down, we set off for our destination today. The 'Putangirua Pinnacles' were only 20 minutes away from our campsite. They are rock formations that have already served as a filming location for "The Lord of the Rings". You can explore this area on two hiking trails. One leads through the adjacent forest to a viewpoint. We opted for the other one - it leads along a stream bed to the actual attraction - the 'Pinnacles'. We had a great time exploring the area. Since there is no designated hiking route, you had to find your way through the rocky riverbed. The view of the Pinnacles is impressive. These bizarre rock formations and their dimensions are hard to put into words. Each 'stone', which was actually several small stones clumped together with a mud compound, had an individual shape. But not only the riverbed was used as a filming location for 'The Lord of the Rings'. For all you connoisseurs out there - we searched for the 'entrance' on the Path of the Dead, where Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli awaited the army of the dead. You can never be 100% sure if you have been to the actual filming location, but it came very close to the film.
After we had enough of this rocky ground, we made our way to the lookout point. After a short but very steep climb, we reached it. The view from above offered a completely different view of the Pinnacles.
Now we had to decide whether we wanted to walk back to the car through the forest or along the riverbed. We chose the second option again and imitated the three brave warriors.
After this exciting experience, our stomachs were growling. So we went back to the campsite and cooked ourselves lunch, only to visit a seal colony shortly afterwards, which is only 15 minutes away. You could smell them from afar and shortly afterwards see them too. As mentioned before, this region of the North Island is not very crowded. We were able to park our car in peace and watch the busy life of the sea lions. Two other backpackers thought it was necessary to get as close as possible to the animals. This resulted in a dangerous situation! A fully grown male sea lion suddenly ran out of the colony and blocked the escape route for the two girls. So they were trapped on a rock for a short time. Together with another visitor, we tried to distract the bull a little and after a short time he let them pass. After this little shock, everyone calmed down and the sea lions went back to their normal daily routine. Most of them were lying relaxed on their backs, looking for the ideal lying position. It was simply incredible - to observe wild seals in their natural environment. We had a hard time saying goodbye to them, but the wind picked up again and it was getting colder. On the way back, we made a short stop by the roadside. A few sea lions came particularly close to the road to take a cozy nap. Then the road led us back along the coast towards the campsite.
But there was one curious thing we had to capture with photos. In the small neighboring fishing village of "Ngawi", there are many bulldozers in the center, right on the main road. These are used to pull the fishing boats ashore on the pebble beach. It was a really curious sight to see all the bulldozers with their boats standing on the beach.