At peaceful lakes, in exciting forests and hot baths

We have thought long and hard about whether it is right to write these lines. But it is part of our journey and has shaped this section of the journey. When our first photo for this post was taken, we received the news that my grandfather had been relieved of a long illness. Therefore, at this point, we would like to briefly remember a very valuable, humorous, sensitive and naturally musical person who will be greatly missed, with this image.

The region we visited, Rotorua, is strongly geothermal. This means there are many hot springs, it smells (stinks) of sulfur, and there are countless (expensive) attractions. Since we wanted to be in nature and not spend too much money, we put together a four-day hike around two lakes, with three nights camping in tents and far away from civilization.

The tour started on December 2nd. We arrived at our first lake, Lake Okataina (the laughing lake), very calm and idyllic. This was then circumnavigated. Again adventurous, as the path was constantly blocked by fallen trees and rocks, and we had to climb over them with heavy luggage.

But the first campsite at Lake Tarawera made up for the effort. We were able to go swimming and had a delicious noodle dinner from the camping stove.

The next morning, we could have a relaxed breakfast (muesli with little apples) because the path was not so long. In the afternoon, we went for a hike to a waterfall. The impressions can be described as idyllic, sporty, jungle feeling, and impressive again. We feel that we love being in nature, sleeping under the open sky, listening to the wind and birds, and pondering our own thoughts.

We were all alone at the next campsite. With fantastic sunset pictures, we were looking forward to the morning when a water taxi would pick us up and take us to the third camping bay, which was only accessible by water.

This hot-water beach is filled with hot springs at the rock shores. This is up to 85 degrees hot and we pre-cooked our coffee water in the pot. The lake water is particularly hot near the shore, you burn your feet to get into the cooler lake water. On our day of visit, it was about 28 degrees and the water did not offer proper cooling. A free spa on an idyllic beach. Only in the evening, the campsite was taken over by a 50-strong class, who immediately claimed the bathing area. But at 10:00 PM, there was peace👍. We enjoyed the whole day at this magnificent place.

The last day had a 15 km hike on the program, which was not a problem for us, but it was very hot again and the climbs were steep. In the end, the water was used up, our pick-up service forgot about us, we were standing alone in a parking lot in the middle of nowhere, and we were happy and satisfied.........!

Tomorrow (9.12.) we will embark on another highlight of the trip - the crossing of the Tongariro Alpine Area. Here we will be on the road for three days. With another rest day, we will then start a 6-7 day canoe trip on the Whanganui River. We are slowly but surely approaching Christmas and thus the southernmost point of the North Island - Wellington.

In the coming days, we will probably have little contact with the outside world, but after that, we will certainly have a lot to report.

In conclusion, the past few days have once again been significant for us in slowing down the often fast-paced life and consciously perceiving our senses and emotions.

This time, we send special greetings to our family, we think of you very often.

Susi and Andreas