Day 15 - 18: Tunnelphobia

22.02.18 - 25.02.18: Wairata- Opotiki- Tauranga- Hamilton- Lake Ngaroto

The wilderness was really something. First we drove a few kilometers on a gravel road (and saw many chicken-like birds) to get to a huge free camping ground. The perfect spot was quickly found. We were so far the only ones who found this beautiful, extremely remote place.

Since it was still about 26 degrees warm, we first went down to a river to cool off. It was very, very, very cold and Phil decided not to go swimming. So we built a pool to dam up the water and hoped that it would be a little warmer in the morning.

At about 9:00 p.m. it started pouring rain. In a short time, there was a huge puddle around us. Since we were still the only ones at the campsite, we felt a bit uneasy. So we parked the car on the road so that we wouldn't get stuck in the grass the next morning.

The next day the sun welcomed us again. Shining blue sky but still a bit chilly. So we skipped the morning bath in our super pool and headed towards Tauranga. There we bought something for dinner and headed to the campsite. Unfortunately, the pools at our first choice, a campsite with hot pools, were closed for renovation. Since we would have had to pay more than with pool, we decided against this place and drove a bit further. We soon found a nice camping site with many permanent campers. They are a funny little bunch.

We showered, washed our clothes again, and made ourselves comfortable. Soon our stomachs were calling and we made another mixed salad, this time with homemade garlic bread.

Of course, we also tried out our newly acquired fan to cool down the charger. It works perfectly :) (it only got lukewarm). And we were even able to use the toaster. So yes, Corinne, the fan and Apollo get along great.

Yesterday we drove to the Owaroa Falls. Of course, not before we had a flat white and a fruit juice in Waihi. While slurping my apple, peach, mango juice, I was actually shat on twice by a sparrow... a bit annoyed, we went back to the van and I washed my hair first.

The Owaroa Falls then compensated me for the mishap. It was beautiful, but there were also quite a few people.

So we continued to a former gold mine. There are different long walkways through this mine. We decided to start with the shortest one (about 1 hour), as I didn't know how my hip/thighs would cope (yes, 40 is not the new 30!!!). It was an interesting walk and when we got back, we added the other walk.

This circular walk took us through a about 1.2 km long tunnel. It was high, it was wide, you could see daylight at the back and front, and it was illuminated. So it might work with my claustrophobia. Honestly, it didn't look that long either... So far so good, I walked all the way to the end, even though I wanted to turn around in between (even when going back, it seemed further than going forward). After this tunnel, the path followed along a river, which was very beautiful. That made up for the torture and I was a bit proud of myself for keeping my rising panic under control (40 is not the new 30 :)).

After the walk, we decided to drive to a DOC campsite that was nearby. It was pretty crowded but cool. There were many locals spending the weekend there. They set up their tents, go swimming in the river, have barbecues, and are happy together. After cooling off in the river, we packed our camera equipment and went on a bird hunt. We saw two Eastern Rosellas, two kingfishers, some Silvereye, and a Fernbird. After dinner, we chatted with a German couple next to us until late at night.