After the excellent tour from Rotorua to Gisborne I had a quite cozy and relatively cheap accommodation at a campsite in a hut in Gisborne. Due to my still existing jetlag I could get up quite early again and continue my trip. The choice this time was to drive further south, or rather to drive west. I decided for the direction west, because in the end not so many choices existed regarding the roads and drove in the direction of Himatangi Beach to the west coast. In between I made a stop in Napier on the east coast.
Driving Along the East Coast of New Zealand
I was now able to go on a bit more of an excursion and left Rotorua for a round trip on the North Island. My first goal was to drive east to the sea and then follow the road south along the sea. My final stop for the day was then Gisborne.
Driving Around Lake Taupo
This time the round trip went to the southwest of Rotorua. There lies a completely different looking landscape than on the eastern coast, with high mountains of volcanoes and centrally Lake Taupo, which ultimately also forms the caldera of a supervolcano. So I drove from Rotorua towards Taupo, around it and finally also around Mt Ruapehu, the highest mountain of the North Island and back to Rotorua.
New Zealand – Rotorua, Mt Maunganui & Okere Falls
Another day in Rotorua in New Zealand. This time I had a little more time and decided to drive a little further towards the Bay of Plenty in addition to the local free hot springs. At the large northern Bay of Plenty is the not to be overlooked Mount Maunganui, which first looks quite high from below, but ultimately can be climbed quite quickly. From the top, the view was extremely good and also the weather played along this time. On the way back I passed the Okere Falls. These can also be visited free of charge, so I paid them a visit shortly before sunset.
New Zealand – Around Rotorua
By chance I managed to get to New Zealand after all. After an incredibly long journey with a one-night stopover in Sydney, I arrived in Rotorua. I had some time to look around now and made some small excursions into the surroundings of Rotorua.
Walking North Head to Manly in January 2023
My last day off in January 2023 took me on a short hike that I had done two or three times before. It went again with the ship from Sydney Circular Quay to Manly and then on foot along the North Head back to Manly. The weather was this time slightly rainy, but that did not bother, because still warm and thus not too warm. In addition, not too many people disturbed.
Hiking From Thirroul to Stanwell Park
As with the hike before, this time we headed south again into the beautiful area just south of Royal National Park. This time I had chosen a hike from Thirroul to Stanwell Park on the map. From the train station Thirroul it went through jungle vegetation and finally steeply up to the plateau. Then it went most of the time on the plateau in the direction of Stanwall Park and there again down to the sea and finally with the rail replacement service back to Sydney. The hike took place in January 2023.
Hiking Around Stanwell Park
Another interesting area that is quite easily accessible from Sydney are the stations just south of the Royal National Park. Unfortunately, the trip here also takes about 2 hours, but the trip to the Blue Mountains takes much longer. I’ve driven through the area a few times by car, but never hiked through. So I decided for an easy and quite short hike, early 2023 around the small village of Stanwell Park.