The Kaimanawa Forest is a little known nature park full of surprising sights. I’m amazed this forest is just minutes away from the famous Tongoriro National Park yet very few people have heard of it. The park has amazing walks, multi-day hikes, small waterfalls and fantastic gorges.
We went to see the Pillars of Hercules and [...]
There are a few different walks in the Kaimanawa Forest. I mentioned the Urchin Track and Summit in yesterday’s blog post and there are two other neat sites to see in the park, Tree Trunk Gorge and the Pillars of Hercules.
Tree Trunk Gorge
Heading south on Desert Road the Kaimanawa Forest is on the left and [...]
The Urchin Track and Summit is located in the Kaimanawa Forest and leads to the Waipakihi Valley, where you can continue your hike for a loop around the small mountain range staying at the 4 huts in the area.
When we started the Urchin Track we were just looking for a fun day hike. We had [...]
Next to Lake Taupo, just a few minutes drive from Turangi, is a very easy walk through the woods. The walk is shaded nearly the whole way and the gentle breeze from the wake keeps you cool as you stroll around the winding path listening to bird calls and admiring the foliage.
There are no [...]
As I slid down the white rock grasping for anything to hold on to, I thought, if I don’t slow down I might actually die. It seems like something you would read in a fiction book or see in a movie. Being from Florida, where the highest point you reach above sea level is in [...]
On the same day we visited Tawhai Falls we saw the Taranaki Falls. This waterfall was much higher and you could even hike behind it, so you could view the world from the other side of a waterfall!
The Taranaki Falls is located on a 2 hour hike in Tongariro National Park. It is off Highway [...]
I’ve been itching to see waterfalls since we landed in Fiji back in December, but for some reason or another they’ve always eluded us. Yesterday I decided that enough time had past and I was determined to see at least one waterfall. Lucky for me, we actually saw three that day!
It was a little rainy, [...]
The Motuoapa Scenic lookout is one of my favorite lookouts around Lake Taupo. It is a short, uphill hike just off State Highway 1. Turn into the Motuoapa Lodge and park directly in front of the sign for the lookout. The hike is only about 10 minutes to the lookout platform, but the steep incline [...]