13.-15.11.2017 After 4 1/2 weeks we had to return our Jucy in Auckland. Time to walk around the city, enjoy the last days of our vacation and relax.

10.-12.11.2017 Folowing the Volcanic trail, we worked our way towards Rotorua. A stop at the volcanic area of Waiotapu and at the thermal pools in Waikite (yes, nice hot water again for our surprisingly not that sore muscles) and some more thermaly active areas in Rotorua completed our volcanic exploration. We also visited the awesome Blue Springs between Rotorua and Hamilton.

9.11.2017 4.00 Wake up 5.00 Transfer to the start of the hike 5.45 Begin of the absolutely stunning and breathtaking 7 hour hike for the Tongariro crossìng. The landscape was unique and soooo worth the effort and the sweat. Just check the pictures. After 27 nights in our Jucy we spent the night at a nice hotel in Taupo, with bathtube. Aaaaahhh...

7.-8.11.2017 After 4 weeks discovering the South Island it was time to cross over to the North Island. Always having an eye on the weather forecast we decided to head towards Taupo to be close to Tongariro National Park. It looked very much like we might get lucky with thursday weather for the 8 hour Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Preparations are in progress... If the weather was good and we mastered the challange you will find out in our next post.

3.-7.11.2017 Uppon arrival in the northern area we went for a first wine tasting and dinner and were offered to spend the night at the vineyards carpark which we greatfully accepted and had another glass of wine. Nelson and Marlborough are all about wine, good food and the beautiful sound. We tried the famous green mussels in Havelock, bought chocolates and strawberries, did more winetasting and enjoyed some beautiful walks in the Sounds.