Our next stop after Taupo was Rotorua for a little thrill action (i.e. white water rafting). We figured we could not leave New Zealand without doing some sort of extreme sport. It was a good experience, however was a little commercial as the 4-5 rafts stayed together and basically played bumper boats all the way down the river. The highlight was definitely the 7 meter waterfall that we got to "ride" down!!
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| Stylish Rafting Outfits |
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| Cathedral Cove |
No rest for the wary as our next destination was Whakatane to see Olivia's (Kyle’s wife) parents house and say hello to her parents. On our way we stopped at a campsite right on the beach in Matata. We have really gotten used to living out of a camper van and have loved just being able to drive and pull off the road when we see a nice place to stay or are tired. Again, the weather that next day was not in our favor as we had planned to do a boat trip out to the famous White Island volcano. Unfortunately, the waves were too high for it to be safe to land on the island, so our trip was cancelled. Instead of spending the night at Olivia’s parents, we decided to just stop in and say hi before heading to our next destination= Coromandel Point. In Coromandel, we stopped off at a couple key spots that were recommended to us by friends or fellow travelers along the way. We first stopped at Hot Water beach, which if you come in the right season, you can essentially dig yourself a hole in the ground and sit in yourself made spa! The geothermal hot water from below the surface rises up and heats the sand creating a spa/jacuzzi effect. Considering the weather was cold & rainy, we were less than excited about digging holes in the sand and getting in our bathing suits. So we packed it up and headed up north to Cathedral Cove. This was a beautiful spot along the water, where the crash of the waves has created a tunnel like cove right on the beach, called Cathedral Cove!
We didn’t get the chance to go all the way through Coromandel as we did have a few days set for Auckland as our final destination, so we drove our final leg of the trip with Jucy to Auckland and met Kyle and his family. They were generous enough to let us stay in the house with them and we loved being in a home setting finally…it had been over 4 months since we had left home! We spent our last few days on the other side of the world soaking in the sights around Auckland: 1) wine tasting / accompanying Kyle to work on Waiheke Island, a beautiful island just off of Auckland that has some spectacular wineries & views, 2) Taking a day trip to the breathtaking Piha Beach and spending an afternoon there, and finally 3) Enjoying what the city has to offer by spending time seeing the sights, walking along the pier admiring the hundreds of sailboats and partaking in Auckland’s dining & nightlife scene. We even almost extended our trip yet again…to go somewhere in the pacific islands – either Tahiti or Samoa islands. Sadly, we opted out of it because reality was loudly knocking on our door.
We said good bye to Kyle, his family and our dream of a vacation early on Sunday morning, boarded our 14 hr plane and headed back to the place we call home – San Francisco. Our final days leading up to our departure were bitter sweet, but we hope to make this journey back to these faraway lands again! This trip gave us new perspective on life, renewed our desire to travel, learn & experience new cultures, and invigorated our reality. It really was the trip of a lifetime; that we hope to repeat again and again and again….
Until next time,
Shaun & Rayann!
We didn’t get the chance to go all the way through Coromandel as we did have a few days set for Auckland as our final destination, so we drove our final leg of the trip with Jucy to Auckland and met Kyle and his family. They were generous enough to let us stay in the house with them and we loved being in a home setting finally…it had been over 4 months since we had left home! We spent our last few days on the other side of the world soaking in the sights around Auckland: 1) wine tasting / accompanying Kyle to work on Waiheke Island, a beautiful island just off of Auckland that has some spectacular wineries & views, 2) Taking a day trip to the breathtaking Piha Beach and spending an afternoon there, and finally 3) Enjoying what the city has to offer by spending time seeing the sights, walking along the pier admiring the hundreds of sailboats and partaking in Auckland’s dining & nightlife scene. We even almost extended our trip yet again…to go somewhere in the pacific islands – either Tahiti or Samoa islands. Sadly, we opted out of it because reality was loudly knocking on our door. 
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