NZ - Dec. 8, 2013 - Mt. Taranaki, Goblin Forest, Waverley Beach, and Wanganui

We woke up early to try and get a view of Mt. Taranaki, but no luck.  It was sunny at first, but then a big storm rolled through and we knew we had no chance.  So we went about our breakfast (lamb sausage, chutney, fruit, spinach, eggs, and veggies) and left the site by 10:15.

We had planned on doing a volcano hike, but the weather was so bad that we got talked out of it at the visitor centre.  After much debate from a grumpy group we decided to get a hot cup of coffee and go on a shorter, easier hike in the Goblin Forest.  Luckily the weather had improved by then!

The hike was only one hour, but it was super cool.  Everything was spongy to walk on and covered in moss, so we had our second photo contest.  The results were basically everyone else taking pictures of me in different poses...

Photo credit: Kat

Photo credit: Kat

Photo credit: Kat

Photo credit: Kat

Photo credit: Ryan P

Photo credit: Ryan P

Photo credit: Ryan R

Then we headed south and passed a sign for a place called Volca No View, which was perfect because there really was no view at all the entire time.

Next stop was a place called Waverley Beach which was listed in one of our off-road tourist books called NZ Frenzy.  To get there we went down all sorts of weird side roads with no signs, then all of a sudden we found a gun range, a golf course, and a tiny little subdivision with access to the beach and some crazy cliffs.  It was high tide and the waves were ginormous, but the view was really neat.  We did lots of exploring, which involved timing the waves and running across the inlet while it was dry.  Sometimes it worked better than others!

While the boys were playing in the waves, Kat and I decided to explore around the top of the cliff to see if we could get to the other side that way.  There were all sorts of really cool tall plants, but unfortunately there was a river and fence so we couldn't get around.

The thing is, though, we didn't actually tell the guys that we went exploring so they started to panic that we had been washed away by the waves or that we slipped off the cliff.  Whoops!  Eventually we emerged on the other side, but the waves were massive so I'm not surprised they thought that.

Photo credit: Kat

We made our way even further down the coast to our final destination of the day: Wanganui.  We tried to find a campground, and there was one that advertized a thermal pool, but it was SO sketchy! We should have taken pictures but we were in such a hurry to leave that we didn't even think about it.  The town was strange too, though.  There was this gem of a house with a pony tied to the front lawn!

After that experience we gave in and found a Top 10 park, which are usually more expensive with less character, but not in Wanganui!  This one had an awesome view of the river, a goat tied up on a rope nearby (it was actually on a moving chain over about 100m so he could walk back and forth between the posts), and, the piece de resistance, a giant bird cage filled with exotic birds!  So random.

We had rain on and off that afternoon so luckily we had a nice shelter with a picnic table. Ryan P taught Ryan R how to use our cooking stove (since they had a very similar one), and we got to cooking our first batch of delicious New Zealand mussels in white wine, butter, and garlic for dinner.  Amazing!  Then we stayed up late playing Ghost Stories and actually won a game for once!