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I recommend taking a TranzAlpine train from Christchurch (on the East Coast) to Greymouth – this ride is just magical… I have no other words for it. Train goes through Arthur’s Pass National Park, which is in my opinion one of the most beautiful places on the South Island.

Short list of places on the West Coast that I recommend to visit:

• Lake Brunner
• West Coast beaches (especially at sunset)
• Franz Joseph and Fox Glaciers
• Pancake Rocks and blowholes – world famous place
• Cape Foulwind Seal Colony -  Photo

Of course there are much more to do on the West Coast of the South Island of NZ, here I picked my favorites. In my next post I’ll write about walking tracks on the West Coast.

West Coast Facts

• Average summer temperature is 19.5 degrees Celsius.
• Average winter temperature is 12.5 degrees Celsius.
• There is average of 1845 sunshine hours per year.
• Annual rainfall is 2575mm.

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Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand’s North Island, which is named after its main feature – Mount Taranaki (also known as Mt Egmont). The main center of the Taranaki region is the city of New Plymouth.

I found a very beautiful description of Taranaki in a tourist brochure, which I would like to bring here, so all the credit goes to the writers.

Taranaki has been labeled the “Garden of New Zealand” since pioneering times, and for very good reason. Rich volcanic soils and equable climate, blessed with both high sunshine hours and plenty of rain, combine to create conditions that cultivate a huge range of plants within its temperate – often subtropical – atmosphere.

The region has also earned that reputation the hard way – through pioneering grit, determination and plenty of work. The region now enjoys ten out of 31 Gardens of National Significance around New Zealand, along with several Gardens of regional significance.

Lake at Pukekura Gardens, New Plymouth. Photo by Sandy Austin

Add to the gardens the myriad of walkways – through bush, farmland, forests, wetlands, by rivers, lakes and sea, on the mountain and through pioneering towns and villages – and it’s clear that Taranaki is a nature-lover’s paradise.

Mt Taranaki and Egmont National Park offer more than 180km of tracks, and the New Plymouth coastal walkway provides 7km of paved boardwalk passing several beaches, playgrounds, stone sculptures and the 45m Len Lye kinetic windwand.

Mount Egmont. Photo by PhillipC

The White cliffs walkway in North Taranaki is highly popular in the summer months, whilst Matemateonga walkway in East Taranaki can be incorporated with an adrenalin-fueled Whanganui river jetboat ride.

If you’re into golfing, Taranaki has courses catering for all skill levels scattered throughout the region. Twelve top golf courses are all playable 12 months of the year, and all are a maximum of just one hour’s drive from New Plymouth of Hawera.

For more information about Taranaki region visit: www.taranaki.co.nz

Meet the Yellow TreeHouse:

18 people can be seated in the threehouse together with all the neccesary waiting staff. It has a bar and you can see the open meadow and a stream while enjoying your meal. Kitchend and toilets are at the ground level.
The entrance to the treehouse is via the 60 meters wooden walkway, which blends organically with the environment and “flows” into the treehouse. The architectural concept of this whole project is very interesting and in my opinion is a bood blend of childness, fairytales and green-structures building. The whole restaurant looks if not as a part of nature then as a very close to it.

The yellow treehouse project manager is Tracey Collins, and the whole idea was to source all products and services through Yellow Paes listings. The restaurant is completed and open, but it is all booked for the near future, so if you absolutely must visit it – you will have to wait.

You can visit the yellow trehouse’s project site at:
http://www.yellowtreehouse.co.nz/

Waikato region, translated from Maori as “flowing water”, is actually a relaxed, rural retreat. There are many little villages tucked amongst the hills, which can be visited. The main city of the Waikato region is Hamilton.

Hamilton is known for its vibrant culture and gardens. Additional towns in the region are Raglan, Tokoroa, Te Awamutu and Cambridge, each populated by between 10,000 and 15,000 people. These are small and quiet places where you can relax, take a walk and enjoy beautiful nature.

photo by PhillipC

Most notable here is the town of Raglan, which is best known for its surf. Eight kilometers from the Raglan township is a series of surf breaks including Indicators, Whale Bay, and Manu Bay. By the way, Manu Bay was featured in the 1966 movie “The Endless Summer”.
In addition to the surf, annual Raglan Festival of Art is held in the Raglan Town Hall and the Raglan Old School Art Ceter.

Scenic Reserves of Waikato Region
There are two scenic reserves that you can visit -

Maungakawa Scenic Reserve
You can walk there through native forest and visit Gudex Memorial Park, in addition there are two tracks in the reserve, the 40 minute walk to Maungakawa Road and a shorter 20 minute loop walk.
Maungakawa Scenic Reserve is 9 km and approximately 15 minutes drive from Cambridge.

Hakarimata Scenic Reserve
Located near Ngaruawahia it is a great place to see kauri, especially the large kauri on the Kauri Loop Track. There are four walks in the Hakarimata Scenic Reserve:

• The Waterworks Track
  Leaves from Brownlee Avenue and passes through attractive bush and alongside Mangarata Stream on the way to an old dam.

• The Hakarimata Trig walk
  Continues from the Waterworks Walk and goes from Brownlee Avenue to the Hakarimata Trig

• Hakarimata Walkway
  Is one of the first walkways opened in New Zealand.

• Kauri Loop Track
  This well formed track offers spectacular views, beautiful bush and some of the largest kauri trees in the Waikato.

While exploring the Waikato Region you might also want to visit the Pirongia Forest Park, which is pretty close to Hamilton city. Its most widely recognized landmark is Mt. Pirongia reaches 959 meters in height.

photo by PhillipC

And I almost forgot to mention the Waikato River, which is the longest river in New Zealand! It runs for 425 kilometers from the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and emptying into Lake Taupo, which is New Zealand’s largest lake. It drains Taupo at the lake’s northeastern edge, creates the Huka Falls, then flows through the Waikato Plains just to empty into the Tasman Sea at Port Waikato.

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Whatipu is a remote beach located on the west coast of the Auckland Region. The whole area is a scientific reserve owned by the Department of Conservation. Personally I don’t know what scientific activities are being done there, but what I do know that it is a very beautiful place.

A magnificent area of coastal dunes and wetlands, and also the breeding ground for some of New Zealand’s endangered species, so the dogs are not permitted at Whatipu.

Gibbons Track. Photo by Greg Brave.

The beach is great and demands a swim, but Whatipu has no surf patrol, and as with all the beaches west of Auckland, swimming is not safe due to rips. But walking along them is highly recommended – one of the famous features of the area is the volcanic black sand

Walking Tracks at Whatipu

There are also some walking tracks in the area. For example Whatipu-Gibbons track. It begins at the car park at Whatipu and leads up the hill to the right of the parking. The track follows the top of the cliffs to the Pararaha Valley where it descends to the beach at Pararaha point. It then follows the beach back to Whatipu. There is a swamp near the beach, but don’t try to take shortcuts through it!
I tried but eventually got stuck and had to return to the beach and continue along the coastline.

Flower at Gibbons track. Photo by Greg Brave. Click on the photo for larger preview

Place to stay

If you want to spend the night at Whatipu you can stay at Whatipu Lodge, which is nested against the steep hills at the back of the beach flats. This “lodge” is really a collection of old buildings, the oldest being the Gibbons homestead, built in 1867 by mill manager Nicholas Gibbons, with its characteristic steep-pitched roof. There is also a camping ground available at Whatipu Lodge.

Getting there
Take the North-Western Motorway to the Great North Rd Exit. Follow Great North Rd onto Ash St which leads onto Rata St. Take Titirangi Rd right through Titirangi Village to the roundabout, take Huia Rd through to Huia. Continue on to Whatipu Rd for access to Whatipu at end of Whatipu Rd. From Auckland it is a 40 minutes drive.

Photo by Greg Brave

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This photograph is now also available in high resolution on Wallpapers For Free Download page.

Photo by Daniel Kelpe

The Coromandel Town itself is a small and clean town. It is located on the Coromandel Peninsula about three hours drive from Auckland, Hamilton or Tauranga. If you don’t like driving you can catch a ferry from Auckland via Waiheke Island to the town. Though Coromandel Town is a small place there are many things to do there – golf, gardens, museum, train, boating. You can even get a bus tour… though I am not really sure that it is essential for such a small town. Of course there are also shops cafes, bars, and restaurants which can suite any taste, the local specialty being freshly caught seafood.

The original “olde worlde” colonial buildings create a special local character of the town. The Driving Creek Railway runs (daily) a narrow gauge passenger train which winds up the hillside through tunnels and over bridges to the “Eyefull Tower” for great views of the area.

Photo by PhillipC

Originally Driving Creek was a potter’s community and the train was used to bring in raw materials. Nowadays the railway station complex is still a working pottery with glass blowing and an art shop – aimed for the tourists of course.

Coromandel town also hosts several annual festivals, which include the Coro Do, late in October with art and entertainments. Another festival is Keltic Fair, a large one day event with over 300 stalls, food, music and all day entertainment.

Photo by Robertpaulyoung

All in all this is a nice small town, which in my opinion is worth stopping by if you are visiting the Coromandel Peninsula, and don’t forget to visit the Waiau Waterworks, which is located nearby on the 309 road. About the Waiau Waterworks I’ll write in another article, and for now – Have A Nice Day!

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Ruahine ranges run for 110 kilometers from inland Hawke’s Bay to near Woodville. The highest point in the Ruahines standing at 1733 meters is Mangaweka.

Ruahine Forest Park together with adjacent parks form an almost continuous chain of protected lands along the central North Island ranges, providing high rainfall events reaching an annual rainfall of about five meters. Four large rivers originate from the park – Rangitikei, Ngaruroro, Manawatu, and Tukituki.

Park has a very diverse vegetation. Top of the ranges, above the forest, is covered with leatherwood scrub and herb field grasslands, with red and mountain beech below it in the north and a mixture of forest and scrub with open tussock in the south.

The description you just read was a very short and objective one, giving mostly the facts about the Ruahine ranges. But there is much, much more to the Ruahines than those naked facts, and I know a person who can describe the Ruahines much better than me.

Rob Kloss moved from United States to New Zealand back in 1993 and now lives in Palmerston North. His passion to the Ruahines is very addictive and if you like hiking, you will definitely like reading his blog Ruahine Ramblings in which he mainly writes about his hikes in the Ruahines.

If you really want to get a feeling of this magical places you definitely should read Rob’s blog. But before you go on to reading about all the natural beauty of Ruahines, I must tell you that it might not last for long, as there is a danger coming to this land.

In my next article I will write about this danger and how all of you can help preventing it from happening! Stay tuned.