After we picked up our campervan Lucy, we went grocery shopping and then drove to Raglan, where we could stay the night for free.
Lucy & Marcel at free camping spot in Raglan
It took some time to get ourselves sorted, because every campervan is different and you never know exactly where to put all the stuff.
Bridal Veil Falls
After a slow morning, we drove to Bridal Veil Falls, which is a wonderful little walk down the waterfall.
Mount Karioi
Mount Karioi is an 2.4 million year old volcano with 756 m of elevation. Needless to say that Marcel wanted to get up there, but as this was a very VERY challenging hike, he was happy to do this one alone.
Scrambling along chains…
… and up rocks
… and over tree roots
… and through mudd
… and up a ladder
But the 360 degree view was apparently mind blowing:
Meanwhile, I explored the Te Toto Gorge. Its 150 m cliffs had been built by 15 lava flows (according to Wikipedia 😁).
I really enjoyed reading with a such a beautiful view.
We spent the night at Ruapuke Motorcamp ($40 powered site, ~22,54 €) which was a lovely place close to the beach. Felt a bit like Hobbiton 🙂
You can see some cabins on the campground in the middle of the picture
Ohinetonga Scenic Reserve
We then drove towards Tongariro Forest Park, which is close to the Tongariro National Park, where we wanted to do a bigger hike. We stayed the night for free at the Ohinetonga Scenic Reserve, which is a lovely little spot by the river.
Ohinetonga Scenic Reserve
Lucy at Ohinetonga Scenic Reserve
There is also a nice walk near by; unfortunately parts of the loop had been closed but we walked as far as we could.
Marcel really did miss the forest
