Road trip Day 13 - Kaitoke Regional Park, Wellington (Rivendell)

We made the journey on Dimholt Road today! The day was cloudy and very windy, which added to the mystique and the eeriness of the location. This is one of the famous locations in the Lord Of The Rings movie, and it is indeed a place no other that we have seen before! We walked up on the dried stream bed, and returned back to the van via the forest loop. We were lucky to be the only people there that morning, and had the opportunity to take some very beautiful photos.

After the Pinnacles, we headed to the lighthouse at Cape Palliser. It was VERY windy, and driving along the gravel road proved to be quite interesting. I took my time to make sure that we are all safe and sound, while at the same time, enjoyed the unique scenery. A

Along the way, we even managed to take  pics of same seals basking in the sun! The lighthouse is famous for its 261 steps to the top! And did I mentioned it was VERY windy!?

We drove to Rivendell for the night. We had to cross the Rimutaka Range. It was very high, and it was raining and very windy.... Driving condition was not good! I had to drive nearly 30km slower than most cars, and had to pull aside three times to let the vehicles behind me to pass. It was unfortunate to see minutes later that a car that just passed us has met with an accident, and ran into the side!

We arrived safely at Rivendell, had a beer to relax and breathe, let the dogs run around a bit.

Road trip Day 12 - Putangirua Pinnacles, Cape Palliser

We woke up at 8.30am. It had been raining whole night, and it was cold and miserable in the morning. Instead of our original hiking plans, we just stayed in the van, enjoyed our coffee and discussed where we should head to next.

After coffee, we started driving to Masterton iSite to get a magnet to add to our collection. We also ate delicious muffins and corn fritters from the local cafe before heading into town to run some errands.

Firstly , we had to fix the "kitchen" cabinet door. The door had swung open the day before when we were driving on a winding gravel road. And Jet had fallen right onto the open door, breaking the door hinge! 

Next task on the "make the van a better living place" was to replace the interior dome light with a LED bulb. We found the LED replacement at the local Supercheap autos. However, in the midst of replacing the bulb. We managed to blow the fuse, thus, ending up replacing one of the blown some fuse too! Not too much a hassle, and in return we got a VERY bright interior :D

Finally, we are on our way again! Along the way to the Pinnacles, we stopped by the Paua World (tourist trap!) to get a souvenir to remember our road trip. We also stopped by the Wairarapa Lake for a quick lunch (PB&J and mushroom soup). Hannah started to develop a slow headache from the MSG in the soup! We reached the Pinnacles near 5pm, headed out to the beach with the dogs to play in the water, and had lamb for dinner while we watched the sunset.

Road trip Day 11 - Mount Holdsworth, Tararua Forest Park

The 6 hr Cone Hut-Saddle loop started with a 96m long suspension bridge! Lilith wasn't a big fan of the bridge! She refuses to go first, but Hannah managed to "convince" Lilith to follow behind her. Lilith finally belly-crawled all the way across the 96m, while making high pitch whining noises!

The hike didn't have a definite track, but just a bunch of track markers in the forest (according to Hannah)!!!! It wasn't an easy hike - started off with almost a one km uphill (very steep at some places) and the at the end with some steep downhills ! We reached the hut after almost 3 hours! The hut was built in 1946 and restored in 1989 by the local tramping club. It is unique because it is built Totora slab construction. We took a quick break at the hut, found a stream (very cold waters) for the dogs to play in, and we were on our way back. Hannah and I have been hiking in US and NZ ever since we met, and this is definitely one CRAZY trail!

We reached the van at nearly 4.30pm. We didn't waste anytime driving out of the Gorge, got some diced beef for dinner, and headed towards our camping destination. It was a very well maintained site, and there was a very nice stream that runs through it. While Hannah and I were in the middle of organising the van, Jet decided to entertain himself by heading out to the stream all by himself and played in the water! The DOC keeper came over to say hi, even though Lilith barked at him fiercely at a distance! I cooked curry beef with rice for dinner, and we passed out full and contented. Although it rained heavily in the middle of the night, and without doubt we were woken up by water dripping through the back door!