Te Aroha, New Zealand

Hello, New Zealand!

I was looking forward to this part of my trip for awhile- not just the hopes that New Zealand would be cheaper and more laid back than Australia, but also because it meant that I got to see an old friend Damian (he was a diver on the team when I swam in college) and have a local guide on the north island for ten days!

Damian lives in Morrinsville, which is a small farming town about 20 minutes from Hamilton. I immediately loved the area. Open country roads, low stress, super friendly locals, gorgeous scenery that changes by the minute. Still trying to get the kiwi lingo down, and the driving is worthy of an entire post on its own!

Day 1: Damian headed to work and I headed toward the coast to an awesome little town called Te Aroha. I hiked the town's mountain (also called Te Aroha) in about an hour up and 20 minutes down, which is about a 1,000 meter elevation gain (visitor's center said it takes 3 hours to summit. Like Australia, dont read too much into hiking time estimates if you're in good shape). Pretty rainforest-like scenery, and judging by the amount of spider webs I walked through during the second half, not frequented by many people. There were not a lot of vantage points on the way up, and the hike finishes at a big TV platform which was a bit anti-climactic - but the 360 degree views of farm country, mountains, and coastline made up for it!

Afterward I got some good people watching in at a local coffee shop. Nice to get off the beaten tourist path for a day!

overlooking town of Te Aroha

alternate route - you can also drive to the summit

Te Aroha, also known for it's spas and geysers