Adventure Hoppers

Tuesday, December 5, 2023 I arrived in Rotorua about 6:00 pm last night and, after checking into my room, headed to the Polynesian Spa to soak in the hot baths. They had several pools with temperatures varying from 100 to 104 degrees F and both acidic (sulphuric) pools and alkaline pools. I spent a couple of hours there unwinding from […]

Monday, December 4, 2023 For Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit fans I don’t think any explanation is required. For all others – Hobbiton is a fictional town created by JRR Tolkien in his books as named above. It is a village where hobbits live and the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and Frodo Baggins begin. The Movie set located […]

Sunday, December 3, 2023 Today is the first of my vacation days based out of Hamilton. It’s a combination rest / vacation period where I’ll be enjoying some of the tourist attractions in the area, but at a fairly leisurely pace. Hamilton Gardens was on my list for today and I caught a 9:35 bus from Hamilton transit center out […]

Saturday, December 2, 2023Distance/ Total: 21.4 km / 13.3 mi There were some very loud frogs croaking through the night and I eventually broke out my earplugs so I could get some sleep. I woke this morning to the sound of a sprinkling rain on the tent. I hurried and packed up just in case it started to really rain, […]

Friday, December 1, 2023Distance/ Total: 34.0 km / 21.1 mi I didn’t rush around this morning. It was going to be a long day – 34 km – but the first 21 km was going to be all roadwalk. I didn’t get started down the trail until about 8:00am. The first 21 km went pretty fast and I reached the […]

Thursday, November 30, 2023Distance/ Total: 25.5 km / 15.8 mi It was definitely a loud night at the Mercer Motel. It was situated by a highway and it seemed that big trucks kept driving by all night. There was even some heavy trucks that shook the ground as they drove by. I got around slowly this morning and headed to […]

Wednesday, November 29, 2023Distance/ Total: 35.8 km / 22.2 mi The BnB had a Continental breakfast this morning and I took advantage of the food before taking off. The trail continued as a road walk from Drury and headed up toward the Drury Hills and then across to an industrial park that was pretty busy with new construction. Shortly after […]

Tuesday, November 28, 2023Distance/ Total: 29.3 km / 18.2 mi I was up early and at the coffee shop when they opened at 7:00. I’ve had hot coffee for 5 days in a row now and I think I’m getting spoiled to it. I was on the trail by 7:30 heading towards the Auckland Airport. The trail turns before reaching […]

Monday, November 27, 2023Distance/ Total: 31.0 km / 19.3 mi I got up fairly early this morning to shower before heading out on the trail. I then headed down the street to a coffee shop and got some coffee and a pastry for my morning “quick start”. Returning to the hostel I packed up all my gear and got ready […]