pools – Steffi & Gerry: Trip around the World

“Disneyland” on Hawaii

So far, we hadn’t written much about our hotels, as we are more attracted by natural landmarks than man-made buildings. But today wasn’t that spectacular on this aspect. The turtles and petroglyphs at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park were worth a visit but nothing new to us anymore.

But the Hilton Waikoloa Village got the nickname “Disneyland of Hawaii”, and we had to agree: a monorail train within the hotel complex? Ok, fits the cliché of Americans who can barely walk anymore. 🙂 But then, a boat on a canal to your hotel wing? Flamingos in one corner, turtles in the marina, dolphin shows just next to the restaurant? Swing bridge over the pool with an artificial waterfall? Playstations in each room? It’s just huge, it’s… American.

Well, it all comes with a (hidden) price tag. $30 / day for the parking space, $40 / day resort fees, $25 / person if you want to sit outside in the restaurant during sunset.

Fiji – Matamanoa

Bula! (Fijian for «Hello»)
Matamanoa is a small island, about 1.5 boat hours away from the main island and contains just one holiday resort. We can enjoy our private plunge pool or go down to the beach and snorkel in the blue, warm water through the corals. Amazing.

Private plunge pool
Diving is actually not required
Jellyfish (not dangerous)
Corals
sea life
Almost an aquarium
Under the sea…
starfish
Colorful fishes

Wairere Falls

Another day, another hike, or, as the Kiwis say, good time to tramp. The Wairere Falls are the highest waterfalls of the North Island. It is a nice, but quite steep track. It took us three attempts to see the falls: the first time we skipped the lookout intentionally, on our way down we missed the side-track but finally on third attempt we saw the falls. We also saw where we have been before: at the edge of the creek, just before the water falls 153 meters down.

We ended the day in a hot-water pool near Matamata.

Coromandel

First stop today: Hot Water Beach. Well, that was literally hot! You need: low tide (plus/minus 2 hours), a shovel and you’re ready to dig your own hot water pool. The water pouring out is either cold, warm or boiling hot. But you’ll realize it soon enough.

Close to it is the Cathedral Cove. Very picturesque – very touristy. But again, just do the side-walk to a lookout and you’re alone.

On partially unsealed roads we passed the Waiau Falls (good for a short swim) and reached our campground at Shelly Beach near Coromandel just before the nice sunset.

Mount Taranaki

After a rather boring ride towards Egmont National Park everything changed to the good. The impressive (and active) stratovolcano Mount Taranaki (2518m) – often hidden within clouds – got rid of his disguise.

Mount Taranaki’s last major eruption was 1854, some scientists say the next one is overdue. From the visitor center we started to hike on the Wilkies Pools loop and extended it to the Waingongoro Hut. You walk within a “Goblin Forest” and we understood why. A forest from a fairytale, indeed.

Another highlight was the one-person-only swing bridge over a deep canyon, offering a view on Mount Taranaki.

Swing Bridge
Mount Taranaki

Before returning to the campervan we also visited the Dawson Falls.

We spent the night in Stratford, where we enjoyed a “Glockenspiel” (play of bells, but they used the German expression, too) and a walk in the park.

Abel Tasman Kayaking

One guide, seven guests, four kayaks and a wonderful weather. Perfect conditions for a kayak trip in the “heart” of Abel Tasman National Park, New Zealand’s smallest, but one of the most frequented national parks. A water taxi took us from Marahau to Onetahuti Beach where we were instructed on how to steer a kayak. From there we paddled northwards and made a first stop to visit “Cleopatra’s Pool” – incl. a natural slide. What a great start!

Kayaking is fun
Cleopatra’s Pool
Steffi after her slide

On a marvelous beach we had veggie sandwiches for lunch, but our guide also dived for mussels and cooked them. Tasty!

Mussel cooking
FRESH seafood
Enjoying seafood

On Tonga Island we saw a seal and a nice starfish. Before ending our trip we stopped our kayaks at a natural source of fresh water – within the salty sea! Well, it is a hose in the sea water close to the coast which transports water from the hills. Kayak paddlers can fill up their water supplies for longer trips without leaving the boat.

Isthmus Peak / Blue Pools

Half-time! Wonderful, even relative hot weather. Time for a hike, especially in the Wanaka scenery. We got up early and hiked up till Isthmus Peak, a 5-hour-hike, 2.5 hours uphill to 1385m.a.s.l. Definitely worth the sweat, the scenery is magnificent, a 360° panorama with views on both Lake Wanaka and Lake Hāwea which makes scenic flights unnecessary.

View from Isthmus Peak Track on Lake Wanaka

Next stop was at the Blue Pools in Mount Aspiring National Park.

After a 10-minutes-walk to the pools we regretted not having our swimming outfits with us. On the way back to the parking lot we decided to use the chance for a jump into the fresh water, so we returned fully equipped. The water is really crystal-clear, and you might imagine, reeeally cold!

But too late to backtrack, especially considering our plan to use a “primitive” campground (no water, no power) for this night. Not a bad choice, the trade-off of comfort got payed back by much more wilderness feeling and a low price.

Even more pools in Karijini

Today we explored the eastern part of Karijini NP, which offered another gorge (Dales Gorge), hiking trails and amazing pools (which we again had for ourselves).

In the afternoon we drove to Port Hedland. We had to overtake several road trains, transporting iron ore to Western Australia’s biggest harbor.

GORGEous spider walks in Karijini

Karijini National Park! Finally! One of the most expected highlights of the Western Australia part of our trip. What does it offer? Mainly amazing gorges – but not just viewpoints! You can basically hike into each of those many, many red gorges.

The Aussies use a scale of 1 to 5 for the severity of each hike. Luckily, even for a class 5 hike you don’t need to be Crocodile Dundee himself, just expect to climb some ladders and cross some ponds. Or should I say pool? Yes! Many gorges offer a natural swimming pool, and you’re absolutely invited to refresh yourself in the clean and clear water. Handrail Pool, Kermit’s Pool, Kalamina gorge / Rock Arch Pool. 3 x check.

Oh, one of those highlights involved a “spider walk” between the walls to reach the next point. Amazing.

The honest reviewer should also mention however that it is often a bumpy ride on unsealed roads. And today we used our fly masks for the first time before dinner, which we had prepared ourselves on the gas grills provided by the Karijini Eco Retreat, where we also parked our camper van for the night.