February 2020

We did what most people do in Poipu Beach, hung out on a few different beaches, played at the resort, and over ate at nice restaurants.  The difference between us and other tourists in Hawaii was perspective.  While others relaxed and enjoyed a few moments disconnected from work, I felt nostalgic and a bit anxious.  Now, the complexities of real life are settling in:  Our kitchen isn’t going to be done when we get back, I’ll need to start looking for a job, Bryce needs to get into day care…

We were in the final days of an epic adventure, one that we were blessed to have.  The last 5 months have been a dream.  The things we have seen and moments that we experienced… 24 US national parks and another dozen in Australia and New Zealand… uncountable number of maintain tops and undisturbed beaches and some of the most amazing nature on planet earth.  Most treasured is the time that Danielle and I spent with each other and with Bryce.

People often make the comment that our trip is was a once in a lifetime opportunity… I sure hope it isn’t.

Thank you for following and joining us on our journey.

With Love and Adventure,

Danielle, Phil, Bryce

We made a quick and rainy stop at Rainbow Falls and a wet walk through Hilo for some lunch before heading to our 24^th national park of our trip.  I felt giddy as we pulled into the visitors center of Volcanoes national park.  It brought my back to days in the RV…

It was late in the day and the weather wasn’t so great, but that didn’t stop us from exploring the steam vents and the Ha’akulamanu (Sulphur Banks).

The next day was our big day in the park.  There was light rain, but the fog lifted.  We started with the Kīlauea Iki trail which decents 400ft through rainforest until you reach the bottom of the hardened lava lake.  You cross the lake and then re assend through some awesome dense rainforest.  Next we explored the 1969-1974 lava flows of Mauna Ulu and hike to the top of Puʻu Huluhulu Cinder Cone.  We finished a packed day with a drive down to the coast to see some of the newest land on the planet.

Our last day on the Big Island was spend at Punalu’u beach, the most famous black sand beach of Hawaii. We also saw several endangered Hawksbill turtles and green turtles basking in the sun on the beach.  The little man has now seen white sand, pink sand, green sand, black sand, and “normal” sand.  Not bad for 22 months of life.

Jan 31 was literally the longest day of my life; a true 47-hour day.  Our flight out of New Zealand was at 11:55pm on Jan 31^st… we arrived in Hawaii at 9am… on Jan 31^st, a full 23 hour time change. So on Jan 31^st, we hung out on the beaches of Auckland and the beaches and pools of Kona.

In Hawaii, we planned to sit on the beach and drink Pina Coladas… NOT.  We packed our days with activity.  After arriving, we did do a bit of relaxing and hanging by the pool with the little man.  Day two, we visited the Captain Cook Monument which is a 2 mile hike each way through forest and then volcanic landscape to a monument and great snorkeling spot.  While we were eating our lunch by the water, we were approached by ~10 rams with big horns.  I threw Bryce onto my back and mentally prepared for what I would do if the rams charged… but the rams didn’t want a piece of me and quickly left back into the forest.  To celebrate our victory over the wild rams, the Davis’s went to the Kona Brewing Company for delicious beers and a terribly unhealthy dinner.

The next day we headed to South Point Park, the most southern tip of Hawaii, to hike to the green sand beach (Papakolea beach), one of only 4 green sand beaches in the world.  The hike was 2.5 miles along the shore where waves crashed against the volcanic rock.  The sand was wild, a strange olive green.  After an hour, the wind picked up and it was time to hike back.

Our 4^th day in Kona was spent up north hiking in Waipi’o Valley.  The hike was a 1000 ft steep road down to a windy beach.  We didn’t love this hike due to the Jeeps that were allowed access and therefor kept passing us down and up the mountain, but the wild horses that we came across on the beach more than made up for the traffic.  Neh! Neh! Was hear for the rest of the day.

On our final dull day in Kona, we visited the Hula Daddy coffee farm and tasted delicious coffees.  I can now say I know what $100+ per pound coffee taste like… coffee!  We then made our way north to Hapuna Beach for some relaxation and the largest shaved Ice Bryce might ever eat in his life.  The next day we headed west to Hilo and Volcanoes National Park

Less than a 30 minute drive north of Auckland and your back in the country side.  Our final home in New Zealand was Raukaka, a small beach community about 90 minutes north of Auckland.  This was our last opportunity to soak in the New Zealand Mountains and Beaches. 

Our first hike was the Maunganui Cliffs Walk, a 30 minute walk on the beach followed by a steep ascent and a few miles along the cliff.  During low tide, you hike back along the beach, but it was still high tide and we just retraced our steps and spent a few hours on the remote beach with outrageous shells. 

For the second day, as is tradition, we found the tallest mountain and climb to the top.  The Mount De jour was the Mount Manaia.  The hike was mostly stairs and an outstanding view at the top.  These stair hikes are really tough with 45 pounds on my back.

We spend our last morning with Bryce on the beach before heading to the Airport. 

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In the blink on an eye and 2500 pictures, our time in Australia and New Zealand has come to a close.  With sadness, We say goodbye and see you soon…

Next Stop… Kona!

I have dreaded the drive to Auckland for months.  Even though we have a few days left in New Zealand and 13 day in Hawaii, Auckland was the beginning of the end of our journey.  Thoughts of finding a job and hoping the renovation of the apartment is completed on-time has begun to creep into my head…

Auckland is a city of Volcanoes and Sailing.  Our first stop was the top of Mount Eden, a dormant volcano in the heart of Auckland.  From there you can see the small volcanic hills and craters that are all over the surrounding area.  We then checked into our AirBnB and went to explore the city.  We started at the waterfront renowned for thousands of sailboats… which was a sh*tshow.  Massive construction for miles and tourists crammed into small sidewalks.  It was 90 degrees and not very enjoyable. 

For most of 36 hours in Auckland, the Davis troop took a run, walked around the city, visited Davenport by ferry, and relaxed in the park as Bryce ran around.  We left early on Wednesday morning to spend our final 3 days on the beaches and mountains in the northern peninsula.

Coromandel is the Hamptons for Auckland… and we were heading there on a weekend with great beach weather.  Finding a place to stay was stressful and we ended up staying in a slightly suspect house in the back yard of a bed and breakfast.  It was cheap and did the job, but we kept having to get Bryce away from the rust swing set in the yard.

On the way to Coromandel, we stopped at Karanghake Gorge, and old mining site that has been converted into a super cool park and swimming spot.  We walk through old mining tunnels and Bryce loved it.  The tunnels went deep into the mountain, so deep that Danielle made us turn back before we reached the end. We then did an hour of rock throwing practice in the George before continuing on the way.  Once we arrived at our little house, we unpacked the SUV and headed to the bay for some swimming.

The sites to see in Coromandel are Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach.  We were warned by others and the internet that these are awesome sites, but they are crowded.  Cathedral Cove was a mile and a half hike which I hoped would thin the crowd… I thought wrong.  The Cove is 2 beaches separated by a long cathedral shaped tunnel.  The beach was beautiful and the crowds weren’t that bad compared to ANYTHING drivable from NYC. 

Our final stop was Hot Water Beach.  The thing to do at hot water beach is to rent a shovel, did about 2 feet down and sit in the hot water and sand as if it were a hot tub on the beach.  Let me layout the relaxing scene that we arrived to… First the area that has hot sand is relatively small so you have a hundred tourists with shovels digging in the same small space.  There actually wasn’t even enough space to make new holes so tourists were jumping into open holes like a bunch of hermit crabs looking for a shell.  Then you have kids everywhere digging with shovels throwing sand.  The whole thing could have been the least relaxing place I have ever seen… that’s not even to mention it was 90 degrees and sitting in hot sandy water sounded terrible.  The Davis made a quick exit and went to dinner.

In the morning, I was walking alone through volcanoes and by mid-afternoon, we were in the Shire being bussed around with thousands of like-minded tourists. 

After the second Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the brilliant capitalist, Peter Jackson, decided to leave the Shire set in place and create a tourist destinations.  It was really cool to see and walk around this multi acre set, but this place was a factory.  50 person tours begin every 10 minutes and it was sold out for days.  Fortunately, we got in a late tour.  The pictures are pretty cool.

As we approached Tongariro National Park, there was a low fog and we could see much of the landscape.  We checked into our hotel, the Chateau Tongariro Hotel (which was similar to the Overlook Hotel from Stephen Kings The Shining) and immediately went out on the Taranaki Falls.  The path followed a stream through the forest until you emerged at an impressive waterfall.  We took some pictures at the base of the falls, but when we climbed to the top the real show began.  The fog had lifted revealing 2 volcano’s.

The second day, we hiked to see the Silica Rapids, a 3.5 mile walk to unique cream colored streams.  We then drove to “Gollum’s pool” from Lord of the Rings.  We hung out at this waterfall for over an hour as Bryce continues to enhance his rock throwing technique.  We finished the Lord of the Rings Theme by climbing up the mountain to see Meads Wall, a volcanic structure used to film Mordor.   The day wrapped up with a swim in the hotel pool and a meal at the “fine dining option” (which consisted of a meal with 30 silent people with my sons TV playing, and a portion size so small that I thought I ordered the children’s portion.” From now on, “Fine Dining” = Not for us.

At dinner that night, we decided that I would get up early and do the Tongrariro Crossing. I had to move quickly since our appointment to see Hobbitown was a 4:30 and we had 2 hours of driving.  With the volatility of the weather, the loose footing, and 12 miles, we concluded that this was not safe for Bryce and I would go alone. 

So, I left the little man and wife behind to hike 12 miles over and between 3 volcanoes (one was mount Doom).  The hike involved climbing the Volcano, crossing the craters and navigating down a narrow scree (loose gravel) pathway with drops on both sides.  The hike was challenging and the landscape was unworldly.  I heeded all the warnings, but in hindsight, I could have done it with Bryce and would have loved to have Danielle by my side.

With great sadness, we left the South Island after close to 3.5 weeks.  We drove our Nissan X-Trail onto the Ferry and headed north to Wellington.  Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is quant by city standards.  We stayed in the downtown wich had some great restaurants and a beautiful waterfront. 

We only planned one full day in Wellington.  We didn’t go to New Zealand for the culture of the cities.  It’s would have been like going to Idaho and ordering carrots.  With limited time, we wanted to be in nature.

After parking the car, I was walking with our box of snacks (yes… we travel with a full microwave sized box of snacks) to the apartment when the bottom fell out and all of our beloved snacks fell onto the street.  I am not joking, at least 5 different groups of people came over to help… one even ran to their car to get bags for me to carry the snack in.  In New York, I would have been defending my snacks from ruthless marauders. 

We started our day off with a run along the waterfront and then gave Bryce some time in the playground while we switched off showering.  The shower was a big waste because then we hiked up the mountain to the botanical gardens.  The day finished with Vietnamese food before preparing to head to the volcanoes of Tongariro National Park.

Sorry, we only took one picture in wellington… and we aren’t even in it :/

Before indulging in New Zealand’s wine country, the Davis team headed up to Whites Bay to experience the many mountains and sounds that make up the northeastern portion of the south island.  Our hike was the Black Jack Track which over 90min weaved over beaches to a ridge overlooking the magnificent sound.  After the hike, we relaxed along a black sand beach for an hour before continuing to Blenheim, the cultural center of Marlborough.

The thing to do in Marlborough is to rent bikes and ride to the vineyard tasting wines.  I read a bunch of reviews on what wineries to go to.  It is unbelievable how many wineries some of the bloggers rode to.  How do you have 6 tastings and a bunch of glasses of wine and still ride a bike along a highway…  Maybe in my younger days… without a two year old behind me. 

We planned to visit 3 wineries in the same small area to limit bike riding and limit putting Bryce on the bike (which he seemed to dislike),  We visited Giesens Vineyards, then had lunch at Wairau River Wines and finished up with Nautilus Estates before riding home.  On the way home, Bryce seemed to enjoy the ride so we were able to take some pictures.  We finished off a great day with some New Zealand Chinese food and a lot of hydrating water.