Tag Archives: hike

Lake Taupo, Mt. Tauhara, & Waitomo

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We take a very beautiful scenic drive along the Forgotten World Highway.  Leaving Whangamomona around 0730 gave us sweeping views with a misty sunrise.  Our destination is Lake Taupo.  

A total surprise to us was that we got to go through one more tunnel and this one was a beauty!

Pukawa Villas

Oh my goodness!  We had the most amazing stay at Pukawa Villas overlooking Lake Taupo. 

We stayed in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment with a huge veranda overlooking the lake. Everyone room had a view that was breathtaking.

Mt. Tauhara Hike

We did not have anything planned in Lake Taupo. 

But we did manage to find a great hike to the top of Mt. Tauhara.  It is 538 meters to the top at a distance of 2.5km. It took us about 3 hours return.

The trail is well marked and easy to follow. 

It is straight up so can be a bit strenuous, but several kids did the hike.

The views were absolutely magnificent!  A stunning photo no matter where you looked.

After our hike we headed toward Waitomo. A short 2 hour drive from Lake Taupo.

Waitomo

We are staying at the Waitomo Big Bird and Small Animal BnB.  Not exactly what I imagined when I booked the place.  But the farm animals were amazing and the hosts are lovely.

She had llamas, alpacas, cows, dogs, goats, sheep, horses, donkey, pig, emus, ostrich’s, and munchkin cats.

I became friendly with Victoria who has to be the friendliest ostrich on this planet!

Did you know that an ostrich egg is equal to 24 chicken eggs and can feed 18 people?

Anne, the owner of Waitomo Big Bird breeds munchkin cats.  I had never heard of them!  These cats are adorable with their stubby little legs.  The also have the friendliest demeanor and are truly human loving cats.

Our blog posts run 6 weeks behind actual live events. 

We spent our time in Lake Taupo and Waitomo in early February 2026.

Waterfalls: Paranui falls to Whangarei Falls

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In between our boat projects we take a lovely walk between two beautiful waterfalls.  We start at the AH Reed Memorial Kauri Park where we encounter the Paranui Waterfall.

This is a relatively short walk (3 miles and 1hr20min return).  The path is very easy to follow and fairly easy.

A great website with lovely photos can be found here.

The best spot to see the Paranui Falls is from the lookout (across the gorge from the parking lot).  This 23 meter tall waterfall is surrounded by lush vegetation.

You descend about 100 stairs to get to the main trail which is absolutely lovely. 

AH Reed Park has several well maintained bridges and paths ranging from dirt, stone and cement).

All of the paths run along the Waikoromiko River.

After about 40 minutes we reached the Otuihau Whangarei Waterfall.  These falls are 26.3 meters high and cascade over basalt cliffs.

This was a large, gushing waterfall leading to a big lagoon.  

This was such a beautiful waterfall that I took photos from every direction. 

We walked to the top of the falls (top right photo), bottom, left and right side of the falls. 

On the way back, we cross the famous Canopy Bridge which surrounds New Zealand’s majestic Kauri Trees. 

New Zealand honors and protects these massive trees which are up to 500 years old.

Even though it is a short walk it is absolutely one of my favorites!  

Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual live events.  We visited these two waterfalls in early December 2025.

Find Paranui Waterfalls on No Foreign Land and find the Whangarei Falls on No Foreign Land.

We haul out Sugar Shack at Norsand Boatyard in our last blog post.

Ridge Hike on Malolo Island

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What does a ridgeline hike look like?  Well, we start at the far left end of Malolo island (left end of the photo) and hike up several hills.  We cross over the reef at low tide (2nd arrow, middle) and make it to Malolo Lailai (3rd arrow far right).

Another view of the ridgeline hike.

The Start

Sarah dropped Matt, Chris, and I off at Funky Fish Resort. This is a really cool, easy-going, surf resort with a pool.  They are super cruiser friendly. 

You hike up a hill, behind the resort to the helicopter landing pad.  To our surprise there was a helicopter.  The resort has posted signs at the beginning of the path.

Mt. Silo Gun site and Lookout

The first part of the trail is really well maintained and fairly easy to navigate.  The only issue is that it is straight up hill. 

We enjoyed some beautiful views along the way.

The anchorage looks so small from the top of the tallest mountain peak.  There are roughly 100 boats in the anchorage.  Can you spot Sugar Shack?

We make it to the Mt. Silo Gun site and lookout after an hour of hiking.  The peak is roughly 750′ elevation.

2nd Half of the Hike

The second half of the hike was more challenging as the trail was not well-maintained and requires good shoes and a machete.

It was so darn hot as we were in the direct sunlight, at the peak heat of the day. 

We ended up sliding down several slopes as we continued down a make-shift path.

The second half of the hike took almost 2 hours and was much slower going.  In part because we had to create our own path and we had to go slow on the slippery parts.

We met a lovely friend on the way down the mountain.  This beautiful horse met us on the trail and was so very friendly.

I was so tired and overheated that I stopped taking photos. 

Unfortunately, I did not even get a photo of the reef crossing or Malolo Lailai.  I know, I suck!

The Results

  • Ascent 1200′ (up and down several mountains)
  • Tallest Peak 750′
  • 1200 calories burned
  • 4.5 miles walked
  • 2:53 hours
  • 1hr of resting time/breaks or stops

Matt and Chris were in much better shape than me. 

I required multiple stops along the way.  We also stopped at the 3 lookout points. 

Evidently, according to Matt’s Garmin we had 1 hour of resting time.  Eek gads.

No Foreign Land Malolo Ridgeline hike

Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual events.  We hiked Mt. Silo on Malolo Island on 5 September 2025.

Did you read about our adventures at the World Surf League Finals in our last blog?