It’s been a while since our last update, but we’ve definitely been busy. Now that we are back with a more reliable Internet connection, you can expect more updates from us.

Picking up where we left off, after our stay with Christian & Kirianne in Auckland, we visited Hobbiton (the actual movie set for Lord of the Rings and the upcoming movie The Hobbit. Unfortunately, we had to sign a confidentiality agreement and we aren’t allowed to post any of our pictures online. Suffice it to say it was pretty darn cool!)

After Hobbiton in Matamata, we headed to New Plymouth on the west coast of the North Island. More on our stay in the city soon, but first, some amazing pictures from our hike on Mount Taranaki.

The mountain is actually a (nearly) perfectly cone-shaped volcano that dominates the landscape in this area.

There is only about a 6 week window of time in the summer when it’s safe to hike to the summit. And even then, it’s advisable to go with an experienced guide. Mt. Taranaki can be a very dangerous mountain if the conditions aren’t right.

We decided to take a four hour loop half-way up the side of the mountain, then back down again. The route up to the radio tower was ridiculously steep (the trail is also dubbed The Puffer), but the views on the way up were well worth it.

It was a tiring tramp to be sure, but we were so glad to have such a clear, sunny day to enjoy it!

View more pics from our experience on Facebook!