The only way to drive to the southernmost point on the North Island from Wellington is to drive north for almost 60 km then back down south. On the drive around, we stopped at two breweries just off the main road in Upper Hutt. The first one, Kereru was a husband and wife team that was just starting out. The brewing room was built just a year prior and they had previously brewed in their garage. The beer was quite tasty and we really liked their imperial pilsner (which we had never seen before). We Also stopped at Panhead. They don’t have a permit for beer tastings but were kind enough to talk to us for a few minutes.

After a few hours of driving, the road starting to hug the coastline and we knew were close to our destination for the night, Ngawi. The main attraction other than free camping (score!), is the funky harbor. There are no docks filled with boats, but instead each boat has its own trailer/dock that comes completely out of the water with the help of a bulldozer. There are tons of boats and each one is hooked up to a bulldozer to take it to and from the water! No one was going out when we were there but I can just imagine what it would look like.

The free camp area in Ngawi was nice but it was surprisingly busy for being so remote. The next morning we drove the last few kilometers to see the lighthouse at the southernmost tip of the North Island. The weather was improving and the scenery was beautiful. The lighthouse is high up on a hill with even more impressive views.

After we finished exploring the point, we hopped in the van headed back north towards a seal colony. Pulling off the road we immediately found ourselves in and amongst the seals! It seemed like only the mom and baby seals were around, the dads must have been off fishing. As Sara and I approached, the seals would look at us and bark. It was a terrible sounding noise. The two of us poked through the the rocks trying to get as close as possible without bothering them. At one point we heard a noise behind us and three seals came hopping past us headed towards the water! We didn’t know that there were more behind us!

Not being in much of a hurry, Sara and I decided to stop and do a small hike since the rain seemed to have finally stopped. We did “The Pinnacles” loop. This loop took us up to a ridge for a view of the pinnacles. I didn’t know what to expect but it blew my mind. There were sections of hill completely eroded away leaving claylike cliffs. Then there were the pinnacles – thin spires that for one reason or another hadn’t eroded. I felt that the ground we were standing on may give way at any moment! After seeing the pinnacles from above, the trail took us down to the creek bed at the base of the pinnacles. A very eerie place!

Back at the car, we had a quick lunch before heading northward. Our campsite for the night was a cheap campsite about halfway to Tongariro National Park where we planned to do some hiking.

That afternoon when we arrived at the campsite, we attempted another attack on the battle against bedbugs using a bug bomb fogger. After clearing out all necessary items from the car, we set it off and began our three hour wait till we could go back in. In the mean time, we did our laundry and ate dinner at the campsite. The other campers probably thought we were crazy for sitting around with piles of food, kitchen supplies and electronics. That night was the first night neither of us received new bites!

The next morning, we continued our drive towards Tongariro National Park to hike Ngauruhoe.