You all know that famous saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Well, for this post I am going to let the pictures tell the story because no matter how much I can say about how amazing the Tongariro Alpine Crossing was, words just won’t do it justice. This hike is regarded as one of the best day hikes in New Zealand, and it certainly lived up to its reputation for us. Enjoy!
T and I said good-bye to our cozy cabin in Coromandel and hit the road to Rotorua along the east coast of the peninsula.
We stopped in Tairua for a quick coffee and ended up finding the town quite pleasant with beautiful views of the bay and coastline. I would say this is a better spot to visit than Coromandel town if you’re looking for another town on the peninsula to visit.
After getting coffee, continued on to the Karangahake Gorge Road, which is known to be one of the prettiest short drives in the country, and it did not disappoint. It’s incredibly worthwhile to take this route, and leave a bit of time to do some of the walks through the gorge area.
The Coromandel Peninsula is a must-see spot on the North Island. Whether you want to go for a pretty drive, a short walk, a long day hike, relax on the beach, snorkel, swim, kayak, paddle board, sail, enjoy a coffee with a view of a pretty harbor, taste fresh mussels, or sit in a hot, self-made jacuzzi on Hot Water Beach, this area really has something for everyone.
The following morning we woke up to the sound of rain outside. Originally, we had plans to kayak, but instead we opted for a warm Cappuccino. We walked down the street to El Cafe, a little South American inspired cafe, to have breakfast and take advantage of the free and fast wifi. We were pleasantly surprised by the delicious coffee and breakfast.
(I was too hungry to wait to eat before taking the picture)
Fueled up, we set out on our long day of driving to the Coromandel Peninsula via the opposite side of the island, as we wanted to check out the west coast and take a different route from how we traveled to the Bay of Islands.
The final descent to Machu Picchu was one filled with joy, excitement, curiosity, and a sense of accomplishment.
The Inca Trail…a renowned trek that culminates at the stunning site of Machu Picchu.
We were so lucky to have been able to hike the Inca Trail during our trip to Peru. The feeling of arriving to the Sun Gate at sunrise to look upon the magnificent ruins of Machu Picchu is indescribable. It was an absolutely incredible way to visit a historical treasure that I have been wanting to see since I was 12 years old.
After arriving in Peru and visiting Cusco for a few days (more on Cusco in a later post), our first major adventure was our tour of Manu National Park. 
Since we only had 16 days in Peru, we had to make some tough decisions about what we wanted to see and do.Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail were the reason we were going, so those were set, but we had to figure out how we wanted to spend the rest of our time. We debated between going to Tambopata, Colca Canyon, Lake Titicaca and Manu National Park. Deciding to go to Manu National Park meant missing out on Lake Titicaca and Colca Canyon, but if we were going to go to the Amazon, we wanted to get the full experience and spend a considerable amount of time there.
Fit To Wander 