Natalie enjoying the warm waters of the thermal hot springs as they percolate out of the sand at the famous Hot Water Beach on the Cormandel Peninsula.

Jeff Dunbar > New Zealand - N Island

Natalie enjoying the warm waters of the thermal hot springs as they percolate out of the sand at the famous Hot Water Beach on the Cormandel Peninsula.

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Farmland Crag of Sheridan Hills in Wharepapa South

Our first night sleeping in a backcountry hut was fantastic, and in the morning we were rewarded with PERFECT weather...

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Jeff Dunbar

Sep 23, 2007

“Natalie enjoying the warm waters of the thermal hot springs as they percolate out of the sand at the famous Hot Water Beach on the Cormandel Peninsula.”

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Natalie enjoying the warm waters of the thermal hot springs as they percolate out of the sand at the famous Hot Water Beach on the Cormandel Peninsula.

Our first night sleeping in a backcountry hut was fantastic, and in the morning we were rewarded with PERFECT weather...

This snowfield is actually a volcanic crater. Its still steaming in some places. We walked across it rather more quickly than I expected...

Can you guess which way the prevailing winds blow around here?

Our nice walk around the volcanoe is about to get much steeper as we are headed for the saddle above the snow line. Natalie is the tiny red dot on the far left...

Starting off on our first of NZ's Great Walks: The Northern Circuit of Tongariro National Park. We walked 26 miles in two days, with a legit alpine section. Fun!

Natalie following me up Sayonara (5.8), a beautiful straight-in hand and finger crack at Whanganui Bay.

The view from the top of our first trad climb at Whanganui Bay.

Natalie, as see from Bilbo's front door on the set of Hobbiton in Matamata, NZ.

And so it begins...preparing for departure at LAX.

BIG trees in the jungle on the North Island...

A week's worth of "minor yard work" in exchange for free lodging at Bryce's

Natalie enjoying a classic trad line called Millenium Madness at Waipapa, draped in the North Island jungle.

New Zealand's answer to Thailand's famous beachside sport climbing: excellent trad and sport routes on a secluded beach at Te Ananui on the East coast of the North Island. That's me in the bottom lefthand corner of the photo.

Its 8am and we get to enjoy this scenery for the next 8 hours on the way back to our car. This is a pretty great way to start your day...

Chunderosa Buttress at Sheridan Hills crag in Wharepapa South.

Hanging out with the natives...

Bryce Martin cranking his way up an overhung 5.11 corner crack at Whanganui Bay. Not bad for a 55yr old... (this climb spat me off twice on toprope)

Our first kiwi waterfall

The 3 snow-covered volcanoes of Tongariro National Park on the North Island. On the far left is Mt. Tongariro; in the center is Mt. Ngauruhoe (aka Mt. Doom in Lord of the Rings); and on the right is Mt. Ruapehu which actually erupted the day before we arrived here. This "minor volcanic event" sent ash and rocks 15,000 ft into the air...

Our kiwi tour-mobile

The north face of Mt. Ruapehu on a perfect morning. What looks like a shaddow on the snow near the summit on the right is actually the debris field of ash and rocks from the "minor eruption" which occured the previous day...

My first geyser, near the tourist hotspot of Rotorua...or as the kiwis call it "Roto-Vegas"

Natalie enjoying her first tramping experience above the snow line as we approach the saddle with Mt. Doom in the background.

The bizarre rock formations of the Animal Biscuit Valley at the North Island sport climbing mecca of Froggatt Edge.

At about this point, I realized just how out of shape I really was... Oh well. Carpe Diem!

Natalie cleaning the anchor after another fun sport climb at Froggatt Edge.

Can you guess why this beautiful alpine lake near the top of the volcanoe was not frozen over with ice? (hint: the rocks near the shore were steaming and there was a strong smell of sulfur in the air)

Whanganui Bay on Lake Taupo has some of the best rock (and best trad routes) on the North Island, and the lakeside setting is gorgeous.

Just another postcard worthy scene on the hike back to the car...the south face of Mt. Ruapehu looms large over the tussock grasses of the Tongariro valley floor.

Sunset on the main cliff at Whanganui Bay on Lake Taupo. Natalie looks like a tiny speck of blue in the very center of this photo (click on the image to see it full size); she is climbing out of a corner crack just above the tree line.

The south face of Mt. Ngauruhoe. As we discovered on our 26-mile walk, this volcanoe looks exactly the same from every angle...its a perfect cone.

Farmland Crag of Sheridan Hills in Wharepapa South

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