New Zealand day 8

On our 8th day in NZ we went hiking at the Putangirua Pinnacles. We came here because all of the Lord of the Rings films locations we visit were beautiful, both in the South Island in 2009, and in the North Island on this trip. We were not disappointed with the Putangirua Pinnacles, which was the film setting for the roads to the dead. 

Cute sisters!

 James found some cool ocean fossils in a large rock near the path. The cool pinnacles formations were created by thousands of years of water erosion.

I was so grateful that James is so patient and understands that pictures are very important to me.  He carried my bulky tripod while he hiked (and Addy for part of the way) so that we could take this family picture. Also, I didn't realize my camera battery was dead until we were half way there, and he quickly ran all the way back to the motorhome to get a new battery without even complaining. :)

We hiked the pinnacles in the morning and then started the drive back to Auckland. We planned to see Wellington since we were close, but we decided to head back early so we would have the time to make a couple stops along the way to see the Hamilton Temple and the Waitomo glowworm caves. We also didn't want to be too rushed, so that we could pull over more often to let the girls to get out and play.