...I get up happy, make some more New Years calls and eat the same huge breakfast. I am surprised to find out everyone in town is up and running, all the stores are open, everything works. Wow. And that on a Sunday!...I set out to my next destination: the Taranaki region, famed for Mt Taranaki, hailed as the country's most beautiful mountain...I encounter something truly unexpected - an American flag with a sign congratulating Trump on winning the election. T...

...I notice a lot of road signs raising awareness for safe driving. One of them: "others make mistakes; slow down". Hello? Government of New Zealand? I'd like to order 100,000 of those for my country please....I am amazed by what seems like a unique Kiwi invention: hospice shops. They're second hand stores selling different goods donated by people to raise funds for hospices. True we have such stuff in Belgium too but those are geared specially toward hos...

...I decide to visit the thermal area of Rotorua with the world's tallest jet geyser - the Pohutu, which rises up to 30 m...I enjoy the visit includes a tour of a kiwi bird house - kiwis are nocturnal so to let people see them, the turn off the lights by day and turn them on by night, fooling the kiwi into thinking he's on European time :) - you can't see much in the dark but I did get a glimpse of my first kiwi!!!...I watch the included cultural perf...

...I drive out to Matamata to begin my Hobbiton studio tour. Goo...I have a coffee before the tour at a drive through McDonald's. This looks like the first drive through I'd been to where after ordering at the intercom and paying at the first window, at the second window instead of getting your order, your you are told to pull over at the parking lot and someone will fetch the order to you. And I just had a coffee! It's funny they can't keep up bu...

...I notice that New Zealand offers the kind of unparalleled scenic experience, which can't be easily compared to the likes of Norway or the European Alps. It's more gentle, more quiet but very soothing, very idyllic, almost homey. No wonder so many people settle here....I observe there is something very special about herds of cows grazing on the side of the road here. Can't put my finger on it yet but they're very photogenic somehow,...I spot sev...