New Zealand - North Island

So on Monday 11th May we crossed the Cook Straight and headed to Windy Welly, which indeed it was when we arrived! My head cold was in full working order and Darren had a bad throat. We were both tired and didn’t have the energy to do much upon our arrival. We went up to Victoria Summit which overlooked the entire city and nearly got blown away! Wellington was built on a big fault line and has plenty of movement every year, the parliamentary buildings even have strong earthquake resistance mechanisms within their base.
We found a caravan park in Upper Hutt, a town 10 miles out of Wellington and had a very early night!
The following day we headed into the city to take a walk around the parliamentary buildings / beehive. We finally found a free 2hr car parking space and went on a guided tour of the buildings. It was very interesting but we were also naïve to NZ politics so a few things just went over my head!! The kiwi’s are very patriotic and sound much more proud to have the Queen as head of state than Australia, which is a nice thing to hear. New Zealand was the first country in the world to allow women to vote and its funny that they have had quite a few female prime ministers, most recently Helen Clark, but we think power changed mid last year and its now a man!!!
Afterwards we went back to Cuddles to find a parking ticket on the windscreen because we had parked the wrong way!!! Apparently all vehicles should be facing one way so we had to pay $40, bit gutted about that but never mind.
We went to the Te Papa Museum which was full of all sorts of NZ information and we met up with Abbey (my friend who we had a night out with in Byron Bay). We only had an hour as we had to leave Welly and she was getting onto a ferry to the south island. It was nice to catch up but sadly not long enough!
That afternoon we headed north west to the area of Teranaki which sticks out of the west coast in a kind of round shape. The area has hosts some of the best waves on black beaches and part of the road is called the surf highway. We went there for a completely different reason….Mount Teranaki (or Mount Egmont to which Cook named it) A big 2500m dormant volcano in the perfect shape of a cone sits in the middle of the entire area and can been seen for miles. It was used at the double for Mount Fugi in the film ’The Last Samuri’ with Tom Cruise, so the locals got all excited about that! Its not a must see destination on the backpacker route as there are the three volcanoes in the National Park which are easier to drive to but we fancied this diversion! It was quite a drive and from 50miles away at sunset we could see the tiny shape of the volcano while driving down a hill! We arrived late at night and we could clearly see the outline of the cone shape as the moon lit up the sky. We could also tell it was covered in snow, so we couldn’t wait for the morning! We woke up the next morning and a weather front had come in and covered the entire mountain in cloud…..all day! We were gutted! We went to Dawson Falls which is right at the summit and we still couldn’t see a thing, the 18m high waterfall was really pretty though! For the rest of the day we went to New Plymouth, the biggest city which was on the north coast. Strolled along the new coastal highway and saw a few old buildings including St. Mary’s Church, the oldest stone building in NZ (1840!) and we had a look in their museum. We had to be moving on by 4pm, all we wanted was a few cool pictures with the volcano but it wasn’t to be! We climbed a steep hill by the coast which gave great views looking out the surf highway beaches, the city and of course Mount Teranaki, but a thick, low heavy cloud remained covering the top half all day. We’ve taken photos of where it should be but you’d never guess there was a big volcano behind us! We bought a postcard instead!
We left New Plymouth a little disappointed but still with high hopes as our next few days were to be action packed. Next stop on the itinerary was Otorophanga Kiwi House and Waitomo Glow Worm Caves (2 hours north east). The kiwi house was pretty cool, they had two kiwi’s scurrying around in a artificial light house (as they are nocturnal birds). They are really cute and their movement funny! We couldn’t take photos which was a shame and its almost impossible to see them in the wild but still we enjoyed seeing them.
Fifteen minutes down the road is the caves, a popular tourist attraction. Waitomo is a tiny town in King Country and has a high Maori population. We had a 45 min tour of the Glow Worm Caves which was fun and included a 5 min boat ride where the tops of the cave glow like the stars, almost at hand reaching distance. It was absolutely beautiful. The town also has a ‘Shearing Shed’ where they shear German Angora BIG WHITE GORGEOUS FLUFFY RABBITS. They were huge and sooo cute. They need shearing every three months or they will overheat and their fur is used to make items of clothing. We watched Clarissa have a hair cut and it is the most bizarre thing we have ever seen. We couldn’t help but giggle a little when they turned her around like a pig of a spit. But the lady incharge insured us she was in no pain. A completely mad experience id say!!!
We then drove down to Lake Taupe (where we originally were going to sky dive) We didn’t really stay there long. We had a night in a camp sight, saw Hucka Falls which to me wasn’t that impressive (a big chasm of water) and then did the Craters of the Moon walk which had pools of bubbling mud and hot steam come out of the ground. A bit crazy. Taupo is the regions second most active geothermic area (after Rotoroa) and also has NZ largest lake which is the remains of a huge volcanic crater that erupted 26,000 years ago (and apparently would have been felt all around the world?!!) it’s a busy tourist town (city) but the weather was grim so we didn’t get to see much. On the Friday morning we popped into town and went to Louise (who we met all the way back in November, travelling through Vietnam and Cambodia with Debbie). She told us to say hi to her dad, so we did! She had also left us an envelope with 10 or so photos in from our trip with them and gee do we look different! What a lovely gesture (she is still travelling and currently in Eastern Europe but had a few weeks stop over in NZ over Xmas). We had a chat and her dad offered us a bed for the night which was lovely but we had to move on as time was ticking and we wanted to see so much more further north. After a quick stint on the internet (free wifi access in NZ does not exist!) we drove an hour north to ’smelly eggy’ Rotoroa. The geothermal captial of NZ!
The weather really wasn’t that great so we didn’t get up to a huge amount during the day in Rotoroa. We went to see a Maori village by the lake which had a meeting house and church, the wooden carved faces are amazing and everyone seems to tell a different story….it started to pour down half way through so we ran back to Cuddles!!! We headed to Kuirau Park where there is geothermal activity happening within the grounds and we could see it for free. There were big pools of bubbling water and mud, its mental. The park errupted back in 2003 and the entire area was covered in mud, including the trees!
We booked a Maori evening at Te Po, a Maori village and went there for the night. We had an introduction with the Maori warriors, a 30 minute concert where I learned to use the Pui and Darren did the Hakka (hilarious!). It was really fun. We also had a huge buffet Hangi meal (where they cook the meat under ground) and it was delicious. A young couple on our table were from Cyn Coed in Cardiff so we were chatting all night, it was great. A no complaints about the food, as you can imagine Darren was up and down like a yoyo to the buffet cart (starters, mains and desserts!)
At the end of the evening we were taken to see the only three remaining natural geysers that erupt about 20 times and can not be guaranteed to be in action when we visit. Luckily they were in full swing and all types of water and gases were exploding up into the air while we sipped our hot chocolates. It was a brilliant night and it was good to have more of an insight into the Maori culture, those descendants who are so proud of where they come from.
The following morning we went to Hells Gate, another bubbling geothermal area of Rotoroa (we had free ticket). We saw a lot of the same stuff but it was pretty cool, with some pools reaching soaring temperatures. They had a mud volcano which erupts every 6 weeks and plenty of smelly bubbling mud!
We then headed north to the Bay of Plenty, the drive didn’t take too long and we passed through some pretty villages. Darren’s head cold was now in full swing and he was feeling pretty rough so we had a chilled out afternoon at Mount Manganui, a popular holiday area for Aucklanders. The sun popped out and it looked really pretty out on the beach. The big hill was 200m high but because Daz had his cold instead of walking up it we decided to walk around it, ¾ of it surrounded by water as it sticks out of the main land. It was first time in ages we had felt warm sunshine and it was fab! We had lunch overlooking Pilot Pier and just chilled for the rest of the afternoon. There was more travelling to do in the evening (north west) to the Coramandle Peninsula where the drive was hilly and windy!
So on the Sunday morning we woke up to beautiful sunshine and the radio predicted temperatures of 20 degrees! Coromandle is only about an hours drive from Auckland so it is also another popular weekend and holiday hotspot. One of the main attractions of this area is Hot Water Beach where you can dig out the sand and bathe in warm waters (from the boiling magma within the earths crust, kind of cool hey?!) Unfortunately for us low tide was at 6am and you could only dig between 4-8am. We arrived by 9am and had just missed it! That didn’t stop Darren going for a quick swim in the cold sea, it helped get rid of his head cold!!
Another popular location is Cathedral Cove, a beach with a big cave through to the other side, very picturesque and quiet. The sun was shining and it was a lovely day. The shallow waters were a shade of turquoise and the rocks out to see were also a good photo opportunity. The next stretch of beach along the close was Stingray Bay, we couldn’t believe how blue the shallow waters were, it was very pretty (a place Zoe told us we must check out). We didn’t see any stingrays, but a nice relaxing sit on the beach with some fresh sunshine was very welcoming!
We headed to the west coast of the peninsula and stopped in Thames, Cook thought the river resembled London’s famous water way but from what we saw they looked nothing alike! We stopped for some essentials and had lunch overlooking a mini train track!
Next stop was ‘The City of Sails’….Auckland. We arrived in the evening and for the first time in nearly a month we saw more than 5 cars in an hour! We actually got held up in a traffic jam which was unheard of anywhere else in NZ, but when you have a motorway that goes right through the centre of NZ’s biggest city, its bound to cause a problem or two! The evening was chilled out and we saw the sky tower lit up. We travelled across the harbour bridge which gives great views of the city all lit up and found somewhere quiet to park up and sleep!
We’ve been lucky with the weather the last couple of days and nothing change for our day in Auckland. We only did the main centre of the city, taking in Queens Street, the main shopping area, The Sky Tower (the southern hemispheres tallest building) and the park around by the university. Most of our time was spent at the Sky Tower, mainly due to a spontaneous decision to do the Sky Walk, which incurs walking around the outer rim of the tower, 196m high with only a safety harness and rope stopping you from falling! Yes its sounds bonkers to me, but it was my idea and it was half price so we just did it!!!!
Im not the best with heights, even after all the activities we did and maybe this would cure my vertigo…but no! I have never been so scared in my life, worse than any bungy or skydive put together! There was four of us on the walk and it took about 30 mins the circle the tower on the 1.3m platform. The views (to be fair) we amazing and it was so clear. Our guide (from Leeds) was hilarious and also gave us a little bit of Auckland information while we did the walk. The worst part came when we had to pose for a good photo overlooking the harbour, we had to walk out on to the outer ledge and lean back with our hand in the air, the only support being the ropes that were connected to the steel bars above us. Well as you can imagine, Darren found this a piece of cake where as I took some persuading…..my photo says it all (when you get to see it). Awesome photos though and a great experience. Darren enjoyed the walk, walking freely hands by side, I on the other hand held onto my rope for dear life and was quite happy when we arrived back at the beginning. It was good fun though!!!!!!!!
We took a stroll through Albert Park and University on our way back to the van and enjoyed our day. Auckland is very clean and although it does have the more than a quarter of the countries population, it didn’t seem that busy to us. The roads are a bit like spaghetti junction but apart from that it’s a great place!!!!
Wow…..next stop….we made it up to the very top of the country, Cape Reigna on the Tuesday after 200 odd miles of country roads. Definitely worth it. The walk to the lighthouse was very appeasing and again we had beautiful weather. There is a lot of Maori culture up in Northland and it is believed that the spirits of Maori people begin their afterlife by jumping off the tip and sliding down the routes of the 800 year old Pohutukawa tree which sits at the bootom of a big land mass or rocks and crashing waves just to the east of the lighthouse.
We also went to the Te Paki Giant Sand Dunes and watched people sand board down massive sand dunes! We weren’t going to have a shower for a day or two so we resisted and just went for a walk instead, looked great fun though!
We did a lot of driving that day and ended up coming back down the Northland and stopping to sleep around Doubtless Bay.
Our next day was filled with seeing little places we didn’t really know about and enjoying some of NZ’s best beaches (our personal opinion). We had a great little hike up to the hill at Maturi Bay to see the monument for the Rainbow Warrior Ship which was sunk by French seals in Auckland harbour back in 1980’s, all something to do with the French testing nuclear products in French Polynesia. The ship now lays the rest near where we walked and will soon be a popular wreck for divers to explore. The beach there was stunning and I just loved the sweep of the bay and the clear green/blue waters. The view out to the Stephenson Islands was also pretty.
We enjoyed a little time exploring some waterfalls and old buildings in Keri Keri. We also purchased some yummy fudge from a shop owned by a lady from Cambridge and we also explored an ancient Maori Marae.
We saved the best till last and on our final day we headed out into the Bay of Islands from Paihui, the main gateway to the islands with a man names Richard on his 40 foot sailing yacht. We were the only two passengers and we sailed all day, it was perfect and we had delightful weather. On the way out we spotted half a dozen blue penguins which were making a right noise and on the way back we had a few glimpse’s of dolphins.
The Bay of Islands were beautiful but we did say we have kind of come to the point where every boat trip is the same and we’re not appreciating the areas beauty as much as maybe if we were on a two week holiday! As you all know (!!!!) we have seen so many amazing places and breath taking sceneries we have kind of lost a new places appreciation. However it truly was a beautiful area and we had a walk upon one of the islands and got lush 360 degree panoramic views. We had lunch on board ‘Hon Fleur’ and on the way back had a great experience sailing in high winds with the yacht on its side, it was quite exciting!!!
We passed Russel, which was NZ’s first capital back in the day and we also passed Waitangi, the building where the treaty was signed between the English and the Maori people back in 1840. It was a great way to end our NZ adventure!
We spent one last night in Auckland and woke up to a spectacula sunrise, overlooking Aucklands youngest volcanic island, Rangatoka. A colourful sunrise, not bad at all! We had to take Cuddles back to the depot (along with a list of things I suggest need to be fixed!) and we had a lift to the airport.
We flew to Tahiti in the late afternoon, set our watches forward 2 hours, but would be arriving 22 hours behind! So our Friday flight arrived on Thursday evening, now that’s crazy! Well, I got to celebrate big bro Andy’s birthday twice!
NZ was an amazing experience for both of us and we thoroughly enjoyed our time exploring both islands. The south islands scenery is spectacular and you can never get bored of driving and something more amazing always captures your eye around the next corner! The north island reminded us of home in so many ways and we did enjoy the warmer temperatures towards the end! We’ve had a blast and now its time to take a ‘time out’ and enjoy the paradise that awaits us in French Polynesia, ’Tahiti est ses iles!’
Bon Soir
xxxxxx