Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
After a somewhat leisurely past week, it was now time to stop all this trekking and sightseeing nonsense and just get some miles under our belt. We had come stuck when putting our travel plan into action, as we'd definitely underestimated the actual size of New Zealand. As such, we had only given ourselves one and a half days to reach the port at Picton from our current destination of Queenstown; a distance of 550 miles (just under 900kms for you metric fans), with some steep hills to account for too.
So, with time being such a precious commodity, we got ourselves prepared for the long-haul and embarked on our quest.
One thing that we'd seen a lot of in New Zealand - perhaps more so than Australia - was hitchhikers. Travel throughout the country was expensive, so it made sense that some fellow backpackers attempting to cut back where possible.
After spotting a hopeful couple thumbing it at the roadside, we then toyed with the idea of picking one up to kind-of pass the time. After weighing up the pros and cons, we decided to go for it and so devised a preferred profile: Female, mid-late 20's, travelling alone (as we only had the one spare seat).
However, when we finally passed a girl that very much fitted the bill, instead of stopping and bringing her in and out of the rain, we instead chickened out and just drove on. We then spent the next half an hour justifying our decision, as we felt that she probably would have guilt-tripped us into more than just a free ride. The cheek of some people.
After an overnight stop in Greymouth - a rather depressing small town on the west coast - we then bolted the rest of the way to the port, making our 12:30pm ferry with around 45 minutes to spare.
We were sad to leave the South Island, as it was everything we had hoped for and more. The scenery was astonishing and quite diverse too: From the Nordic-looking Fiordlands in the south, on to dense sub-tropical rainforests, then to European style woodlands and finally the Marlborough vineyards. We also enjoyed the laid back atmosphere of the locals and it was at the point of queuing for the ferry when we started discussing New Zealand over Australia as a potential place to settle down.
From South To North
The crossing in itself was rather uneventful, save for the woman sat next to me watching a rather raunchy film on her laptop. It was quite hard to concentrate on my own screen, and I was often drawn into gawping at the abundance of nudity, but I think that I still managed to keep some stealth about me and so avoided being caught.
After disembarking in Wellington and heading around 20 miles (32 kms) up the road to Upper Hut, we parked up for the night and discussed our battle-plan for the North Island. As there was so much more to take in and only 5 days in which to do so, we had to prioritise and essentially cut or condense our list of things to do.
The first stop was to be Napier, New Zealand's 'art deco' capital. The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 1931 and was then rebuilt with stunning retro-style buildings and monuments. Unfortunately, high street logos have since covered much of the town and so it probably doesn't have the same feel to it like it did 80 years ago.
Our site for that night was just out of town and right on the beachfront. It wasn't quite as spectacular as some of the South Island's offerings, but you can never get tired of listening to the waves crashing as you sip a beer or red wine - something that we did for about 3 hours after parking up.
Hot Pools and Hangis
Our next stop was 100km north to the town of Rotorua, the geo-thermal epicentre of the country. The town lies on the Rotorua Caldera volcano, and although it last erupted 240,000 years ago, it hasn't stopped it being a hot-bed for geo-thermal activity, such as the geysers that can be found in the local parks; these are sink holes with pools of boiling hot water or lava-like mud bubbling away inside. As can be expected, this has brought a lot of tourism to the area and there are various hot spas that you can visit. Most locals also use it to their advantage, taking the naturally heated waters for use in their own homes. Unfortunately, all this activity comes at a price and so there's a constant sulphuric 'eggy' smell that is omitted.
We had stopped for lunch at Lake Taupo, a popular holiday resort for the locals, and as we made from there to Rotorua, we caught wind of a tropical storm that was headed to the North Island. Its name was Cyclone Lusi and it had already claimed three lives in Vanuatu in the past week and although it was the tail end, we were advised to only travel if absolutely necessary.
So, our plan at this point was to stay in Rotorua for two nights, using it as a hub to get to Hobbiton - the set of the hobbits village in Lord of the Rings, something that I had added as a major priority on our check list and that was only about 20 miles away from the town. This would also mean that we would be doing minimal driving whilst Lusi did her thing.
However, as Rotorua didn't seem to have any free wifi spots and our campsite's internet charges were extortionate, we decided to leave early the next day and head to Hahei Beach via the trip to The Shire. This meant sheepishly asking for a refund on the second day from the campsite and going against all advice by driving head-on into Lusi's wrath.
We spent the rest of the evening bathing in a hot pool at the site and using a Hangi to cook part of our dinner. Traditional Hangi's are a Maori method of cooking and are simply holes dug in the ground with hot rocks placed in them. Meat and vegetables are then placed on the rocks and the hole is covered up for several hours. Our Hangi, though, was a large metal unit that was naturally heated, so not as cool as the original but still good enough.
Hobbitses
Despite it being a bit grey the next morning, there was no real evidence of the potential cyclone so we happily trotted on to Hobbiton. The rain and wind did eventually pick up and despite initially missing the not-so-well signposted turn-off, we were soon transported to a rather soggy Middle Earth.
The site is set on a farm just outside of the town of Matamata. It was initially only built temporarily for the filming of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and was restored to its original state, but it was rebuilt permanently for the Hobbit and as such, the farm owners have since opened it up for tours.
There were a few other interesting facts that the guide divulged as we trotted around, one being: The thousands of leaves on the fake tree on top of Bag End (Bilbo and Frodo Baggins' hobbit hole) were actually hand painted by interns. Each and every one of them. Madness.
The Last Campervan Destination
After our tour, we were back on our way north and en route to Hahei Beach. Except for a lot of rain and a few hairy moments crossing a mountain range, we hadn't felt as though we had seen the full extent of Lusi's fury and according to the campsite staff, we weren't going to until that evening. We ensured that we found a well sheltered site.
However, despite all the huffing and puffing, we seemed to escape the full force and by the next morning, there were blue skies again. This called for a day at the beach, and not just any beach, but the aptly named Hot Water Beach, a place where you can dig a hole in the sand and lie in naturally heated waters that rise from beneath. You did need the tide to be out for this to work properly and unfortunately, that's where we were out of luck, as the waves didn't recede enough for us to dig a proper hole. We did manage to get a little experience, but nothing too great, so we packed it in and headed over to Cathedral Cove instead.
This is a stunning secluded beach with the cove tunnelling through the cliff top and to get there, you need to walk on a trail for around 1 hour from where we were staying. As we both thought that this would be more beach walking than actual trekking, we opted for flip-flops as appropriate footwear, something that we were later regretting as we trudged through the sludgy, slippery and sloping track. Needless to say, however, it was definitely worth it.
As that was our last night in the van, we upgraded to a beach front site and once again enjoyed the sounds of the waves as we drifted off to sleep.
Auckland, Uncle Bill & Mindy
After our final drive back into Auckland, my Great Uncle Bill came to pick us up from the depot. At his house, we were greeted by his dog, Mindy, who did as Uncle Bill promised and licked us both to death.
We stayed there for a week as we took in the sights of the capital and its surrounding areas. We did have a lot of 'administration' tasks to complete, but we did manage to get out a lot and really enjoyed what we saw. Uncle Bill took us out for a few scenic drives to beaches in the north and south of the city, while Anne and I did a few other touristy things alone, like heading up the Sky-tower and such.
However, the highlight of our week was definitely our day trip to Waiheke Island, a 35 minute ferry ride from the city. We had booked in to 'Wild on Waiheke', a vineyards that offers both wine and beer tasting, as well as archery - something that Anne and I were both keen to try again after our brief taster session whilst in Melbourne.
While we were on the island, we both realised that this was the ideal location for us to move to and it completely met all of our requirements: Small town, close to a big city, next to a beach. Perfect. There's also something about islands that we both find particularly settling; like a relaxed vibe that sets us both at ease.
So, after just seeing it for one day, our plans have now been firmly concreted and it's a certainty that we will one day return to Waiheke on a more permanent basis.
A New Continent Awaits
We've left New Zealand with as much of a heavy heart as we had in Australia, if not more. This could be partly to do with Uncle Bill's great hospitality and also because of Mindy, who is the most mild-mannered animal I've ever encountered and kept us all entertained with her daft but very cute antics through the week.
For now, we're on a plane to Santiago de Chile and are about to go back in time, for we took off in Auckland at 4:15pm on Monday afternoon, but arrive in South America at 11:10am on Monday morning. I must see if the pilot will show me his flux-capacitor (not a euphemism).
- comments
Taylor Mendelsohn The cheek of some people. You guys are terribely funny, can't wait to read your South American posts!
Shaun's Mum Fantastic reading , take care is South America xx