Along the Away

As enjoyable as my North Island adventuring has been, I headed off to the South Island with a skip in my step knowing that the consensus among many is that things only get better the further south you go. It’s no secret that the South Island takes the prize for jaw dropping scenery and it’s no secret that nature is my thing.

So I travelled over the Cook Strait nice and early in the morning on the inter-islander ferry.

The trip took over three hours crossing through the Marlborough Sound, my eyes peeled for whales (which never showed). It was a relatively smooth trip though and I was there in a jiffy!

For the next part of my trip I decided to do with the tour company Topdeck to make it easy to get about the icy island, particularly traveling over to the glaciers (the place I’m most looking forward to!)

There was a full bus of about 30 of us which is the biggest group of people I have ever travelled with! Everyone was really nice, a mix of Aussies, Canadians and Europeans, though I was the oldest at 32, they ranged down to about 20 which was an adjustment. I have previously travelled with Intrepid tours who have smaller groups (12 maximum), a wider age group (mid twenties to fifties, with the average around 30) and who travel on local transport not their own dedicated tour vehicle. I think by nature I’m more suited to the Intrepid style, but I enjoyed what Topdeck had to offer and had a great time.

Our first stop was to a winery I’m the Malborough region – Forrest Wines.

There was lots of taste testing but my favourite thing was the picturesque landscape and the first glimpses of mountain ranges along the horizon.

And the sheep ;-)

From here we piled back in the bus and drove down to Nelson, via a night stopover in Christchurch. More on that in the next post!

Blowing into windy Wellington, New Zealand’s hip capital city, on the back of rainy weather, it was refreshing to see the clouds clearing just as we arrived.

First up was a drive past the long waterfront, craning our heads up the hill at the residential homes complete with cliff side personal gondolas installed to make the hefting of groceries from the car to house a bit easier. Don’t think I haven’t thought of rigging something similar to my third floor apartment balcony back in Sydney!

We stopped at the Weta Cave, an interesting hole in the wall museum at Weta Workshops, the special effects and prop studio co-founded by Peter Jackson. It’s part collector’s gift shop, part museum (some of the price tags were a pretty penny such as $700+ for a hand calligraphied contract owned by one Bilbo Baggins).

The coolest thing there was a tiny theatre where a 15 minute film showcasing the prop making and visual effects genius Weta have contributed to such films at The Lord of the RIngs, The Hobbit, TinTin, Planet of the Apes and Avatar to name but a few. It showed some behind-the-scenes talent, the creative minds working on such projects in their day-to-day job of a lifetime.

After that we drove up to the top of Mt Victoria for city wide panoramic views over Wellington.

We drove through the Mount Victoria Tunnel which our bus driver honked the bus horn through, oh, about twenty times. It is apparently a tradition to honk your horn while driving through the tunnel for no other reason than to get someone to honk back at you. Apparently it has recently been clamped down on by the police, which may explain why no one honked their horn back at us… :-(

In the afternoon, I took a wander through Civic Square down to Te Papa (the National Museum). There was a series of city art pieces with quotes from poems and literature about New Zealand. It was really cool.

I wandered down through Cuba Place where I stopped for lunch at Felix Cafe, a good place to eat and people watch.

A guy I chatted with there suggested I take the cable car up to the Botanic Gardens so of course I did!

There is a loop walk starting from the cable car station at the top, which takes about 45 minutes and includes a sculpture walk, rose gardens and benches in pretty, peaceful spots.

It was windy! Time for a random selfie :-)

The gardens feature a sculpture trail with some really interesting pieces.

This one creates music when you run a stick along the outside of the cone!

I spent about twenty minutes down on the ground taking about two hundred photos of the cutest inquisitive bunch of little sparrows. I’m still trying to figure out my new camera so it was fun to play around with it while these little guys hopped in and around me.

And the ducks :-)

I watched the sun set with pretty colours.

I went into the observatory where there is the usual astronomy exhibits as well as an interesting showcase on New Zealanders who have contributed to global space and astronomy achievements and another on the Maori interpretation of the stars and use of the sky for navigation.

I joined a show session in the planetarium which included a screening of ‘Dynamic Earth’ narrated by Liam Neeson and then a tour through the sky by a resident astronomer. He brought up the night’s Wellington sky on the dome roof and pointed out star patterns and shapes and their European and Maori names and interpretations, it was really fascinating. For example what we know as the lion, Leo, is interpreted by Maori’s as a kind of fishing hook!

The astronomer also told us about ‘Matariki’ which is a cluster of stars that only appears once a year in winter and heralds the start of the Maori New Year. When it appears in the sky in May-June it means the new season has arrived.

Afterwards I caught the cable car back down the hill to the city (it takes about 6 minutes) and wandered down to Courtney Place for dinner at Enigma Cafe a busy cheerful place with hearty and affordable food. When I was in there a diverse range of characters sat at the tables; groups of friends having tea, couples eating dinner, a running group calling in for smoothies, three guys playing a board game, and me eating vegetarian nachos and reading my kindle, just making myself at home.

I walked back to my hotel through the relatively quiet night-time streets just soaking up the European-esque laneways and making note of quirky hole in the wall bars and restaurants (like the crumpet bar… Seriously, a crumpet bar? If only I had the time!)

As I was walking down one dark street I noticed a lost looking fellow coming towards me who stopped to ask for directions – as the words left his mouth we recognised each at the same moment from having chatted in a bar a week before in Rotorua! What in the world? Moments like this make you think maybe it’s not so big after all!

When I spotted this man and his dog I knew I was home for the night, my hotel being just behind it. It helps to have such handy landmarks in a new place!

This marks the end of my NZ North Island adventures, tomorrow the South Island is only a ferry ride away!

New Zealand is home to an epic series of ‘Great Walks’ which I have read about and hope to tick some off of my bucket list sometime in my lifetime. I was really excited to go to the World Heritage Listed Tongariro National Park where the only Great Walk you can do in one day, the Tongariro Crossing, is located. The Crossing is 19.4km long and is incredibly steep in parts (there is a part called The Devils Staircase. Enough said.)

There are three mountains in the national park – Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu, which are important landmarks to the Maori people for spiritual and cultural reasons.

We stayed two nights in an alpine lodge in Whakapapa Village, which was cosy but rustic – it reminded me a bit a school camp to be honest, lots of pine furniture, bunk beds, shared common rooms with board games and fireplaces. There is a kitchen and bar there, the food was good and the staff were friendly and helpful – especially in regards to giving me a cup of uncooked rice – more on that later.

I love bushwalking and hiking outdoors, I try to walk everyday but even still I wouldn’t say my fitness is at a high level because I don’t train or intentionally challenge myself to tackle steeper terrain or anything – I mostly stick to coastal tracks. So I was a bit nervous about doing the Tongariro Crossing but I knew enough of its beauty to sign up immediately anyway. When our bus arrived in the national park the night before it was raining pretty heavily but the forecast was looking good for the next day. We were getting picked up by a guided hiking company called Adventure Outdoors at a very early hour, so I prepped all my hiking gear at the end of my bunk bed ready for a quick and quiet rise in the morning (lesson number one in being a considerate room-mate). When the morning came I woke to the sound of rain pattering down but I jumped up, got ready and assembled optimistically with the rest of the group ready for the pick-up. Alas, Mother Nature had other plans for us. Sarah and Perrin, from Adventure Outdoors arrived with the sad news that the wind higher up on the crossing was too fierce to make the trek – the Tongariro Crossing was closed. For those that haven’t heard of it before, here is what I missed out on:

So sad, I felt really disappointed as I had psyched myself up to take on the challenge. Hiking through snow and navigating ice on the track was going to be a new experience for me, I was really mentally preparing myself for the challenge of using crampons and ice picks to earn that incredible view. But as travel always (always) teaches us, when something doesn’t work out, just roll with it onto the next amazing experience. Sarah and Perrin were revved up with enthusiasm and wouldn’t let our spirits stay down for long – they proposed we head out and do some hiking along the base of the mountains, some of which was part of the Tongariro Crossing anyway. So we did!

It rained. The entire 6 hours.

But look, I’m smiling! With rain drops on my nose.

Coz it was fun! Seriously, we’ve developed into such precious souls when it comes to getting a bit uncomfortable. I would never normally go hiking in the rain. Even if it’s forecast to rain later during the day I’ll cancel an intended hike. I’d get wet! And cold! And uncomfortable!

Well, so what. I did get a bit of all of those things, but I didn’t stop smiling! Neither did anyone in our small group of 8 or so. We laughed at ourselves and each other. We stumbled and bounced back up. We stopped for photos, to listen to stories from the girls, to try and picture the scenes in Lord of the Rings which were filmed here.

We started at Mangatepopo Car Park and walked as far as Soda Springs, stopping before ascending the Devil’s Staircase.

The track was beautiful in the rain. The fog hung low and heavy, the silence of the land except the rain hitting the ground and our feet crunching on the rocks.

Sarah and Perrin were wonderful guides, they acted as if it was a perfect blue sky, sunny day and we were out for a leisurely stroll. Sarah was actually 7 months pregnant at the time! Which none of us even realised til about two hours in – we were all so bundled up in fleeces and rain jackets that her bump was hidden and her unbelievable energy would never have given it away. Once realised that, it put us all in our place – if she can keep going then we can!

I learnt from the walk that Lake Taupo was once a volcano that blew up in about 1180. It threw lava and rock over a third of the north island. All the trees were flattened creating the lava fields we walked through on our walk. Lake Taupo is hours away – so that gives you an idea of the how powerful the volcano eruption was.

I might have missed out on hiking with crampons on the ice, but I got to step over some. It was this cold. 

I can only wonder at how the walk looks and feels on a gloriously sunny day. Our experience was oh so different, but appreciated.

Soda Springs popped up in view, our walk’s target.

On we trooped, letting the rain soak in and roll off.

Finally we reached Soda Springs. A quick photo op and we turned around and trudged back to the Mangatepopo carpark.

Once we got back in the van and had the heaters pumping we all laughed and kidded around, trying a hopeless battle to keep seats dry when everything about us was soaked. We had the giddy high you get after doing something you probably wouldn’t have thought you would do, relief mixed with achievement. Then Sarah turned from the front seat and proposed we head to a lake walk – only about 2 hours and mostly under a rainforest canopy so we wouldn’t get much wetter (can you get wetter than 100% soaked?) The van got quiet. We all made non-committal noises sliding side-long glances at each other. Was anyone going to object? Was the seven months pregnant woman going to be shut down? Non-committal noises turned into non-committal head bobs as we all waited for someone to say the words that would send us all home to a shower and dry towel, food and a heater. The words never came and Sarah and Perrin clapped their hands and took off toward the walk. We all rallied as we realised ‘OK, we’re doing this!’ Later we all laughed when we realised not one of us thought we had it in us to do another rain walk, surely 4 hours had been enough. But we were all so glad that we’d followed the crowd – we had another fabulous walk!

Rotopounamu Lake is located at the foot of Mt Pihanga in the Pihanga Scenic Reserve, believed to have formed about 10,000 years ago by a landslide. The walk is 6km around, and took us about 90 minutes.

The name translates to ‘greenstone’ which apparently reflects the colour of the water on a clear day – I will have to trust our guides on this one seeing as my view was rather grey…

Dreary, but strangely still beautiful and rather invigorating to be there!

I mentioned at the start of this post a cup of rice which was given to me without question from the kitchen at our accommodation. Along the walk I couldn’t help but keep getting my iPhone out to snap photos. Of course I hadn’t brought my camera along due to the rain, but with my phone slipping into the inside pocket of my trusty Kathmandu Gortex raincoat I figured I could chance it.

I took lots of photos – amidst lots of rain drops.

I made sure to wipe it dry every time I put it back in my pocket, but by the end of the day the combination of constant downpour and the humidity inside my jacket due to my body heat, my iPhone was NOT happy. As in the front screen was completely streaked with water marks and condensation under the screen. I could barely read a thing. I did a Google and read that I should turn it off and sit it in a cup of rice. I gave it a go as I LOVE my iPhone and would have been devastated to have it die, mid-trip no less. I kept it in the cup of rice overnight to no avail. I moved both rice and the iPhone into a clip-lock bag and kept it in there for another 48 hours with still no luck – it looked just as bad. I felt sad and decided to turn it on and use it as much as I could til I could get home and replace it. Well, gradually, over the next three weeks my iPhone healed itself. I suppose it dried out over time in my pocket next to my body heat. I was stoked! So for anyone looking  for a solution to a water damaged phone – time, heat and a little TLC should see it right :-)

 

Leaving Rotorua involved a few stops along the way to appreciate the Wai-O-Tapu (Maori for sacred waters), an active geothermal area located in the Taupo Volcanic Zone.

We stopped off to look at the Mud Pool, a vast gurgling swamp of mud. Deeeelightful! It really stank, but there was something mesmerising watching the bubbles popping up to the surface with a loud belch and mud spurting into the air and plopping back down leaving circular rings across the surface of the pool.

We also stopped by a pebble beach that I don’t recall the name of. There was a lonely looking wharf there and the glassy surface of Lake Rotorua begging for pebbles to be skipped across. And look so many pebbles within reach!

We travelled on in the bus towards Taupo, which boasts New Zealand’s largest lake. Before hopping the bus I snapped this pic of the misty morning. Ahh the mysteries of the road, you never know what will happen next.

We stopped at the majestic Huka Falls on the Waikato River, New Zealand’s longest, where the water is a vibrant blue-green colour under all the white water.

Starting at the falls we did a one hour hike, following a track to the Spa Park walking along the bank of the river the whole way. The river changed form right before our eyes as we went, from the thundering falls where the water gushes down an eleven metre drop (220,000 litres a second) to a wide, meandering river winding its way lazily through the forest.

The Spa Park at the end features hot pools that feed warm water into the river. I thought the outside temperature was too cold to deal with being wet (what a wuss, I wish I had now) so I just popped my feet in – lovely!!

Beautiful Lake Taupo was not hard to miss – it is New Zealand’s biggest! It’s up to 188m deep in places, 100m deep on average, and contains 60 cubic kilometres of water – enough water to cover the whole North Island with a half metre depth of water.

The sky cleared up to a brilliant blue by the time we arrived, though it was still pretty chilly. I still enjoyed a half hour walking along the edge in the sunshine.

I walked around the few blocks of Taupo, had a breakfast-lunch, and wandered through a park to the Taupo Museum. The entry fee was only about $5, and I went in more or less to spend an hour until the bus left to continue on to Tongariro National Park. I’m so glad I did – the cultural and historical exhibits were really interesting. There is a carved Maori Meeting House dating from 1927 and lots of history about Tuwharetoa, the local Maori tribe.

There was a lot of info about New Zealand’s volcanic history which I found really fascinating. Lake Taupo is actually a volcano – strange to believe as it’s also a lake, formed in the ‘caldera’ volcano – one of the best examples of a caldera in the world. It’s located at the heart of the Taupo Volcanic Zone which is home to most of New Zealand’s volcanoes and geothermal features. According to Wikipedia:

“This huge volcano has produced two of the world’s most violent eruptions in geologically recent times.”

In other words, it is a crazy-real volcano. Though, the reference to recent times actually refers to 26,500 and 1,800 years ago, so not super-crazy-recent.

The museum had lots of old media coverage from eye witnesses that have experienced earthquakes caused by the plates under Lake Taupo, I found it absolutely fascinating – I took a photo of this old article:

There is also an interesting article written by the New Zealand Herald, Taupo volcano: what its past unrest can tell us.

And that’s all for Lake Taupo! On we go to Tongariro National Park for an attempt at a ‘Great Walk’.

Poor Rotorua and it’s stinky reputation. Not stinky as in it’s the pits, but stinky as in, rotten eggs stinky… That’s the sulphur for you, that darn old thermal activity.

Which gives us hot thermal springs and nutrient rich mud baths (good).

And the bog of eternal stench (bad).

It was not so bad really, though no one is joking when they say that ‘the smell’ lingers gently over the whole town. You learn to breathe through the mouth.

Rotorua’s other reputation is for adventure filled fun so I definitely signed up for some of that. First up was white water rafting on the Kaituna River, a grade five river, which according to Wikipedia in white water terms means:

“Grade 5 – Whitewater, large waves, large volume, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering.”

To put my feat in context:

Grade 6 – Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous that they are effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes.

Yes, so Grade 5 is a big deal. The biggest deal you can raft without facing almost certain death. I was quite excited and a little apprehensive about the cold (yeah the cold, and maybe a bit about smashing my head on a rock or getting trapped under a capsized raft, but mostly the cold). I psyched myself up to tackle the challenges on the river including surviving the largest waterfall drop which can peak to 7m depending on the conditions! I’m not a thrill seeker by any means, for example you will not see a post featuring bungy jumping or sky diving from me. But I do like adventure!

We got picked up by River Rats From the hotel and drove about 40 mins to a shed a couple of hundred metres from where we would be starting our raft. We got kitted out in fleece tops, wetsuits, boots, helmets and life jackets. We hopped in the raft on the gravel to run through a quick lesson on what to do on each instruction. We practised synchronised rowing – funny that took the longest to master – and the ‘hold’ sequence, basically grabbing on and ducking down, which would be our go-to position on the scary-uh-I-mean-turbulent parts. Like the 7m waterfall drop. Yikes.

We spent about an hour on the river paddling when we told to and holding on the extra-turbulent parts. Our instructor was good fun and guided us through numerous rapids, down three waterfalls and UP a couple as well (the splash back was good fun!)

I thought the water would be unbearably freezing but with all the paddling and adrenaline plus the fleece and wetsuit it was actually OK!

The biggest deal was the big waterfall! It was at 6.5m when we got to it. There were three rafts in our group and mine was the last, bobbing on the water off to the side, hanging on to bits of leaves and branches while the other two took their turn paddling to the top of the waterfall then tipping slowly over and plunging down. The first raft tumbled down the white water and disappeared before it’s underside popped back up to the top while it’s occupants scattered around it scrambling to right it and get back in. The second raft approached the top with everyone grimmacing with concentration – over it went, disappearing in a flash before popping back up underside at the top. Oh no! Two capsizes! I really started to get uncomfortable with the idea of getting stuck under the raft. But no time to dwell on it, our guide yelled out “PADDLE!” and we gripped our paddles and splashed them haphazardly in the water, getting closer and closer.

“KEEP PADDLING!”

Ahhh we’re so close! We reached the top, the adrenaline pumped, we started to tip…

“HOLD!!”

I yanked my hand to the rope at the side while still gripping my paddle. I shoved my body down in the tiny space and scrambled my other hand to find the hold inside the raft. I felt the raft get ripped off the top and accelerate down the drop. My last thought was ‘I am NOT falling out of this raft!’ I tucked my chin just as we entered a washing machine spin of chaos. A jet of cold water slammed up my nostrils into the back of my skull. I swished and swirled and lost all sense of anything til I felt us surge up and I emerged coughing and spluttering. ‘What happened? Did we make it?’ was my first thought as I opened my eyes. The two girls in front were missing, I looked beside me and noticed the four of us in the back were all still wedged in our places, helmets askew and watering streaming out of everywhere. WE MADE IT!

We located our missing crew and pulled one poor girl back into the raft with blood gushing from her hand. A fake nail had been ripped off in her tumble from the raft. I felt so bad for her that she had to get back in and keep paddling, blood running a river down the side of the raft.

But after that waterfall it was all cake. Some more fun rapids before we hopped out and trudged up the road holding our raft above our heads. That was the worst bit actually, I was one of the tallest and the full weight of the raft crushed down on my neck causing something to twinge! Didn’t really appreciate the guide laughing off what could have caused a potential neck injury but apart from that the adventure itself was good fun!

The photo below is not mine (it’s all over the web though I believe original copyright must belong to River Rats) but you have gotten through my long written account of the adventure, you deserve a visual – here’s a pic of the waterfall:

My next Rotorua adventure was off to Hobbiton! The film site of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit where rolling green hills are dotted with colourful front doors built into the hillside, picket fences and vegetable gardens and hobbit-sized laundry flapping on clothes lines. Adventure in a different sense of the word.

It was certainly a fun experience, I’m a fan of the books and films so I got a kick out of seeing the attention to detail that went into the set production.

For your information, this tree is part real tree, part fake. Peter Jackson was so particular about recreating the hobbit village exactly as the books describe that they relocated this tree from somewhere else, stripped all the leaves off and sewed silk leaves onto it’s branches… The attention to detail is serious business.

 

I’m not sure the $100+ entry is quite justified though it does include a beer, cider or ginger ale in the Green Dragon Inn which is a real treat – roaring fire place, a friendly cat sleeping on the rug, lots of big wooden tables and chairs, a truly cosy and leisurely end to the tour. If you’re a big fan you won’t want to miss out, just cough up the price and go.

There’s so much to do in Rotorua, if I’d had time I would have liked to go to the thermal sulphur baths however I couldn’t fit it in. Next time!

Goodbye Lake Rotorua, I’m off to Lake Taupo in the morning.

 

The next stop on my Kiwi travels was the Bay of Islands, on the north coast of the North Island. I travelled up on a backpacker bus which was good as we stopped a couple of places along the way.

The McKinney Kauri Tree in Parry Kauri Park is estimated to be over 800 years old! It’s 125 metres tall and 25 metres around – a bit too wide to fit my arms around!

 

We stopped at Whangarei Falls where it was drizzling with rain, but luckily I had my new goretex rain jacket with me. It was an expensive splurge (even at less than half price in the Kathmandu sale) but worth it.

There is a circular track that took less than 30 minutes to walk with a view of the falls from the top and then from down below.

 

 

The falls drop 26.3 metres!

 

Look how lush and green the forest is, just beautiful.

We got back on board the bus and continued on our way to the town of Paihia, a handy spot from which to explore the Bay of Islands. I had read about an overnight cruise around the islands called Rock the Boat which sounded like a lot of fun so I booked it in while still in Australia, but then I arrived to a wet and windy scene… and the news the boat had sprung a leak! It’a always disappointing when travel plans don’t pan out, but there’s always usually a bright side to find and in this case I’m glad that I wasn’t on the boat while the weather raged (bad) or when it sprung the leak (very bad).

In hindsight maybe the Bay of Islands would best be left to the summer months when the weather is dryer and the water more inviting, however despite the wild start the weather did fine up enough the next day to head out on a cruise around the islands with our eyes peeled for dolphins. The ocean was too rough to go out past the bay so we missed seeing the famous ‘hole in the rock’ but dolphins we did see!

The important question one must ask oneself when returning from an outdoorsy coastal holiday is ‘how many dolphin photos can one person take, seriously?’ The answer is ‘freaking hundreds’. Most of them random shots of water with maybe a hint of a shadow of a dolphin under the surface. After a massive photo purge, I still really want to show these ones.

Look how beautiful the mist looks in the trees on this island, with the first sighting of dolphins in the water.

And then they came closer! Yay!

Beautiful, graceful, happy dolphins.

With a baby!

The skipper spotted a sailing boat moored near one of the islands which is part of a youth support program. Young teens who are selected to be a part of the program live on board the boat for weeks at a time with no phones, junk food or other modern conveniences, while they learn to sail, fish and other life skills.

 

Our skipper pulled up close to the boat and sounded the horn to wake them all up. He said that sometimes the kids come out on board and will perform the Haka for the cruise boat. We waited awhile and then signs of life appeared. A bunch of happy but shy looking kids came out on board, and three stepped forward and launched into a wonderful display of the traditional Maori war dance. It was really brilliant, and so unexpected!

We kept on cruising… and we saw more dolphins!

We had the opportunity to jump off the boat at Urupukapuka Island to explore for awhile.

 

The colour of the water was so beautiful, and constantly changing.

I headed for a water-logged path that ran past a ramshackle building, through a sweet gate and up a very steep hill.

I trudged up to the top and was rewarded with a breathtaking view across the water.

Back on the boat we started heading back to Paiha where we had started the cruise; finally the sun was out and putting a sparkle on the water for us.

We were given the option to hop off at the tiny town of Russell if we wanted. I thought it sounded like a quaint place to visit so when we docked I hopped off with a small group. The skipper gave us ferry vouchers so that we could get back to Paiha when we wanted inclusive of the cruise price we’d already paid.

Russell was a really sweet place, but it wasn’t always that way!  This excerpt from the Russell Wikipedia page sums up some of it’s fascinating history:

When European and American ships began visiting New Zealand in the early 1800s, the indigenous Māori quickly recognised there were great advantages in trading with these strangers, whom they called tauiwi. The Bay of Islands offered a safe anchorage and had a high Māori population. To attract ships, Māori began to supply food and timber. What Māori wanted were respect, plus firearms, alcohol, and other goods of European manufacture.Kororāreka developed as a result of this trade but soon earned a very bad reputation, a community without laws and full of prostitution, and became known as the “Hell Hole of the Pacific”.

Given how small and far away it is from everything it is unbelievable to think it was New Zealand’s first capital! It was also home to New Zealand’s first church and pub.

After about an hour we got back on the local ferry and headed the short distance across the water to Paihia. By this time the day was putting on a fine show for us and I can see how beautiful the Bay of Islands must be in the glory of summer.

Back at Paiha the clear and sunny afternoon was too tempting to stay indoors so a long walk along the water and beach was called for.

 

I’m not sure what the story of these totem-like carvings are, but there was a row of them standing in the middle of an large reserve across the road from the beach.

I walked around the local library which is housed in a heritage home donated to the town by one of the earliest Anglican missionaries in Paihia.

The Bay of Islands was a lovely place to visit, but best when the weather is dry and clear enough to enjoy the beautiful sights of the water and islands.

The plane touched down just as the sun was setting so by the time I left the airport it was dark already. I kinda like arriving in a new place when it’s dark, waking up the next morning and everything looking so different from the night before. Like that time I arrived in Bangalore at midnight and had to help my cab driver locate the house I was staying in with street lights far and few in-between. I thought I was staying in some kind of ghetto only to wake up to a sunny, rather posh Indian middle class neighbourhood.

In Auckland I stayed at a backpacker hostel called The Attic, not far off Queen St on Wellesley St W. It has good reviews on Trip Advisor and is in a good location. And it has a pretty awesome cage lift (elevator), the kind where you have to drag open the cage door and close it so the lift will operate!

I opted for a single room here as the rates aren’t much more than the dorms (around the NZ$50 mark) and because I planned on mostly doing my own thing before meeting up with a local friend so I wasn’t looking to make exploring buddies there. The room was simple, clean and comfy, as were the kitchen, bathroom and rec rooms. Special shout-out for the hair dryer and straightener in the girls bathroom, seriously it’s the little things!

I was given a tour by the girl at reception and everyone was really friendly. I’d definitely recommend The Attic for any Auckland stayers – it didn’t feel party-like (though I was staying during the week) so all ages and personalities would feel comfy.

After dumping my bags I walked towards the water and then back up Queen St, I snapped pics of lots of things I want to come back to (mostly cafes and cute street corners, I’m so predictable).

But my eye was also caught by some cool street art; it pops up everywhere!

My friend recommended I check out the food options at Elliot St Stables. It’s an indoor cluster of small restaurants in a unique building circa 1910 – nice and cosy and easy to walk the perimeter past all the doorways to peruse the menu boards.

I decided on Torchon, a little French place with red checked tablecloths and candles. I had the most delicious mushroom crepe and glass of rosé and read up on things to do in Auckland.

Some people feel uncomfortable eating at a restaurant by themselves but when you travel solo it’s important to do otherwise you’ll miss out on a lot, the people watching and immersion into the local scene for one, and decent food for another! I tend to look for cosier places with small tables for two that would work just as nicely for one :-) I avoid the places with large exuberant groups and rushed off their feet staff, instead choosing calmer places with smaller table groups and staff that have time to chat and share their recommendations both on the menu and around town. I never really have the chats I’ve had with restaurant and cafe staff when I’m with other people, when I’m on my own it just happens naturally. Eating alone gives you this plus the simple pleasure of focusing on and enjoying a meal without distraction and scene-watching which can be fascinating in a new place. If you’re nervous about eating alone while on the road don’t be – just do it!

I was later grateful to fall asleep in a comfy bed back at the hostel as I was exhausted after a long travel day. I had a weird turbulent dream, there was this awful honking noise and I tossed and turned trying to move out of the dream that was crossing in and out of reality. I bolted up in bed. What? This noise! Is it an alarm? I heard doors banging. Oh bloody hell it’s a fire alarm. Although it was more likely a false alarm set off by someone smoking in their room, at the back of my mind hovered the haunting reminder of horrendous news coverage of various backpacker hostel fires in Australia over the past couple of decades. I jumped up and grabbed my jacket, shoved my feet into boots and trooped out to the street with all the other oddly dressed sleepy people. There were about four fire trucks outside with lights flashing, so much drama for what my phone told me was 3.30am. Luckily the fuss was over in about 15 minutes and we were allowed back in.

So the next morning started with a little sleep in to make up for things.

To be honest, when scoping out a new place and making a plan for the first day of exploration I start with a framework for brekkie and coffee and maybe lunch. I’m a cafe culture kind of person, so I Google for local blogs and figure out where the best places are in town for these three things. Then I frame the day’s plans around that. Maybe that’s just me, but I highly recommend this strategy!

Revel Cafe on K Rd (Karangahape Rd) has rave reviews online for being cosy, wholesome and located on the rather eclectic strip featuring vintage stores, cafés and ethnic flavour. So I started my day by walking there up Queen St about 15 minutes then turning right. I had a steaming bowl of organic porridge with stewed fruit, nutmeg and brown sugar – delicious and so filling I did not eat again til late afternoon!

I liked the offbeat vibe of K Rd, it’s got a vague familiarity to Sydney’s Newtown, though a bit seedier if I’m honest – but still cool to walk the length of towards Ponsonby Rd.

St Kevin’s Arcade is a treat to pop into, a beautiful building built in 1924 as the entrance to Meyers Park behind it. The light spilling in from the back was beautiful, there is a cafe making the most of it there plus an assortment of other bespoke stores.

I intended to walk a certain route but I was distracted along the way and took detours where my fancy wanted to, the benefit of being on holiday!

I walked through Western Park, where there were marked ‘fitness trials’ (that’s cool) and lots of hilly paths.

There were these cool building cornices at the top; I tried to find out more info online but came up blank… tell me if you know their story!

I walked down Ponsonby Rd and past Ponsonby Central, a very groovy cluster of cafes, restaurants and food stores.

I wandered through Victoria Park taking too many photos of the beautiful trees.

I ended up by the Viaduct Harbour where there is an interesting people-focused refurbishment happening.

The use of shipping containers for an information centre was pretty cool as was one converted into a library-living-room-book-exchange further along.

I loved the giant wooden deck chairs for people to take a little rest in the sunshine.

I ended up back downtown in time to meet up with my friend Leah, who I met in India in 2011 when I was on an Intrepid backpacking tour of Rajasthan. I hadn’t seen her since then and was looking forward to a catch up and seeing her city through a Leah-tour. While I waited I had a quick cup of tea in the Shaky Isles Cafe where I sat at a large communal table and got chatting to two guys in suits having a business meeting. Like Aussies, the Kiwis are super friendly and it’s not at all unusual to fall into casual conversation with complete strangers. One of the guys has a convertible and his favourite thing to do is take it on road trips around the north island. They filled me in on all their favourite spots in NZ and I made mental notes to remember the place names.

Then my phone rang and it was Leah, warning me she was a minute away and to hop outside to the corner – apparently I wouldn’t be able to miss her. I ran outside and there she was in a small zippy car with Intrepid Travel blazoned on the outside! I jumped and off we went on a driving tour of Auckland.

First we drove up to the Auckland Domain where the Auckland War Memorial Museum sits and then on to Mt Eden which was a real highlight. Leah was a fount of knowledge about Auckland. Can you believe that the city is built on a Volcanic field? There are volcanoes galore across the city, almost every hill it seems. They are all deemed extinct however the field is dormant meaning there is still lava flow underneath. New Zealand is a rugged country to the max, I knew the south is dominated by a fault line, responsible for delivering the infamous earthquakes that have done some serious damage over the past few years but I was fascinated to hear about the volcanoes. Mt Eden is an eponymous volcano which erupted 28,000 years ago creating a huge 50m deep crater at the top. I’m sure it was messy at the time (understatement) but it’s all lovely and grassy now, looking like it would be fun to roll down (as we used to do on hills as kids) but as the crater is a sacred Maori landmark people are discouraged from walking inside it. The views are fabulous though, and the big bare tree at the top is a Pohutakawa tree (also known as the Kiwi Christmas tree) which flowers cheerful red leaves once a year and is a beautiful sight to see at the top of the hill.

After nearly getting blown off the hill in gale force winds we hopped back into the car and drove to Piha Beach, on the west coast of the north island, about a 30 minute drive from Auckland. We caught our first glimpse as we drove high up along the coastal cliffs, looking down on the deserted, expansive black sand glowing in the slanted light of the afternoon sun.

We drove down and walked across the sand passing some brave surfers heading back to their cars. Being winter it was cold and windy but moodily ethereal as I find winter visits to beaches can be.

In summer, the beach is home to Piha Rescue, a surf life saving reality TV program, similar to the Aussie show Bondi Rescue. Due to the dramatic cliff faces and surf fed by the Tasman Sea the beach is a notoriously turbulent one where fisherman deaths on the rocks are not uncommon; it’s a rugged, wild place.

We headed back to Auckland to Leah’s favourite Indian restaurant; seeing as we met in India it seemed fitting! Our last stop of the Leah-tour was a drive out to Mission Bay where despite the cold we indulged in some Movenpick ice-cream and braved the sea front to look at the city lights across the water.

After such a lovely time, I said goodbye to Leah as she dropped me back off at The Attic where the night’s sleep was uninterrupted this time, no fire alarms, just a nice long sleep… Zzzzzzzz!

Firstly, take a look at the gorgeous last look I had from the plane as I left New Zealand on Friday:

And now… the sun waiting for me in Sydney as we prepared to land:

And so I am back home! Four weeks gone in a flash. I have so much to share with you about my wonderful time in New Zealand, the only reason you haven’t heard from me by now is dreadful technical issues getting photos to load from my iPhone while away. I even bought an iPad to circumnavigate the issue only to have the same problem. One I must get to the bottom of now I’m back.

But don’t fear, I have been writing along the away and snapping photos – oh so many photos!

Tales of my adventure in New Zealand will be coming at you over the next couple of weeks.