I am officially in love with New Zealand, and I want to live here at some point! I haven't written much, because a picture is worth 1000 words, and there is no decent way for me to explain the beauty of this place in words. If anyone wants to provide closed captioning for the photos, please let me know because they're worth it.
October 10: Auckland
I landed at 8:40am to find that the wheel had finally come off my giant 23kg suitcase. Womp womp. I knew it was coming as it's a very old suitcase, but I was hoping it would make it until Australia. While waiting to go through customs, I learned that NZ is really particular about what's allowed in the country. It's a delicate ecosystem, with lots of species that only exist here. So I waited for about 45 minutes for them to search through my bags and ask me lots of questions, but they actually didn't end up searching my bags at all.
It was an $80 cab ride to my hotel, which was right downtown! Auckland has a sky tower, kind of like Seattle. This is the view from my hotel room.
I was tired so didn't feel like doing much, but I definitely needed food and I had to fix my nail. I managed to break an acrylic nail half off while trying to put my shoe back on at the end of my 14 hour flight. Sigh. It was super painful and I now totally understand why people complain about breaking a nail.
So, my goals for the day: get coffee, fix nails, find dinner at a grocery store, be horizontal. I had been sitting for a very long time and wanted to either be walking around or laying down. I managed to stay awake until 10:30pm!! Success.
October 11: Auckland to Hot Water Beach
Amy picked me up at 10 and it was really nice to see her! I knew immediately that it would be an awesome road trip. We drove from Auckland to Hot Water Beach and stopped in at our adorable AirBnB. When Amy said we were going to dig a hole in the beach to enjoy a hot tub, I didn't think she meant literally.
It was the neatest thing: there are fissures in the ground that come up along the beach. When tide is low, as you walk along the beach you can feel the ground get HOT. And that's where you dig! It's so, so great. Obviously, I didn't take pictures because I was busy digging a hole into the sand; not deep, as it fills in with water and more sand, but it's so hot that making it really deep would be painful.
 |
| View from our porch! That's Hot Water Beach |
We grabbed fish 'n chips for dinner at the only dinner place in town, which was only open for 2 hours each week night, and played cards before heading to bed.
October 12: Cathedral Cove and Surroundings
Cathedral Cove is apparently a big deal because it's used in a bunch of films e.g. Prince Caspian, so we decided to go check it out. In searching for parking and finding none, we went back down to the bottom of the hill and decided to do a boat tour rather than 4 hours of walking up the hill and down to the beach. Best decision we could have made!!
 |
| Hahei Beach |
 |
| Champagne Rock, cause it looks like an upside down bubbly glass |
 |
| You'll hit Peru, if you keep going straight! |
 |
| Water lines, in a cave |
 |
| Isn't this beautiful? |
 |
| There's Cathedral Cove |
Grabbed some dinner food at the store in Hahei and went back to our AirBnB to make a tasty dinner, which we enjoyed on our awesome porch.
October 13: Hobbiton
Seriously. HOBBITON! Um, it's the cutest. And there's only one that you can actually go into, and one that can fit more than 3 people. Regardless, it was the darned cutest! I didn't know how many photos to post, so here are a bunch.
 |
| Looking from the top of the hill to the Green Dragon. This seems to mean something to people. |
 |
| Bag End! |
 |
| Fake oak tree on top of Bag End |
 |
| So cute! |
 |
| Could be a hotel, seriously |
 |
| Love |
 |
| Green Dragon: we were given a free cold beverage as part of our tour. I got cider, Amy got ginger beer. |
 |
| Hobbiton from the Green Dragon |
 |
Real garden! The gardeners take home the vegetables.
|
We went from Hobbiton to Rotorua, which smells of sulphur due to geysers within and surrounding the town, to stay at a hostel called Funky Green Voyager. Decent hostel: huge kitchen, nice lounge areas, lovely owners, but we both felt like we would fall off the bunk beds and there were no plugs for devices or lockers for valuables. Twas a good thing we had a car to keep our things in!
We walked around and chose Indian for dinner, then made some plans for the next few days. I honestly just joined a road trip that Amy planned, entirely. It was super great to just be along for the ride.
October 14: Rotorua
We had breakfast at Starbucks and used the free WiFi for a couple of hours before heading to the Agrodome for a farm tour (sheep, alpacas, cows), sheep shearing, sheep auction, and Clydesdale experience. We were both VERY pleased to be hugging/feeding sheep. This was an excellent day.
 |
| Happy sheep! |
 |
| Alpacas |
 |
| An olive grove |
 |
| I'm a unicorn! |
 |
| Piglets! |
 |
| Look at all these kinds of sheep! |
 |
| A Clydesdale named Cyd! |
 |
| Goat friend |
We had a couple of hours to read and relax, then got picked up for the Tamaki Maori Experience. We were accepted into a local Maori tribe, the indigenous people of New Zealand, and were introduced to a variety of historic practices and traditions. It was really informative, and I highly recommend. Oh, then we had a Hangi dinner, which is a traditional dinner cooked in the ground. I think it has something to do with the sulphur geysers in Rotorua; they heat up the ground to the point where food can be cooked inside.
You might notice some face tattoos or wide eyes or tongues out. These are important for the Maori culture because, as warriors, they needed to let people know that they were fierce fighters who did not scare easily and they were not afraid to kill and eat their foes. Now, it is a historical practice that they share with those who are interested.
 |
| Welcome |
 |
| Here is the canoe |
 |
| Meet the Chief |
 |
| Sussing out whether our Chiefs are respectful allies |
 |
| Teaching us how to use Koi, to strengthen our arms |
October 15: Rotorua to Wanganui
We woke up at a reasonable hour and stopped in at the Lake Taupo Hot Springs. It was absolutely glorious, and super helpful for unfortunate period cramps. The drive was absolutely spectacular. These photos do not do it justice, and they have not been altered in any way. If you are heading to New Zealand, I HIGHLY recommend either busing through the country or taking a road trip and take the scenic routes (though the roads are terrifyingly curvy and they drive on the left side).
 |
| Hot Springs! |
 |
| Lake Taupo is the size of Singapore! |
 |
| Lake Taupo from above |
 |
| Mt Ngurauhoe |
Amy is an Au Pair in Wanganui, so we stopped in at the house to hang out with the cats while the family was away in Europe and have a chill night of laundry. Plus, we had a delicious meal and very comfy beds.
October 16: Wanganui to Wellington
We had a lazy morning, then passed through Bulls and stopped in at the Waineke honey shop to grab some delicious honey-based ice cream. I'm a big fan. Upon arriving in Wellington, we had a lovely dinner with the sister of Amy's boss. It was really relaxing and quite lovely.
 |
| See? Bulls. Ha! There are three statues within the town |
Comments
Post a Comment