Back to civilisation
After more than a month on the islands we decided it was time to take a break from the savage life and the raw fish diet, and head back to the civilization for a while. We deemed New Zealand fit for the purpose.
Ranking highly in the international comparisons on human development, quality of life, economic freedom, public education, press freedom, peace, lack of corruption and livability, we did not do much planning ahead thinking we would find everything within a snap of a finger.
We duly had the shock of our life when we first looked to arrange some accommodation in Auckland couple of days before we were due to arrive.
Aptly choosing to arrive on the height of their summer season, and if that is not enough, on probably the busiest weekend of the year — Waitangi Day — , not entirely surprisingly, we found nothing. Naturally the Guns’n Roses ‘Not in this lifetime’ tour was also on this weekend as well as several mainstream sport events. Every time we found something popping up as available in our searches it was gone by the time we pressed the button to book. Funny after the first few tries, very worrying by the end of the second day. And then Airbnb saved the day once again! Someone had a cancellation and we snapped it up! We did have to fork out a lot more than originally intended, but we had a bed! A great bed!
Few refreshing days in Auckland, and I do mean refreshing — no more sweltering heat, just a light breeze verging on being a tad chilly, was most welcome — and we were ready to start our journey around the islands.
First stop was Coromandel peninsula. We came across a very peculiar Place here.
This is Hot water beach — hot water is bubbling up from the ground which is accessible for a short period on either sides of low tide, so someone at some point must have thought: ‘Oh, I know! I am going to dig a hole and sit in it!’ And others followed. Today there is a whole industry around it. People are flocking from all over the world to fight for a parking place, hire a shovel for 5 NZD, find an unoccupied 1m x 1m area, dig a hole on the beach and sit in it (or for the lazy ones, wait until someone leaves one unattended and jump in).
Not having learnt much from our mistake in Auckland, we did not book Rotorua in advance either. Ended up staying with a Korean family who ran a bnb in their house. It was pleasant enough, apart from the feeling that we just checked into a military camp. House rules displayed everywhere on how to use the bathroom, dining room and kitchen down to the last detail. I was a bit nervous about where do I put my cup. Also, strictly no coming or going between 7am and 10pm! Exceptionally clean though!
Had a look at the weird and wonderful geothermal activities in the area, colorful pools, bubbling mud pools and geysers. In hindsight a day would have been plenty to spend here. We were ready to go.
Next stop Tongariro National park. Volcanos, mountains, woods, pristine lakes, the sun was out …..things were looking up! We decided to do the 19.4 km alpine crossing which was meant to be one of the best scenic hikes in NZ. And, for us, it was! And supposedly for the other 1000+ people as well who did the crossing with us on the same day. It resembled a pilgrimage more than a peaceful hike, with long queues for the 9 toilets we counted during the entire day. Still, great views, we have to give it that!
Due to, once again, uncooperative weather we had to skip the visit to the Whakaari or White island, which is an active volcano, but we were not too sad given we already had our tickets to Vanuatu. We also ended up doing one of our favorite things in NZ instead. Caving! Since now we had a spare day we drove down to the Waitomo caves and signed up for black-water rafting. Unfortunately we have no photos from the inside of the cave. Apart from the general darkness, bar the twinkling of the million worms, we were not allowed to take cameras as most of the time you needed both hands for abseiling, zip-lining, swimming and climbing. Fairly standard activities, but they get a whole new essence when done in a dark cave! We both loved it!
The next day we took the ferry to the South island. (But not before stopping by at the famous rugby museum!) Switching cars went smoothly with a little organisation (most car rental companies do not let you take cars on the ferry, they rather give you another on the other side) — Bálint, disembarking the ferry ahead of the other anxious foot passenger tourists, was first in the pick up queue, while I collected the luggage. We were on our way before the roads got too busy with those annoying tourists!
Some of you probably saw it on the news that 400 pilot whales beached themselves on Farewell spit which was not too far away from where we were staying. Would have loved to volunteer and help out saving the poor things, but we were just a few days too late. So we headed to Abel Tasman for some kyaking and tramping (as kiwis call hiking).
The South island rapidly became our favorite with some of the sights we have seen on the way. It is also less crowded and lot more chilled. Unsurprising really, as 77% of the entire NZ population live on the much smaller North Island. In case you were wondering, no, finding accommodation did not get any easier on the South island just because there are less people around!
Some of the highlights:
All quite stunning, but one of our favorites has to be the Fiordland. We were very lucky with the weather which helped a lot. We did not have a cloud in the sky while we were there. We understood this was quite uncommon. Loads of tourists, but with some careful planning you can avoid the herds.
It also added to the authentic kiwi experience that we chose to stay on a farm. Anna and Rob were great, showed us their award winning milking and farm operations, and looked after us very well. We also think we found the greatest milk on earth! It is Jersey cow milk, unpasteurized, unstandardized, straight out of the cow! Has to be Jersey cow, as we learnt, their milk is one of the highest in lactose, milk solids and cell count which gives it the taste. We were given a fresh can of milk when we arrived which had about 1.5l in it, thinking it will last us the few days we are with them…Quite embarrassed, I had to ask Anna for some more again the following day!
And if this is not enough of excitement for five weeks, we both had our first bungy jumping experience. Some were braver than others, Bálint did the 134m, where as I could only handle 43m.
How was it? See for yourself:
But we both wanted to go straight back up again!
Good fun once again, but if we had to do it again knowing what we know now, we would probably spend a little less time in New Zealand and the vast majority on the South island.
Next Vanuatu!
