Category: New Zealand

We leave New Zealand tonight at 7:30. We have booked the apartment for an extra night so we have a place to keep our suitcases during the day. It was supposed to rain today but we were pleasantly surprised to find the sun shining when we got up. We started the day by walking through a park to the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

At the museum we signed up for a highlights tour and then a maori cultural performance. We had a delightful guide who told us a lot about the history of New Zealand and the Maori culture. The Maori came to New Zealand about 800 years ago from somewhere in Polynesian. They had no written language. They are called Maori because Captain Cooke asked them their ethnic name and the person he asked said “it’s just me” and me is Maori, so the name stuck. They used no metal and farmed and hunted birds. We saw a replica of a moa which was a large flightless bird that they hunted to extinction. We also saw a huge war canoe which could hold 100 people.  Here are some pictures of Maori art.

The show was very nice. There were three woman and three men and they showed us some stick throwing games as well as their war dance.

After the show we had one other stop we wanted to do in the museum and that was demonstration of an earthquake as a result of a volcano eruption. It was not a jerky as I expected it to be.

Our time in Auckland was getting short so we took and uber to the maritime museum. Rick had bought a book yesterday but he didn’t want to carry it so he left it there and told them we would pick it up today. We got the book. There is lots and lots of construction near the harbor and the uber driver told us that it was for the 2021 America’s Cup that will be held in Auckland. On our way back to the apartment we stopped at the Asian street food alley and got lemongrass chicken to share. Back at the apartment I showered and we finished packing up.  We ubered to the airport and relaxed in the louge before the flight. We were looking for our friend and neighbor, Nancy, who strangely happens to be on the flight home.  We hooked up with Nancy, her sister, Kathy, and her mother at the gate.

We had an uneventful trip home and even got some sleep! It’s good to be back home.

Today we explored Auckland. Auckland is one of the few cities in the world to have a harbor on two separate major bodies of water. Auckland straddles a volcanic field which has produced about 90 volcanic eruptions from 50 volcanoes in the last 90,000 years. About 1/3 of New Zealand’s population lives in Auckland. While looking up these facts about Auckland I found this info on Wikipedia about New Zealand “New Zealand is about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, and plant life. The country’s varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions.”

We started our day with breakfast at Baa Baa Black Sheep across the street and then walked to the harbor area where we had seen a tourist office the night before. We bought tickets for the ferry to Rangitoto, a volcanic island that formed during a single phase of eruptions that may have lasted only 5–10 years about 600 years ago. Today it is a national park. The ferry ride was only 25 minutes. Here are some pictures of Auckland from the ferry.

We walked on the coastal path which as you would expect was mostly along the water. Occasionally it would turn inlamd. The landscape was  “fields” of black lava rock and small areas of plant life. The water was turquoise and the sun was shining. We were alone on the path. It was really nice.

We walked for about 2 hours and then we returned to the dock to catch the ferry back to Auckland.  Once back in Auckland we went to the Asian street food alley which had small stalls serving street food from a number of Asian countries. It was hard to pick but I got Beef Rendang from Malaysia and Rick got Thai noodles. The process was fun and the food was tasty.

Next stop, the maritime museum. Auckland is called the city of sails and the museum was filled with sailboats with a focus on New Zealand’s recent America’s Cup victory. Here are some pictures from the museum.

We left the museum with the intent of going out to Waiheke island for dinner but the more we thought about we didn’t want to take a 40 min ferry ride each way for dinner, so we went to have a drink at the Sky Tower. Here are pictures from the Sky Tower.

While there we met a very nice lady, Judy, from New Jersey and talked to her while enjoying the view and our drink. Outside the restaurant was a track on which people were skywalking and bungy jumping. I could do the skywalking but no thank you to the bungy jumping.

Judy had to leave for a dinner reservation so we left too. We decided we wanted pizza and with the help of TripAdvisor we found the best pizza restaurant in Auckland. We had delicious Neapolitan pizza.

We walked back to the apartment and got packed up because we leave tomorrow.

It rained last night and was wet, rainy, and blustery in the morning. We emptied our tanks and left the campground around 10. We are feeling sad because we are returning the van today. On our drive back to Auckland we backtracked on many of the roads we had driven on when we traveled from Ohope to Hehai and back. We made one quick stop at Karangahake falls. There had been a gold mining town nearby, but we saw no evidence of it. We thought about taking a short walk but the weather was threatening. Here are a couple of pictures.

The van rental office is at the airport. We filled up with fuel and returned the van. Rick took care of the van paperwork while I retrieved our suitcases and packed us up. Then we ubered to our Airbnb in Auckland center. We have a very nice but small apartment right in the center of town. In the kitchen there are straps on the kitchen drawers and the refrigerator. We assume they are for earthquakes. Yikes!

That evening we walked around Auckland.

Someone along the way told us about a New York style deli, named Federal St Deli, which was near our apartment. That’s where we went for dinner. There were no tables available so we sat at the counter right in front of head of kitchen’s station. It was his job to tell the short order cooks what to make and make sure the order came out correctly. It was fun to watch and we commented that everyone working in the kitchen must be exhausted by the end of the night. They were working hard and fast. In addition to enjoying watching the operation, the food was good too!

 

We left the campground around 7 because we have reservations on the afternoon boat to White Island. White Island is an active marine volcano off the coast of Whakatane (pronounced Fa-ka-tane). We had tried to go out on Friday but the seas were too rough and they canceled. So we weren’t sure if we were going to make it today, but we needed to be in the area because they make the final decision at 11 and the boat is supposed to leave at 1. The ride from Hehai to Ohope is about 3½ hours.

We stopped in Katikati along the way for some breakfast. On a side note, many towns have Maori names and many Maori names repeat syllables, not sure why.

We arrived in Whakatane around 10:30. We were going to go to the campground so Rick could shower but we got a message that the trip to White Island was on and check in was from 11 to 12. Yippeee!   So we headed to the office and got checked in. We boarded the boat. The seas were rough so we had to stay seated inside. During the ride we learned a little about White Island. It had been built up by continuous volcanic activity over the past 150,000 years. In the last 150 years, there have been four attempts to mine sulfur on the island but the last attempt ended in the 1920’s.

As we neared the island, the crew distributed inflatable life jackets, hard hats, and gas masks. The boat tied up to a mooring and we were taken ashore on a zodiac. Once ashore we were instructed on how to use the gas mask and what to do if there was an eruption, earthquake or landslide. Luckily we didn’t have to put that knowledge to the test. We walked around with a guide. The rocks were yellow and red from the sulfur and iron, respectively. Also there were cliffs that had obviously been formed by flowing lava. Steam was billowing everywhere. The center crate was filled with bright green, very, very, acidic water. The green color was from bacteria growing on the water surface. Behind the lake in the midst of the steam was a mud geyser. There was also the remnants of sulfur mining activities that took place in the prior century. It really felt like a once in a lifetime experience!

We returned to the boat and enjoyed a snack while motoring back to the mainland. After leaving the boat we headed to the campground where we had dinner and felt sad that it was our last night in the campervan.

We have reservations to go to White Island this afternoon. White Island is home to an active marine volcano. It last erupted in 2012 and steam issues continuously from the many vents and the central crater. We relaxed in the morning and left the camp ground around 10. We drove from Ohope Beach where we spent the night to Whakatane (note Wh in Maori is pronounced as an f), about a 15 minute drive. We stopped at Kopi Point Lookout in Whakatane and saw beautiful views of the shore. Here are some pictures.

We did our daily grocery run and when we returned to the van we called the tour company to make sure they hadn’t canceled. We learned that the seas were too rough for them to dock the boat and they had canceled the afternoon trip. We were disappointed. They were full for Saturday but had some openings for Sunday. We told them to refund our money but that we may rebook for Sunday. We decided to head to Coromandel. We  planned to go to Hot Water Beach which was about a 3½ hour drive.

Just outside of Whakatane we stopped at Julian’s Berry Farm and Café for strawberry ice cream, Rick’s favorite! While we were there we were talking to a lady about berries and somehow we got talking about Hot Water Beach. She said the next beach north, HeHai, had a really nice campground right on the ocean. She told us that the Hot Water Beach campground was not on the ocean, but on an estuary. So we took her advice and headed to Hehai. I know I have said this before but everyone is so friendly. They take the time to talk to us. They want to hear about our trip. They are willing to share their experiences with us. It’s really delightful.

We wandered through small towns and up and over mountains on very twisty, curvy roads eventually arriving in Hehai. We got to the campground and it had two beachfront sites available, so we took one. We have a nice big site that is close to the ocean but we can’t actually see the ocean. The beach is really beautiful. After getting settled I went for a walk on the beach.

When I came back I suggested Rick get his camera because the light was really good. After taking his picture he started taking to a nice couple, John and Ina, from Whakatane, who are staying in cabins at the campground. They invited us to visit them in Whakatane if we go back on Sunday. Rick talks to everyone and makes new friends everywhere he goes.

We had a nice dinner in the camper.

For once the weather forecast was right. We have had many days that were forecasted to be rainy which turned out sunny. But today they got it right and we woke up to rain. Yesterday we had tried to find rainy day interesting activities without much luck. So we have a leisurely morning. We washed our sheets because in this van they are brand new and scratchy. We left the camp ground around 10. We went into Rotorua and Rick got some breakfast (I had breakfast in the camper earlier). Then we drove to Te Puia which has a geothermal park and a Maori crafts school. We had done a geothermal park yesterday so we just wanted to be exposed to the Maori culture, but you couldn’t buy just a cultural ticket so we skipped it. We went into the gift shop and bought a Maori carved mask which will be our remembrance from the trip.

By now the rain had stopped and we decided to head to our next stop Ohope Beach. It was an hour and a half drive. We drove up and down hills, covered in what looked like a rain forest, lots of ferns and palms. We arrived at a beautiful beach. Our campsite has a lovely view of the ocean which was pretty turbulent today. We relaxed for a while and I went for a walk along the beach. It was quite windy and not that warm, it was probably about 62 or 63F.

That evening we had spaghetti for dinner.

We slept great, as usual, in our campervan. We expected to be up early but instead slept in. We left the campground for Lake Taupo around 9. Lake Taupo is an hour south of Blue Lake and it occupies the caldera of the Taupo volcano. The whole area is known for its geothermal activity.

We arrived in the town of Taupo, parked, and went to a coffee shop for breakfast. At the coffee shop we asked about a bakery and went there to get some bread. Then we went to the grocery store.  Here’s the view of the lake from our parking area.

After we finished our shopping we went to Huka Flls. Compared with some of the falls we have seen they were not very impressive, but they manage to generate 15% of the power requirement for New Zealand. The falls have over 200,000 liters of water per sec barreling over an 11 meter high waterfall. Here are some pictures.

Next we went to the spa thermal park, a public park where you can relax in hot springs. We walked to the water and put our feet in the water. It was probably about 90F and very relaxing. There were quite a few other people there. Here is a picture.

Our last stop of the day was at Orakei Korakogeo thermal park and cave. Hot water (as hot as 175C) boils to the surface and when it cools to 100C is deposits silica which form sinter terraces. Sinter is rock that is formed over time by the deposition of silica from thermal water. Colorful algae grows in the water. It was very interesting. I imagined it looked like the earth billions of years ago when life was forming in the boiling oceans (In my imagination I had to overlook the plants growing along the water). It smelled faintly of sulfur. We walked along a walkway which lead us around the sinter and to a thermal cave and boiling mud pits (which really smelled of sulfur). It was unlike anything I’ve seen before. Here are pictures.

Here are a couple of videos so you can see and hear the boiling water.

We returned to the campground and I did some research on White Island while Rick cooked. Some people we talked to at the thermal park suggested we go to White Island, an active volcano 27km out in the Bay of Plenty.

After dinner I went to see the glowworms in the woods next to the campground. I just walked a little way in and they were everywhere. It was magical, like an enchanted forest with fairy lights. The lights are so small that my camera couldn’t pick them up so sorry.

Here is our route today.

We picked up our new campervan this morning. It’s just like the last one. We ubered 1 mile from the hotel to get to the rental office. They were not very busy so we were helped quickly. Once the paperwork was done, we  unpacked our suitcases so we could leave them there. We were on the road by 9:15. We had booked tickets at Hobbiton for 1:00 which was about a 2 hour drive. We had a little extra time once we reached Matamata, the home of Hobbiton, so we stopped at the grocery store and stocked up the van.

Hobbiton is the movie set for the hobbit shire in the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies. Peter Jackson, the films’ director, found the site by flying around the island in a helicopter. The alternative was “combining” several sites to cover all the shire scenes. When they found the site it was a working sheep farm. They built the set for the Lord of the Rings movies and then, per the contract, it was all removed. Then they decided to make the Hobbit trilogy so they rebuilt the whole thing again! However this time the contract did not have the clause requiring the site to be demolished. Since then the farm owners have turned it into a tourist attraction that draws up to 3,000 people per day in the summer. During the tour though the shire we learned about how they made the movie and how they made the hobbits look little especially compared to Gandoff. It was fun to see, now I need to watch the movies again. Here are pictures from Hobbiton.

We left Hobbiton around 3:30 and continued our journey. We had booked a campsite just outside of Rotorua, right in front of Blue Lake. We arrived and got checked in. We have a nice view of the lake.

That evening Rick made lamb steaks which were good but not as good as the lamb chops we had on the south island. I spent the evening doing more research on what to do and where to go. It seems to be a continuous process!

Here is our route today.