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Published: August 21st 2005
After eight weeks of work in Auckland it was time to say goodbye to our city appartment, home comforts and new friends. The packs were dusted off and re-cramed with our junk and we hit the road again in a new rental car to see what the rest of our temporary home had to offer.
Before heading south we took a brief detour to explore some more of the Northland and take full advantage of the fantastic winter weather they were experiencing north of Auckland. First stop Waitagi on the east coast where Rich and I were determined to get our first taste of sub tropical diving. Poor Knights Island is arguably the best dive site in New Zealand and, depending on what literature you read, listed as one of the top 10 dive sights in the world. With this information we boarded the boat full of anticipation and excitement and got ourselfs ready for a real treat. We were both a little nervous about how the cold water was going to effect us, but we were assured that with a maximum of three wet suites, hoods etc we should not have any issues diving the 15 degrees C water.
Well they were half right, Rich was fine and really enjoyed his experience, especially diving within the largest sea cave in the world. I on the other hand managed about 2 minutes in the water and just couldn't cope, it was so cold and I just couldn't control my breathing, I am definately a tropical diver, but at least I now know that! Two dives later, Rich had thoroughly enjoyed his day and had really enjoyed seeing the differences between our previous warm water dives and that of the colourful, kelp covered sea bed dives of the Poor Knights. I had found myself a comfy spot on the boat and kept myself content with cups of hot Milo and TimTams, in different ways we both came back from our day content!
Just an hour or so drive up the coast is Paihia, at the heart of the beautiful Bay of Islands. With the sun still shinning we booked ourselves onto a half day boat trip around the bay and hoped to catch a glimpse of some of the local celebs, some particularly friendly bottle-nosed dolphins. The islands around the bay were stunning and the guides on the boat filled
Dolphins - Bay of Islands
Some of the many we saw during our trip.us in with lots of local knowledge and history aswell as pointing out wildlife including some very small penguins and sunbathing seals. It was pretty late into the trip when the skipper finally spotted some dolphins but once we found them they lived up to all the expectations, swimming along with the boat, playing around and jumping out of the water. If it wasn't for the fact that the pod had young ones we would have been aloud to jump in for a swim (although the water was still pretty nippy, so it was probably a good thing). We finished of the day by treating ourselves to a sit down meal at the restraunt '35 degrees' and blew the budjet on some fantastic New Zealand Lamb and freshly caught Snapper, it was worth every cent! It was a good thing that we had chosen to out on the boat when we did as we woke up the next day to torrensial rain and dull skies, so it was time to head south and see if we could catch up with the sun down at the Coromandel Peninsula.
When the rain finally stoped and the sun managed to break through
the clouds, we were finally able to start appreciating the fantastic scenery we were driving through. About an hour out of Auckland to the South East you feel you are a world away from the bustle of the city. Winding roads lead you through a multicoloured mixture of countryside from lush agricultural land to tree covered hills and some places that could have been taken straight from scenes in Jurasic Park! We were only just beginning to see what kind of variety this stunning country had to offer.
We arrived in the small sleepy town of Hahei at sunset and took a few minutes to watch the sun go down over the ocean before finding our pre-booked accomodation. Thankfully we were only booked in for one night in the manically depressing hut which was to be home for the night, we went out for dinner just to avoid spending time there! Early the next day we escaped early and set out on our two hour round walk down to Cathedral Cove. We were blessed again with another day of fantastic t'shirt weather and being mid week in the middle of winter, we only shared the beach with a handfull
of other people. The bay has two small beaches separated with a beautiful arch formation, hence the name. As well as the main attraction the walk also takes you passed other bays including the aquamarine waters of Stingray Bay, unfortunately it was the wrong time of year to see the summer displays of rays coming into the shallows, we could only imagine how stunning it would look.
Next stop Rotorua, possibly the most thermally active place in the world (and the worst smelling!). The town, just south of the grand lake Rotorua, is the tourist central for anyone wishing to visit the geysers, mud pools and other thermal attractions that have put this place on the map. We spent the first day walking around the 'Thermal Wonderland' just south of the town were we were able to see the stunning blue and orange champagne pool, a pond filled with illuminous green water and other steaming rocks and mud pools. It was like walking around the pages of a secondary school geography text book (in a good way!). The only thing that the photos can't capture is the intense sulphur smell which gags you as you walk around this otherwise
awesome place. We then headed back towards the town to visit Te Puia, the home of the Pohutu Geyser and managed to time it perfectly to see its eruption. It was also a really interesting place to learn how the Maori culture first learnt to utilise the strange features of the area in terms of defense and cooking. Te Puia is also home to the Maori craft centre where you can watch traditional carving and see some interesting displays.
That evening we were picked up at the hostel and shuttled off to our Maori Cultural Experience, another must when in town. The evening consists of a formal welcome (Pohiri) from your host tribe and a staged show which includes displays of dancing, singing and weaponry skills. After the performance everyonce sits down to a huge meal (Hangi) where the meat and kumara (sweet potato) are cooked under the ground in a covered pit. The meal was exceptionally good and there was enough left over to feed a small army! The evening concluded with a walk through a small wood and down to a pool to look at the glow worms and fresh water eels. The company we went with
was called 'Mitai' and we would highly recommend them.
After a day of interlectual stimulation we thought is was about time to do something different so we decided on some white water rafting with Kaitiaki Adventures. The route of the river takes the raft over a 7 metre drop which sounds high but looks higher when you are about to plummit over the edge! We were given 'one on one' treatment as we were the only ones booked in that morning and we had a real laugh with the guys. That afternoon we warmed up with a session in the hot thermal pools of the Polynesian Spa, as you can tell we are still having a real hard time out here!
Our time in Rotorua was up, but before heading down to Taupo it was time for us to visit one of New Zealands most famous attractions. The name of the town Matamata doesn't mean much to most until you hear it by its new adopted name of Hobbiton! Yes, it was time to visit the worlds most famous holes, that of Bilbo Baggins and friends, hidden in the rolling countryside on the outskirts of this once sleeping
Thermal Wonderland Park
The smell gets too much for Becky! farming town. We jumped on the Hobbiton tour bus to take us onto the private property which is home to the remains of the set made famous in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Even if the set wasn't there, the farm is lovely. Rolling green hills, blue sky, little lambs and a tranquil lake is what greeted us as we arrived on this guided tour. The guide was very knowledgable and photo boards showed how the site looked during production, it was really interesting and a good giggle although some people had made comments in the comment book that it was overpriced and at $50 each it is a little.
Before our final trip down to Wellington to get the ferry to the South Island there was just time for one last stop and this was at lake Taupo. There was only one reason for our brief stopover and that was for me (Becky) to fulfill my life long ambition to throw myself out of a plane at 12,000 ft! And all I can say is
what a rush!!!!! After a night in Wellington and a very misty and damp ferry crossing we finally reached the South
Thermal Wonderland Park
Becky posing by the bright green pool Island and that is where we shall end this blog, we will save that for next time.
B & R
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Rebecca M
non-member comment
Hey Becky, it sounds like you guys are having an awesome time! I'm so happy you did the sky dive, I'm going to follow in your footsteps soon. Work's not the same without you, too quiet, and even Elvis's mum has been subdued since you left. Keep having fun, hopefully can catch up before you leave! Travel safe Rebecca