Rain in the North Island

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Hi it is Laura again. I hope all is good with you all. Now where did Sam leave off…

We felt ready to leave the South Island and that all our expectations and hopes had been met. Christchurch definitely highlighted this: its best use the airport and our exit. Unfortunately our day of departure was long and when our shuttle bus driver for the airport turned up 30 mins early at 6 am we were not best pleased. Mam I can hear you laughing now imagining trying to move me at such time in the morning. Once at the airport we faced two flights and a bus to get us to our end destination that day, Lake Taupo at 17:30. Both flights were short and pleasant as we flew Air New Zealand. We did however have a 2 hour stop over at Wellington airport in between. It seemed only right that we flew in and out of Wellington at least once. As previously mentioned Wellington is well known for its wind and therefore its flights are notoriously bumpy. This day was no exception and on arrival in Wellington, and then for the subsequent few hours overlooking its suburbs, we were relieved that we were flying out again. We had left just at the right time and before the bad weather had set in for the winter. Our second flight landed in Rotorua, calm with splashings of rain and a new landscape to consider.

Rotorua is well known for being Maori Heartland and for its natural hot springs. Also for the sulphur in its lake due to the fact that it was created by a volcanic eruption. This also means it smells of egg. This is something that you are warned about before you arrive but are still nostrily perplexed when taking it in. As many of our friends in Wellington had told us to stay clear of ‘RotaVegas’ we stayed only for a few hours to take in the main (free) tourist hotspots which yes did involve bubbling, gassy, smelly hot pools in the local park. It takes you by surprise at first but is the norm around these parts. There are many nature and Maori based tours to take while in the Township but we had previously been advised that a free visit to Te Papa, Wellington’s Museum, gives you all this information in as much detail as you would need and is a much cheaper option.

After Rotoroa we took a one hour bus journey south to Lake Taupo. Taupo is the largest lake in the country and very popular with Kiwis for a weekend getaway. All of its main activities are very much outdoor focused and not necessarily ideal for Autumn/Winter. We arrived in the rain. Luckily the next day we awoke to sunshine and due to Windy Wellington and the chill in the South Island we over compensated with our clothes. After Rotorua we thought Taupo may be too touristy but were glad to see it had a charm, a tourist focused gift; art; cafe culture charm none the less. We liked Taupo for what it is but have been spoilt by the intimacy and beauty of many South Island lake side towns. In comparison to them Taupo is a bustling metropolis. So after a quick circuit of the town centre we headed out of town up the Huka River to see some of Taupo’s natural attractions.

Like Roturoa, Taupo is on volcanic land and therefore has natural hot springs. We should not have been surprised therefore, while walking down the Huka Falls trail, to come across locals and tourists alike in bikinis and trunks sitting in a bubbling section of the river. Being Brits we had no intention of joining them this Autumn but they looked happy enough. Does no one feel the cold????

We continued along the river walk unsure of what we were going to be presented with as the guide books just tell you Huka Falls is a place to see and not actually what it is. Forty quiet bush walking minutes later we can hear water, water gushing somewhere as the river slims into a bottle neck. We also come across a car park and lots of other people eager to follow the sound. Then the rapids appear and the ‘fall’. This is not a great waterfall by any means but is a mass of water plunging down river into total stillness only meters away from its splash down target and is impressive. Hydro powered energy is big business in New Zealand (Laura is an esteemed source of authority on the subject - Sam) and the Huka River is one of the main supplies of water sourcing five power stations along its banks. Poor weather prevented us from attempting the Tongariro Crossing, NZ’s best loved one day hike, and definitely not because we did not have the energy to get up at 6am for it?....

We decided to leave Taupo after only one day because of the weather and headed for somewhere nice and small again, The Coromandel Peninsular. This was a seven hour journey north consisting of 3 buses, idiot bus drivers and many of the general public. Bus number one took forty minutes to load despite only being a quarter full. This was due to the bus driver losing his glasses on his seat, the bus driver breaking a passengers suitcase while loading the luggage and being unaware of the compensation policy, the bus driver choosing to stop listening to a Japanese tourists questions regarding return journeys to Taupo and using the language barrier as an adequate and intolerant excuse to not answer, and then finally once we were all boarded and ready to leave late it was the bus driver who disappears to the toilet. Luckily we were still laughing even though we had a 4 minute turn around onto our second bus of the day. It also turned out that the majority of the bus knew each other and presumed that we found this whole charade endearing as ‘that’s why everyone loves NZ, for its laid back attitude’. I am glad that the majority of Kiwi’s do not get sarcasm.

The majority of the rest of the day continued along in a similar fashion and it did of course pour down. The day’s journey was only saved while travelling up the west coast of The Coromandel Peninsular to Coromandel town and taking in the dramatic coastal road. This winding road meant that this tiny once a day bus trip felt like it was driving on the rocks, with the waves crashing on us. Even in the rain it was stunning so in the sunshine it would be magnificent.

Coromandel town is a small and quaint little place. We stayed in a great African themed small hostel that at its fullest consisted of five guests including ourselves. We had left Taupo early to escape the rain but the entire country was under a long dark cloud. Therefore we mainly stayed in and sheltered from the rain with our new German friend Julian (it was just the 3 of us for most of our stay which was unlucky for us as Julian’s Monolopy skills were painfully perfected). Escapes from the hostel consisted mainly of eating and as The Coromandel is apparently one of the best places for smoked fish we thought it rude not to indulge. Yum chilli flavored smoked mussels! All our hopes for exploring one of the best loved areas of the country were quashed again by the weather and we left for Auckland earlier than originally planned.

Auckland is directly across the bay between The Coromandel Peninsular and the mainland. Most people travel this by road but three times a week there is a passenger ferry between the two. The only mid week crossing coincided well with our early departure and after last minute weather reviews it was deemed safe enough to cross. Some of you may remember my previous issues with sea sickness in Asia leaving Sam wary of allowing me to board a ship again. Thankfully this time the sickness pills worked as it was an interesting journey across the bay. This is by far the best way to see the beauty of the surrounding countryside. Many islands jut out along The Coromandel coast and this was the only way to leave them behind. There were no more than 15 of us onboard and the boat rode up high upon collision with the towering waves, coming back down with a booming deep crash. We went up for the air on the top deck but in the process were windswept and almost soaked on numerous occasions, unable to negotiate the stairs back down onto the lower deck. Watching the gulls swoop behind us catching the spray and wake of the vessel was exhilarating. One of the staff members came out to check on us several times, apparently ensuring we were ok as there were sick bags available. We knew that this was really because of his crazy love of the sea and the waves. We were fine and all made it across safely, now in darkness, to the hundreds of flickering lights of Auckland’s city harbor front.

Being back in Auckland felt strange - the full circle. We were met by our friends whom we had met in Vietnam that were again putting us up for part of our last week in New Zealand. We just hoped that the weather would improve over our remaining days as we headed as far north as you can get in New Zealand.

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