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Before heading up to the North Island, we decided to check out the wineries near Blenheim. We went to the biggest winery in NZ, Montana Wines, and had a tour of the high tech wine making facilities, followed by a wander round and a few tastings. During the sunny afternoon we visited some of the smaller wineries and developed a taste for expensive Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc!
We arrived in Picton and decided it was about time we sampled some "fush and chups", and very fine they were too! From here we caught the ferry to Wellington, where we spent the following day at the Te Papa museum where you can see some massive whale skeletons and immerse yourself in New Zelands history. We also went for exquisite coffee and cakes in an italian bakery!
Heading north we arrived in Ohakune which is home to a massive carrot statue! Check out the pictures! This is the carrot capital of NZ, due to its fertile volcanic soils, and also the staging point for the Tongarino crosssing. This is an all day walk up an active volcano through amazing scenery, including Mt Ngauruhoe (also known as Mt Doom in
Lord of the Rings!), Mt Tongarino, a few emerald lakes and steaming vents accompanied by the smell of rotten eggs! The next day we worked out our aches in some hot springs near Tokaanu where we also saw the first of many bubbling mud pools and a hot water geyser.
We headed to Rotorua via Taupo, which is located on the shore of the biggest lake in NZ (lake Taupo!). This whole area is thermally active and whilst we were there, shrouded in steam (and stank of sulphur)! We had a wander around one geothermal area, known as the Craters of the Moon, which is home to a large cluster of vents and bubbling mud pools. There are also some excellent mountain biking tracks near Rotorua (where the 2006 world mountain biking competition was held) and so we decided to hire some mountain bikes and get extreme! This was great fun, with only one injury to Gareth, who managed to hit a tree stump at full speed and flip over the top of his bike. He's still suffering from painful ribs nearly 2 weeks after! Once again we visited some hot spring baths to try and heal ourselves, this
time at the historic Blue Baths in Rotorua.
From here our adventure took us north to the Bay of Plenty, where we climbed Mt Maunganui for 360 degree views of the surrounding area.
Next stop for us was the Waitomo caves, which house large amounts of glow worms! You have to take a guided tour of the cave system and a boat tour past the glow worms. Near to these caves is a small town called Otorohanga, which has a Kiwi sanctury which is home to 2 Kiwis and many other birds. We managed to arrive just in time to see the kiwis being fed, pretty much the only time they are active! They were pretty cute, and behaved like affectionate dogs when the handler gave them their food.
Back on the road we travelled through Hamilton to Auckland, which seemed like absolute chaos after the sparsley populated roads we had been used to travelling. We stopped off to book our van into the car market, and rapidly escaped to Goat Island marine reserve, on the coast further north. This is a very popular area for diving and snorkling due to the number and variety of fish
and the crystal clear waters. Even from the reef we could see some massive fish.
Further up this coast is Poor Knights Island, one of the top 10 diving spots in the world, which can boast visabibity in the water of up to 30 meters! Di couldn't resist and managed to jump onto a boat just as it was leaving! She had an awsome time, saw loads of fish (stingray, rockfish, Red Snapper, Perch, and many more) and couldn't stop raving about it for days!
Following the tourist trail, we headed up to see the Bay of Islands. We booked a boat trip from Paihia around the islands and out to the 'world famous Hole In The Rock'! Unfortunately the weather wasn't the best, so we didn't see the bay at its postcard picture perfect best, and the boat couldn't go through the hole in the rock. Still, it was a good afternoon, and on the way back the captain invited us onto the bridge and talked us through all the controls!
Clost to Paihia is Waitangi, a place of national significance, where the treaty of Waitangi was signed by the Maoris and Europeans. We visited the
Treaty House and learned about the early history of New Zealand. There were also exhibits of traditional Maori canoes, and a Maori meeting house.
With some trepidation we headed to Kaitaia, known as the car crime capital of NZ! From here we took a tour (leaving our van safely behind a barbed wire fence!) to Cape Reinga. This is where the Pacific and Tasman seas meet, giving rise to some unusually heavy seas, and is also a place of some spiritual importance to the Maori people. The van really wouldn't have been up to the journey back along 90 mile beach, so a tour was the best option. This turned out for the best, as there were tobogans on board for sand toboganing on the massive sand dunes!
After seeing as much as possible in the time we had, we headed back to Auckland giving ourselves 4 days to sell our van in the backpackers car market. We spent a morning cleaning the van out and giving it a power wash in preparation. When we arrived at the car market on Saturday morning, things didn't look good.... some people told us they had already been there for 2
days and had no buyers interested in their vans. Lady luck it seems was smiling upon us, as we had sold our van (in principle) after half an hour! All that was required was legal and mechanical checks (which we had to wait until monday for) which all went fine. We can't believe our luck, and we don't know how we didn't get lynched by the other sellers, as they were all still there on Monday when we came back to complete the deal! This meant we had plenty of time to enjoy ourselves in Auckland!
Celebrations began on Saturday afternoon when we met Joanne and Tina (friends of Di's) who came up from the Cormandel peninsula for a couple of beers. On Sunday we took a ferry across the bay to Davonport, a charming little town, where we found the worlds best second hand book shop, and relaxed in the sun drinking some nice coffee. As tradition dictates, we also went on a small walk to the top of a hill for some excellent views. On Tuesday we went to Rangitoto island, a volcanic island which only appeared out of the sea around 700 years ago. Once again
we went for a walk, where we saw some lava caves and wonderful views. The final act of our New Zealand adventure was to catch a comedy show, which was part of the Auckland International Comedy Festival, and so we left NZ laughing all the way to Australia!
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Anne
non-member comment
Doesn't look grim at all.
Amazing photos. You must be sad to leave New Zealand. xx