New Zealand - North Island - Hobbits, Skydive & The Mawdesley's.

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After a pretty hectic couple of weeks doing the Contiki trip and our own drive to Port Douglas, we thought we would chill it out a bit and fly to NZ for a 23 day campervan trip ...



We flew to Auckland and arrived late so had booked into a hotel next to the airport in preparation for our van pick up in the morning. Having done the camper trip with Kerry & Novo earlier in the year, we knew what to expect in terms of size of the van and the process of getting it all organised which was a bonus.



Our van Monty - from here on in (until his death) - was now home for the next 3 weeks. Although he was old...really old, he was really well set out for what we needed.



Day 1 - 103km Driven:

After picking the van up we drove straight to the supermarket to stock up on food and essentials for the trip. It was on this drive we noticed the van had already done 398000+ kms!!! We then made our way into New Zealand's biggest City - Auckland. Looking back we probably didn't give Auckland a fair crack of the whip. However, it is a big city where parking is either impossible or bloody expensive. We had a brief wander around the city centre, got a phone sorted to work in NZ and went to visit the Sky Tower. We decided to cut our losses with Auckland and drove on to a small country town called Miranda - purely because it was in a good half way location to the rest of the North Island. However, when we told Kiwi's where we stayed, not one knows where Miranda is! The campsite was expensive for our first night which didn't bode well however, it did have its own geothermal pool which was a wee brucey.



Day 2 - 309km Driven:

Our initial plan of driving around to Coromandel Peninsula first thing but decided due to our schedule we decided not to do it. Instead we drove across the country to Waitomo Caves to see the famous glow worms. It was a great drive and first real introduction to what this trip was going to be like. The caves themselves were fantastic and although you weren't allowed to take photos, they wouldn't have done it justice anyway but it was a very cool experience. From the caves we decided to drive back across the country to Matamata. Matamata is pretty much only famous for Lord of The Rings. It is the main town for the Hobbiton movie set so we went into the info centre - which is built as a hobbit house - and then to the pub for a quick swally. We downloaded an app for finding camp sites, free wifi, toilets etc and from this we noticed that you could camp in the Hobbiton car park for free for one night. Our plan was to visit the movie set first thing so we headed up to the carpark and set up camp for the night.



Day 3 - 91km Driven:

It rained all night. Like torrential rain. The whole hobbiton tour is outside with no cover. We weren't sure if it would maybe spoil it but fortunately the rain subsided a little for our tour. It was bloody brilliant. The attention to detail and scenery were just incredible. If you are in New Zealand and have seen the films, it is a great thing to do. Plenty of people on the tour had never seen the films and it is just a cool thing to do.

Straight after the tour we jumped in the van and headed south to Rotorua. There is a big Maori influence in Rotorua so we decided to do a Maori experience. Before that we had a good wander around town and it stinks. Due to the sulphur and geothermal activity the place smells like rotten eggs. And it rained a lot. There are multiple Maori tours you can do and after asking around & doing our own research we chose the Te Puia day and evening experience. It is an all encompassing tour where we learned about Maori culture, saw traditional wood carving, traditional weaving, saw a live Kiwi bird and the highest natural geyser in New Zealand. After the initial tour we then got to see a traditional Maori welcome, Maori dances, Maori weapons and the Haka! The girls got to join the Maori women on stage to learn the tradition Poi dance. After that the gents were invited to learn the Haka - it was awesome! We then got a traditional hangi feast which is a meal cooked underground using the thermal rocks. It was delicious and there was so much food!! This is another activity that I would definitely recommend, especially if you have any interest on history or Maori culture. With our handy app we found a free campsite not far from the Maori village which was ideal.



Day 4 - 106km Driven:

Another wet night. We drove to Lake Taupo - the largest fresh water lake in the Southern Hemisphere - it was a beautiful drive and incredibly picturesque place. It was bloody cold. Like Scotland cold. After 2 nights free camping, we booked 2 nights in a paid site to charge up the van, wash and generally feel human. The site had their own hot pools which were wonderful. Lake Taupo officially has the 'world's coolest McDonalds'. It would be rude not to. We had planned to skydive in Lake Taupo, however, due to the weather there was no way which sucked.



Day 5 - 34km Driven:

We woke up around 8.30am and at 9am I called the skydive place. They picked us up at 10.15am!! A yellow hummer limo picked us up which was good as we wanted to be incognito ...

A quick safety briefing and chat with our tandem master - the guy who would have sole responsibility for our life. We chose to dive from 12,000ft and paid extra for a photo and video package (which will be posted soon). It was the craziest, most stupid, amazing, exhilarating thing we've ever done. We were both remarkably calm all the way up in the plane, but as I was first out the plane it got real pretty quick. We paid a lot of money to do it, so there was no second guessing once my legs dangled out over the lake!! However, as I left the plane, Sam was struck with fear and panic after seeing me jump out of a plane and had pretty much accepted me as dead! The free fall was unreal and the parachute ride was equally as amazing. I would do another one in a heartbeat. Sorry mum. We decided to slow the pace down a bit after the jump and drive to Huka Falls which is the most photographed natural site in New Zealand. It was easy to see why. The falls are bright blue, are crazy powerful and just really cool. We grabbed a quick pint on the way back to the campsite and had an early bed before driving to Napier in the morning.



Day 6 - 162km Driven:

The morning started with a bush walk along Huka Falls, which we managed to time well. As it pretty much rained from the time we finished the walk until the next morning. Again proper rain, none of this drizzle shit. Napier is famous for its Art Deco buildings and themes due to a rebuild in 1930 after a huge earthquake. We were looking forward to exploring but the rain really was too heavy to do anything. We parked up in our free spot and ran to the pub where we spent the whole day!! Very fun day and Sam got pretty drunk, danced in the rain and jumped around a fountain - free entertainment for me.



Day 7 - 355km Driven:

Palmerston North is the perfect half way house between Napier and Wellington so that was our aim today. Everyone laughed when we said that was our stop for the night because there is nothing to do. Turns out they were right. So after a quick lunch stop and wander around some shops we jumped back in the van and powered on to Wellington. It was a big drive day so once we parked up we headed straight for Te Papa. Te Papa is a huge museum in the City which is brilliant and worth doing - especially as it is free. After an hour or so, we were knackered and still had some time before meeting Claire our friend from Wellington, we grabbed a coffee and juice then slouched around in the museum for a bit. Claire finished work and we followed her to our accommodation for the next few days - Hotel Mawdesley (the family home). This was luxury personified. The Mawdesley's made us feel so welcome and the joys of a bed and bathroom that didn't change gears was wonderful. A big dinner and a couple of beers later we were ready for bed. As a bit of background, one of my best mates Ross is originally from NZ but lives in Scotland. As did his big sister 5 years ago so we were very excited for a reunion and to catch up with the rest of the family.



Day 8 - 0km Driven:

A glorious sleep in a normal bed and a lovely breakfast was a great start to the day. We had a great chat with Grandma and got some washings done - boring I know, but hey we needed pants. We caught the train into the city for a big wander, saw the parliament buildings, the beehive, cuba street, Te Papa again and Lambton Quay. After Claire finished work she caught up with us and we grabbed a pint. Claire then took us back to Plimmerton where we got an amazing take away pizza and chilled for the rest of the night.



Day 9 - 0km Driven:

Claire 'The Tour Guide' Mawdesley was kind enough to take us around a VIP tour of Wellington and the surrounds for the whole weekend! First stop, coffee. Ross used to work in this place called Mojo so we headed there and it was awesome. Claire took us up Mount Victoria first, good start. 360 views of Wellington and great place to see the planes flying in so close to you. A quick drive around the south coast and through the crazy airport was amazing and felt like we couldn't really be in a big city. Weta workshops is where Peter Jackson and his team do all the costume design, model building and general cool shit. Unfortunately the tours were fully booked but it is still a very cool place to go and we got some great photos. A Wellington staple is chocolate fish café, so we grabbed lunch. It was pretty awesome and each coffee comes with a chocolate fish (fish shaped marshmallow dipped in chocolate) so that just added to the excitement! The famous post card photo of Wellington is from the top of the cable car depot, so rather than pay for the 5 minute cable car, Claire drove us up to the depot. The weather was pretty grey so the photo didn't do it justice but it was still brilliant. A drive through the suburbs home meant we could see more of Wellington and Claire pointed out some pretty cool places. They have a tunnel where you beep a tune from the car and a passing car finishes it. It is amazing and even better, nobody knows why - so typically Kiwi. That night we got to catch up with Alberto who is our American friend from the Contiki trip in Australia which was great.



Day 10 - 0km Driven:

Wales beat England, so the house was a happy place first thing in the morning. To make things better, the sun was out and we had a full cooked breakfast on the deck. Told you it was luxury. Claire put her tour guide hat back on and took us to the top of Paekakariki hill for a great view of Plimmerton and Porirua. We headed down the hill through the village of Plimmerton where we got ice cream, just because. The sun stayed out all day and even though the Mawdesley house is amazing, with the sun it is like out of this world amazing. Just look at the photo on this blog! The extended family came round for a huge roast dinner and a few beers / wines, everyone was so nice and made us feel so at home, we could have stayed for a month. We also learned 2 new party games / tricks - beware. However, the ferry was booked for the following day so our last night in Wellington & the Mawdesley's was upon us.



Day 11 - 168km Driven:

Very early rise for the ferry crossing at 9am. All packed and said our goodbyes to our NZ family. Ferry crossing was calm and pretty damn epic. 3 hours later and we got off the boat and jumped back in the van with a drive from Picton to Nelson on the cards. But more on the South Island to follow ...



Bye.

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