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Published: August 6th 2007
After hightailing it across the S. American continent, city hopping to Santiago, we flew out to New Zealand, sadly completing the first leg of our grand tour. Although sad to leave, we’re taking with us some incredible photos and even better memories which will undoubtedly stay with us forever; better yet we’ve already vowed to return, taking in some of the amazing things we’d heard about on the way but had no time to do. South America we will be back!!!!
So, after landing in Auckland we had a few hours to kill, getting better acquainted with the airport and reminding ourselves that we don’t greet people with a ‘hola!’ anymore; it’s back to our native tongue. Thankfully due to our flight being delayed in Santiago we didn’t have so long to wait for our good friend Mark to arrive who would be joining us for virtually the entire time we would be spending in New Zealand. After an eternity milling around the arrivals entrance he finally emerged and after a quick mobbing and some shed tears (It’s amazing how tightly you grab hold of any link to home after being away so long), we were on our way in
a cab into Auckland city centre to the pick-up depot of
Escape rentals.
After completing all the necessary paperwork we all bundled into our new home for the next 30 days. In a stroke of luck (they have ~120 in their fleet currently) we seem to have bagged the campervan that ends up in most of their promotional literature and it’s currently being featured in the Air New Zealand in-flight magazine. It’s called tattoo and we were told that the van artist was lacking in inspiration so decided to paint his personal ink collection on the sides. It sports a huge oriental style dragon on one side and a koi fish on the other, all executed perfectly and personally I think they look damn cool!
Our first challenge in the van (especially after not having driven for two months) was to get out of Auckland city and head on over to the Coromandel Peninsula where we’d chill for a day or so to catch up on what’s happening at home and get over any jet lag (due to crossing the international date line Faye and I have lost an entire day, boo!). After an amazing coastal drive we
bedded up in a small quiet bay just outside Coromandel Town which was a perfect setting for our first night in the van.
The next day we headed over to the western coast of the peninsula to Hot Water Beach where we’d been told by a kiwi couple on our travels that we could dig a hold in the sand and soak in the thermal water that surfaces. We found out that it can only be really done 2 hours either side of low tide and as we found out that it wouldn’t be for a few hours we drove over to the start of the walk which goes to Cathedral cove, a rock formation that seemed to get a good write up in the guide book. After starting out the walk barefoot and only getting so far due to the rocky footpath shredding our soles we turned back and decided to go back to Hot Water Beach and finish the walk after we’d had a soak.
We hired a shovel at the café on the beach and headed out to the area on the beach where the hot water bubbles out under the sand. There were already
a few other people sitting in self-made holes on the beach so we knew where to start digging. It took a few attempts and pilot holes to find where the hot water was, but we soon found out why it was called hot water beach… the water comes out at a scolding temperature and we were repeatedly digging holes, waiting for them to fill up, jumping in and then jumping straight out. In the end we dug a large shallow pool half in the hot water section, half in the cold water section, and having a separate hot water pool further up the beach that we channelled water from to heat our pool up as and when we needed it. It also turned out to be a great source of amusement watching other people turning up, seeing the empty hot pool channelling into ours, seeing an opportunity not to dig their own pool and jumping in… then promptly jumping straight out… hehe!
After a long hot soak and collecting some mussels from the rocks sticking out of the sea for dinner, we headed back to the start of the trail so we could complete the 45 minute walk to
Cathedral Cove. The cove contains a huge natural arch in the cliff which it’s possible to walk under and around. After taking a few hundred photos the weather turned nasty and the heavens opened drenching us leaving us to ‘enjoy’ a very damp walk back to the van. After drying off we set ourselves up for the few hours it would take to drive south to Waitomo.
The Waitomo district has hundreds of limestone caves scattered around which are the home to glow worms (not actually worms, more like maggots). Glow worms apparently require just the right mix of conditions to survive and these caves are just perfect. There are a remarkable number of them dotted all over the ceilings creating a beautiful ‘fake’ starscape which coincidently, is exactly why they do it. Flying insects, which are the glow worm’s primary food fly up after emerging from the water thinking they’re in the open and get ensnared by dangling traps set by the worms.
There are many options for exploring the caves and seeing the glow worms, but seeing as we’re in New Zealand and we’re kicking off the adrenalin action we decided not to bother with the
leisurely boat tour and opted instead to go
black water rafting. This pretty much entailed some caving and climbing interspersed with cruising down the underground rivers running through the caves, on huge inflated doughnuts. The rivers were absolutely freezing, but thankfully we were provided with wet suits which kept the shivers at bay. Due to all the rain over the last few days the river levels were very high and running particularly fast. Before entering the caves our guides warned us of this by laughing and saying ‘you guys are going to freak out’, hmmm reassuring! We were underground for around an hour where we got to ride several rapids, and serenely float past caves filled with the glow worms with our torches turned off enjoying the light show. Afterwards we were provided with hot showers and soup finishing off an amazing experience and a perfect start to the other crazy stuff we plan to enjoy while here.
After drying off and warming up, we drove a little way down the road to the town of Otorohanga to check out their Kiwi house and native bird park. They’ve cleverly reversed the day/night cycle in the Kiwi house, so that it’s possible
to see the normally nocturnal birds active during the day. Luckily we turned up a few minutes before feeding so we got really up close and personal with the ridiculous animal New Zealanders have adopted as their national symbol. It’s easy to see why they’ve become so endangered, with their small squat flightless bodies they look so helpless, and it’s no surprise that they’re pretty much prey to any introduced mammal that’s since found its way to the islands, as they have absolutely no way of defending themselves, or getting away in a hurry.
From Otorohanga we drove west to the small town of Matamata where the next day we took a tour of Hobbiton. The town isn’t particularly impressive but due to a nearby farm being used to create the Shire for the epic Lord of the Rings trilogy a large industry has been formed to cater for the thousands of fans that turn up to see the town of Hobbiton. Not being a huge fan of the films, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect and wasn’t expecting to be too interested but the tour was incredibly informative, both about the filming and all the behind the
scenes stuff that goes on that you really don’t think about while watching the film. Luckily the demolition crew that were employed to destroy all the sets scattered around the country, couldn’t complete the task on Hobbiton due do the weather, which gave the farm owners enough time to gain the necessary permission to salvage what was left and come up with the idea of providing tours. It’s the only intact set left from the films and with a little imagination and the words of the guide it’s easy to see where each place played its part in the films.
When we returned we went to the laundrette to dry all our wet gear that we’d been carrying around and when we came back to the van we found that someone had smashed into the rear corner trying to park a large camper van and destroying one of our rear lights in the process. Thankfully Faye was still with the van at the time so was witness to everything, so after exchanging details, we gave our rental company a call to get their advice. We were told to go to any garage and get it fixed and we wouldn’t
have to pay for anything it would come off our excess on the insurance which we’d hopefully get back once it goes through the usual system. We drove to the nearest garage and were told it would take a couple of days to get the replacement light due to it being the weekend, so we decided to just leave it for the time being and wait till we had more time in a particular place. The mechanic reattached the light and we managed to tape it up so it’s still functional, sadly due to the excellent job we’ve done, we’re now in no hurry to get it fixed properly so it’s still broken now. Oh well we haven’t been pulled over yet so we’re not worried.
After patching up the van we drove further west to the city of Rotorua and as we’d arrived quite late we went straight to the tourist information centre and booked some white water fun for the next day!
We were up early the next day for our pick up from the tourist information by
Kaitiaki Adventures, the company we’d chosen to raft and sledge the Kaituna River. For white water purposes, rivers are
graded from I through VI, I being calm still water and VI being commercially un-raftable, the Kaituna river with 14 rapids and the 7m Tutea Falls (the largest commercial raftable fall in the world) is classed as grade V, so… pretty intense. We were provided with wet suits, helmets and gloves and all piled into a mini van for the drive to the start of our river run. Once at our destination we were given all the usual safety talks, like if you end up in the river grab hold of the raft, it’ll be the floatiest thing around and told which positions to take in the raft for the falls and rapids then chucked it in the river and jumped in. We were taken over a few rapids before coming to our practise run for the big fall, a set of two falls the first being 2.5m and the second 1m, we took these two easily, practising jumping into the centre of the raft and holding on tight just as you go over the edge for the first and posing on the edge of the raft with our paddles in the air for the photographer for the second. Everything
went really smoothly upping our confidence for what was to come.
After a few more rapids we came to the top of the Tutea falls and sided up near the top in an eddy so we could line up properly and get prepared. We watched the raft before us disappear over the edge and after a thorough soaking; surface intact and upright and float off… looked easy, now it was our turn! It all went so quickly, after hearing the ‘get down’ command we all piled into the centre of the raft and held on tight. We flew over the edge and plunged into the depths below the falls becoming completely submerged for a moment, sadly luck wasn’t on our side as the raft then flipped, throwing us all out! All the coaching we were told about in the beginning about curling into a ball so the falls would spit you out easily at the bottom, went completely out the window as I flailed around trying to find the surface. I surfaced under the edge of the upside down raft, so reached around grabbed the side and hoisted myself into fresh air, taking a deep breath before looking up
to see the sky turning black. The guides were righting the boat and it was landing right on top of me… arghhhhh! I took another deep breath as I was plunged back into the water and swam outwards trying to find the surface again, I quickly bobbed back up, took a deep breath and opened my eyes to see one of the guides reaching for my life jacket and hoisting my body back into the raft! It didn’t take long for everyone to be back in the boat and we all quickly got ourselves together for a group shot with us all back in the boat. It turned out Faye went through a similar experience although when the raft flipped at the bottom of the falls she got hit in the face by someone’s helmet, giving her a big fat lip as well as being half drowned. It was a terrifying experience in which there were moments I was sure I was going to die, but it was so incredibly awesome, I’d do it all again in an instant, and I think they should all flip on the falls, it added an extra rush to an already exhilarating experience.
After a few more rapids which seemed really tame and unexciting compared to what we’d just been through we came to the end of the run, piled the boat onto the back of a trailer and went back to base. Normally this is where people get all warmed up, eat some hot soup, check out the photos then head off for a beer to celebrate surviving, but as we had booked a combo package with one of the other people from our boat, we decided not to bother getting changed, only to have to get back into a wetsuit, so we just changed equipment for the ‘white water sledging’ part of the day.
White water sledging offers a completely different perspective of the river, as you ride your own personal manoeuvrable ‘sledge’ with the lower half of the body in the water, so you can kick propelling yourself along. Thankfully we were given gloves and thicker wetsuits, which not only protected us against the cold but also against knocks and crashes into rocks and cliff walls which were inevitable considering our inexperience. We were taken to the bottom of the 7m Tutea falls that we’d just rafted over and
entered the water and then given some instructions and demonstrations on how to manoeuvre the sledge and also how to correct ourselves if we ended up the wrong way, and told the golden rule ‘never let go of the sledge’ then we were off… It didn’t take very long to master the basics and learn how to read the water currents to make you go in the direction you wanted rather than just be pushed all the way downstream. The main things required which we all found out we sorely lacked was an incredible amount of strength, stamina and fitness. We were soon discovering muscles we never knew we had and were certain they’d be making themselves known for days to come. Zipping over the rapids was amazing, plunging into the icy depths and riding out the other side, but the best part was when we tried white water surfing. This involved pushing yourself back upstream onto a powerful rapid (incredible amount of the above effort required here, we needed towing by the guides) and then holding the front of the sledge up and riding the surf without any effort required for as long we could. It was an incredible
feeling to see all this water rushing towards you yet not being pushed away, Faye and I managed to hold it most of the time for about 10 seconds before we were torn away by the current. Of course one of our guides showed us what could be achieved by staying there for ages and then jumping on the sledge on his knees and riding it further… show off.
Although not as intense, I much preferred the sledging to the rafting as you seemed a lot more in control and due to all the exertion it wasn’t as cold, I especially liked the surfing aspect and it was great to be so close and personal to the water.
The next day was Faye’s birthday… Mark brought over some cards from home which Faye tearily read out then we were in for a day of relaxation. We spent the morning and early afternoon in the
Polynesian Spa soaking in their many pools and generally chilling. While we were there we got talking to a local who told us about another location outside of town where there is a hot river than runs through a creek where you can soak for
free, we mentally jotted down the details and thanked him very much. Afterwards we went to a local café called Fat Dogs where we’d eaten before and knew the food was ace and filled up before deciding we’d head on and try and find this free thermal pool we’d been told about. It was at this point we all realised that none of us had really remembered the details other than head south so we just thought what the hell; we were going that way anyway to our next destination so we’d just drive and see if any signs jog our memory.
After driving for about 20 minutes we all saw a sign for Kerosene Creek which I remembered was what he said it was called so we quickly turned off onto the gravel track, noticing straight away some lakes with steam rising from them and a small steamy stream running beside the road. We parked up at the designated parking spot and headed down by the river, quickly stripped off and jumped in; the water wasn’t really hot but was certainly warmer than the atmospheric temperature so it was an absolute pleasure to lounge around in. We cracked
open a bottle of bubbly wine and toasted Faye’s birthday, then contemplated getting out, as it was starting to get dark and the temperature was dropping really quickly… I don’t think any of us has ever dressed so quickly.
Afterwards we drove on to Taupo where we’d be staying the night, at which point Mark showed us his birthday present which was for the both of us even though mine isn’t till the end of the month. He’d manage to get videos of all our family and friends wishing us a happy birthday and saying hello, it was really awesome to see everyone and it really brought it home just how far away we were…
Taupo is on the shores of Lake Taupo which is New Zealand’s biggest lake and was formed many thousands of years ago by one of the world’s biggest volcanic eruptions. We planned to do a skydive here as it’s the skydive capital of the world with thousands of jumps made here every year, but the weather was terrible so we trundled over to Huka Falls to go on the Huka Jet. The Huka falls are quite spectacular as the Waikato River is forced
between a narrow channel and then drops over 10m into a large pool below, the water is also crystal clear and is incredibly blue in colour which just adds to their splendour. We drove to the walkway that surrounds the falls but for a more thrilling view we also chose to take the Huka Jet which is a highly manoeuvrable power boat that zips up the river at incredible speeds pulling 360º turns and generally scaring the hell out of its passengers.
When we booked the Huka Jet, we had a couple of hours to kill till our slot so we decided to pop next door to the Huka Prawn Farm, the worlds only geo-thermally heated freshwater prawn farm. It wasn’t particularly cheap but we decided to try our hand at prawn fishing figuring we’d try and catch our dinner. We got all the tips for catching the most prawns from the organisers and then headed out with our bamboo fishing rods and Ox heart bait to the pools. After two hours of standing in the drizzle, Mark and I managed to bag ourselves 2 pathetic looking tiny prawns… the most expensive prawns ever. We asked the chap at
the front if we could come back after the jet ride so he agreed to store our prawns for us. When we returned we got straight to work as we only had half an hour left, Faye managed to catch one more but that was it, three prawns; barely enough for a cocktail. We miserably left when we were told they were closing, but on the way out I asked if there were any prawns that anybody didn’t want to take home. It turns out we were in luck, loads of people weren’t interested in taking theirs home so the guy gave us them all, there were loads and some were huge, Faye cooked them up in the evening with some garlic butter and apparently they were fantastic (not being a big fan of prawns I had steak).
From Taupo we made a bee line for Wellington as we wanted to head to the South Island so we can hopefully do all the things we’ve got planned in the time we’ve got… on route we stopped at the Tongariro National Park to take some photos of the mountains but the weather was really terrible so we didn’t stay for
very long. The weather in Wellington didn’t turn out to be any better as it rained for the entire time we were there; we still had a good look round the small city though, we just got a little damp. Thankfully the forecast for the next few days is good so we should hopefully get some sun while we’re in the South Island.
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Linden McFarlane
non-member comment
Wow, why did I ever leave home?!
Stunning - I am travelling in Europe at the moment and whenever I get homesick I look on travelblog for pics of New Zealand. Your pics are wicked, well done. And they don't call it Aotearoa (Land of the long white cloud) for nothing, January and February would be a very different story weather-wise.