It's a fruit; it's an animal; it's a person ---- it's a Kiwi

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Our trip through the North Island of New Zealand

Our meandering around the North Island (NI) after the Gisborne build was filled with vistas of rolling greenery, more sightings of cows than sheep (NZ is supposed to have 4 million people and 40 million sheep but the dairy prices are tempting the sheep farmers to convert to milking cows), visits to amazing botanic gardens, and lots of good eating. We traveled for two weeks on the left side of the road by car (one of those anxiety-filled expectations that turned out to be easier than imagined) from Auckland in the north down to the capital of NZ, Wellington, at the most southern tip of the North Island stopping for 2 or 3 days in each town or city along the way to see the local sites, mostly having to do with geological, zoological, or cultural rarities.

The most interesting aspects of Auckland for us had to do with the improved availability of good food (after Gisborne’s offerings, anything would have been an improvement), the views of the city from the Sky Tower, and the Auckland Museum (a treasure trove of World War 1 memorabilia and Maori and zoological artifacts worth viewing for many more than the two hours we spent on them). After visiting Waiheke Island (a 45 minute ferry ride from Auckland’s harbour), Judy getting a haircut, and wandering through the city parks, shopping areas, and University hills, we had seen much of the city and decided to leave Auckland a day earlier than planned feeling eager to get on with our exploration of the rest of NZ and excited to be on our own.

Our unplanned stop in Waitomo (about 2 and a half hours south of Auckland) turned out to be one of the highlights of our stay on the NI. Waitomo is the site of some of the best-known glow worm caves in NZ. We were fortunate to be able to book a wonderful tour of a glow worm cave and a stalagtite and stalagmite cave when we got into town. Our guide, Norm, clearly loved his work and was a knowledgeable and affable host for the afternoon. He also had lots of suggestions about where to go for dinner (the Huhu restaurant turned out to have fabulous roast duck) and where to go for a lovely bush walk the next morning before we left for the Coromandel Peninsula (CP).

Our trip north to Whitianga (pronounced fitianga) on the CP the following day took us through Hamilton and its delightful Botanic Gardens. It turns out that Kiwis don’t have to pay to see the beautiful gardens their tax dollars support, nor do the tourists. We spent more time than we should have, given how long it was going to take us to go to our next destination, enjoying the theme gardens (English, Old Italian, Chinese Scholar, Indian, American Modern). Here’s a picture of the India-inspired annual beds. Looks like the Taj, yes?

We stayed on the CP at a B & B with an awesome view and the most attentive hosts we’d ever encountered. Annemarie and Hans set out drinks and nibbles every evening and helped us plan our itinerary for the next day. We took a ferry to the near-by Cook’s beach and did our first challenging hike. We had hoped it would ready us for our up-coming Hollyford Track trek, one of our last planned adventures when on the South Island. It was way more difficult than Judy thought it would be and so began her worries about how the Hollyford would go. That afternoon, we refreshed ourselves with a dip in a thermal pool and an amazing dinner of fish chowder and lamb. And so we began to understand that the Kiwis really know how to cook and that thermal pools are good for what ails you.

The next few days took us to the other side of the CP to the town of Coromandel and the small gauge rail line up the peninsula through a conservation forest. The locals are attempting to reforest and remove the pine brought in by Europeans and replant their indigenous kauri (a large, slow growing and beautiful reddish color tree with veins so close that it looks as though there are none). The tree has been cut to almost extinction, unfortunately. Here’s a photo we took of the another train coming through the forest as we left it; note the huge ferns (Judy’s favorite is the mamaku ----- a large almost tree-like fern with black veins and a black trunk).

We left the CP stopping at a beach where, for a small sum, you can rent a shovel to dig a hole in the sand allowing the thermal springs below to bubble up onto the beach. When the tide comes in the waters mix to produce a warm pool. There were lots of folks in a very small area trying their hand at producing just the right temperature. It seemed to us to be more fun to watch than to do.

The next few days took us to Rotorua and Lake Taupo to learn more about Maori history and culture and the geothermal character of the NI. It turns out that New Zealand’s North Island was created by volcanos, some of which continue to be active. Under the surface of the land in and around Rotorua down to Lake Taupo in the middle of the island, steam and geysers and mud continue to bubble and spurt giving much of the terrain an eerie, otherworld appearance. We spent several afternoons exploring steamy landscapes and gurgling pools. Our major disappointment was that we didn’t get to see the shy kiwi bird actually romp in its protected home at the adventure park Te Puia, near Rotorua. Our guide said that they had been scampering around all morning but there were none to be seen when we were there.

After Rotorua, D and I traveled through the Tongariro National Park with a stop along the way for another short bush walk to the Emerald Lake. This time the walk wasn’t as challenging as our previous walk and we were feeling more optimistic about how J’s knees would do when we were in Fiordland. We were on our way to Wanganui, an adorable town along the Wanganui River and close to the western coast of the NI. The town has been recently renovated to highlight its Edwardian heritage. And they’ve done a great job. It’s a town my sister Willa would just love with its quaint streetlights and beautiful multicolored building exteriors. We jogged and walked along the river, enjoyed afternoon tea at outdoor cafes and even got to see a movie ------ George Clooney’s “Up in the Air,” which brought back sad memories of Judy’s days at Lehman Brothers when it was buying up companies and firing most of the employees of the acquired firms.

Our last few days on the NI were spent in Wellington, which we loved. We took full advantage of the wonderful weather visiting W’s botanic garden, and spending time along the waterfront. Our favorite experience, though, was the afternoon we spent at Te Papa, their newly opened and very exciting museum. We had a terrific Maori guide who helped make the history of the Maori people and their Polynesian ancestors come alive. We also had our best NZ meal in Wellington at the restaurant Logan Brown ----- a three- course tasting menu with accompanying wines (all NZ, of course). We munched and moaned throughout the dinner enjoying every morsel of food and drink.

On March 5th, we flew to Dunedin on the eastern coast in the south of the South Island. As we flew over this new island we knew we would be in for a treat. The land was no longer the rolling green hills of the volcanic NI but jagged glacial mountains we hadn’t seen before. On the next blog, we’ll tell you more about our adventures on the SI and how we fared on our hike through the Hollyford Track.

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Photos

Waiheki Island near Auckland
Catch the view of the Coromandel Peninsula in the background. We were there a few days later

Comments

[Dan]

Whetted appetite
I foundmyself almost drooling over the picturess, descriptions, foods tastedd and sights seen. Sounds likean absolutely wonderful trip. I have yet to hear of anyone diappointed by their NZ travels. Your blog renewed a hunger togoand see that started during our first year in Fiji in 1968! I look forward to the next installment.

[Marge]

Thank you so much for including us in your trip looks beautiful and you both look great looking forward to seeing you and the next blog marge

[Heidi Schenk]

Unique
Three tales-one name, reminding me of "Doves on the Waters",telling us three tales, which actually is only ONE. The affinity is definitely unique and a feast for one's senses...