It was a painful 4am wake up, but we needed to fly to the North Island
bright and early to embark on a 609 mile road trip in 5 days (for a grand total
of 1139 miles around New Zealand).My
travel buddy Satomi had flown into the North Island the night prior and met up
with us in Auckland.It was our 9th
trip together, and our 5th international trip in 5 years.I was happy she was able to join us as a
last minute addition and as an added bonus, she even brought along much-needed
itch relief medication for my sandfly bites.
Sunrise flight
North Island road trip
The long drive to Waitomo was fairly uneventful, other than one
unpleasant run-in with an angry driver. Lunch
was a success as we had been on the search for a dessert cheese plate, and
finally found one!
Cheese plate, at last!
Our 4th and final viewing of glowworms was a magnificent
tour of Waitomo caves.We walked walk
through two caves, one of which included a boat ride that probably had triple
number of glowworms I’d ever seen in one sitting.
Headlamps for the first cave
Second cave
So many glowworms that they showed up on my iPhone!
Our tour guide Mark was actually not normally a tour guide, but a
gardener who Satomi described as “the kind of person who would survive if you
dropped him onto an island.” At one
point, he held meat in the water, which lured out several eels from the caves. He let the eels bite him and ended up with
blood on his hands, which seemed to excite the eels even more. This guy was crazy... and was also my hero. He let me feed and pet the eels too, though I
wasn’t brave enough to let them bite me.
For some reason, nobody else in the group ventured near the eels.
Mark holding an eel
Feeding and petting eels!
Close up of 4 eels
It was another couple hours drive to National Park before we were
finally able to kick back, relax, split some pizza, and soak in a hot tub
before bed.
Feb 14,
2019 Thursday
Today was hiking day, which was a welcome break from
driving! The only thing on our agenda was the 12 mile Tongariro
Crossing Day Hike. We hiked in pairs, with me and Satomi just a
little in front of Mom and Debbie. It was very hot and crowded at
times, but worth it to see sulfur lakes in volcanic landscapes. All 4
lakes we saw were a different, vivid shade of green or blue.
The psych-you-out sign!
Mount Ngauruhoe, which is apparently Mt Doom from Lord of the Rings
The first three lakes - all had striking bright colors
Hot loose gravel path to the 1st lake
Taking a break between the first 2 lakes
The 3rd lake - the water colors looked different up close!
The last lake
Fumaroles (openings in/near volcanos that emit stinky sulfur gas)
Feeling accomplished, we celebrated with a big dinner of cheese fondue,
prawns, lamb shanks, chocolate fondue. and crème brulee. We split a load of laundry, providing us with
an unexpected couple sets of clean clothes to last the rest of our trip.Then we soaked our feet in the hot tub.
Feb 15,
2019 Friday
Making our way around the North Island in a counter-clockwise circuit,
we next drove east to Rotorua. On the
way, we spent the morning at Wai-O-Tapu, where we explored
the geothermal park. Mom has seen
similar formations at Yellowstone, but I’ve never been there so most of
it was new to me and blew my mind.
Lady Knox Geyser - the eruption is induced daily by pouring in soap
Movie of Lady Knox Geyser:
Wai-O-Tapu
Artist's Palette
Playing with the panorama feature at Champagne Pool
The only photo of all 4 of us
Close up of bubbles at Champagne Pool
Rua Pumahu - sounds from this crater were used when filming scenes of Mordor for the Lord of the Rings trilogy
Lake Ngakoro
Roto Karikitea
In need of shade, we next went to the Polynesian Spa.Massages were unavailable, but we enjoyed
lunch at the café there and booked a couple private pools for the evening.
Lunch
Then we went zorbing, where we rolled down a hill in a giant plastic
sphere filled partly with water.I’m not
sure what I was expecting but it wasn’t that, and I loved it even more than I
hoped.We went in pairs for the first
ride, and Satomi suggested I go with Mom so we could giggle.Satomi, Mom, and I loved it enough to do it a
second time and went all together in one ball.
Me and Mom feeling excited!
Satomi and Debbie - not quite as excited
Awkwardly getting into the zorbing ball
Video of zorbing with Mom and Satomi:
There was some
drama with the host at our next hostel, but we were able to eventually settle in. Debbie
and Mom took a break, while Satomi and I visited Whakarewarewa Redwood
Forest, where we walked along big suspension bridges overlooking redwoods and
tree ferns.
Suspension bridges
Me with tree ferns
Satomi with redwoods
Lanterns hanging from the trees
Everyone gathered back together for a relaxing soak in our spas.We paired off in two different pools, with
Mom and Debbie in one and me and Satomi in the other.Mom bought me a new swimsuit as a gift for my
upcoming birthday.
Serenity
New swimsuit
Newly rested, we walked into town for a nice dinner of scallops,
gnocchi, the biggest mussels I’ve ever seen, and another dessert cheese plate!
Love these cheese plates!
Though we were all
very tired by this point, we decided to return to Whakarewarewa
Redwood Forest so we could see the lanterns lit up. It was far more
crowded at night and they only let a few people up at a time so we ended in
what felt like a Disney World line, but the wait was worth it.
So different at night
Beautiful lanterns
These lights gradually transformed and went through all the colors of the rainbow
Feb 16,
2019 Saturday
On our last full day in New Zealand, we slept in and enjoyed breakfast
while overlooking Rotorua from our hostel.
View from the hostel
We debated between visiting Hobbiton versus hiking at Karangahake
Gorge, and decided on the latter.We
forgot it was Saturday and were surprised to find the small parking lot full,
but lucked out with a space.It was a
good thing, because it was a perfect day to wander on old railroad tracks and
mining tunnels that snaked through the gorge.Satomi was achy from the Tongariro, but she powered through.
Old railroad track
Outside the mining tunnels
Inside the mining tunnels
Looking out onto the gorge
Karangahake Gorge
Down by the water
My 4'10" mother had to jump to get her head high enough.
The Coromandel Peninsula was our last vacation spot in New Zealand. I didn’t realize we’d have to
take a shuttle to Cathedral Cove, and in order to make it back in time before
the shuttles stopped running, we had to race through the path. Even though we were short on time and hadn’t
realized we should wear swimsuits, Mom and I couldn’t resist jumping into the
inviting water down at the cove.
Gemstone Bay
Photo taken right after Mom ran into Satomi
Stingray Bay
Cathedral Cove
Close enough to wearing swimsuits
Back at our lodge, we ate fish and chips and chatted while waiting for the low tide so
we could go to the Hot Water Beach.At
first, I was worried that the low tide was so late that we would be too tired
to enjoy it but it turned that we were lucky to have a late low tide because it
kept the heat and crowds down.
Trying out airplane sleeping apparatuses
I was excited when the time finally came to walk to the Hot Water
Beach at about 8:30pm.It was everything
that had been described to me, but it was still an unreal and incredible
experience.The ocean water was cold,
but if you dug into the sand with a shovel, hot water came up from
underneath.We lay in our own personal
hot tub under the moon and stars, listening to the soothing rumble of the
ocean.
You have to be there to believe it
Feb 17,
2019 Sunday
After our last breakfast together, we headed back into Auckland.With mixed feelings, we all said goodbye at
the airport.Mom and Debbie flew to VA,
while Satomi and I went home to Honolulu on different airlines.I took Fiji Airways and thankfully, my flight
home was smooth and uneventful.
Airport goodbyes
Travel buddies
Ukulele and guitar players performing at the Fiji layover
