Aotearoa is the Maori word for their homeland and means 'land of the long white cloud'. My partner Andy and I saw plenty of those during our travels in December 2006/January 2007 as New Zealand experienced their coldest and wettest December for 70 years. We saw some form of rain 24 out of the 28 days of our stay. However, this did not really distract from our enjoyment of their country and culture.
Having arrived in Auckland, we had three days to explore the city before joining a coach tour. In this time there were several highlights. Our first stop was Minus 5. This is situated on the harbour front and is advertised as 'the coolest experience in Auckland'. They are literally right! It's an ice lounge with walls, floor, seats, bar, décor and even your cocktail glass made from ice and yes, you guessed it, the temperature inside the lounge is -5 C! The cost of NZ$27 includes hire of a sheepskin lined coat, two pairs of gloves and fur lined boots as well as a vodka cocktail. A fairly short but unique experience.
We had pre-booked to climb the harbour bridge as I wanted to compare the experience to Sydney BridgeClimb. The cost is NZ$65 per person and, in my opinion, well worth it for the views of the city, as well as the experience of climbing behind-the-scenes on the bridge, from feeling the movement under the road to feeling the wind standing beneath the flags atop the structure. One of our group even stopped en route for a bungy jump! You're clipped onto a handrail all the way during the climb, so it's perfectly safe and not too strenuous, as there are many stops to admire the views and listen to fascinating facts from your guide. Keeping with our theme of heights, we also walked part of the coast-to-coast route up Mount Eden, an extinct volcanic crater, for wonderful views. And booked to dine in the revolving restaurant up Sky Tower which was good value for the standard of service and cuisine and the fact you get a free ride up the tower lift and chance to visit the observation level after dinner. Sky Tower is also home to other restaurants, shops, a casino and the Sky Jump experience. Only the price put me off wanting to do the controlled jump off the top of the tower, 328 metres high. Upon recommendation from British friends we also visited Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World. All we can say is - don't bother if you've ever visited any of the Sea Life Centres in Britain!
We then joined our Connections tour which label themselves as 'adventures for young travellers'. The official age to participate is 18-35 but they let me in! We had considered various tours, but this was nearly half the price due to staying in motels rather than hotels, doing our own porterage, and our hostess and driver preparing evening meals rather than dining in expensive restaurants. We weren't really sure what to expect but would thoroughly recommend Connections, who are part of the larger APT group. It was also more fun than other coach tours I've done and, with 35 guests from 14 nationalities, we made a very interesting mix of new friends.
First 15 of us travelled north to the pretty Bay Of Islands where I took a boat cruise around the bays and through the 'hole in the rock', explored the sleepy town of Russell which was the original capital of New Zealand, and visited the Waitangi Treaty House known as 'the birthplace of New Zealand'. Then back to Auckland to pick up the rest of our group before continuing to Rotorua, albeit a few hours late due to a misfuelling error by our driver Scott! Thus Andy and I volunteered to help our hostess Mandy prepare dinner so that everyone could eat at a reasonable hour. Late evening was spent socialising in the private hot tubs of our accommodation.
Despite the sulphur smell that lingers all over town, Rotorua is a marvellous place with steam rising from the earth and bubbling pools of mud. We opted to take a tour with a Maori guide who, after giving us the traditional welcome of rubbing noses, took us round in his jeep to show us his village including church, meeting house and back garden before taking us to a secluded natural thermal pool, stopping en route to grab some mud so we could make face packs. We had intended to explore the rest of Rotorua in the afternoon but, due to torrential rain, five of our tour group spent a couple of hours over lunch in Hell's Pizza. Apparently this chain of eateries is a national institution. We certainly found it a fun experience, with pizza toppings named after the seven deadly sins, an apple crumble dessert pizza - yes, we did try it, and very yummy too - and red flickering lights to create ambience. The pizza box converted to a smaller coffin shaped box in which to carry home 'your remains'!
Next day our group visited the Whakarewarewa Maori village where somehow I found myself on stage as part of the cultural show performing the poi dance with pom poms and Andy found himself doing the traditional haka. A 'hangi' feast was included for lunch and, although very tasty, I was a little disappointed not to have actually seen the food cooked in the steam underground. Our next stop was Lake Taupo but, due to continuing torrential rain, we could hardly see the lake. Instead, our driver dropped us at The Warehouse - a large store not too dissimilar to Woolworths in the UK - with instructions to find ourselves fancy dress costumes to wear on Christmas Day!
Then followed a long drive south to the capital Wellington, where we had a few hours to explore the national museum of Te Papa. This large new museum on the harbour front has free admission with exhibitions covering Maori history, art, fashion, transport, science and nature. There are also temporary exhibitions for which a charge is made to enter. That evening our group dined out at one of Speight's ale houses where, like the rest of New Zealand, we found the food to be excellent value for money. Next day we had a quick orientation tour before our rough crossing to south island aboard the Arahura ferry. Whilst nearly all our group, including our hostess who often does this trip, spent the three hour crossing clutching a sick bag or lying on the floor; being a rollercoaster fanatic, I actually enjoyed sitting up front feeling the rolls of the waves and watching the water crashing over the bow! With few people having eaten on the ferry, we had a quick lunch stop in the little town of Picton and luckily stomachs had settled by the time we reached the Prenzel winery for some wine and liqueur tasting.
We then spent two nights near the town of Nelson with opportunity to spend a whole day in Abel Tasman National Park. Luckily, this was a sunny day so we could enjoy a boat trip along the coast, followed by a hike back through the forests and across beaches. We saw tourists practising the popular sport of kayaking, fur seals basking on rocks, viewed pretty turquoise bays and crossed rope bridges over rivers. Back at our lodge, it was BBQ night then we watched several short videos of our group who had done a tandem sky dive that day.
Our next drive was to Christchurch via the whaling town of Kaikoura. Unfortunately the seas were too rough and all the whale watching trips we'd signed up for had to be cancelled. Instead, we took a bracing walk along the coastal path and saw more fur seals, as well as kea birds. With no boating and ample time for lunch, we tried 'fush and chups' - as the Kiwis call our traditional meal! Then onward to Christchurch where, despite it being the Saturday before Christmas, we had no difficulty booking our group in for a meal at the Loaded Hog pub chain. No time to see anything else in this 'English city' but we were to return at the end of the tour so no worries.
After heading south west over Arthur's Pass and past snow-capped mountains of the Southern Alps we came to Franz Josef Glacier where we took the short walk to the terminal face to view the grey-white expanse of ice through drizzle. After Christmas Eve dinner at our accommodation our driver led us on a walk through the nearby forest to see glow-worms in their natural environment. Quite beautiful.
Although Christmas Day was mostly spent on the coach driving from Fox Glacier to the adrenalin mecca of Queenstown, it was fun. After a full English breakfast dressed in various costumes including Santas, angels, reindeers, snowballs and elves - amazing what one can conjure up with only a couple of days notice! - we took a walk around part of Lake Matheson, getting some strange looks from members of the public. We also took a walk to the terminal face of Fox Glacier, where four of our group stayed behind in order to do a heli-hike early the following day and catch up with us later. Unfortunately our tour was in Fox on 25 December when the helicopters were not operating. Onwards with silly games on the coach, a lunch stop at a restaurant that had opened especially for our group, a cracker and handmade chocolate gift for each of us from our driver and hostess, before arriving at the four star Rydges Hotel on the lakeside in Queenstown, where we relaxed in the pool and hot tub whilst Mandy prepared a champagne buffet for us.
Boxing Day was the highlight of my trip for so many reasons; the accommodation, the weather, the scenery and the activities. A few of our group were first to ride the Shotover Jet (website is at www.shotoverjet.com) that day. Whizzing down the Shotover river on a jet boat, missing the canyon walls by inches and experiencing their famous 360 degree spins was just awesome! The official photo pack was expensive at NZ$45 but I couldn't resist as I wanted to treasure those moments. I then decided to take a trip on the TSS Earnslaw steam ship across Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak station. The ship was built the same year as the Titanic but has had a more fruitful existence. There is the option to just cruise the lake or to disembark for a farm tour, watch a sheep shearing demonstration, feed the lambs and take morning tea in the colonial house. I took the latter package lasting three hours for NZ$40. Arriving back early afternoon, there was a little time to explore the town before my next activity. Three of us - a girl from Bulgaria, a guy from the Netherlands and I - were collected and driven up the Remarkables mountain range in order to hang glide down the valley. This was a totally new experience for me, but definitely one I would like to repeat. I was even allowed to steer the glider for some of the flight! Having been reunited with Andy - who had desperately wanted to do the heli-hike - after dinner we took the gondola ride up Bob's Peak for a view over Queenstown and surrounding mountains and lake by night. A truly wonderful end to the day.
The next two days, however, were a little disappointing. Our group drove to Te Anau from where we took an hour ferry crossing to Manapouri then a 30 minute bus ride to board the Fiordland Navigator, our home for the next 24 hours on Doubtful Sound. Unfortunately the spectacular scenery we had been promised was obscured by rain and mist, yet the weather did not keep the biting sandflies at bay. Those who went kayaking, or took the tender boat trip to view flora and fauna, returned soaked to the skin with not much to change into, as we'd had to travel with overnight bags only. On the bright side we got 24 hours to relax and socialise, play cards and boardgames and were well fed. But the majority of our group felt that the time it took to reach Doubtful Sound could have been better spent elsewhere. Perhaps in the summer Fiordland National Park is really pretty. Oh, it was mid summer!
Our last night on tour was spent beside Lake Ohau and we were able to splash in the hot tubs whilst admiring sunset over snow-capped mountains. The following day Andy and I had the opportunity to see this snow from a different angle with a 45 minute scenic flight over gloriously coloured Lake Tekapo, Murchison Glacier, the Sibald mountain range and Mount Cook village. The cloud was too low for us to fly over Mount Cook itself, so this meant a shorter - but therefore cheaper - flight. Then a brief stop at the Church of the Good Shepherd which, from brochures, I had understood to be more remote before crossing the Canterbury Plains and back to Christchurch. The Connections tour was then at an end, but as everyone was actually staying in the city that evening Andy and I arranged a farewell meal at a Chinese buffet restaurant. This turned out to be an entertaining bargain. For NZ$18 we filled up on standard Chinese fare before experimenting with the Mongolian BBQ that was brought to our tables. However, we left it to our new Oriental friends and the mad Australian girls from our tour to chomp through the baby octopus and other indescribable delicacies!
Our plans to explore Christchurch the next day did not materialise due to heavy rain and high winds so there was no punting on the River Avon nor cable car rides. Instead we accompanied two friends from our tour to the airport and we all visited the adjacent International Antarctic Centre. This is a great location as you can store luggage at the centre, then simply follow penguin footprints for eight minutes to reach check-in. Christchurch is the jumping off point for most Antarctic expeditions. Besides the excellent interactive exhibitions, there is an aquarium with the rare species of Little Blue penguins, a snowstorm experience where you are kitted out in boots and coats to feel temperatures as low as -25 C, a podium where you can stand on melting ice from both the North and South Poles at the same time, and opportunity to take a Hagglund ride over rough terrain. All in all, a far superior experience to Kelly Tarlton's in Auckland. When the sun appeared we rode on the tram hopping off at the Botanical Gardens and, having picked up our hire car, drove out to the French seaside town of Akaroa on the Bank's Peninsula.
We celebrated New Year's Eve with the one remaining British girl from our tour with a lovely Italian meal overlooking Cathedral Square and strolled out, just before midnight, to listen to The Wizard welcome in the new year. Born in London and having moved to Christchurch via New South Wales, this eccentric public speaker is now famous within New Zealand. There was also a hauntingly beautiful bagpiper who played from atop Christchurch cathedral before a fantastic firework display. The temperature was a chilly 6 C but at least it was dry for the revellers.
On 1 January we drove 90 minutes north to spend the day at the alpine spa resort of Hanmer Springs (the website is at www.hanmersprings.co.nz) where you can laze in mineral pools ranging in temperature from 36 to 42 C. A ticket costing NZ$15 allows entry all day so we were able to visit during the afternoon and again in the evening. Apart from the spa itself, there are a few walking trails and eateries, but not much else in Hanmer. Accommodation is a good standard and cheap though!
We continued our drive northwards, parallel to the TranzCoastal railway for much of the route back to Picton and thankfully a little calmer return sailing to Wellington. The capital is not nicknamed 'the windy city' for nothing. The location on Cook Strait coupled with the arrangement of buildings means that the wind whips around corners and there's usually a chill in the air. On our second stay in Wellington we took a free one hour guided tour of the Parliament building known as the 'Beehive' as well as catching the Kelburn cable car to the Botanical Gardens. A surprise find at the top was a room featuring video footage about the history of the cable car as well as the current personal cable cars that operate to homes on the cliff tops. Fascinating! In the evening we had arranged to meet the local Mensa group for dinner at the Dockside restaurant overlooking the harbour. They were staging 'alphabet eating meetings' and had reached 'D' hence the choice, though the LocSec did not realise the venue was so posh! A pleasant time was enjoyed by all, including a couple who originated from Stourbridge and a guy who had attended the British Mensa diamond anniversary celebrations in Nottingham and who had immediately recognised Andy and me. What a small Mensa world!
We then ventured north east to the art deco town of Napier. The area was destroyed by an earthquake in 1931 and completely rebuilt in the style of the day. Guided walks are led twice daily around the town's best architecture (website is at www.artdeconapier.com). We now know about streamline moderne, sunbursts, ziggurats and more! With a Scottish friend having emigrated to the nearby town of Hastings last year, we took the opportunity to meet up for dinner with him and his Kiwi girlfriend.
Our next stop was Lake Taupo which looked totally different in brilliant sunshine. We checked into our lakeside accommodation before driving through Tongariro National Park and catching two ski lifts to the summit of volcanic Mount Ruapehu. Despite the fierce sunshine, you could still play on the snow fields. There were excellent views of what Lord Of The Rings fans will know as 'Mount Doom'. We then tried unsuccessfully to find the visitor centre at the geothermal power station which was listed in our guide book. We did see pipes and steam rising from the earth at the station but no sign of any visitor centre. So onward to Aratiatia Rapids in time for the 4.00 pm opening of the dam. This happens four times daily in summer - at 10.00 am, 12 noon, 2.00 pm and 4.00 pm - when the river goes from being empty to overflowing in just 15 minutes to produce hydro-electricity.
We had decided to spend two nights in a guest house on the Coromandel Peninsula in the far north east of the country. Our route took us through the town of Matamata where we were just in time to catch a Hobbiton film set tour. I should point out that I've not seen any of the Lord Of The Rings films and abandoned The Hobbit after three chapters of the book. But the tour was interesting and the Alexander family farm has the only remaining scenery from the films, the rest having been destroyed as per contract. It is believed that, because the family were so welcoming to the hordes of film crew, they were allowed to keep some of the 'hobbit holes' and now profit from them. Tours cost NZ$50 per person so not that cheap.
Whilst on the Coromandel Peninsula we took on trip on the Driving Creek Railway This narrow gauge railway was built by potter Barry Brickell in 1974 to transport his clay and is now a top tourist attraction with packed trains travelling the 1.5 miles over bridges, through tunnels and via switchbacks to the viewing platform called the 'Eyefull Tower'. We also visited Hot Water Beach near Hahei where two hours either side of low tide you can hire a shovel for NZ$4 to dig your own hot spa in the sand! Unfortunately it was peak season and a weekend, so one of the few noticeably touristy places we found in New Zealand. The best locations were already bagged; too high up the beach and there was no water and too near the sea the water was just too hot to stand in. Oh well.
Most people had dismissed the town of Hamilton as boring, but to us it was a real find and we spent a happy few hours there en route to our final night accommodation. Hamilton has excellent shopping, including a clothes store called Max where I managed to blag a free bag with my name on! We dined at Nando's chicken restaurant - just like home! - and took a walk along the Waikato River, seeing the Waipadelta paddle steamer in operation and also visited the free museum. We were surprised to find a bronze statue of Richard O'Brien dressed as Riff Raff from the Rocky Horror Show along the main street. Unbeknown to us, Richard had been living in Hamilton when he came up with the idea for this now cult show and the statue is sited on what was the Embassy Theatre, home to the late night double feature picture show.
We had booked to stay at Woodlyn Park near Waitomo Caves. Primarily a cultural show the tranquil park has a few unusual accommodation units. Stay in a converted 1950s plane - cockpit or tail end - or a train or, as we did, in a hobbit hole! The unit consisted of a spacious lounge diner, well equipped kitchen, modern bathroom, double bed as well as four bunk beds and your own private parking space and patio overlooking the countryside. The only sounds were sheep grazing on our roof or the friendly donkey and wild boar in the neighbouring field. Naturally all the windows and doors of our 'hobbit hole' were round! At home this type of unique accommodation would have cost much more than the equivalent of NZ$145 per unit. Woodlyn Park are currently converting an old ship into further accommodation. A unique end to our stay in New Zealand. There was just time for a boat tour through the famous Waitomo Caves next morning. It would have been more amazing had we not already seen glow-worms in the forest. After 28 days we were back at Auckland airport, having had some awesome experiences, and awaiting our next one of crossing the international dateline and repeating the same day!
My overall thoughts on New Zealand? Wet! Seriously, it's a beautiful country with hospitable people, both Maori and modern-day Kiwi. It's currently excellent value for money for the British with an exchange rate of nearly £1 = NZ$3. The roads are somewhat winding, but easy to navigate, and the big cities are not that big. We would have preferred to just roam in our hire car, rather than have a set itinerary, but had been advised to pre-book all accommodation as it was their peak summer period.
Whether you appreciate wonderful scenery, city sights or mostly deserted beaches New Zealand is for you!
First published in VISA issues 72-73 (Apr-Jun 2007)
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