New Zealand – A place where I would
love to go back & settle. A place where I can build my dream home. A
peaceful country with beauty in every nook & corner. Is it the sky or is it
the lakes or is it the green farmland or dramatic seascapes or is it the
weather? I am yet to figure out the actual reason or secret behind the charm.
There is something new waiting for you at every turn you make in New
Zealand.
Whenever you arrive at a picnic spot, you will have numerous activities to engage in. You can get a well explained physical map or there would be a map explaining about the trails at every turn or junction whenever you follow a trail. So, no need to worry about getting lost. But yes, one would get lost in the beauty of New Zealand which none can get hold of. There are trails for everyone – short/long, easy/moderate/strenuous. There are other activities like biking or swimming. Another thing we noticed is that most people in New Zealand, especially in the South Island have their own boats. People in New Zealand are never busy running, but they are always engaged in some sort of physical activities and the country never runs short of that irrespective of the season or the weather.
The weather in New Zealand is
fluctuating, which means one must be prepared for anything, anytime. The
wildlife in New Zealand is limited to birds & sea animals and has no
venomous animals like snakes, insects, or scorpions. Another thing which New Zealand
is famous for is its incredible wine culture. New Zealand is known as the
seabird capital of the world and is also home to several forest birds that live
nowhere else on Earth. Few of them which caught our eyes include Eurasian
Blackbird, Australian Magpie, Paradise Shelduck, Black Fronted Tern, Brown Teal
etc.
A prominent plant in New Zealand is a Fern, and is home to nearly 200 species. The silver fern or ponga is the national symbol of New Zealand which you can find on sporting team uniforms, army insignia & souvenirs. Another plant to which I was attracted was to the white fluffy grass - Pampas grass. They can be seen all along the routes in 3 colours – white, brown/golden & purple. Later, I learned that this tussock grass which grows & spreads very quickly is an invasive weed.
There is a big commitment to be made before we ever travel to New Zealand which is called Tiaki Promise. Tiaki means to care for people, place, and culture. New Zealand is precious, and everyone who lives and travels here has a responsibility to look after it. The Tiaki Promise is a commitment to care for New Zealand, for now and for future generations. By following the Tiaki Promise, you are making a commitment to New Zealand “To act as a guardian, protecting and preserving their home.” I loved this concept and if each one of us made such a commitment, our earth would open to be a cleaner, better and peaceful place for tomorrow not only for us or generations to come, but also for all the living organisms on this beautiful Blue Planet of the universe.
There are three places which I recommend when you are in New Zealand. The details are given beforehand so that you can plan your trip accordingly. 1) Bombay Palace - Bombay Palace is the destination for Indian food lovers. Click here to find out their locations. 2) Patagonia Chocolates - With 20 flavours of award-winning artisan ice cream and sorbets, rich and creamy signature hot chocolates, a handcrafted chocolate haven and house-crafted blend of coffee freshly roasted at their Wanaka store. Pick and mix your own selection from the cabinet or take-home beautiful chocolate gift boxes for friends and family. Click here to know their locations. 3) Anita Gelato - The details of which are provided in the last part of this blog. At the time of our visit, they had their outlet only in Queenstown. Click here to know the locations nearby you.
Do you feel like you want to visit New Zealand? Are you ready to apply for the visa by your own? Click here.
We always travel light especially when flying. Here since the number of days were more, we had to wash our clothes on a periodic basis for which we availed the services of Liquid Laundromat. Click here to know more about them & their locations.
Day 1 : Fly to Auckland Airport -> Auckland CBD 25.6 Kms, 22 min
We picked up our rental car from the airport after clearing our immigration & upon receiving our luggage. We had booked our hotel in the city. When we reached out of the airport, there was some construction going on in the premises & it was raining as well. But the way out was very neatly organised in a way that there was no confusion. We just had to follow the signs of car parking and walk along the lane in the temporary/safety fencing which were covered so that the public are not affected by any falling objects or even the weather. An elderly couple was walking in front of us. The woman was seated on the wheel chair which a man was pushing. They had two large suitcases which she was navigating along with them. We initially thought somebody might be waiting out there to pick them up. But they too were supposed to pick up the rental car. After walking for 10-15 minutes, we reached a basement-like parking lot with numerous cars parked around us. We asked them their car number & Dileep found their car for them. But when he approached for help with the luggage, they politely refused. The old man initially placed the luggage himself slowly and then walked towards his wife and helped her to get into the car and then they drove away. Meanwhile, we too found our car and after spending some time getting accustomed to it, we drove towards the city. There was not much traffic, so we reached our place of stay in 25 minutes. After settling in & getting fresh, we stepped out for grocery shopping & dinner.
Day 2
We started our day by our visit to the observation tower or sky tower in Auckland. This observation cum telecommunication tower offers a 360o view of the city & the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Initially we walked on the streets which were surrounded by skyscrapers. They seemed to be so tall or we looked tiny in the mirror reflectors that covered them. And later after reaching the observation deck of the observation tower, these skyscrapers seemed like nothing.
After spending an hour, we headed to
the New Zealand Maritime Museum. This is the right place to experience the
stories that steered the rise of New Zealand as a yachting nation and has the
finest collection of maritime art. Also, we can learn about the great &
brave voyages of discovery, settlement & trade that shaped the early
history of New Zealand. Harbour tours are offered on vintage boats with an
experience to set the sail along with the crew. The main exhibitions include
Polynesian, Māori vessels, early coastal trading, whaling & sealing etc.
Auckland CBD -> Auckland Zoo 5.4 Kms, 12 min
Then we headed to Auckland Zoo. The zoo is well maintained and has tried to keep the animals creating a similar habitat to the native they belong to. Our purpose of visiting the zoo was to see a kiwi. The entire zoo is divided into various tracks that belong to the species of that region such as South America Rainforest Track, Australia Bush Track, South East Asia Jungle Track, Africa Safari Track & the track for species of New Zealand. Here I was attracted to a tiny little creature called Golden lion Tamarin even though I came here for a Kiwi. Its face was like that of a monkey, but its head & face looked like the mane of the Lion. After spending 2 – 3 hours, we headed to Muriwai Beach.
Auckland Zoo -> Muriwai Beach 37 Kms, 39 min
Muriwai Beach has an impressive coastline with cliff-top trails to a huge gannet colony, with easy access and viewing platforms that let you go up very close to them. They can be seen from August till March. But since our visit was in April the platforms were closed, but we could see few of them from the place where we had parked our vehicle. We spent quite a long time there enjoying the weather & the view till sunset. It was fun to watch 3-4 people involved in paragliding.
The sparkling sheltered waters of the Hauraki Gulf are sprinkled with islands of all sizes like Ponui Island, Waiheke Island, Tiritiri Matangi, Rangitoto Island etc. These islands are accessible only by ferries from Waitematā Harbour, one of Auckland's two harbours and the other being Manukau Harbour, which opens out into the Tasman Sea.
We opted for a day trip to Waiheke
Island. Waiheke is home to boutique vineyards, olive groves & beaches. On
this island, there are hop-on hop-off buses – Waiheke Island Explorer. There
are numerous trails to walk or bike or also many other adventure activities all
over the country. Waiheke is also one of them which has numerous trails. The
trails on this island are as short as 1 km to as big as 3 kms and grade varying
from easy to difficult as well. This is another feature we loved about being in
New Zealand. If one is not in a mood to walk or hike, sitting and enjoying the
beauty of this country itself is an activity. The walks on this island are
accompanied by beautiful scenic bushes, gentle birdsongs, and stunning
beaches.
We spent half the day hopping on & off the bus and 2 hours at a Bordeaux styled vineyard. After a late lunch and enjoying the beauty of the olive tree valley, it was time for us to return to the main island. We headed to Mount Eden for sunset.
Mount Eden - A dormant volcano, with twin craters surrounded by lush greenery offering panoramic views of the city. The walk to the summit is not that arduous, even though it is a bit steep. The tarred road and then well-maintained steps lead to a boardwalk at the summit around the crater. The sunset at the summit made our day with the hues of orange, blue & white. As it got darker, the place got colder.
Day 4 Auckland CBD -> Coromandel Peninsula 177 Kms, 3hr 23min
The roads in New Zealand are not that smooth compared to North America or Europe. But they are well maintained. But since you do not get time to take your eyes off the beauty of nature and you do not get enough words to describe the beauty, you just enjoy being more time on the road.
We started off early from Auckland. We had to stop at Cathedral Cove before proceeding to Rotorua. The Cathedral cove was accessible only by kayaks & boats when we visited. If you have time & if allowed, the walk to cathedral cove from the end of Hahei Beach is recommended. The Cathedral Cove is a naturally formed archway which deserves photographic attention. One can walk along the cliff top & then descend to the cove. Visitors were not allowed to walk due to the risk of falling rocks & landslides. So, we had to choose a boat trip to reach the Cove. White sands, crystalline blue waters, volcanic rocks sculpted by wind & water. You just need a camera. After spending quite a good amount of time, it was time for lunch and then we headed to Rotorua.
Coromandel Peninsula -> Rotorua 219 Kms, 3hr 5min
It was very dark when we reached Rotorua. One of Dileep’s friends was in Rotorua & so we were lucky enough to savour a homely meal. We love to travel & explore places. There is no harm in trying local delicacies as well. But after 2 -3 days of foreign meals, we yearn for a hot meal prepared at home and we got it through this friend’s wife. She became our saviour for the next 2 days of our stay at Rotorua. She is a brilliant chef & a host. I wish she opened a restaurant of her own so that people like us who travel from India, apart from her friends & family can also enjoy Indian food while in Rotorua. There is a Konkani delicacy “patharvodo” which is a laborious process & made out from Colocasia leaves. They grow these leaves in their beautiful backyard and prepared it, which we were least expecting. Most of the vegetables like pumpkin, spinach, yardlong beans & fruits like grapes, feijoa are grown in their garden. They also introduced us to a new variant of kiwi - cherry red & a new fruit - feijoa, both are amazingly sweet.
Day 5 Rotorua CBD -> Redwoods Treewalk 4.8 Kms, 10 min
Redwood Treewalk is a unique walk through 28 eco-suspended bridges & 27 platforms which is 700 metres that connects 120 years old, 75-meter-tall majestic redwood trees. It takes almost 30-40 min from the first bridge. No safety harness or prior training is required for this treewalk but one should be able to walk unaided because you can neither carry infants nor it is wheel-chair accessible. Apart from this tree walk, you can just walk through the numerous trails in this redwood forest or bike or even ride a horse. There are informative boards all along the trails that educate us about the local stories and forestry. Another option which transports you to another world is “Nightwalk” which is magical & enchanting. The night lights are turned on after the sunset. Another 2-hour guided experience is also offered for adventure lovers “Redwoods Altitude” which has 25 jungle bridges, 3 flying foxes, 2 spirals & 1 jump.
Redwoods Treewalk -> Hells Gate 14.4 Kms, 16 min
Hell’s Gate is the most active geothermal reserve and the only place in New Zealand where you can soak in a natural, mineral-rich outdoor mud bath used for generations by Māori to ease joint & muscle pain. Spouting geysers, whiff of sulphur, bubbling mud pools, steaming vents & boiling lakes is what you experience everywhere around when you are in Rotorua. During my childhood, I have heard stories from puranas of various punishments in hell like dipping in hot water, burning alive etc. Visiting Hells gate brought visuals of those stories literally. When visiting geothermal reserves, it is our responsibility to stay on the designated path all the time as these heat sources are very close to the crust of the earth & these are very thin, soft & loose that can explode anytime. The pH levels of different pools varied from 2.5 to 6.2 and temperature varied from 400 to 1200 which explains the power of healing of this land.
Hells Gate -> Waitomo Cave 154 Kms, 2hr 5min
The Waitomo Glowworm Caves tours are made up of two levels. The upper chamber is dry and decorated with stunning, delicate limestone cave formations, and the lower level consists of stream passages, glowworms and the Cathedral, the tallest chamber in the cave. Most guides are direct descendants of the Māori chief who originally explored the cave, bringing the cave to life through story-telling and explaining the world-famous cave's history, features and legends and thus preserving the glowworm & the caves till date.
The upper chamber/cave which is dry is explored by foot before embarking on a boat ride, gliding silently through the starry wonderland of the Glowworm Grotto. These little species are very sensitive to sound & light. The guide explained everything before entering the cave and it was only him who was speaking in the upper chamber. He too was quiet during the boat ride. This limestone cave which was created due to geological & volcanic activity is pitch-black so one can hardly see anything other than these tiny glowworms & the stream below is very deep as well. There are ropes tied from one rock to another which the guide uses to navigate the canoe. The glowworm (Arachnocampa Luminosa) is unique to New Zealand, making the Waitomo Glowworm Caves an absolute must-do.
Day 6 Rotorua CBD -> The Blue and Green Lakes 12.3 Kms, 15 min
The Blue & Green lakes sit side by side, and as their names, one is blue and the other is green. Māori names are Lake Tikitapu and Lake Rotokākahi. Both can be viewed at a midway point which is called The Blue & Green Lakes Lookout, which is accessible by car and by foot. The Blue Lake is turquoise blue from above due to reflection from white rhyolite and pumice bottom while the Green Lake is emerald green from above due to shallow, sandy bottom. The Blue Lake is open to the public for all sorts of recreational activities whereas the Green Lake is privately owned by the local Māori which is considered sacred and hence no public activities can take place on this lake.
The Blue and Green Lakes -> Lake Tarawera 6.4 Kms, 7 min
Lake Tarawera is the largest of a series of lakes which surround the volcano Mount Tarawera in the North Island of New Zealand. The lake features natural geothermal springs and lakeside hot pools, walking trails and a host of holiday home accommodation options.
Lake Tarawera -> Lake Rotorua 27.5 Kms, 34 min
The beautiful crystal-clear lake is formed from the crater of a large volcano. This lake is shallow & offers cruises, kayaks sailing & great trout fishing. The geothermal activities continue below & around the lake resulting in high sulphur content in the water & magical green-blue colour.
Lake Rotorua -> Whaka 12 Kms, 21 min
Whakarewarewa or simply Whaka is a living Māori village that offers an unforgettable intimate and authentic day-time experience for all ages. The home of the Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao people, have been sharing their unique way of life and stories with visitors from all around the world for over two hundred years. The village is governed by Māori tikanga & kawa (their customary practices & protocols) and entry to this village without a guide is strictly prohibited. The tour ended with an opportunity to try a piece of corn on the cob enjoying the unique taste of Kai (food) cooked in their largest hot pool. The pieces of raw corn cobs were placed in a cloth and were dipped in the pool when the tour started. We gathered at the same point where the café was located when the tour ended. The corn was taken out from the pool and was ready to consume.
Prior to the volcanic eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886, it was home to many small Māori villages and missionary settlements. The area became the birthplace of New Zealand tourism. Visitors would travel through Tarawera on their way to visit the Pink and White Terraces on the neighbouring Lake Rotomahana. These geothermal pools, made from silica deposit formations, were labelled as the 8th natural wonder of the world, and news of this ‘geothermal wonderland’ spread to the far away Victorian world. Tarawera villagers would host these visitors in the missionary accommodation houses, and entertain them with Māori cultural performances and traditionally cooked hangi meals, starting the tradition of hosting and guiding, that Rotorua is still known for today. The eruption of Mount Tarawera completely devastated the area, burying the villages and the Pink and White Terraces under mud and ash. Many of the surviving visitors relocated to Whakarewarewa Village, and the tradition of guiding in the valley continues today.
There is a lookout point for Pōhutu (meaning Big Splash) Geyser which is very active. This geyser erupts constantly and rushes water to a height of 10 to 40 meters. On average, it erupts every hour.
Whaka -> Secret Spot Hot Tubs 3.1 Kms, 6 min
After a long day of driving & guided tours, it was time for us to experience & relax in the hot water tub which we booked for us. Get soaked in a cedar hot tub which is surrounded by native ferns, overlooking the stunning Whakarewarewa forest & Puarenga Stream. The water in the tubs were sourced from the aquifer spring, not the geothermal ones. There are various other places where you can get geothermal water & mud spa as well. We were not ready for one as we had a long stay in New Zealand which had just started and did not want to get affected by any side effects of the spa. Click here to book an appointment.
Do you feel like reading the second part? Click here to proceed then.
Click here for more photos from the trip & Click here for the videos from the trip.
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