New Zealand - The North Island

Of my friends who had traveled to both islands of New Zealand, all of them had told me that I should devote a large percentage of my time strictly to the south.  I am in the south now, and while I feel they are correct, the north is owed some renown as well.

I flew into Auckland on the 11th of November and was looking forward to a large city with the conveniences of technology: affordable, fast internet; laundry services; grocery stores.  While Auckland did provide those things for me, it also left me with a bitter taste in my mouth.  More people live in Auckland than on the entire south island, and it shows.  Any city in Fiji, even its largest, was more like a village than anything else.  People greeted one another on the street.  Strangers offered help to visiting strangers.  The atmosphere was very cozy and friendly.  Auckland was a stark contrast to that warmth.  Over a million people in a metropolis of high rises with noise, air, and people pollution around each corner.  With the modern conveniences that I wanted came those that I did not: the on rush of taxi cabs down every major street, people walking with their head down and wearing earbuds from music players, and processed foods conveniently located within 500m of any given spot.

I stayed in the metropolis just as long as I needed to work out my travel plans for the first half of the country, which was only 3 days.  After all, there are a lot of things to do and see, and for a Lord of the Rings nerd like me, even more so. :)  While, I'm not usually one for tour buses, I opted to join the Magic Bus Network to serve not only as my transportation around each island but my vehicle for meeting new people as well.

There are some places on the north island that I opted to skip, but would very much like to see on a return trip after hearing the tales of other travelers.  Should anyone get the chance, the Bay of Islands and Coromandel are supposed to be lovely in the summertime, which officially began two days ago here.

I had heard that the northern part of NZ was similar to other pacific island nations at this time of year, and having just come from a primo one, I decided to head south to Waitomo, the home of the glowworm caves.   Now I had heard that these caves were featured on at least two BBC nature programs narrated by Sir David Attenborough.  What I did not know at the time I booked a hostel there was that the town was only occupied by 40 people and this is ALL there is to do there.  Nevertheless, the caves were spectacular and the extra time allowed me to visit the local museum and go on one of New Zealand's top 10 day hikes.

My next city was Rotorua, which means "two lakes" or "the second lake", but should really be called Puatona which means "stinky town".  The city lies directly above a vast amount of geothermal activity, which is convenient for energy consumption but inconvenient for olfactory pleasure.  Sulphur is the flavor on every menu.   However, it does mean that  hot showers are always available, which isn't always true elsewhere, even in a first-world country.

It was here that I did several activities indulging my different personalities.  First, I went to the Agrodome to see the "world famous" sheep show.  Hilarious, educational, and hands-on.  Highly recommended for anyone in the area.  Next door to this show was something else that I'd been wanting to do since I saw it featured in a Jackie Chan film, the Zorb.  Don't know what this is?  I suggest you Google it.  Someone had the bright idea to have a plastic sphere suspended within another sphere and then throw some water and a person inside the innermost one and push it down a hill.  Genius Kiwis.  They know so many ways to get the adrenaline going and the laughter rolling.  Nevermind that it cost $40 for a less than 60 second ride; it is completely unique in sensation.

The next day I indulged my geekiness and paid for a tour of Hobbiton, the one set from LOTR that was not torn down.  However, I will save that story for a blog entry of its own....

Rotorua was not only significant for its vast amount of activities (I like to think of it as the Queenstown of the north). It was also significant because it was here that I met my NZ family: Sue, Linda, Alex D, Alex Z, and Mats.  We met one evening all cooking dinner separately and learned that we were all on the magic bus and headed to the next few cities on the same days, so we joined forces.  Here it is two weeks since that fateful day and the core group is still together and has made promises to meet up again in China and in Sweden, where three of them are from.  The family has become of my favorite highlights of this country because the focus slowly shifted from things I wanted to do to people with whom I wanted to do them, with little regard for how or when.

While Taupo is only a couple of hours from Rotorua, it was our next stop because it is home to NZ's largest lake and a typical base for the Tongariro Crossing, one of NZ's most highly rated hikes, and the path on which one may ascend the Mountain of Doom (I told you I was a LOTR nerd).  The weather could not have been better, according to our bus driver.  However, he did warn that the trail up Mt. Ngauruhoe (Mt. Doom) was still snow covered from a storm not two weeks earlier.  However, a ringbearer like myself was not going to be so easily dissuaded.  I found a Canadian also brave enough (read: foolhardy) to try the ascent, but he had one advantage I did not: he was going to sleep in the national park while I had to catch a 3:30 or 4:30 bus (or sleep without proper equipment).  Nevertheless, we ascended slightly before the cutoff time I had set for myself.  I did not have the heart to throw the ring into the cauldron, however.  Looks like some weakness does run through me after all.

Last stop on the north island is the capital city, Windy Wellington.  Even though this was the largest city I had come to since Auckland, I was much more excited for it.  The towns along my route were pleasantly small but still with plenty of resources for backpackers.  More importantly, the townsfolk were down-to-earth, interesting, and interested people.  I had heard that Wellington keeps some of that vibe despite its quarter million population.  Being the home of Peter Jackson, his studios, and the Weta Workshop special effects company may have also been a reason for my excitement.

It was the family broke up, but only temporarily.  I wanted to spend several days exploring the city, meeting up with people, and indulging my LOTR cravings yet again.  The city has wonderful attractions, many of which are free: the botanical gardens, the parliament building, and the Te Papa National Museum.  Aside from my LOTR tour, which I will describe in detail later, Te Papa was by far the highlight of the tourist attractions as it is six floors of displays describing the history of New Zealand, both European and Maori.

On the second evening I was in Wellington, I met up with a cousin of my next door neighbor.  She graciously took me to her home to share dinner with her family, and if the atmosphere weren't tasty enough, the food was some of the best I've had in this country.  Large portions of barbecued meats, fresh salad, and warm chocolate cake graced my plate.  Being familiar with backpackers the family practically forced me to eat seconds, to which I painlessly obliged.  Thank you, P, J, and kids.

Nine days, six family members, five towns, one island.