The New Zealand Trip
After picking Hanka up from the airport we caught the midnight view from Mt Victoria and then went to a hotel care of my mother.
Then we shot off to Castlepoint with Warren. He went bush to shoot wild goats whilst Hanka & I did very little. We slept mainly but it was nice to be out in the bush.
We then took the ferry to commence the “South Island trip”.
First activity was walking the Abel Tasman. Described as a beach walk by some it follows the coastline along the national park.
It’s a 3-day trek with the option of using huts or camping. We camped which meant carrying the tent and also cooking equipment.
A good bit of exercise to get us started.
Then we headed off down the west coast. Not a lot to mention but we did stop at Hokitika and investigated some greenstone shops. There is a big difference between touristy and quality – in price as well of course.
Also along the coast, which was very hard to see due to the bad weather, was the Pancake Rocks of Punakiki. There is a blowhole here which if you are lucky and it’s high tide blows up somewhat like a geyser. Unfortunately for us it wasn’t high tide but it was impressive none-the-less.
We stopped at both the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers to walk to the terminal points. One of our big regrets was not walking onto the glacier. My cousin Dan and his girlfriend Hanka toured the South Island also (at a different time) and said it was excellent.
Then Haast Pass beckoned. There are loads of DOC (Dept. of Conservation) walks along the way and we stopped off at many of them to walk the forests and investigate waterfalls.
Wanaka brought us closer to adrenaline city – Queenstown – and got us in the mood for spending some money on the great outdoors.
Firstly we went white water sledging, which involved putting on wetsuits and “sledging” down grade 3 / 4 rapids. This was lots of fun. Hanka was much better at it than I was.
At the end of the trip we were allowed to hold onto a jet ski and be pulled up and down the river at great speed.
In addition we were given the option to jump off a 10-foot natural ledge in the rocks into the river.
Hanka, who was either braver or hadn’t done it before and hence know the risks, was one of the first to jump. Having stood at the top of swimming platforms and also done some nasty belly flops I knew it could be quite painful if done wrong.
It took be 4 goes to summon up the courage to jump. It was fine in the end and a great buzz to know I’d done it after being so scared.
In Wanaka we walked along the “2000 years” footpath that showed historic events across the millennia. There was a heavy amount of Scottish history which pleased Hanka of course, being Scottish.
There was a great local walk called Diamond Lake on a private farm which ended in 360-degree views over Lake Wanaka and the surrounds.
We stayed a night in Glenorchy which is about an hour north from Queenstown. Around there a couple of walks were taken in before the big drive to Christchurch.
There we met up with some kiwi friends of mine ex-Scotland. We also checked into the Orana Wildlife Park, Antarctic Museum and the Cathedral. Well Hanka saw the cathedral anyway. No wizards to be seen.
Whilst there we swam with hector dolphins in Akaroa. Not quite the swimming with dolphins you see in the brochures as it was in the cold sea and it was raining. Plus these dolphins, which can only be seen around the New Zealand coastline, are very small. Still it was worth seeing them.
Then Kaikoura for some Maori culture. We went on a tour which taught us the basics of Maori protocol and was a great tour.
While I zoomed around a farm on a quad bike Hanka went for a kayak in the sea.
Hanmer Springs was a welcome break and the first time we really slowed down to relax. Just as well there are great thermal hot pools there then eh?
I had a great massage and we also took in a cool crazy golf / maze park. The maze was well thought out and surprisingly exciting.
Oh and then there’s the wee bungy jump. Expecting it in Queenstown weren’t you?!
After quit a long and luxurious rest in Wellington with mum and Warren we took off for the North Island.
Conscious of time and the lack of it we didn’t see as much and spent more time in the same places to relax more.
First stop was a visit to a Swedish family friend in the retirement town of Waikanae.
After having missed doing the Routeburn track or some similar NZ Great Walk we were trying to do a walk around Mt Taranaki. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t assisting us and after kicking around in New Plymouth for 2 days we decided time was running out and we should move on.
So we missed out on the mountain but did take in the New Zealand stock car champs in Stratford, the Pukeiti Rhododendron Trust, some Scottish piping and dancing in the local park and the park light up at night.
Then our first stop at Waitomo (yes we did it twice). We did a great bush walk at night and by day to see glowworms. Unless you are fussed about seeing them in a cave it’s a great no cost alternative to the caves. You see plenty of glowworms too.
We took the caving alternative as well, which was one of the trip highlights. It was a well organizing trip with lots of variety and the thing we remember is well-timed food breaks.
At the holiday camp I spent lots of time on the trampoline with the kids. A mixed bunch from France, Africa and New Zealand.
Then across to Rotorua and our longest stay of the trip. We had decided to avoid the very touristy Whakarewarewa and take in Waimanga and Wai-O-Tapu in stead.
Although they are both thermal parks the scenery was very different and hence both were good to visit. We also took in the impressive Lady Knox geyser.
Then one of the most amusing things of our trip was a Maori concert. It was done by a local family and the cost was very cheap. The group comprised of only 6 people on stage and crossed 3 generations. You got the general idea but the quality was lacking severely.
After much persuasion I managed to get Hanka to take the gondola to the luge park. This was great fun. Five rides later we considered ourselves experts.
A lunch side-trip took us to Hamilton for a few hours to meet an old friend of mine.
Then back to Waitomo to do the bush walk yet again. We actually missed part of it at night the first time and it was well worth it to visit a second time.
Then back across the country (we zigzagged a fair bit) to the Huka Falls which would be better named the Huka Flow in terms of what you see. Still another good thing to see and like so much of New Zealand’s treasures it’s free.
We also took in the Aratiatia rapids which involved waiting for the water to be released from the dam to burst down the valley. It didn’t exactly burst but was fun to watch.
And our last stop was perhaps the best.
Although we’d missed Mt Taranaki we were thinking we might be lucky with the weather and catch the Tongariro National Park on a good day.
We weren’t terribly hopeful as the weather had been iffy the entire trip but low and behold the day we were to tackle the Tongariro Crossing it was perfect.
Being the nutters we are we decided to take in the summit of Ngarahoe as well which added 3 hours to a walk that was quoted to take 7 to 8 hours.
In actual fact the main walk took us five and a half but we were almost running the last 3 hours to catch our ride back to the accommodation (start and end points differed).
Then back to mums for great food, warm beds and time to relax.
I now feel a whole lot better saying I come from New Zealand as I’ve now seen a lot of the place. Having said that I have mentally planned all the things I didn’t see and would do on another trip of the country.
Plus I’ll have to make sure Hanka has her license as I ended up driving 3,500 kilometres in the month.
Whew!
