In terms of beauty New Zealand is heaven on earth and I was so excited to be returning having travelled New Zealand for a year from 2008 - 2009. It contains such a rich diversity of landscape and climate with the tropical beaches in the north to the mountainous regions in the south. It really is an incredible country.
We flew from Singapore to Auckland and spent our first few days Couchsurfing with a host called Reuben who lived in Hillcrest on the North Shore of Auckland. He kindly picked us up from the city where we'd spent the day exploring and took us to the North Shore. He lived in a very small unit and although his flat was small and cosy, it was kind of him to make space for us to stay. Coming from the heat of Asia for 6 months, New Zealand was a bit of a shock to the system, it was freezing! I was expecting it to be warmer but it was spring so the heat hadn't quite arrived yet. We made a quick food trip to Pack n'Save and that night made the biggest pile of nachos which I'd been craving for ages and it was amazing!
The next day we went to church with Reuben in the morning and then in the afternoon he dropped us off at Takapuna beach where we walked along for a while, it was very pretty with nice views and we stopped for a yummy Mr Whippy ice-cream. The next day, on Reuben's way to work, he dropped us off in the city centre so we could explore so we walked through town and up to Auckland Museum which was about an hours walk away, stopping in at various exchange shops to get a good rate for our Australia dollars. We came to the park an enjoyed strolling around and watching the cute little ducklings which were so adorable. We then walked on and came to some greenhouses, one which was quite warm and full of tropical plants and another which was full of beautiful flowers showing a wonderful array of colours.
We then made our way up to the museum and although it stated free entry on all the leaflets they asked us to queue and at the desk asked for a donation of $10 which seemed a bit cheeky. Not exactly a donation when you feel pressurised to pay! We were very impressed by the scale and layout of the place, there were many Maori artefacts to look at, geology, history, science sections etc. We ended up spending quite a few hours looking around. By the time we came out it was lunchtime and having been cold and wet during the morning it was brightening up. We decided to head back into town, stopping at a sushi shop we'd passed previously. We weren't keen on going to anymore Museums or Art Galleries as we had had our fill for the day so we just went to the library and chilled out.
That evening once back at Reubens we watched a film called The Grey which was amazing! Exciting, scary and very depressing but great! The next morning we packed up our things and Reuben dropped us at the bus station. I had heard from Jordan, a friend I knew from the previous time I'd been in New Zealand who said it would be great for us to stay with him. He was picking us up from the city late in the evening so we had another full day to explore. We left our baggage in lockers at the train station and went to the art gallery. This was a disappointment as I love landscape and abstract art and it was all modern and weird and boring! So it didn't take us long to quickly walk around and leave. We felt we'd pretty much seen what we wanted to see in Auckland and so again went to the library to relax and use the internet. Late afternoon before Jordan was picking us up we went to a free outdoor ice skating rink which was good fun, zooming around and seeing how fast we could go. Afterwards Jordan collected us in his cosy Toyota Silica and we went to his Uncles house where he was living. It was such a nice place, modern, spacious and cosy – it was all luxury. His Aunt and Uncle were so welcoming and friendly and we felt so relaxed.
They dropped us at the Botanical Gardens the next day and we spent a few hours walking around. All the spring flowers were out and the blossom looked so pretty. We came to a pond and saw lots of eels in the water, they were very curious and kept swimming up really close. A couple of times they made us jump as they suddenly turned and splashed water at us.
The following day we were able to borrow the car and so drove down to Hunua Range Regional Park. It was a beautiful day, still not very warm but sunny and we walked to this waterfall and then did a small loop track. It didn't take too long to do and so we drove further south and did another walk.
Unfortunately Jordan had to work so we weren't able to catch up during the day but in the evenings we had the most delicious meals all together, we weren't expecting to be treated and had bought our own food but his Aunt and Uncle didn't mind at all. Jordan also taught Liam some salsa moves which was fun. After a few fun nights we all went to a small village called Kumeu which is about 40 minutes North West of Auckland where we had arranged to do some wwoofing. We stayed with a couple called Rebekkah and Renny, they had a wonderful spacious house and were clearly very wealthy. Although they were quite the gossips we enjoyed our time working for them. We spent most of the time with Rebekkah as she ran riding lessons and maintained the farm while Renny was working in the city and on weekends he volunteered at the zoo. Our days consisted of mucking out the stables, weeding the vegetable patch, burning up a huge pile of gorse which was ferocious and went up in huge flames, as well as other odd jobs on the land and around the house and with the animals. We made great friends with the goat Frodo who kept us company as we worked and there was the sweetest cat called Nala who was quite elderly but so affectionate and she slept on our bed a couple of times and was just so adorable. We were very lucky to enjoy amazing food as well as Renny loved cooking and every night presented top class dishes.
One day they kindly allowed us to have the day off and take the car, a Toyota Rav, which is very popular in New Zealand. So we drove to Piha which I thought I hadn't been too before but realised I had once we got there. It was nice and warm and we walked along the beach and over the rocks beside a cliff and watched some suffers out on the waves. We then drove a little south, parked up and spent a few hours walking along the coast on part of a famous track called the Hillary Track. It was really stunning with dramatic coastline views, with dark sand and barren landscapes. We then drove further north to a gannet colony. We walked along the coast on rocky ground with waves crashing over, at one point we were trying to takes photos of the waves hitting an isolated rock and had to watch that the waves weren't so big that they would drench us as well and also it was quite dangerous as if the wave was big enough it could have swept us over the edge as we were stood on a small platform with quite a drop. At one point I was filming the waves coming in and as I looked at the screen I thought that looks big but just thought it was my camera zoomed in, not until I heard Liam shout my name did I look away from the screen to see a massive wave rolling towards me! I didn't have time to run away so just turned away and stood my ground. The water came up to my knees and I was so scared as I had no idea whether it was going to get worse and I did not want to be dragged over the edge as I would certainly drown. Luckily it didn't get any worse and although I was shaken up we had a laugh about it! We then walked up this path that took us to a viewpoint overlooking the gannet colony. There were hundreds of them, many sitting on nests. So that was our day off which was great fun.
For a few days Rebbekahs nieces came to stay and when her sister Esme and her husband came to pick them up we got chatting with them and they were so nice and easy to talk to and their children were hilarious. One of them, Angel is quite the actress and she was making me laugh lots. They kindly said we were welcome to stay with them in the Coromandel when we came through and we knew we would definitely fit it into our trip. Towards the end of our stay Rebbekah and Renny kindly took us to an African theme encounter with the animals at the zoo Renny volunteered at. So we went along and it was such great fun. We got to go behind the enclosure and feed various animals. We stroked and fed an elephant, fed these ginormous hippopotamus's which I had no idea were so large! We also fed a Lion which was pretty scary and at first I wasn't sure I had the nerve to do it but then with a push from Liam I did. It was through the net and I squirted milk from a syringe into his mouth. Some other people fed him pieces of meet. I was worried that he might growl at me as with some people he had done so which made me jump but luckily he was very calm with me. He was mainly grumpy with the people that didn't feed him quick enough so I made sure I was fast about it. After seeing other animals we went and had a African buffet meal which consisted of typical African foods. I can't remember the exact name of the dishes but one was a very spicy mince and potato salad. It was all so delicious. After the meal there was an auction, I haven't been to one before so it was quite intriguing. Rebbekah and Renny bought what I thought was the best artwork which was a pencil drawing of cheetahs. It was really lovely. We hung about afterwards waiting and helping clear up and they had forgotten to do a raffle so they gave us the gift of a holographic Africa book with moving images and text. It was a lovely book however it was quite bulky so later on our journey we gave it away. So it was a really lovely way to end our stay.
We were taken back into Auckland to catch the Naked Bus which we'd booked up on a pass that gave us 20 trips for $319 which wasn't too bad and made our way to Rotorua. We had arranged to couchsurf with a couple, Mary and Ash, that lived 20 minutes from Rotorua in a small village called Lake Okareka. Mary kindly collected us from Rotorua and when we got to their house it was so cosy. Ash arrived home soon after and we immediately felt so relaxed and loved their personalities. Ash was so enthusiastic about his country and lifestyle and was inspired by people enjoying the outdoors. He had worked outside all his life and him and Mary had a business tree felling. Although they were in their 60s they were so fit and healthy and had just come back from about a 10 week cycle trip around Greece and a couple of other surrounding countries. It sounded amazing and we enjoyed looking at their pictures. They also had a love of music and it was so nice to share their passion and enjoy listening to lots of great albums on their massive speakers! During our stay they kindly gave us use of their car and so we went down the road and did a short walk between the green and blue lakes which was really beautiful and the weather was so sunny. We then went into Rotorua and walked around the park looking at all the bubbling mud pools and sulphur ponds. We made a quick stop at the large geothermal park but didn't want to pay to look around and so looked over the fence instead. At the end of the day we drove back through Okareka and further out to Lake Tawarera driving up and down these very steep roads. We parked up and walked along a jetty and it was so peaceful and beautiful.
The next morning Mary let Liam have a go riding her 990cc Spider motorbike which was totally mental! He went out for a quick spin and then picked me up and we rode to the lake which was just 5 minutes away. It felt so weird as the bike has two wheels at the front and one at the back and so feels more like a quad bike and therefore doesn't lean into the corners, it would certainly take some getting used to. After that we headed into Rotorua with Mary and went to the museum where we wanted to see this photography exhibition but they wouldn't allow us to just see the photos but instead wanted us to pay more to enter the whole museum where we could then also view the exhibition. We weren't very impressed and didn't have time to explore the whole place as we were getting a lift back with Mary so instead we went for a little walk.
In the afternoon we were able to use their car and headed to secret hot pools in this river that only locals know about. It was so awesome, they were only a few other cars there when we arrived but when we got into the river most people had left and we were all alone. There were two waterfalls, a small one which you could sit under and a larger one. We went to the larger one first and enjoyed swimming about and feeling the heat come from underneath. When we pushed our hands deeper into the ground it got so hot so quickly. We then went upstream to the smaller waterfall and sat underneath it and it was like a really good massage. We could actually hide ourselves behind it which was cool. When we got back we all went for a bike ride in the Redwoods which was so much fun although pretty scary, at one point as we came to a really steep decline and I nearly fell off! Our whole stay with Mary and Ash was so great and we also had delicious food every night. They were so kind.
After Rotorua we made our way to Taupo. The first night there we stayed at this hostel and the next day hired the bikes they had and rode along the river up to Huka Falls. The weather was really sunny and warm and we enjoyed chilling out beside the river for a bit and then made out way to an area of mountain bike tracks. The tracks were further than we'd estimated and by the time we got there we were feeling fairly exhausted so we just went down a couple of tracks and made our way back. I was pretty tired by the time we arrived back at the hostel but we still had to walk to this guys house who we'd arranged to couchsurf at for the next few nights. He had been too full to take us in on the first night. So we walked to his place which was about a 30 minute walk all up hill! When we arrived we met other couchsurfers and when our host, Terence, arrived he seemed cool but was obviously very used to having people stay all the time and so didn't really socialise much. We were happy with that though and just got on with our own stuff. We had our own private room with a ridiculously soft mattress which rolled us into the middle, the only way to get comfortable was to sleep head to toe!
Liam had wanted to do the Tongariro Crossing walk but the next day the weather turned and it poured with rain and so instead we just chilled out at Terence's place and watched an old movie I hadn't seen since my childhood, Iron Will. More couchsurfers arrived the second night, mainly all Germans and I offered to cook for everybody if they could help out by offering food. It was slow progress getting much get up and go but in the end I managed to cook a good meal and for desert the German girls made apple pancakes which were delicious. They kindly gave me a recipe for a bread they'd made as well which was so good. On my travels here I have discovered that German bread is apparently the best so I will have to visit Germany some time. As the weather wasn't getting any better we decided to leave earlier than planned and the next morning walked down into the town to try and hitchhike to New Plymouth. Annoyingly I hadn't realised but there is no direct route from Taupo to New Plymouth and you have to change at Bulls and we didn't want to use up two bus journeys. So as we had only a 20 ride pass we knew we'd need to hitchike a few times, however the weather soon started raining again and we spent two hours walking down and back along the road to get a lift which just was not happening. Feeling disheartened we text Terence asking if we might stay another night afterall and he was fine with that so we walked back to his place. On the way a police officer saw us looking exhausted walking up the hill and so gave us a lift the rest of the way even though we'd nearly made it! We decided not to chance trying to hitchhike from there again and so booked a bus to Bulls for the next day. So we got to Bulls no problem and then hoped we'd be able to hitchhike to New Plymouth. This time a lady stopped within 5 minutes of us waiting, perfect! She was very chatty and was driving from the east coast where she lived with her children to see her husband who lived near New Plymouth to give him a surprise visit. More like to check up on him and sort him out by the sounds of it! She ran a pub which she kept on saying we must visit if we're passing. She kept on bringing it up so was obviously trying some hard marketing tactics. Even though she wasn't going as far as New Plymouth she said she would take us all the way which was great and she ended up dropping us off at the house we were couchsurfing at. Finally we'd made it and were warmly greeted by a couple in their 50s, Barbara and John and shown to our room which was lovely. They were a kind couple. Barbara took us on a drive of the town and we went to a place with a view over the city and sea where tragically we learnt some school children had recently died on a school activity day. We were then driven towards Taranaki National Park and went to this pretty lake with a view of the mountain.
The next day we decided to walk in the National Park and so Barbara dropped us off and we did some tracks throughout the day. It was fairly cold, especially first thing in the morning. We didn't get a complete view of the mountain top but it was fairly good. The next day was perfect weather and is was unfortunate that we hadn't gone walking in the park that day instead. Apparently it was my fault for being so insistent on going the previous day!
Anyhow we headed into town walking through the Botanical Gardens on our way. We just spent the day wandering around town, visiting a boring art gallery full of weird modernist artwork which neither of us were into and doing a walk along the seafront which is very popular although neither of us thought it was anything spectacular. All in all I didn't think New Plymouth was interesting at all, the only thing that bought us there was the national park and that only took a day to explore and then we were ready to leave. So perhaps it was quite out of the way for such a short stay but Liam had been keen to go and I had never been before so was happy to visit. We then headed to Wellington where we had arranged to couchsurf with this guy called Doug. Annoyingly we kept on trying to contact him but he didn't get back to us and so had to check into this grotty hostel, the worst we've been to in New Zealand called Lodge in the City. We eventually heard from Doug who said we could make ourselves at home and so we took a bus to his place which he shared with other flatmates. The place was a bit cold and damp but it was free so we weren't going to complain...too much! Doug was easy to get along with, he was happy for us to do our own things whilst he was out at work and gave us a key. It was cold but sunny weather and we were staying on the east side of town so mainly explored that area. During our stay we wondered around town and went to a lovely coffee shop called Floriditas which I had been to before and was determined to find. We visited Te Papa, went to the Botanical Gardens and went to a space show in this auditorium at The Space Centre which was really cool.
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