Waiheke Island

Our first day trip from Auckland was early on in our stay. I had just secured a job and we had bought cheap bikes to travel within the city. We decided to celebrate and take the bikes with us to Waiheke Island for some wine tasting in the late autumn weather. Waiheke Island is known for its red wines, but you will also find a variety of whites as well. With the island only a 40 minute ferry ride away, it’s a perfect day trip for anyone visiting in Auckland. We got an early start and biked to the ferry terminal in downtown Auckland. We bought a return ticket to the ferry and rolled our bikes on-board. The ferry over is a smooth ride through the bright turquoise waters. Once there, we began our journey to our first vineyard, Mudbrick. Biking up to Mudbrick gave us our first realization that the island was hillier than expected—a lot hillier. Bryan dubbed Waiheke Island “Charlottesville by the sea.” It took us 15 minutes to get to the closest vineyard, and we arrived glistening and thirsty. We luckily arrived before the busier part of the day, so we got a nice relaxed tasting. We explored the grounds taking in the scent of the rosemary bushes planted around the perimeter of the seating areas. From the balcony you can see the hills of Waiheke with the backdrop of the sparkling ocean and Auckland’s skyline off in the distance. We get why Mudbrick is so immensely popular with visitors—it wins the ambiance award from us.

By the time we finished at Mudbrick, it was almost lunchtime, so on our way to the next vineyard we stopped at Timbuktu Nomadic Deli. They had plenty of vegan options for us to fuel up and pad our stomachs for the wine to come! The next winery, Stonyridge, was quite a ride, about 45 minutes from Mudbrick. But once we arrived, it became clear it was well worth the effort. Because we were there in off season, we got to have our tasting sitting down at their back deck, and an employee would come to us for the pouring. We opted for the premium tasting and enjoyed our wine to the gorgeous backdrop of palm trees and lush green mounds. Afterwards, we took a trail to the winery next door, Te Motu. The wines here were more to our liking—bold(er) and strong(er) in flavors. We bought a bottle to bring back with us. On our way back the sun was starting to set, so we raced to get to the ferry before dark. The hills here kicked our butts, especially after 2 months of getting around everywhere in southeast Asia by scooter only. We met a local on the way back, who told us there was a walk/bike path that went around the outskirts of the island but was a much flatter way back to the ferry. We followed her directions and were so glad we did! We got a bonus gorgeous view of the sunset going this way and made the ferry juuuust in time.

The next time we went to Waiheke was late winter/early springtime in New Zealand, so September. We hopped on the ferry and took the hop on/hop off bus instead of bikes. We started out at the much-anticipated Tantalus and talked to a group visiting from Christchurch during our tasting. They told us there was nothing to do in Christchurch, which we would later discover was not true! The wines in our opinion were overpriced and not that tasty. It was past lunchtime by the time we finished, and we were starving. We tried to go to the Tantalus restaurant as it looked like the dining room was half empty, but when Bryan went to ask, he was rudely told there were no tables available. So, we tried to go to a winery that a coworker recommended for tapas, but we found the footpath to get there was still closed for the winter. Tummies rumbling and tempers shortening, we decided to just get a snack at Stoneyridge and hit up one more winery before heading home.

We walked next door to Wild on Waiheke for some pizza and of course more wine! While munching on some pizza, we signed up for an archery lesson offered at the winery. We got the last time slot of the day, and as the daylight started to slip away towards the end of the lesson, I got quite chilly! Our instructor offered me an extra jacket she had with her, which was just one of the many times we experienced kiwi kindness. Of course, there was a competition, too. Whoever had the most points at the end of 6 rounds won! The competition started off great—as I was winning! Then my aiming somehow took a turn for the worst and Bryan’s became consistently better with each round. By the end, he was the winner. Next time it will be different!

We caught the last bus, which took us to the end of the line to Onetangi Beach. Our bus driver gave us 10 minutes to walk on the beach and take in the view before heading back to the ferry. We definitely enjoyed our visits to Waiheke—as we ended up going back two more times during our time in Auckland!

Rotorua and Hobbiton

Our second set of trips were around the Rotorua area. With Bryan not working, we were able to use the 2 days I had off in the middle of the week to take full advantage of some exploring. We rented a car for $30 NZD per day (love those off season prices!) and got an early start on the first day. We were heading south on the highway by 6 am. It was a 3 hour drive, and one of the attractions, Lady Knox Geyser, had one show per day at 10:15 am. The drive down gave us a peek of the lush rolling hills the North Island is known for. Most of our drive was through countryside, and we also had a chance to experience some very windy roads—which were still considered main highways mind you. After arriving, we wandered into the information center to gather our tickets for Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland, which is what Rotorua is most known for. A funny little bird caught my eye on the walk to the information center. It was hopping around on the forest floor and flitting its large tail which looked like a fan. I attempted to capture a picture, but its quick movements were too fast to keep in focus! I would later tell Bryan about this bird, and we would both speculate what it was—later it would become one of our favorite birds to observe in New Zealand—the fantail.

Tickets purchased and some time to kill, Bryan and I walked around the gift shop. We both ended up buying something—Bryan a lightweight daypack for work and me a windproof and waterproof medium weight coat for Auckland’s cold-ish, but very windy and wet winters. I immediately put mine on to tour the geothermal park as the brisk wind was already cutting right through the sweater I had worn. At 10 am, we headed to the Lady Knox Geyser. Bryan ended up being disappointed with the geyser as it didn’t erupt on its own but with the help of soap thrown into it at exactly 10:15 am. We both agreed though the story behind its discovery was hilarious. The park used to actually be an open prison in the early 1900’s, where better behaved prisoners were sent to plant trees. They used the warm spring which ran over the geyser to wash their clothes. Well, one day, enough soap from their washing made its way into the geyser and erupted—can you imagine the surprise?

Afterwards we walked around the entire park, which took about 2.5 hours. We saw many bubbling pits of mud and boiling water, acidic and neon colored pools. It was interesting to read about how the various elements in the pools would color the rocks differently. We also noticed this purple wood with neon green lichen everywhere in the park. The other thing about Rotorua? It stinks of Sulphur. EVERYWHERE. Even at our hotel. And the other interesting thing were the natural steam vents all around town. You would see fenced in backyards with thick steam rising from a vent within. The town just lives around this delicately dangerous landscape without a care in the world.

After the geothermal park, we ate some lunch at an Indian place in town and then went to a spa with mud pits. Yes, we covered ourselves in warm stinky geothermal mud! It was gushy and gross, but boy was our skin soft! We then went to the Sulphur pools next door and really let the rotten egg smell into our nostrils. After our fingers were thoroughly pruned, we rinsed off. We smelled of Sulphur for a solid 24 hours afterwards, but it was fun experience.

We went back to Rotorua the next “weekend” (as in my new middle of the week weekend) and packed in even more fun stuff. Our first stop was Hobbiton near the town of Matamata. As you get close to Hobbiton, you notice you’re completely in the country. Your surrounded by a sea of giant lush green mounds. Sheep are everywhere in the thousands, chomping on grass and climbing to the tippy tops of these mounds, their paths in the grass clearly shown as horizontal rings around the perimeter of the mounds. We are shown where to park by the 5 different parking guides who must do this day in and day out throughout the year for the hoards of tourists traveling in their campervans, rental cars, or the small bus tour groups. This being off season however, it is less crowded. When we go again with Bryan’s parents in December a whole back parking lot is opened. Instead of tour groups leaving every 5 minutes at peak times, our tour groups are spaced out to every 15 minutes. As a result, our tour guide was open to answering questions! It’s one of the most touristy things we did in New Zealand, and in spite of all the hustle and crowds and overpriced tickets—it was so worth it!

A bus takes your group to the actual set, tucked away from the main road and no neighbors in sight. Our guide did such a great job at explaining all the small minute details Peter Jackson obsessed over when filming. Even if you aren’t a Lord of the Rings fan, you have to be in awe of the work he put into making Hobbiton perfect. Even down to picking the location itself, Peter Jackson flew all over New Zealand via helicopter bookmarking various locations before settling on a small sheep farmer’s property—all because of a tree he liked. You basically do a loop of all the various hobbit doorways and gardens, each having its own theme from gardener to painter. We were shown how the movie was filmed to make Gandalf look taller and Frodo look smaller by filming in front of hobbit entryways that were either built to normal scale for Frodo and then a 60% smaller version that made Gandalf look taller. The garden and orchards were all real. In fact, the garden is still kept intact, and the gardeners who work there today get to take home their harvest! We got to of course see Bilbo’s front yard and the tree they BUILT. Peter Jackson wanted to stay so true to the book, that he had leaves imported to stick onto it. We looped around to where Bilbo’s birthday party was held, and our tickets of course included a half pint of beer from the local Hobbiton pub.

After the tour, we hopped into our car and checked into our hotel in Rotorua. With some time to kill before our next activity, we decided to check out a place we had seen advertised in town—footgolf! What is footgolf? A mixture of soccer and golf, this 9 hole course is next to an actual golf course. Instead of lakes and sand pits there are bubbling mud pits and steam vents with signs warning players not to attempt to get their soccer ball if it falls into a pit or vent. Each hole has a fairway and a putting green, and the hole itself is a bit larger than a soccer ball. The goal is to kick the soccer ball as few times as possible to get into the hole. The tricky holes had hills which would roll the ball right back to you. We had a blast playing and luckily didn’t have any balls fall prey to the mud pits. After the first round, we snuck back and played our favorite holes again as there was no one else on the course. Bryan channeled his soccer skills from his childhood and pummeled me. I was just happy to have given him a run for his money on a handful of the holes.

That evening we got picked up from our hotel and dropped off to our last activity of the day—a Maori experience. The Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand, and we both had been wanting to learn more about their culture. Many places have Maori names, and kids even learn a bit of the Maori language in school, which I thought was a cool way to keep their language alive for future generations. Throughout the evening were a few different experiences to learn about the Maori culture. We were split into a few groups and asked to choose a leader of each group. That leader was then taught how to greet leaders of other tribes they were visiting. Each of our “tribes” rode a bus to the Maori “village” they had set up and participated in a greeting ceremony which simulated a traveling tribe visiting another tribe’s village. Upon arriving we were asked to gather behind our leader and stand quietly and still. The “warriors” from the village then came out and performed a greeting ceremony where they danced around making faces meant to intimidate. They then placed a leaf down in front of our “tribe leaders.” If the leader picks the leaf up, then the tribe is said to be coming on friendly terms. Anything else, and they are coming to fight the village, and will be met with an attack from “warriors.”

We of course simulated a peaceful greeting and were then allowed to come into the “village.” There were 15 stations set up where you could ask about various aspects of their culture, from weaving with flax to training of warriors to wood carvings. We ended up spending most of our time at a non-descript station with a man who answered any of our questions. We asked about the tattoos on their faces. Bryan and I had already seen a few Maori women in Auckland with tattoos that extended from just below their lips to their chins, like a goatee. Men’s traditional tattoos cover their entire faces, while women only get their chins tattooed because the pain of childbirth is considered to be equal to getting the rest of their face tattooed. Each person’s tattoo is unique to them so that they can be easily recognized by anyone else.

After about half an hour wandering the “village,” we were ushered into a meeting room, where they performed a few traditional dances and songs. Then the men from the audience, including Bryan, were called onstage to perform the hakka. The hakka is a dance performed by warriors to mainly intimidate enemies. It ends with widening your eyes as much as possible and sticking your tongue out as far as it will go. Yes, I filmed Bryan doing this, and yesssss the video is posted here!

We were then led into a giant dining room for dinner. There a buffet was served including meat and vegetables that were cooked over steam vents. Bryan and I had checked that we were vegan upon booking our tickets and got a special meal delivered to us, which was tiny and not filling in the least. We went up to the buffet and had some of the cooked carrots, kumaras (sweet potatoes), and potatoes from the buffet table as well as some salad and bread. The kumaras and carrots were our favorite as the preparation over the steam vents infused them with a delicious smokey flavor!

The bus ride back was the highlight of the evening for Bryan. Our bus driver was supposed to talk about Maori life today, but he clearly didn’t want to do that so he used our bus ride back to the hotel as his personal comedy hour. Upon finding out which country we all came from, he did his impression of each accent and had us sing our national anthems—or he would sing a popular song from that country and put his own comically racial twist on it. He also circled around one particular roundabout 4-5 times while singing the wheels on the bus go round and round reassuring us he wasn’t crazy. We both were crying from laughing so much, although I would have enjoyed hearing about Maori life today just as much.

In the end, we were glad we did the experience, although it seemed overpriced for what it was and felt a bit hokey. But, we learned a lot which was the point of doing it in the first place.

Waitomo

The next day, we drove back to Auckland, but we stopped at Waitomo on the way up to visit the glowworm caves! These caves were discovered in the late 1800s and have been a popular place for tourists since the early 1900s! Walking down we were shown by our guide various stalactites and stalagmites that looked like various forms. We never felt cramped in the cave, but there was one section where the cave opened up into an auditorium sized area. We were told that concerts were often held her during Christmastime because of the fantastic acoustics. Our guide then asked someone from our group to sing, and we all joined her in singing “Amazing Grace.” Afterwards, the guide sang a traditional Maori song, which was very pretty.

We then got to the best part—the glowworms! Our guide explained the glowworms were in the caves because of the active river running through it. They live on the ceiling of the cave directly above the river, where they have the best chance of catching their food—flies! Glowworms are actually maggots, and they catch flies by a long thin line of sticky mucus that hangs from the cave ceiling. Once the fly is caught, they can crawl down this line and eat their prey. Their glow is what attracts the flies in the first place. Our guide shone a flashlight on a bunch of glowworms to show us—gross, but seriously cool to see. We then went down to the river where we got into a small boat and rode along the river stopping underneath to observe the glowworms in the pitch black. We were told to keep quiet and enjoy the peacefulness of the cave. Everyone did, and looking up at the thousands of glowworms above us felt like looking up at the Milky Way in the night sky—breathtaking! I’ll include a photo from the internet below to give you an idea, but of course this can’t compare to being immersed in the experience in person.

Piha

In the last part of September, I finally got a Saturday off from work, so Bryan and I took advantage of our time together and did a day trip to Piha and the surrounding areas. Our first stop was a hike called the Mercer Bay Loop. On the way there, Bryan got a taste of the crazy windy and hilly roads in the north. Pumpkin wasn’t fully built so we had some interesting noises from the back as loose wood scraps would shift from side to side every twist and turn! Once at Mercer Bay, we were rewarded with some outstanding views of the steep cliffs and Mercer Bay. The north is truly a tropical paradise as you can see from our pictures below of the ferns, trees, and the beautiful blue ocean! We also lucked out with some unseasonably warm and sunny weather for our hike. We followed the trail all the way to Karekare Beach, where Bryan and I took our boots off and dipped our feet into the icy cold ocean. As we made our way back to our van, I spotted wild Calla Lilies, which I would later observe grow all over New Zealand like wildflowers!

After our hike, we had drove to Piha Beach, which I only knew about from the commercials I had seen on the local channels. Apparently, there is a reality show about the lifeguards on Piha Beach because they do a LOT of rescuing. You see, Piha is a big surfing beach, but there can be some unpredictable rip currents that put some beginner surfers in dangerous situations. As we parked Pumpkin by the beach, I kept my eyes out for a television crew. Maybe Bryan and I could make a cameo on this show!

We took a long walk down the beach barefoot, digging our toes in the dark sand. Surfers were everywhere! And they were wearing wetsuits. We wondered just how cold the water was, so we attempted to wade into the ocean only to get ankle deep before Bryan thought aloud, “I’m never surfing here!” That water was ICY. Also, no camera crews. We did see lots of dogs hanging out though which always makes a good day great!