I truly, honestly meant to do this earlier, but as usual, I was overcome by a wave of laziness (it really happens way too often)!
This was my first trip to New Zealand. I've always wanted to visit because NZ is famed for jaw-dropping, breathtaking scenery. From what I've heard, it's also the perfect place for adrenaline junkies - sky-diving, bungy jumping, white water rafting, etc etc.
So the entire family + aunt flew to Auckland via budget airline Jetstar (gruelling and bumpy 10 hour ride!) to embark on an 8-day road trip:
Day 1 - Auckland to Whitianga through Thames and Coromandel
Day 2 - Whitianga to Rotorua through Tauranga, Waihi and detour to Matamata
Day 3 - Rotorua to Napier through Wai-O-Tapo thermal wonderland (geysers, mudpools, etc)
Day 4&5 - Napier to Wellington through Taopo and Huka Falls
Day 6 - Wellington to New Plymouth through Waitomo caves
Day 7&8 - New Plymouth to Auckland through Hamilton
Still riding on that wave of laziness, I've basically copied and pasted a summary of the trip which I sent to a friend shortly after returning from NZ. Added photos of course!
Thames/Coromandel/Whitianga/Tauranga/Waihi - The drive along the coastal roads was very scenic! Whitianga is a lazy seaside town with nice cool houses, nothing much to do here but a good place to spend the night. In fact, all of these small towns have beaches and nice beach houses so be prepared to see some repetition! Waihi used to be a gold mining town - you can stop over to see the abandoned mines if you like. Stop by fruit/veg/honey/oyster farms along the way and buy fresh kiwis, avocados, strawberries, manuka honey!
Rolling hills captured from our car
Rolling hills captured from our car
A random fruit stop @ Coromandel
Another fruit stop where we bought NZ's prized manuka honey
Matamata - location where the hobbits scene in LOTR was shot. Took a LOTR 2 hr tour - NZ$66 (not recommended unless you're a big fan! Hay & Stan enjoyed it though). What can you expect to see on this tour? Hobbit homes, and more hobbit homes! It got quite repetitive after a while...
I ain't no hobbit!
Seaside town of Whitianga
I ain't no hobbit!
Rotorua - We enjoyed Rotorua...it's a peaceful town smelling of rotten eggs. Visited Wai-O-Tapo thermal wonderland (think geysers, mudpools, etc), which has interesting walks.
Here we are at the entrance of Wai-O-Tapu.
Here we are at the entrance of Wai-O-Tapu.
Wellington - Cool vibes. Do cable car or Victoria lookout for views, Te Papa museum (awesome museum and it's free!), hang out at Queen's wharf to people watch...
Queen's wharf...possibly the best thing about Wellington. Oh and Te Papa museum at the end of the wharf of course.
Queen's wharf...possibly the best thing about Wellington. Oh and Te Papa museum at the end of the wharf of course.
At 4pm, the working crowd thronged the restaurants at the wharf area for drinks and dinner. The whole area was buzzing with chatter and activities!
Taopo/Huka - Huka waterfall is worth checking out...the water is a lovely shade of aquamarine. You can have fresh prawns at Huka Prawn Farm if you like. And if you can, do the Jetboat ride (entrance near prawn farm) on the Waikato river. Best of all, I bungy jumped at Taopo (more on this later)...
We had grilled fresh prawns at Huka Prawn Farm overlooking the jetboat entrance.
Dad was enamoured by the abundance of yellow flowers/shrubs along the way...
A waterfall that appeared out of nowhere...
We had grilled fresh prawns at Huka Prawn Farm overlooking the jetboat entrance.
New Plymouth - Nothing interesting here, just stayed over en-route to the famous Waitomo caves. There are 3 caves to choose from (what will you see? - stalactites, stalacmites, glow worms) ...but I only did the glow worm one. Quite interesting but pricey!
No pics allowed in the glow worm cave but here's a meaningful signage outside a church at our lunch stop.
No pics allowed in the glow worm cave but here's a meaningful signage outside a church at our lunch stop.
Auckland - I preferred Wellington to Auckland, to be honest. Lots of Asians in Auckland so you can easily find Jap/Korean restaurants if you are sick of Western food by now! Have dinner & drinks in one of the restaurants along the Viaduct (make reservations if you have somewhere in mind...the popular places can get really busy), check out Ponsonby Rd for quirky shops and K-road for retro kitsch. We did a day trip to Devonport, a nearby seaside town 10 min away by ferry, but it was kinda boring...
Cool viaduct area with lots of fine dining options
The Auckland sky tower lights up
Love this building with its pink rooftop @ Ponsonby. Ponsonby is a great place to shop...pity it was raining non-stop when we were there.
And I hope to own a retro shop+cafe like this one day...
Will I return to NZ? Would love to explore South Island someday, but probably not in the next 3 years. Somehow, road trips just don't cut it for me...makes me feel lethargic and fidgety. For now, I think I'll continue with my exploration of Europe!
Cool viaduct area with lots of fine dining options
Will I return to NZ? Would love to explore South Island someday, but probably not in the next 3 years. Somehow, road trips just don't cut it for me...makes me feel lethargic and fidgety. For now, I think I'll continue with my exploration of Europe!
