A month ago, I packed up my life in Dunedin and headed out on one last big road trip across New Zealand. Here is week three!
dates of travel: 17-29 Nov 2016
I arrived in Auckland during rush hour, which sounds as awful as it was, and caught the shuttle to Jack’s apartment. I spent a nice three days relaxing and catching up on writing and Netflix before picking up my brother at the airport.
Jack and I explored Devonport, the MOTAT and Maritime Museums and the Viaduct, wandered around the Navy ships that were there celebrating the 75th anniversary of the NZ Navy, and went to see Fantastic Beasts – if you haven’t seen this movie, you definitely should!
On Monday, I took the bus to the airport, where I met Ben and Brandon and headed to the Coromandel.
on the road with the boys
Our first stop was lunch at the Coromandel Mussel Kitchen – a great place to try the local mussels and a refreshing beer from their brewery. From there, we drove along the 309 road to Whitianga. Here was our first unexpected stop: a roadside stop where you can pet pigs.
just call me the pig whisperer
These pigs are unfortunately eating bags of fish heads while you’re trying to pick them up, but luckily we met their owner who snagged a tiny piglet for me to cuddle. He told me that all the pigs are his pets and won’t ever be killed. He also mentioned that he gets a lot of people stopping by, which honestly isn’t too surprising even given the remoteness of the farm.
the coromandel
We pulled into Whitianga in the mid afternoon and after checking into the hostel (pretty sure that was a first for both boys), I decided to take them to Cathedral Cove. The sun was high in the sky still and we would have plenty of time for the 45 minute walk down, plus some time to enjoy the water.
Afterwards, we hit the Pour House for a few brewskis and snacks, then headed on to Hot Water Beach. The last time I was here, Paul M and I didn’t get very lucky with the hot water. The tide had been coming in and our attempts at a pool had failed over and over again. This time, Brandon put his efforts into continually building a wall and a moat to keep the sea out, and we happened to find a partially built pool that was on top of a hot spring.
For the first time, I can honestly say that I understand the Hot Water Beach attraction – we had a legitimate hot water spa pool with boiling water and it was deep enough to soak in. It was the perfect end to the day.
The next morning, I got up early and went for a long walk down the beach. The beach at Whitianga has more shells than I’ve seen at many other beaches in New Zealand; walking barefoot was a bit of a challenge and that means I’ve apparently lost what kiwi-ness I had last summer when I walked around Paihia barefoot.
When I returned to the hostel (we stayed at On the Beach Backpackers – highly recommended), the boys were up and ready to hit the road: our destination was Hamilton, where they would be meeting up with Garret and Chris for the bachelor party.
We made a few stops along the road, none long with the exception of lunch, and were in Hamilton by early afternoon. I dropped them off to begin the party and then spent the afternoon and evening doing my own thing.
new zealand’s thermal highway
On Wednesday, we were back at a little bit of explorations – we had breakfast with the boys before heading to Rotorua and the thermal highway. We stopped for two hours or so in Rotorua – Ben couldn’t decide what he wanted to do: skydive? zorbing? the gondola? SO MUCH TO SEE! – and then made a couple of stops along New Zealand’s Thermal Highway on the way to Taupo.
I showed them the mud pools at Wai-o-Tapu and then made the executive decision to head for town as to enjoy the beach while the sun was still strong.
Thursday was more of the same: we drove out to the Orakei Korako caves and thermal grounds – one place I haven’t yet been – and wandered around there for a few hours. There’s a cave here with a thermal pool at the bottom of it; you can’t access the pool or the cave except to stand on a platform at the opening of the cave, but it still emits a sense of wonder, and slight magic.
We also explored the Craters of the Moon, just outside of Taupo, before going back into town to the spa park. The boys walked on to Huka Falls while I sat in the hot stream and chatted with a group of travellers. If you are ever in Taupo, this is a must do – I can’t believe I’ve never been here before. Head for the park and walk down the hill to the river. You’ll spot a stream just as it merges with the river and here there will be people sitting on the rocks. Don’t be fooled – it’s hot, hot, hot. But if you get too warm, you can swim a metre away and get cool again. (I also wanted to stop at Kerosene Creek but that was vetoed.)
PS – how amazing is this sunset at Lake Taupo?! The colours here just bleed together so amazingly and I love how the three mountains of Tongariro, Ruapehu, and Ngauruhoe stand out against the sky.
fun with friends
Finally the day of the wedding arrived and we drove up to Garret’s house to spend the day with the boys. After the gorgeous ceremony and fun reception, we drove back into Hamilton, checked into the hotel and then headed into town to The Bank.
Details are a bit fuzzy but it was a fun night and it was difficult to wake up in the morning.
Brandon left the morning after the wedding, and Ben and I were left on our own. We spent the next couple of days bouncing around the Waitomo area. We go-karted at the new track just south of Auckland and then drove to Raglan so Ben could see a west coast beach.
We met Chris and several others for a visit to Hobbiton and then went into Auckland so Ben could head to Waiheke Island for lunch with everyone. I opted to stay in the city and meet the lovely Kate for a glass of wine before I too left the city to head south.
Hobbiton is a great place to visit, and its popular with first time visitors to Middle Earth. If you’re curious as to what you’ll see, check out this great post about what to expect at Hobbiton.
next… from Queenstown to the West Coast. Stay tuned!