Taupo, Wellington & Nelson

Firstly I am sorry that this post has taken an age to arrive! Our last few days in New Zealand were so busy as we desperately tried to squeeze everything into our last few days.

My last post finished up in Rotorua. From Rotorua we got a bus and headed down to Taupo. It took just over an hour to get there, so it was a quick journey and we arrived at our hostel in time for lunch time, with the afternoon ahead of us!

The hostel was the local YHA and situated a good 15 minute walk from the city centre (and my goodness is that one hell of a walk when you have your massive backpack on)...

Being the keen and dedicated travellers we have become (ha!) we dumped our bags, scoffed some wotsits (New Zealand wotsits are where it's at - they are called 'twisties' if you ever get a chance to get some) and headed out to walk to the Huka Falls which are situated in a local park, not too far from the hostel. It was quite a long walk, taking about 90 minutes each way. The falls themselves are definitely worth a visit if you are in Taupo.

Day Two saw us embark on one of our biggest adventures so far. We left our hostel at 6am and headed to the Tongariro Crossing, which passes over the volcanic terrain of the active Mount Tongariro volcano. It is situated about an hour away from Taupo and is 19.4 kilometres in length. 

The Tongariro Crossing is part of a world heritage site, the Tongariro National Park and was used in the famous Lord of the Ring films as the setting for Mordor. 

The alarm went off at 4.45am and it is safe to say I immediately questioned what I was thinking doing anything that involved me being alive at that hour. At 6am, this tiny little bus pulled up to the hostel and despite its 8 seats, we were only joined by two others, which again led me to question what on earth I was doing. We set off for the drive which would eventually drop us at the gate of the start of the crossing and pick us up 12 hours later on the other side. It cost us $55 return which was the best price we could find. We just popped into the local information site the day before we climbed and booked it. 

As if I needed anything else to discourage me from the climb ahead, our bus driver proceeded to hand out information sheets which informed us that part of the crossing was in fact an active volcano and had last erupted on the 21st of November 2012... it is safe to say by this point we were nervous. 

Arriving at the crossing after a pretty bumpy end to the bus journey, via an off road track leading to the gate, we jumped out of the bus to begin our trek. Considering it was only 7.15am there were a reassuringly large number of people around and although the majority of them looked incredibly professional in their branded hiking gear, it was nice to know we weren't completely alone. 

The first hour and a half was a steady climb up towards the mountain itself, it was surprisingly cold and worringly tiring (but I like to blame it on the early morning, not my fitness levels). A few hours in and the real ascent began, steps and steep pathways; everyone slowed down and the breaks became a bit more frequent. 

The higher we climbed, the more rocky and uneven the paths became until eventually there were no paths and you were basically navigating around these rocks, hoping that the one you decided to push up on was secure. (Honestly, it's a miracle I survived - in fact a special thanks to the man I basically stalked up the mountain, following his every step!). 

After about 3 hours, some blood, a lot of sweat and definitely a few tears, we reached the top and it was worth every stitch, wobble, near death fall and moments of doubt. The views were beyond beautiful and the sense of achievement was massive. I personally couldn't have done it without my chocolate spread sandwiches, twisties and fizzy haribo-like sweets... so special thanks to them. 

The descent down and back to the bus actually took the longest amount of time and was not as easy as we had hoped. It was a very long climb down and I am not ashamed to admit I was basically limping by the end of it. We completed the crossing in 7.5 hours which we were very happy with and we were able to collapse in the sun with our fellow climbers with half an hour to spare until our bus came back. 

From Taupo we travelled to Wellington. It was a long coach trip, taking about 6 hours. Wellington is a beautiful city, I actually really liked it. It has elements of London, with the hustle and bustle, trendy bars, cafes and shops, but unlike London, you can get away from the madness. 

We walked up Mount Victoria to a lookout which gives you a great 360 view of the whole city. You can see the harbour as well as the city and it's a beautiful viewpoint wherever you look. 

We then explored the city and ended up walking along the coast to the Te Papa museum. It was free admission and actually a really impressive museum. It has a lot of interactive displays and ranges in content from Australian animals and wildlife to science. The walk along the coast was beautiful and a far cry from the busy city centre. It has many quirky coffee shops and retro shops as well as places to hire kayaks and partake in water sports from the harbour. We also took a cable car up to the botanical gardens. It cost $4 for a one way ticket and to be honest if you don't mind the walk then don't get the cable car - it was a very short journey and wasn't very scenic. The botanical gardens, however, are well worth the walk down if you have time.

Unfortunately due to time restrictions, we had to spend our last few days in New Zealand doing a fair amount of travelling around. Having only 3 weeks for our trip, we didn't have enough time to explore much of the South Island which was a real shame - but it does just mean we will have to come back! I think if you are wanting a fast paced trip like we've done, 4 weeks would actually be a great amount of time to see enough of the South Island too.

We caught a ferry from Wellington to Picton. It was an interislander ferry and included within out intercity flexipass which made it very easy to organise and we were able to catch a shuttle bus from the YHA hostel to the ferry port for just $3. When we got to Picton we got straight on a bus to Nelson, where we would spend our last two full days before flying to Australia. 

Nelson is a city that lies on the eastern side of the Tasman Bay and is the geographical centre of New Zealand. It is a beautiful place and we stayed in the most amazing hostel called Tasman Bay Backpackers. It was friendly, welcoming and included free chocolate pudding every evening (that's what sold us in the first place) and although it was slightly out of the centre, they came and picked us up on a bus from our arrival location and organised our intercity bus out of Nelson to pick us up from outside the hostel which was brilliant. 

For our main day in Nelson we ventured into the city and explored around, we caught a bus from the city centre to Tahunanua Beach which cost $3 for a single and in the heat of midday was well worth it! We arrived at this beautiful sandy beach and set up camp there for the rest of the afternoon. We treated ourselves to a lunch to celebrate the end of our time in New Zealand, we went to a really nice pub-like restaurant just off the beach and had fish and chips and it was delicious!

After our time in Nelson we had to travel to Christchurch which was another big journey. We did however stop en route in Kaikoura and got to see the seals out on the rocks which was awesome. 

Arriving in Christchurch late afternoon, we only had a few hours to explore due to an awfully early flight the next day (3am wake up - I want to cry again at the thought of it). 

The city itself was a strange place - although the earthquake was a few years ago I felt it still holds a strong presence within the city. Where some of the damaged buildings stand empty and derelict, there is an element of sadness and without knowing a great deal about the city, it was still easy to understand the devastation. However, in contrast, there is some really quirky and amazing things to see. All the landmarks lost are now projects which are constructed as temporary replacements whilst the city is rebuilt. 

We visited the cardboard Cathedral and it was just beautiful. Wondering around and seeing these sorts of things is pretty inspiring and it's so great to see that in the face of disaster, they are making these things for people to enjoy and it does emit positivity and show great resilience. We also explored the botanical gardens which were beautiful, situated up by the museum. 

New Zealand has been an amazing starting point for our trip and I am very excited to get blogging about our next destination... Australia baby!

Standby for my first Aussie post, coming soon! X

Tauranga & Rotorua.

Firstly, apologies that this post has taken a little while... wifi is somewhat dodgey wherever we go at the moment. I try to navigate to all areas of the hostels to find a good spot but fail everytime!

So what have we been up to since my last post?!
Well... we left Paihia to travel straight down to Tauranga. Now, if travelling has taught me anything so far it is that England is tiny, it takes so long to get to places in New Zealand, even if they look close together on the map (yes, I am that person). It took 8 hours on the inter city bus to get from the Bay of Islands down to Tauranga. We did have a stop and change in Auckland which broke it up, but it was a hefty journey! We were due to stay with my family friends who live in Te Puna, around 30 minutes outside of Tauranga, and thanks to some of my finest eyelash fluttering (or the fact that I looked like a confused tourist that couldn't pronounce Te Puna) the driver agreed to drop us there which was great... until he pulled over on the highway and attempted to get our bags out from the driver side as cars raced passed at 80mph. In the end it resulted in me having to clamber into the luggage compartment from the safe side and dig out our bags ... I always like to make a sterling first impression wherever I go.

In Te Puna we were lucky enough to be staying with Linda and Su, good family friends of my Grandparents. Although I had heard a lot about them, it was the first time I had met them and they were so welcoming and after a few nights in hostels it was amazing to be in a lovely house around lovely people who wanted to look after you!
We briefly went to drop our luggage at their house (which is so beautiful - acres of avocado trees) before heading out to dinner at Lindas brothers. He lives in a gorgeous house up in the hills with views of Tauranga and the mountains - I've never been to a house like it. We were spoilt with New Zealand lamb which was perfectly cooked on the bbq and salads and vegetables - I could hear my body thanking me after many nights of fish fingers. It was a really lovely evening and everyone was so welcoming and interested in our travels, giving us great advice. We then experienced the BEST nights sleep in the most comfortable bed and were blessed with our first lie in of the trip, which was much needed.

On our first day in Tauranga we travelled to Hobbiton in nearby Matamata. Hobbiton (for all you non Lord of the Rings fans is the actual SHIRE) was the best day! It's quite expensive as entry, including the tour is $75 but all I can say is if you love Lord of the Rings it is 100% worth it. The tour lasts about 2 hours and was brilliant from start to finish. It's not your standard boring tour, it's upbeat and good fun and they give you loads of time to explore, take photos as well as telling you loads of great trivia about the films and the filming process. You get to go to all the iconic movie scenes, the hobbit houses including those belonging to Bilbo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee ... you also get to see the famous party tree. We even went to the actual Green Dragon pub and were given a complimentary drink. You can choose from three of their uniquely brewed beers - we chose the cider and it didn't dissapoint. All in all it was a great day and I actually managed to navigate myself around miniature props, ponds and mounds without tripping or falling or breaking anything - winner!
On the way home we stopped at Lindas cousin who lived in another amazing house and had another drink, which awkwardly went straight to our heads following the cider and lack of lunch (unprepared)... it's safe to say that I was tripping all over the place trying to find their toilet. Dinner was another amazing bbq, more lamb which was delicious and more wine...

On day two in Te Puna I awoke to what I now see as my missed vocation... avocado farming. Now, I like an avocado or 'avo' as they call them over here, but I had no idea how they grew (it's on trees). Anyway, I can't really remember any technical terminology (sorry Su!) but basically I used this long thing that has a net to catch an avacado and a little string you pull to break the branch.. it genuinely blew my mind and I felt completely powerful and professional and I am expecting a call from Linda and Su anytime now, begging me to come back.

We then drove to the beach in Tauranga, which is a beautiful place. We climbed Mount Monganui, it didn't take too long but it was a steep climb. The view was amazing, as always. The climb definitely earnt us a nice lunch and we ate on the seafront at a cafe, the highlight of that definitely being the beetroot chocolate cake - it tasted so good and being beetroot, it without doubt was one of my five a day.

It was sad to leave Linda and Su's on Thursday but we had to get an early morning bus to Rotorua. It only took an hour or so which was nice compared to our previous journey!
Rotorua was not exactly what I had expected. It was busy and big but compared to some of the places we have visited it didn't have the same warm, relaxed feel. We only had the one day there and unfortunately we found ourselves to be incredibly restricted without a car. However we made the best of it and decided to set off to do all we could on foot. First, we went to its local Kuirau park to visit the hotsprings. These springs are quite interesting, as I described them at the time as 'magical' (I must have been tired) but they really smell of sulfur which isn't the most pleasant smell. They are completely naturally occuring and have become central to the history of Rotorua. Maori legend believes that a beautiful woman who used to bathe in the hot springs disappeared, eaten by a monster and the gods were so angry they made the water boiling and bubbly (okay so I know that sounds like a story made up by a child but it is something like that I promise).
After lunch we ventured across town to a practising Maori village and church which was interesting and nice to explore parts of their culture.
From there we walked for about an hour beside the lake to the Polynesian Spa. It cost $25 to get in but this was for an unlimited amount of time and access to seven hot pools. The pools were modern day versions of 'priest pools' which were brought in to utilise the water from the hot springs for healing purposes. Each pool ranges in pH and temperature and are believed to have therapeutic benefits to muscles and joints. I'm not sure what exactly it did for me but it was relaxing, even if I emerged looking like a pink prune (not my strongest holiday look).
We spent our last night wondering around the night markets which had a lovely atsmosphere - the perfect end to a day exploring Rotorua. 

You are now up to date lovely people! I shall post again soon! X

Bay of Islands.

Our second destination within New Zealand was Paihia, in the beautiful Bay of Islands.
We arrived directly from Auckland, travelling on an intercity bus which took around 4 hours... the journey was interesting to say the least! We had a hilarious little bus driver who seemed to be pretty care free, taking his eyes off the road every now and again to read through his notes, despite the coach casually swaying from side to side on an 80mph motorway. 

We were able to see some beautiful scenery as we travelled through mountain roads and vast countryside and were dropped right outside our hostel, arriving in the pouring rain at about 8pm. Its always a welcome bonus when I dont have to rely on my map navigation skills to get us from A to B.. although I'm pretty chuffed with myself so far, even if I do occasionally have to step on the map like Joey from the Friends episode in London. 

The hostel itself was actually surprisingly lovely. It was right on the beach and had a really relaxed feel to it, such a contrast from our hostel in the city. It was, however, my first experience of having to sleep in the top of a bunk bed and as you can imagine, not my finest or most graceful moment. Getting myself up the ladder was interesting and I can only apologise to the poor guy (Dave) below me who did have my various belongings falling onto his head, as well as the unrelaxing motions of me trying to balance myself once I had clambered up.

On our first day in Paihia we walked down to the seafront. Immediately the views were striking, we were greeted by a stunning beach with turquoise waters and little boats dotted around and of course, being English, the sand was incredibly exciting also. 

After a wonder along the beach we decided to take a walk to Haruru Falls. I say walk.. it was more of a trek - 16km altogether, taking about an hour and a half each way. I don't know what I was expecting but as we arrived at the gate of this almost tropical looking forest in the 26 degree heat, there was a sense of excitement with an element of fear at what was to come. As hard and hot as the walk was at times, it really was worth it. The views were amazing, there was a lot of different terrain, finally ending up at the waterfall which felt like a huge relief and a buzz at the same time! You can see a few photos of this below and before you get confused thats not Lara Croft in the rainforest, its just me, coated from head to toe in bug spray and suncream, ready to take on the wilderness. (I got burnt and got bitten by the way).

One of my favourite parts of this particular adventure was walking through a 'mangrove' which is an intertidal forest which becomes submerged twice daily at high tides. I hadn't seen anything like these before and walking through them was quite an odd experience.

Our second day, after another shockingly awful nights sleep in the bunk bed situation, was quite an adventure! 

We got a boat from the Paihia Wharf right across to the famous (I had honestly never heard of it) 'Hole in the Rock' which you can see in a photo below. It was quite cool as the boat actually sailed through it and we learned about its history and how sailors used to believe that if a drop fell on you as you passed through the hole you would be blessed with good fortune... as I am sure you can imagine not a single drop landed on or around me during the passing. 

We were also lucky enough to see some dolphins. There were so many of them and they came so close to the boat. A few of them jumped out the water and they seemed to love the boat, following it even as we were pulling away. Unfortunately our photography skills were far from professional, thankfully Lydia pulled it out the bag or else you would just have had my photos of the sea, the odd splash and an accidental picture of the man in front of me.. awkward. 

En route to the Hole in the Rock we stopped on an island called Urupukapuka. It was only a 15 minute climb to the top and after my 16km walk the day before I shot up there like an absolute athlete (I basically crawled the whole way, being over taken on all angles, by all age groups). The views at the top were definitely special, the island allows you a complete 360 view of the surrounding islands and beaches, which eased my crying leg muscles as it really was beautiful. 

On the way back to Paihia our boat stopped at a small town called Russell. It was a very pretty, modest place that had a lot of character. We had a wonder around, visiting their tiny museum and the oldest church in New Zealand that is still in use today. Although Russell did not have a great deal of things to do it was unique and sitting on the beach looking across at the other islands was a rare opportunity for a bit of quiet, away from the craziness of the busy tourist attractions... we also had the nicest cookie flavoured ice cream so I was pretty content with life in general. 

Altogether we had an amazing few days in the Bay of Islands. It was our first proper stop away from the city and in a place that was completely different from home. I loved it the minute I saw the beach and would love to go back although next time no more top bunk beds, not just for my own safety but for the safety of others (sorry again Dave).

X

Landing in the city... Auckland.

We have reached our first stop.. arriving mid-afternoon on Wednesday in the city of Auckland, New Zealand.

I would like to start by saying that the 27 hour plane journey from the UK is as awful as you would imagine, however there were some highpoints.
Firstly, the planes are a-mazing! I am not the best flyer in the world and I don't know anything about planes but this one was absolutely huge. It had every movie, tv show and music playlist imaginable, enough to keep you entertained for quite a while.
Dubai airport was another particular highlight, its a stunning building; so clean and fresh with incredible architecture, as you would imagine!

I did also learn that I am inept at blowing up travel pillows... it took a good half an hour for me to inflate my very expensive, state of the art travel pillow and guess what I did? ... well I left it on the aeroplane didn't I.. good one Gillespie.

The journey was, however, fairly straight forward despite a slight hiccup involving an unfortunate couple of frisk searches and a bag search which resulted in half my belongings, including some of my not-so-sexy underwear sprawled out for all to see.

Landing in Auckland was quite a shock to the system. New Zealand has incredibly strict biosecurity laws and everywhere you walk upon arrival warns of strict punishment if you bring certain foods across the border such as dairy etc - completely understandable, however, in my state of deleria I couldn't remember if rocky roads and chocolate counted as dairy products...so I found myself at the customs desk declaring them, as though they were something sinister... needless to say when I produced the plastic box of homemade rocky roads and the galaxy bar, I was sniggered at.

We eventually made it to the city centre. We caught an airport to city shuttle bus costing us $16 each, by far the cheapest option and they run every 10 minute, so very frequently. It was much harder then you would imagine to alight from a 27 hour flight and not look like a nervous, delirious tourist...I couldn't have looked more stereotypical if I tried but we did okay.

Upon arriving into the city centre we had a slight walk to our hostel...due to an unfortunate miscalculation of where the hostel was on our map, but we did get there and it was a minor victory.

Our first day in Auckland was a good one. The weather was warm and the air was humid. It was actually a national holiday for Waitangi Day which was a nice surprise as it bought a good atmosphere and also drove a lot of people out of the city, so gave us some space. We walked about 30 minutes to Mount Eden which is the second highest point in the Auckland region. It took about 30 minutes to walk up and was stunning! We were able to see the whole of the city from all angles, clearly seeing the harbour as well as the main city. We then spent the afternoon walking down to the ferry ports and looking around.

Our second day in Auckland was spent walking about 20 minutes away to the Auckland museum and park. It is an absolutely massive park boasting beautiful ponds, open spaces and surroundings. There is a very well kept wintergarden and fernery which we spent some time looking around. I didn't think I had a huge appreciation for plants at all but this place was actually very beautiful and well presented, standing on its own within the stunning park surrounds. 

Auckland has been a lovely introduction to New Zealand and two days has been plenty of time to see the main attractions. It has a very busy and cosmopolitan atsmosphere which I can liken to London. It is hugely multi cultural and full of shops, designers, cafes, bars and restaurants. We have already been lucky to meet some great people, namely two hilarious American girls from Georgia. They were a great laugh and did keep us entertained with their travelling tales. 

I have posted a few of our favourite pictures for you to see from our first couple of days and I shall let you know what we get up to at our next destination!

x