Natural wonders of New Zealand

Auckland

From the moment of arrival you know the environment is whakamiharo (amazing in Maori) and special in New Zealand. The magnitude of biosecurity procedures alone that you pass through upon arrival give a hint. The luxury of being an island is the control that is possible to protect those things that cannot be replaced - flora, fauna (and people in the case of COVID when New Zealand was among the most restrictive in the world and thus saw a much lower fatality rate). As we had recently been in Africa and in the bush, we had to declare this and have our hikers inspected. Luckily, we were given the all clear to explore this wonderful country. 

The jet lag battle is real, our 12 hour difference from Africa hit us hard in Auckland. Once awake, we loved exploring this city that has a Vancouver vibe to it. We stayed on the North Shore and had many beautiful, clean beaches within a short walk. The downtown was a short ferry ride away where we loved the waterfront with its cool playgrounds, sunny patios and the plentiful green spaces everywhere. There is a sea water swim area where we watched practice rounds for the ‘Manu’ World Championships (basically a cannonball or dive where the biggest splash and style are the goal that has become a national pastime). We ate fish and chips for dinner on the beach (also a national pastime we are told), and enjoyed the local craft beer at our nearby pub. 

Auckland waterfront

They had a store for us!

Auckland skyline from the ferry

Fish & Chips on the beach

New Zealand felt so much more like home than anywhere else we’ve been to date. The infrastructure, the food, the grocery store, the language and way of people all felt more like home. New Zealand is a relatively small nation of six million. It is incredibly clean and so friendly. Similar to Canada, it has a difficult past with its Maori (Indigenous) people, although our (limited) observation is that New Zealand is further ahead in its journey of reconciliation than we are.  

CamperVan Life

Our chosen mode of transportation and accommodation was a campervan (RV) for our road trip around the North Island. This was the first RV foray for the Sharps and we all made it out alive. A bucket list item for Ian for some time, the kids loved the novelty and Erin liked it more than she thought she would LOL. We stayed in 5 different campgrounds over the course of 8 nights on the road – travelling where we slept definitely allowed us more mobility than if we had to pack up every time we moved. Campervan life is a thing in NZ – with locals and travellers of all generations partaking. Many campgrounds have playgrounds, swimming pools and communal barbecues that make socializing easy. We were amazed at the diverse geography and sights that we could explore within relatively short distances - mountains, lakes, oceans, and amazing adventures. 

Hot Water Beach

Our first stop was to Hot Water Beach on the Coromandel Peninsula. We navigated very twisty roads around the cliffs and gorges that helped bring home for us that New Zealand is on many active volcanoes - a recurring theme for our travels. Hot Water Beach is as it says is HOT!- if you time it right to hit low tide, steaming hot water (as hot as 60 degrees Celsius!) rises through the sand. Locals and tourists all show up to dig natural hot tubs here everyday - we did this two days in a row and loved it. The tide wipes the slate clean twice daily filling in every hole dug. The rest of the beach is also beautiful with really fun waves to play in. The shovel rentals at the campground made for great antics even when we weren’t digging hot tubs.  

Papamoa Beach & Mt Maunganui

Our hope was to climb Mt Maunganui on the central coast which promises an easy day hike. Tragically, a recent landslide rendered the entire area un-hikable and closed. We opted instead to stay nearby at Papamoa Beach. We stayed right at the beach at probably the best located holiday park of the trip. Close proximity to the ocean and a great swimming pool made us want to stay longer. By that stop we were starting to nail the cooking in the RV and making good use of the communal BBQs. 

Hobbiton

A long planned central stop in NZ was to visit the famous Hobbiton set, used throughout the filming of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. All of NZ has leaned into the movie tourism industry but nowhere more than here. This peaceful and tranquil location brings a Hobbit lifestyle to life: a philosophy of simple living, comfort, and deep appreciation for nature and community. It centres on cozy earthy homes (hobbit-holes), frequent meals (seven a day), gardening, socializing (drinking of ales), and avoiding unnecessary adventure. Ian was able to nerd out at this incredibly well maintained mecca for he and his fellow Tolkien fans while the kids learned about breakfast and second breakfasts. The grounds run like a well-oiled machine that doesn’t feel hokey at all and really gives you a sense of being transported to Middle Earth, with the ability to wander through hobbit holes and recognizable film scenes. It finishes with a tasty cold beer at the Green Dragon Inn. If you’re a fan of the books/films definitely worth a trip to this place. 

Rotorua & Blue Lake

On the edge of the lake of the same name is the city of Rotorua. This city is literally built on hot springs throughout; we could see the steam rising as we drove in. There are mud spas throughout, but we opted to stay clean and instead wandered around some of the centrally located steaming spring. We also explored Whakarewarewa (redwoods) Forest for a lovely walk through some ancient giants. 

Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake) is a pristine mountain lake nestled into the mountain just outside of Rotorua. This place felt a lot like Canada; the Sharps swam and relaxed on the beach on a clear mountain lake in the autumn all enjoying themselves even though it was not really that hot out. For those into mountain biking, this area is swarming with trails leaving right from the lake; we sadly did not have bikes in tow. 

Huka Falls

On the way is Lake Taupo, a large lake that sits in the middle of the north island, which we found looked very much like cottage/cabin country in Canada. This waterway feeds Huka Falls which we learned is New Zealand's most visited natural wonder. It's pretty clear why - the water flowing out from the gorge is amazing, the sheer volume is mind boggling (even though on the day we visited the falls were at ⅓ possible volume!). We planned a surprise jetboat ride to get a closer look at the falls. This thrilling mode of transport had us all holding on for the ride of our lives. Thankfully they had heated hand rails in the boat. Our boat captain Arthur was knowledgeable and an absolute whiz with the jet boat-he kept saying that it was lucky that we had him on his first day on the job (ha). 

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Jetboat ride at Huka Falls

The Mountains of Tongariro National Park

We hiked twice in Tongariro National Park: once to admire the view for miles from the mountain, and once to explore its famous waterfalls. Our campground that night was literally on an active volcano, surrounded by lovely forest. A cold front blew through, meaning we woke up to 2 degrees in the morning. During our hike that day three different groups of travelling Canadians stopped Finlay to comment on his Blue Jays hat - apparently the cold brings out the Canucks!

Waitomo

Our final stop was to the Waitomo glow worm caves, a natural wonder discovered around 1900. Intrepid explorers have been visiting the caves ever since. The unique subterranean caves are home to glow worms, a very interesting species that spends its life cycle in almost total darkness. They have evolved to entice insects that make their way into the caves. The bugs are hypnotized by the faint green glow of the worms and then entrapped in silky threads. The caves are privately owned now - after a court battle that lasted almost 90 years, the government returned the land to the descendants of the original owners (a Maori Chief and a surveyor) in 1990. The campground included a farm next door where Jasper spent hours befriending chickens, goats, pigs and llamas. Our time in Waitomo was capped off with a view of the lunar eclipse (the dark starry nights were a highlight throughout!). 

Some R&R next to the beach

Campervan life

Outside the Glowworm Caves

Jasper befriended a chicken

The Llama crew

We will be back!

We returned to Auckland only briefly, but with enough time for Erin to get lost on yet another run through the “everything looks the same” industrial area near the airport on our last night after dropping off the RV . Our hopes of her sense of direction improving on this trip are diminishing rapidly. Maybe her compass is turned upside down while we’re in the southern hemisphere?!?

All in, we LOVED New Zealand! We had only planned about 2 weeks here knowing that no matter how much time we planned it wouldn’t feel like enough. Still we’re feeling like we just scratched the surface of this beautiful country. We could spend so much more time there, and know the South Island also promises stunning adventures. 

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Jasper

My favourite part of New Zealand was Hot Water Beach - it was the best campsite and digging your own hot tub was super fun. The RV was a bit tight (I had the smallest bed for the longest time), but we managed. It was a different lifestyle because we were staying in a new place everyday without having to pack up, which I liked. The jet boating was cool, I have never done anything like it. 

Finlay

I really liked New Zealand because it felt so much like home. Staying in the RV was fun because we got to spend so much time outdoors. But it was too cramped so the sleeping arrangements weren’t the best. I really liked Auckland so many people were just doing anything they wanted. There was a cool jumping platform that went into a little pool of sea water. So overall I loved New Zealand.