This trip was mainly done for my aunts who wanted to visit New Zealand. The entire itinerary and most of the bookings were done by me. I drove them around too. Hopefully, they have enjoyed themselves to the fullest. As usual, the beautiful scenery of New Zealand never fails to capture my interest.
11 March 2016, Cloudy, Singapore
I left my house and headed for the airport. Brenda, Jamie and Jerom came to send us off, which was a surprise! The dinner on the plane was pretty good, chicken with apple sauce. I topped it up with red wine before attempting to sleep.
12 March 2016, Clear, Sydney > Auckland > Pokeno
While in transit, I had the chance to look at Sydney International Airport and recollect my fond memories of travels which happened in this very same airport. On the Qantas flight to Auckland, my family was commenting on the accents of the people on board. Since I was more widely travelled, listening to different English accents did not bother me at all. In fact, I miss Australian accent. We reached Auckland and got our car from Jucy. It was the purple green one, which was to my dismay. After doing some warming up, we headed to do groceries before heading to our very first BnB in Pokeno. The first BnB was perfect. The host was very nice to us and her home was very gorgeous! She brought us around her garden of fruit trees and showed us her plants, which included apples, crab-apples, passion fruit, granny smith and even walnut.
This is their crab-apple. My personal favourite is still the walnut. I have never tasted such fresh apples off the tree. We drove out a little to Pukekohe for dinnerm finally settling for Carl's Junior burgers haha. Played pool despite the tiredness. A short 19 hour day.
13 March 2016, Clear, Pokeno > Whangamata > Tauranga
After breakfast, we packed up to leave. We were a bit sad to leave this BnB. We took pictures with the host before we left for Whangamata, a 1 hour drive. We checked out some of the shops in town before heading to El Barrio for lunch. This is the place where I finally got to drink real coffee again. I really miss my flat white. I finally got to drink it again! The food at El Barrio was awesome. We had a very satisfying lunch. After lunch we went to check out the beach. Combining the open sea and deep blue clear sky, the view was perfect.
We then made our way to Tauranga. We made a stop at another nearby beach, which might me Whiritoa, but I am not sure. After reaching Tauranga, we took a stroll along the coastline. Caught sight of some of the local kids playing at the playground. I sat down on the grass and lied down, thinking how I always used to do this in Australia since the soil is dryer and cleaner. Bought a really large bag of fish and chips from Bobby's. Satisfying meal. We went to our next BnB, but had difficulty trying to get into the house. The neighbours finally advised me to climb in through the window to unlock the door from the inside. I later found the keys. Had a relaxing bath and rested for the night.
14 March 2016, Cloudy, Tauranga > Mount Maunganui > Rotorua
It was an eventful day indeed. We woke up, had our breakfast, then went to Mount Maunganui for the hike. All of us made it to the top, which I made me very glad. All of my family were very satisfied with themselves. The view however, was not as nice as I expected it to be.
After the hike, we drove down to Rotorua for lunch. My family, being tired after the hike, had cravings for meat. We went to Oppie's in Rotorua and ordered some meat. The meal was very tasty indeed. The owner of the shop was very nice to us and recommended some dishes, very friendly indeed. Next on the list was skyline Rotorua. We took the gondola up and went for the luge rides. It was really awesome! I manage to try all three different tracks ranging from beginner to expert, and I must say, the expert track was the most exhilarating. I did all the tracks at the maximum speed possible, braking very little. There was a part where we could literally fly a little. Being a little early, we went to the BnB, the cleanest BnB, and unloaded our luggage before heading to Te Puia. I liked their peace greeting and performance. Since we were already here, I also decided to try my hand at some of their dance moves! After that, we went to try their traditional hangi, which was the way they cook the food over hot rocks. To my surprise, they taste really good, exceeding all the expectations. We also checked out the Pohutu geyser when it was erupting. It was an awesome sight.
15 March 2016, Cloudy/Rain, Rotorua > Taupo > Napier/Hastings
We woke up early so as to visit Hellsgate Mud and Sulphur spa. My family was so amazed by the geothermal activities in the area, especially the mudpools. The smell did not turn them off, to my surprise. After one small round of exploration around the place, we decided to try the mud and sulphur spa. We had a fun time applying mud onto each other. It was therapeutic indeed. I think our skin rejuvenated 5 years in 10 minutes. After the mud dries up on your skin, it leaves a very smooth touch. Sulphur spa was nice at the start, however, it stings the eyes and after soaking in the spa for a while, the sulphur gets into your pores and will be slowly released out for about a week. Because of this, nearly all my clothes have the sulphur stink! After feeling refreshed, we went back to Oppies for another round of Asian lunch. We tried the dishes recommended by the chef: Fish and lamb soup. It was pretty awesome. We then set off for a drive to Taupo, following the scenic attractions along route. The first stop was kerosene creek.
This was perhaps one of the nicest pictures that I have taken in the trip. The creek has warm water in it, attracting some people to actually go inside the water for a bath. Next is Aratiatia rapids. We were very lucky to catch the opening of the floodgates and we witnessed the huge downpour of the water over the boulders, exactly how rapids are meant to be seen! Next was Huka Falls, a suspension bridge over the river. Nothing too exciting here. Next was the spa thermal park, since it was raining, we did not walk all the way to the spa pools. When the rain died down, I took a jump shot for my family. We then made a final stop at Lake Taupo town area for a quick recharge, and last few photographs of the lake. We then set off for a long drive to Napier. Reached Napier, then Hastings, a very chill and relaxed twin city. Did some groceries and cooked our own dinner, companied by some wine from the very nice host of this large house.
16 March 2016, Cloudy, Napier/Hastings
We woke up late so as to rest. After breakfast, we went to Cape Kidnappers gannet reserve. This was a bad move. As the tides were rising and it was off season, we did not manage to get to the gannet reserve. We spotted some adult gannets and enjoyed the coastal walk along the way. Lunch was at a random burger place, which was decent. We then went to do groceries to prepare for a big meal. In the afternoon, we went to Ash Ridge Wineries since there were good reviews. Tours were not available to us and it was disappointing. We did some wine tasting and decided to buy some Merlot and Syrah back. One comment however, is that the staff had a very stuck-up attitude. Yes, the red wine there indeed taste excellent, but the staff gave an attitude as if his red wine is too good for us. Not allowing that to dampen our spirits, we then went to Rush Munro's Ice cream, probably the best ice cream in New Zealand. True to its word, the ice cream here tastes extra creamy, and the choices of flavours available is just unimaginable. Being the usual me, I tried the coffee and the chocolate. It was simply awesome. We then went back to our BnB and cooked up a storm! Our own cooked feast, complimented with both red and white wines made this meal the most perfect meal we had in New Zealand.
17 March 2016, Cloudy/Rain, Hastings > Mount Bruce > Wellington
After breakfast, we left Hastings straight since the weather is bad. Our destination was Pukaha Mount Bruce Wildlife park, but we stopped midway at a bakery cafe in Dannevirke for another round of awesome coffee. The chocolate caramel fudge was sweet to most, but awesome for my sweet tooth. We reached the wildlife park at around 12:30. The wildlife park is home to many amazing species of birds, not to mention the endangered kiwi. We also witnessed the feeding of long-finned eels. The rain made the visit a cold one, but nevertheless interesting. The staff here are very friendly and warm to us, alleviating the cold weather to some extent. When we are about to leave, I realized I forgot to switch off the lights, causing my car battery to go dead! Fortunately for the staff at the wildlife park, we managed to borrow jumper cables and another lorry to quick start our vehicle. Thank them so much for helping out of this fix! I really appreciate their nice gesture! We reached Masterton for a late and horrible lunch. If you're an asian, you will be unimpressed by their Chinese takeaway (except the one in Rotorua). After a dangerous drive on the mountains, we finally reached New Zealand's beautiful capital city, Wellington. We visited the supermarket and cooked ourselves a sumptuous dinner again. Another day without beautiful pictures and the weather is to be blamed.
18 March 2016, Sunny, Wellington
Today was a day of relaxation in the capital city. We woke up late and cooked our own brunch, which was yummy. My fried rice was well-liked, and my marinated chicken finally succeeded. After lazing around for a bit, we decided that our first destination will be the Botanic Gardens. My cousin took the wheel today. The botanic gardens is filled with greenery. It lacks beautiful flowers. The view at the top is amazing however.
We got some souvenirs at the shop on top of the hill, and then we left. Our next destination was Johnsonville shopping centre. This was our attempt at shopping in Wellington. To our dismay, the shopping centre was only a single storey, and is very small. We just bought some food and left. Next, we visited Princess Bay. The views were simply stunning! I risked my life (according to my family) and went down the rocks near to the sea. Don't you agree that there is this strange rule that the more risk you take, the better you'll perceive the rewards? In this case, it is the pictures that I took.
After Princess Bay, we also had a look at Houghton Bay before going back to our BnB, cooked our own dinner again, and rested.
19 March 2016, Sunny, Wellington > Whanganui > New Plymouth
Drove a lot today. There was a traffic jam just when we leave Wellington. One thing that is common about all cities I guess, even New Zealand is no exception. Rather than just waiting around, we just tried to make the mood better by taking random pictures and blasting music. The jam alleviated after about half an hour. On the way, we made a stop at Foxton, and checked out Foxton's amazing beach. It was pretty large and awesome, I would say. Ate our own packed lunch as planned. We decided to check out the Virginia Lake in Whanganui.
It was a very pretty lake, complete with ducks and swans of different breeds and colours. I came into close encounter with the black swans. They were a bit less shy, or rather, more hungry for our food. We ate the rest of our packed lunch here as we relaxed away staring at the lake. When I wandered off the lake to find the toilet, I chanced upon a beautiful sanctuary. The entire place was filled with blooming flowers, it was so romantic! After snapping some pictures of this awesome find, I went back to the car and drove my family to New Plymouth. Our dinner was at Marbles Buffet, very nice buffet at a reasonable price. The seafood were not extremely fresh, and the dessert was too much on the sweet side, but overall, we were very satisfied. We had to eat a lot today because the next day...
20 March 2016, Cloudy/Rain, New Plymouth
is a hiking day. We woke up early and prepared our lunch for the hike up Mount Taranaki. Apparently, it was not early enough. We reached the visitor centre at about 9, asked about the route and immediately started the hike. I went up ahead so as to try to hike to the summit and come down before nightfall, however, it was already slightly late. I picked up the pace and tried anyway. My family split into two groups, one taking the bush walk, while the other tried to climb into the clouds. They made it. As for my climb, the starting part was easy, but once past the Tahurangi lodge, it became difficult. Firstly, it began to rain, with strong winds, making it cold for hiking. Secondly, the terrain was difficult. I reached the part without proper pathways and only had large boulders. The only guide was red sticks anchored into the ground. I passed this point with difficulty. Next is the stairs, it was easy. After the stairs, I arrived at the place with only loose sand and gravel. Every 20 cm step I take, I will roll back 8 cm. It was slippery, the rain is falling hard and cold, and the wind keeps trying to knock me down. Moreover, I was alone. I met a few people descending the mountain, and they told me the peak is probably obscured by clouds right now. This made me decided it was not worth the risk. I can always come back another day with proper equipment to transverse this loose gravel steep terrain. According to the locals, I made it to about 2000 metres, which was already pretty good. I was pretty disappointed with the weather, but oh well, it is what it is. I returned to my waiting family and drove back to the BnB for a short rest. Our evening was spent by taking a relaxing coastal walk. Yes, our legs are breaking. We saw Te Rewa Rewa Bridge. Back in the BnB, we had an awesome home cooked meal. I then had a super relaxing bath to recharge from today's demanding activities.
21 March 2016, Sunny, New Plymouth > Waitomo > Auckland
Today was the day where I did the most driving in the trip. After having a good breakfast and packing food for lunch, we set off for Waitomo. We stopped at Mokau and tried hot chocolate at a local cafe. It was below expectations. We were fooled by the queue. Truth is, they got so much business because everyone was stopping by in this cafe: Whitebait Inn. We got caught in a jam when we continued our journey, causing us to be late for the caves. In the end, we can only do 2 caves: Ruakuri and Glow worm main cave. The glow worm cave was short. However, the guide was very detailed in explaining everything about the glow worms. There's a part where you can see the worms up pretty close, but due to poor lighting, it was still difficult to see. No pictures are allowed in this cave. At the end of the cave was a short boat ride out, allowing you to enjoy the vast ceiling of glow worms. It was a dreamy and awesome sight if we pretend that those are just stars in the night sky. In this blog, I shall not describe the truths of what is happening to the glow worms. Next was the Ruakuri cave. In Maori language, Rua means two and kuri means dogs. This cave is a lot larger and in my opinion, was more worth the money than the main cave. It had more to see, ranging from stalagtites, stalagmites, to many other cave formations: cave popcorn, cave potato chip and cave bacon. There was also some glow worm areas for us to see. Best of all, photos are allowed.
After the caves, we did a super long drive back to Auckland. We went to try Jervois steakhouse, one of the
most recommended places that we wanted to try on day 1, but gave a miss. After an extremely long wait, the steaks finally arrived. They were grilled perjectly, and all the juices were still locked in the steak. It was an awesome meal. After that, we went to do some late night shopping at a nearby Countdown which opens till midnight. I bought lots of chocolates to give away. We then arrived at our last BnB late, when the hosts were already asleep.
22 March 2016, Sunny, Auckland > Sydney > Singapore
We were awakened by a perfectly made New Zealand breakfast, complete with cereal, milk, bread, fruit. The host was really nice to us, to the point I actually feel pretty bad. Her house is beautiful and yet it feels cosy and home-like. This is perhaps the most recommended BnB in Auckland! After a short talk with the host over breakfast, we parted ways. We returned the car and started the journey back home to Singapore. Till the next trip, which isn't so far off!
