Changing the pace a little, I flew to New Zealand and rented a car for a two week road trip. Although it was early winter, I figured it would be warm enough, around 20C. Plus I needed to getaway from the very humid climate of Hong Kong.
I covered about 1800km of the north island, including Auckland, Waiheke island, Waitomo caves, Hobbiton, Taupo, Napier, Gisborne, Whakatane, Rotorua, Hot Water Beach and Snells Beach. It was a little aggressive, so the last few days were slower paced. Driving in NZ is awesome, as the roads are well paved and very, very curvy (almost as voluptuous as the people here… ouch!).
There are basically only two speed limits: 100km/h and 50km/h. Think about that for a moment. That means both highways and narrow country roads were very fast paced. What I love about this is: although you can go really fast, it doesn’t mean you should. This means NZ empowers their drivers to make right decisions, something Quebec would never do. If nothing else, I need to come back and rent a motorcycle to conquer these sweeping roads.
Here are the highlights of this escapade.
Waiheke is a luxurious island just north of Auckland, with many summer homes for millionaires. It reminded me of the early stages of Nantucket and St. Barth’s, but with a greater percentage of locals instead of foreigners. People bring couches as seating to the only theatre, and they can bring whatever food they desire (BBQ’s are probably not allowed though). There’s a 9 hole golf course and 30 small vineyards, and a wine tour was the perfect way to explore this cozy region. For a moment, I even explored the possibility of buying land and developing some houses, but the market is already too pricey.
Waitomo Caves hosts thousands of glowworms that live on the cave’s ceiling. They use bio-luminescence (similar to fireflies) to attract flies and insects into their dangling strands of web. Prey gets tangled in the web, and the worm feasts upon their carcass. Yummy! With so many glowworms lighting the otherwise pitch black cave, it was almost romantic. Note: photos were not allowed inside the cave.
Hobbiton looks exactly like in the movies. It’s situated on a 125 acre farm, and the movie guys invested 9 months to produce the Hobbit’s village, not including two years to make the fake tree that sits directly above Bilbo’s house. It’s just an outdoor set, so nothing is found inside the homes, but the attention to detail is incredible. Each resident’s home has a purpose, from the cheese-maker to the fisherman to the tailor, and there are incredibility realistic props for each. Front doors are found in various sizes, to allow actors to appear smaller or larger while standing in front of them. The tour was about 2 hours long, including a free beer in the Green Dragon Inn.
Napier is considered the Art Deco capital of the world, as it was completely rebuilt after a large earthquake in the 1930’s. City officials decided to stick with the 30’s theme ever since. so lots of quaint shops and restaurants were found here. Sadly I didn’t take any pictures because I left my camera in the car and was too lazy to get it.
Natural hot springs are found all over the north island, and I enjoyed several of them. It’s quite relaxing to have natural warm water wash your muscles after a long day of driving on the wrong side of the road. In Wai-O-Tapu there were pools of various colours and temperatures, heated by the nearby volcanoes. No bathing was possible, but the raw beauty was fascinating; it looked more like Mars than Earth.
Another spot was Hot Water Beach, where underground steam warms the beach’s sands up to 60C. People come at low tide and dig their own hot tubs, mixing warm water with cold to create the perfect spa experience.
For a cultural experience, I went to a Maori village for some live entertainment and traditional dinner. They taught us about their history and how they successfully integrated with Europeans. Dinner was cooked using natural hot steams, and was quite tasty. Considering how challenging it is to live in harmony with Canadian’s aboriginals, I was quite impressed how the Maori people thrive and are respected in today’s society.
Unfortunately, as the days passed, the weather got colder and wetter. Thus, instead of spending another month here, I decided to fly to the warmer part of Australia. New Zealand is awesome, and has incredible natural beauty, so I will return during their summer to visit much more of the islands.
