Traelogue by Venky and

A memorable journey from the “City of Sails” - to the verdant pastures of the Waikato region– to the thermal wonderlands of Rotorua and to Volcanic terrain of Taupo……..
It was a clear and beautiful day, when we landed in Auckland International Airport on November 25th, for the much awaited 10 days of break from the mundane routine and hectic life of Singapore. The moment we crossed immigration, we looked forward to the genuine warmth and relaxing welcome of Kiwi land.
We were met at the airport by Bruce and Winifred (Wini), an elderly couple, who were highly recommended by our friends in Singapore, to show us around North Island. Bruce and Wini run customized private tours around North Island, for people like us who do not have too much time, but at the same time, want to have fun in the land of adventure– Haera mai (Welcome) to New Zealand!
Over a cup of coffee, we discussed our plans for the day and decided to start our sight-seeing in Auckland by heading out to Mount Eden, to get a fair understanding of the topography of New Zealand’s biggest and vibrant “City of Sails”. Though filled with tourists, there was enough room for all of us to catch the panoramic views of the skyline, harbor and the outlying islands. Then we headed to the Auckland Domain, which houses the winter gardens and Auckland museum. The Auckland museum offers to its visitors, a complete introduction to the Maori (native) culture, arts, crafts and their way of life. It also houses a notable collection of arts, crafts and period furniture brought into New Zealand by European settlers. The museum also has interactive sections dedicated to the abundant and rich flora and fauna of New Zealand. Families with children can be rest assured that this museum visit will not bore our little friends and keep them actively engaged.
After spending a good 2 hours in Auckland Domain, Bruce took us to Auckland’s vintage district, Parnell Village. It was a quaint place and had a wide range of restaurants; some of them rated the best in Auckland, along with boutique shops selling some unique local merchandise. Driving straight down from Parnell Village, we enjoyed the scenic Tamaki Drive which houses Kelly Tarltons Under Water World and Antarctic Encounter and Mission Bay. We spent about an hour at Kelly Tarltons - though not the best aquarium in the world, the penguins in the Antarctic Encounter are worth a visit. Mission Bay is one of the best beaches in Auckland and its promenade offers some great dining options for people who love the sun and the beach.
Tired after a long flight from Singapore, we decided to call it a day and headed to Tudor Court Motel, a bed and breakfast inn in Great South Road. Great South Road has a number of very clean and comfortable inns in the vicinity of one of Auckland’s key shopping areas – New Market.
A good night’s rest got us back into action and we headed first to One Tree Hill. Less touristy than Mount Eden and definitely more peaceful, One Tree Hill offers panoramic views of Auckland city and its neighborhoods.
Soaking in the beauty of Auckland, a cup of coffee in hand, we headed to MOTAT (Museum of Transport and Technology). As we had a little extra time, and loved anything vintage, we decided to spend a good 2 hours at MOTAT. Looking at the wonders of yesteryears brings out a childlike joy within us. Carrying this spirit, we decided to spend some time in the Auckland Zoo, which is just a hop away from MOTAT in a vintage Tram. An encounter with the kiwi (national icon) and the Tuataras – the only living member of the dinosaur family, made for an enjoyable afternoon. We also enjoyed watching the other native African/Indian /Australian animals and birds. The zoo is well maintained and definitely calls for a visit.
It was almost 2 in the afternoon and suddenly we felt famished after a long walk at MOTAT and the zoo. We decided to take a break and catch a bite to eat. Bruce suggested that we head to the downtown area, as we could visit the famous Sky Tower, after lunch. Custom Street in Viaduct Harbor Avenue contains some of the city’s fine dining restaurants along the water-front. It’s a complete haven in the midst of all the corporate offices in the central business district. After some awesome Italian food at Portofino’s, we headed to the Sky Tower.
The 360 degree views of the city from the Sky Tower helped us appreciate the landscape of Auckland – A city cuddled by mountain ranges, islands of volcanic terrain and definitely the best waters for marine biological life – all beckoning us to enjoy Mother Nature’s gift to New Zealand.
We had one last stop for the day, and what better way to end a busy day than an evening with the roses – The Parnell Rose garden. Sun kissed roses, with bees hovering filled us with delight and we enjoyed the kaleidoscope of colors. With smiles on our faces and the sun shining brightly we headed back to our motel, to take enough rest, as we had some shopping (what better therapy for women on a vacation) planned for the next day.
After a sumptuous breakfast, we packed our bags (as we were going to spend a couple of nights at the Westin, Lighter Quay) and headed to Manukau City, a suburb south of Auckland. The crowds in this suburb helps an outsider understand the cultural diversity of the city – Natives (Maoris) along with Polynesian and Asian settlers. We stopped by at the Manukau City mall, which houses a number of stores carrying branded products from across the globe, as well as stores selling local wares. It was a good couple of hours in the mall where we picked up some porcelain with Christmas designs at the Farmers (a chain departmental store). We also picked up some aromatic wax candles and candle stands, all made in New Zealand.
From Manukau City, we came to Auckland Central to check into The Westin at Lighter Quay. My husband had business meetings for the next couple of days, which gave me time to explore Auckland a bit more. I decided to check out the shops at Broadway (New Market) and Queen Street. Shopping was really fun as there were plenty of choice with clothes, shoes and other accessories. They also carried a good range of sizes, as sometimes it’s difficult to find the right size in Singapore for an average Indian woman who does not fit into clothes made for our Chinese friends. I also had the opportunity to visit the Civic Theatre in between my shopping, in Queen Street.
After a successful day of shopping, I met up with my husband, and we decided to check out the restaurants around the waterfront at Viaduct Harbour, for some good hot dinner. There were restaurants representing cuisine from across the world, but we decided to try out some Indian food at Tagore’s. The food was passable and after a quick dinner we headed back to the hotel to get a good night’s rest – my husband had business meetings and I had planned a visit to the botanical garden, Dress Smart at OneHunga and a Whale and Dolphin Safari -all for the next day.
After a good night’s rest in the heavenly beds of Westin, Bruce and Winnie picked me up at 8.30 in the morning and we drove to the Botanical Gardens at Manurewa. The wide array of flora filled my senses with awe. The Auckland Botanical Gardens was definitely worth a visit and it is pertinent to mention the hard work of volunteers who help to make it a nature lover’s paradise.
From Manurewa we went to Onehunga, a suburb which houses DressSmart – the largest factory outlet in Australasia. Although I could have spent the whole day pampering myself, I had to end my shopping spree to have enough time to get back to Viaduct Harbour, to board a luxury catamaran for an adventurous Whale and Dolphin Safari in the Hauraki Gulf.
The Hauraki Gulf supports diverse marine and geological life and its beauty leaves its visitors spellbound. It was a pleasure to see the dolphins cut through the water current. They are beautiful swimmers and performed some great diving stunts. Once we spotted the blue whales, the captain slowed down the catamaran, to let us enjoy the views of these giant sea creatures. It was a completely new experience for most of us on board, and it left me mesmerized and I just enjoyed the moment in solitude – Me and nature’s creations at its best. After a good time with the whales and dolphins we headed to a Gannet Colony. It was an imposing sight, to see an entire colony of gannets, inhabiting huge rocks in the middle of the ocean. After a good four hours of journey into the Hauraki Gulf, and eyes filled with the visions of the beautiful marine and geological life, we docked at Viaduct Harbour at quarter to 6 in the evening.
For dinner, we decided on Oh Calcutta, an Indian restaurant at Parnell Road. The food was excellent and tasted fantastic. A great meal after a day filled with activities, was a great way to end our four fun filled hectic days in Auckland.
The next day morning we were all set to explore the Waikato region. It was an extremely pleasant drive, as we zipped past miles and miles of farmland. Bruce and Wini were highly informative on the region’s history and it was fun driving past lush pastures to Woodlyn Park, 16 kilometers from the town of Otorohanga, to watch the famous Billy Blacks Kiwi Culture Show at 1.30 pm. The one word that came out of our mouths at the end of the show was – Awesome, simply superb. We thoroughly enjoyed the show which was presented with creative vigour and humor. I should not fail to mention that Billy Blacks and his team are extremely dedicated in their efforts to educate visitors to the culture of New Zealand, as they performed for just the two of us, since there were no other visitors on that day.
From the Billy Blacks show we headed to the Waitomo Glow Worm caves, just a few minutes away from Woodlyn Park. It was a breathtaking experience to watch these glow worms (glow worms of new Zealand belong to the gnat fly family and not worms as their name suggests) in the midst of the stalagmite and stalactite formations (limestone). The Waitomo caves are a must see for any visitor to New Zealand, as we get mesmerized by the various limestone formations, which also kindles our creativity to relate to these formations from millions of years – Oh yes, yet another nature’s gift to Kiwiana.
A beautiful day well spent, we headed to the city of Hamilton, to spend our night there, as we were taking a Hot Air Balloon flight the next morning. Hot Air Ballooning is popular in New Zealand, and what better way to enjoy the spectacular landscape of this country full of natural wonders. Kiwi Balloon Company operates flights from the banks of Hamilton lake where we met our pilot Andrew at quarter to 6, the next morning. It was a completely different experience to fill hot air into the balloon and get it set for our flight. We along with 8 others, including Andrew, took off at quarter to 7 and what an experience it was. We enjoyed the wonderful flight across the valley and hills and it was a dream come true to watch the sun rise in front of you. Amidst all these life time memories, I should not fail to thank the weather and the winds, as these balloon flights are totally dependent on the direction of winds for their movement, to make our dreams a reality.
A good hour of flying, we landed on a farm with our faces bright and smiling, and also feeling successful after Andrew mentioned that ours was the second longest flight in his 9 years of operation. A good champagne breakfast followed and thanking Andrew for the wonderful experience, we set out to the culture capital of New Zealand – Rotorua.
Rotorua was a fascinating experience into the Thermal Wonderlands of New Zealand. The smell of sulphur welcomed us into Rotorua and we drove to the Agrodome to watch a Kiwi farm show. It was absolutely hilarious to watch the various friendly farm animals perform some funny stunts on the stage which brought huge applause from the audience. We thoroughly enjoyed the show and decided to have lunch, before visiting the thermal villages. The lunch spread at Valentino’s was an attack on our visual senses, with plenty of food and desserts to choose from. After lunch we drove straight to Whakarewarewa Thermal Village. It was our life’s first experience on a terrain with heavy seismic activity. It was a revelation to see the inhabitants of the village live in harmony amidst boiling mud pools, hot water geysers and also preserving their age old traditions and practices, to be carefully handed down to the generations to come .
As the day started with a fun- filled flight on a hot-air balloon, we felt it would be made more memorable with a helicopter ride to the famous Mount Tarawera and the Mokoia Island. Mount Tarawera is one of the many volcanic mountains Tapu (sacred) to the Maoris. Mount Tarawera, known world over as the Pink and White terraces, was destroyed by the major volcanic eruption on June10th, 1886. The views from the helicopter were breathtaking and from right above the crater we could imagine the intensity of the eruption and the destruction caused to the people of Te Wairoa (the local Maori tribe), whose survivors settled in the Thermal Village of Wakarewarewa. We landed on Mount Tarawera and took a short walk to the summit to view the craters. We were wonder stuck by the beauty of the destruction.
The Mokoia Island was completely peaceful and would be an ornithologists’ playground. Our pilot also served as a wonderful guide and patiently pointed out the various species and also told us the legendary Maori story of Hinemoa and Tutanekai, upon whom the island is sacred to the Maoris.
With our heads filled with famous Maori names, stories and eyes overwhelmed by the fierce beauty of nature we enjoyed the silent flight back to Agrodome, from where we took off.
Bruce had one more surprise planned for us. It was the Mitai Maori culture show. We had an hour before the show and so we decided to visit the nearby Rainbow Springs nature park. This quiet and tranquil walk around the nature park, observing the various flora and fauna indigenous to New Zealand, helped us digest the varied marvels of nature we enjoyed in Rotorua – Well deserved to be called the Culture and historic capital of New Zealand.
The Mitai show was a window to the warrior spirit of the Maoris. Most of us have seen the Haka by the All Blacks Rugby team of New Zealand, but here we were introduced to the various different forms of Haka performed by both men and women. The show also introduced us to Hangi – Maori way of cooking, which uses the heat and steam from the underground volcanic activity, to prepare food. By using their traditional methods even in present days and using nature’s gifts in the right way, the Maoris are way ahead in the war against climate change that most of our world leaders are still battling with.
After a great Hangi dinner, we decided to head back to our hotel to take as much rest as we could, since we planned to visit the Wai-O-Taupo Thermal Wonderland and the Huka falls, the next morning.
The next morning, after a short stop at Lake Rotorua and the Museum, we were well on our way to visit the Wai-O-Taupo Geothermal wonderland. Along the way, we stopped to look at boiling mud pools – it was an awesome sight. We also understood that the terrain, on which we were standing, was among the thinnest portions of the earth’s crust.
The thermal wonderland was indeed wonderful and like none that we had seen before. Right from the “Devil’s Home” to the “Devil’s Bath”, it was an exciting and fascinating world of geothermal science. One need not be a scientist to understand and enjoy it, but just need to have an eye to see and appreciate the artistic manifestations of nature. The Artists Palette and The Champagne Pool mesmerized us with their color and geothermal activity. It took us almost 3 hours to see and appreciate the beauty of the Wonderland, which took us through craters, geysers, caves, panoramic viewpoints – all of which increased our appreciation of the wonderful mysteries of nature.
After the walk on the thermal wonderlands, we came to the Huka falls, to take the Huka jet and have some spine chilling 360 degree spins. The Huka falls are the result of The Waikato River hitting a volcanic rock, and crashing into a fall just 15 meters below, but the quantum of water gushing down creates the effect of white foam falling down. The Huka Jet ride gave us its moneys’ worth of excitement and refreshment. It was great fun to get as close to the falls as possible and also perform some 360 degree spins.
Having spent two full days amidst volcanic terrain, we wanted to know a little more on the volcanoes of New Zealand - so we visited the Taupo Volcanic center on our way from Huka Falls. The volcanic center, though not the best, gave us a fair idea on the volcanic activity in New Zealand, and also helped us understand the volcanic activity in Mount Tongiriro and Mount Ruapehu, since we were doing the famous Tongariro Alpine crossing, the next day.
No trip to New Zealand would be complete without tasting its different types of honey, from its various forests and trees with their curative properties. We visited The Honey Hive, just across the Volcanic Center, and bought Manuka Honey, Rewa Honey, Tawari Honey and some Fig Honey Spread. The sheer variety of honey and honey products definitely makes this place a must visit.
We decided next to head towards the Taupo town center. Taupo is a small town filled with tourist activities, such as the famous Taupo Reverse bungy, paragliding over Lake Taupo and getting geared to trek on the volcanic Tongariro national park.
We had lunch in one of the café’s facing Lake Taupo, and what a beautiful view it was to just watch the lake, the birds, paragliders and the famous mountains – all from one vantage point. Taupo is also a good place to buy souvenirs, so we bought our good share of New Zealand buys and took a nice walk on the promenade of Lake Taupo.
It was almost 5 o’clock in the evening and we were all set to get to the small town of Tookanu, to spend our night at Tookanu Mineral lodge. Tookanu is a very small town near Tuarangi, and houses people who want to trek in the Tongariro National Park.
In Tuarangi, we visited the local store to stock up on water and energy foods for our trekking adventure, the next morning.
Being one of New Zealand’s popular parks, The Tongariro National Park, know to the Maoris as the “land of Fire”, is a Unesco World heritage Area. The National Park houses the three active volcanoes of Mount Ruapehu, Mount Ngauruhoe and Mount Tongariro and gives its visitors a challenging, yet fulfilling trek on the volcanic soil surrounded by spectacular scenery.
We reached the Mangatepopo car park at around 8.00am. With a map in hand and hiking poles we were all set for our 9 hours journey ahead. With the snowy Mount Ruapehu onto our right, and snow capped Mount Tongariro with its craters in front of us, it was an awesome sight. We were excited but at the same time nervous since this was our first unguided trekking adventure.
It took us almost 30 minutes from the car park to Mangatepopo valley. The main track from Mangatepopo valley was of a gentle gradient and we slowly began to relax and enjoy the experience. We observed the different types of vegetation on the volcanic soil of the park. The younger dark lava surface had only lichens and mosses and as we progressed and as the volcanic soil grew older and more fertile we saw the growth of bigger plants. Our track led us to Soda Springs and we decided to stretch our legs and hydrate ourselves, for a few minutes after almost an hour of brisk walking.
From Soda Springs it was a steep climb from 1400 meters to 1600 meters above sea level to the South Crater and it took us close to 2 hours to reach the crater. Oh Boy!! The climb was steep and needed quite a bit of determination for first timers. Each step ahead was a rewarding experience as the views of valley below was stunning. As we neared the South Crater, the views of Mount Tongariro right in front of us simply left us spell bound by its sheer magnificence and power. The track was not smooth due to years of volcanic lava flows and we thanked our good trekking shoes and our poles for providing us with the right support as we inched up.
From the South crater we followed a poled route which led us to another start of a steep climb on a ridge to the Red Crater, which is also the highest point of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. The climb was challenging as we were on loose scoria, which moved under our feet and this required a lot of core balance. As we neared the Red Crater, it became very windy and slightly chill and we were surprised by these sudden changes in weather. The Red Crater looked scary as it is still active and filled the air with the smell of sulphur, but we were rewarded by spectacular views of Oturere Valley and Rangipo dessert on one side and the mesmerizing Emerald and Blues lakes on the other. Our joy knew no bounds and we just enjoyed the view, with the chill wind blowing on our faces.
The Track continues to the Emerald lakes and then to Ketatahi Hut, but we decided to turn back to the Mangatepopo Valley, from where we started.
We stopped midway to the South Crater to snack on some energy bars and enjoy the views, once again, as these are some precious moments enjoyed once in a life time.
It was slow and steady trip downhill and we were relieved when we finally reached Soda Springs. We stretched ourselves in the ground for a while and smiled to ourselves, proud of our wonderful achievement. From Soda Springs it was a good 2 hours walk to the car park. By this time the sun was down and the evening clouds were setting in and as we neared the Mangatepopo valley we bade good bye to these fierce but mesmerizing mountains.
Bruce and Winnie met us at the car park and we drove back to Tookanu Mineral lodge, to have a hot shower and then to have some buffet dinner in a family restaurant in Turangi. It was tiresome, yet the most memorable day in our entire New Zealand trip. During dinner, we were happy and sad – happy with these amazing memorable experiences in New Zealand and sad since it was the last night in New Zealand.
The next morning we were all set by 6.00am to drive back to Auckland. On our way to Auckland, we stopped in Hamilton, at Donovans Chocolate factory to buy some good New Zealand Chocolates. From Hamilton it was about an hour’s drive to Auckland International Airport. As Bruce dropped us at the departure bay, we were filled with tears and thanked the elderly couple who made our trip fun and enjoyable and it was like one big family experience.
As we closed our eyes in the flight, my mind was filled with a kaleidoscope of images from all that we saw and enjoyed in one of the most beautiful countries on Planet Earth. Haera ra (farewell) New Zealand!
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS
· BRUCE & WINI (for North Island private tours) bruce@alphatours.co.nz
· Auckland Bed & Breakfast inns Great South Road
· Auckland Whale & Dolphin Safari www.explorenz.co.nz
· Billy Blacks Culture show www.woodlynpark.co.nz
· Hamilton hot air ballooning www.kiwiballooncompany.co.nz
· Helicopter tours (Rotorua) www.agrodome.co.nz
· Maori Culture Show http://mitai.co.nz
· New Zealand honey www.honeyhivetaupo.com
· Tongariro Alpine Crossing www.tongariroexpeditions.com