The Great Green North
We've been in New Zealand for about a month and a half now. A month and a half of pure joy. That sounds sarcastic but I mean it. Despite having one of their worst summers on record, weather wise, Ian and I have been enjoying every moment in NZ. That includes the rainy day moments when we're exhausted of being on the go, and we binge an entire series on Netflix. Seriously, when you're on the go as much as us, you start feeling at home somewhere after about 3 days. On week long stays in one location, Ian unpacks his entire bag and loads it into whatever dressers/closets we're supplied. We'll be setting up the family photos next. But, it has been the most amazing experience.
We started in Auckland, where we had to adult for a few days: bank accounts, IRD numbers (SIN numbers in Canada), a car, insurance, cell phones, all that good stuff. Harder to get all in a couple days than you would guess. Once we had wheels, Goldie the Goat, we jetted off everywhere. West coast beaches, spent a day exploring Waiheke Island (aka the island of wine and beaches), trips to Pak'N'Save, amongst other things. It was also where Ian first discovered $5 pizzas at Pizza Hut. Talk about delight, he was a kid on Christmas morning. When we left Auckland, we headed up north, to the most northern peninsula of New Zealand. We took our time, stopping at new beaches along the way. Our Airbnb was in the middle of no where - 22kms on a dirt road find it, also where our car got her name. But it was a lovely country house, on the kind of country roads that made you think of an Ed Sheeran song.
After exploring more beaches, and visiting Cape Reinga, the most northern point and where the Pacific and Tasman meet (seriously cool), we headed around the peninsula and headed to the Coromandel. A magical paradise of rolling hills and beaches and wine and ice cream. We caught sunrise at Cathedral Cove aka Narnia, and met a super cool California couple there that we spent Valentine's with. With visited Kuaotunu for some epically sized ice cream, dug some holes at hot water beach, visited one of the most picturesque beaches, New Chums, and had some hefty tastings at a local vineyard. And our rainy days, Ian spent educating me on everything Marvel. Sadly, Cathedral Cove claimed our GoPro while Ian was body surfing, and Ian plucked out our first dead bird from Goldie.
From there we headed to Tauranga, and the magical Mount. Our Airbnb had the cutest doggo ever, and lots of relaxing space. We hiked the mount (just super sweaty), hiked to some beaches, enjoyed some wine, and chilled out. Most importantly, we visited Hobbiton. We full blown geeked out, taking photos, quoting the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit back and forth, and enjoying a nice 9:30am ale. We also got to catch up with Fiona & Paul and their new baby which was super awesome!
From Tauranga we went to smelly but awesome Rotorua. The constant geothermal activity and sulphur scent provide some pretty neat experiences. Natural hot water streams, Ian went zorbing, we walked amongst the Redwoods, and had an evening out for a Maori experience. From there we headed to Taupo. We spent time around the lake, explored Craters of the Moon and Huka Falls. But the big thing in Taupo: jetting down to Tongariro to do the crossing. We took 8 hours to cross the plains of Mordor (much of the national park was used for filming) including Mount Doom itself. Despite the difficult climb up (more so for Ian who was carrying the supplies) it was a beautiful hike, and everywhere you looked was super epic. Except for the last hour of the hike, in particular the 2.4km you're like YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO END. But seriously, awesome day.
From there we headed over, Taranaki. The great mountain. It is perfectly symmetrical, and the majesty of that mountain is astounding. It just commands attention, I could have watched it all day (almost did when we hiked up to see it). From there we headed to Wellington where we stayed with Nicole and Alan. I met Nicole 3.5 years ago on a contiki - so yeah, this is one of my favourite parts about traveling! We loved hanging out with them, lots of wine and pizza, and authentic kiwi-ness. They took us to Feilding, where we got to enjoy the Rural Games and the Running of the Wools - it was hilarious, and just amazing. We did their engagement shoot - had wine (did I mention that?) and enjoyed our time hanging out with them! We walked the paths of the dead and hid from the Ringwraiths to "get off the road!" It was the perfect weekend to say farewell to the North Island - for now.
We started in Auckland, where we had to adult for a few days: bank accounts, IRD numbers (SIN numbers in Canada), a car, insurance, cell phones, all that good stuff. Harder to get all in a couple days than you would guess. Once we had wheels, Goldie the Goat, we jetted off everywhere. West coast beaches, spent a day exploring Waiheke Island (aka the island of wine and beaches), trips to Pak'N'Save, amongst other things. It was also where Ian first discovered $5 pizzas at Pizza Hut. Talk about delight, he was a kid on Christmas morning. When we left Auckland, we headed up north, to the most northern peninsula of New Zealand. We took our time, stopping at new beaches along the way. Our Airbnb was in the middle of no where - 22kms on a dirt road find it, also where our car got her name. But it was a lovely country house, on the kind of country roads that made you think of an Ed Sheeran song.
After exploring more beaches, and visiting Cape Reinga, the most northern point and where the Pacific and Tasman meet (seriously cool), we headed around the peninsula and headed to the Coromandel. A magical paradise of rolling hills and beaches and wine and ice cream. We caught sunrise at Cathedral Cove aka Narnia, and met a super cool California couple there that we spent Valentine's with. With visited Kuaotunu for some epically sized ice cream, dug some holes at hot water beach, visited one of the most picturesque beaches, New Chums, and had some hefty tastings at a local vineyard. And our rainy days, Ian spent educating me on everything Marvel. Sadly, Cathedral Cove claimed our GoPro while Ian was body surfing, and Ian plucked out our first dead bird from Goldie.
From there we headed to Tauranga, and the magical Mount. Our Airbnb had the cutest doggo ever, and lots of relaxing space. We hiked the mount (just super sweaty), hiked to some beaches, enjoyed some wine, and chilled out. Most importantly, we visited Hobbiton. We full blown geeked out, taking photos, quoting the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit back and forth, and enjoying a nice 9:30am ale. We also got to catch up with Fiona & Paul and their new baby which was super awesome!
From Tauranga we went to smelly but awesome Rotorua. The constant geothermal activity and sulphur scent provide some pretty neat experiences. Natural hot water streams, Ian went zorbing, we walked amongst the Redwoods, and had an evening out for a Maori experience. From there we headed to Taupo. We spent time around the lake, explored Craters of the Moon and Huka Falls. But the big thing in Taupo: jetting down to Tongariro to do the crossing. We took 8 hours to cross the plains of Mordor (much of the national park was used for filming) including Mount Doom itself. Despite the difficult climb up (more so for Ian who was carrying the supplies) it was a beautiful hike, and everywhere you looked was super epic. Except for the last hour of the hike, in particular the 2.4km you're like YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO END. But seriously, awesome day.
From there we headed over, Taranaki. The great mountain. It is perfectly symmetrical, and the majesty of that mountain is astounding. It just commands attention, I could have watched it all day (almost did when we hiked up to see it). From there we headed to Wellington where we stayed with Nicole and Alan. I met Nicole 3.5 years ago on a contiki - so yeah, this is one of my favourite parts about traveling! We loved hanging out with them, lots of wine and pizza, and authentic kiwi-ness. They took us to Feilding, where we got to enjoy the Rural Games and the Running of the Wools - it was hilarious, and just amazing. We did their engagement shoot - had wine (did I mention that?) and enjoyed our time hanging out with them! We walked the paths of the dead and hid from the Ringwraiths to "get off the road!" It was the perfect weekend to say farewell to the North Island - for now.
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