NZ: Auckland, Tongariro, Wellington, Wairarapa, Rotorua, Coromandel, Bay of Islands

Gonna be a long one, sorry!

Auckland

We landed in Auckland after having blasted through SE Asia and Australia at a constantly hectic pace, so it was lovely when we met up with Vera’s friends Jo and James and just kinda chilled. Small walk, shopped for dinner, then hung out and read as our friends chauffeured their kids around. A very belated thanks to Mom and Pops for doing that for us for 10 years, that must have sucked. Anyway, we had time to breathe deeply for a change. Lovely. But the next day we were on it again, taking a tour through the city (not particularly interesting), going to a museum (pretty cool), etc. And the day after that we were on our way down the wrong side of the road to Tongariro.

Tongariro

We first stopped off at Lake Taupo, which I had heard was the kiwi version of Lake Tahoe. Tahoe of course is better ;), but it’s a pretty decent comparison, as Taupo is big, has some mountains surrounding it, and most importantly, has crystal clear water. I think I’ve been in Germany too long; as we drove past beautiful deserted beach after beautiful deserted beach, all I could think about was how nice it would be to do a little swimming in my birthday suit. All it took was eight years of FKK (look it up) to overcome roughly 28 years of puritanical body shame :)

Anyway, after a quick (clothed) dip, we made our way to a town called National Park which, confusingly, is not in a national park, but is national parks adjacent. Terrible town name. At this point in time, we were in budget mode, so we had booked a hostel-type thing and had bunk beds in a private room, which is strangely amusing as a couple.

Our time in National Park had two main highlights. First, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, considered by some (a five year old german language NatGeo guidebook) to be the single most beautiful day hike in the world. An absurd statement in and of itself, but it at least gets the order of magnitude correct. It was spectacular.

The hike is about 20km, roughly the first 10 of which go steadily up and the last 10 of which go steadily down. Up, up into otherworldly, lunarlandscapes and stinky, neon turquoise sulphur alpine pools. Then interminably down through native brush and forests.

The other highlight was renting mountain bikes and biking the Old Coach Road, our first but not last taste of mountain biking in NZ.

 

Wellington & Wairarapa (Tora station)

Our next stop was Welli where we met up with Kieren and Laura, more of Vera’s friends. They gave us a tour of the city; it’s a lot like Sydney, on the water with a lot of little bays and beaches within city limits. It’s just an order of magnitude smaller. And windy. But we had lovely weather so were able to eat outside at one of the beaches and went swimming at another. Or more accurately, I went swimming, then I fireman carried V to where it was deep enough that I could throw her in. She loved it, no matter what she says!

From Welli we went east, stopping at Martinborough on our way to Te Awaiti / Tora Station in the Wairarapa. Martinborough is about a square kilometer of a town with vineyards and wineries on all four sides of its borders, perfect for a little pedal-powered wine tasting. Sunny day, wind in the hair (figuratively speaking), blood pumping in the legs, wine in the belly, slight buzz in the head…glorious. A great way to celebrate V’s birthday, complete with local bubbles in the evening.

Thankfully Kieren volunteered as designated driver, so four tastings and 20 giddy kilometers later, we were safely off onto dirt roads leading us backwards in time to Tora Station in the Wairarapa, basically a giant private farm (I think it was 6,500 hectares / 15,000ish acres) on a wild, golden coast, littered with carcasses of the industrial machinery of yesteryear. Apart from the few modern trucks and RVs dotting the campsites of the coastline, the place is as it was a hundred years ago. Our hosts stopped by to say hello as they herded their sheep to the farmhouse nearby, adding to the sensation.

Rotorua

It was hard to say goodbye to the Wairarapa, but soon enough we were off to Rotorua for some culture. I think Rotorua is famous for its geothermal activity, its Maori villages, and the fact that the Maori villages are on active geothermal areas. We toured one, learning a bit about the tribe’s history, customs, and relationship with the land. Touristy, yes, but cool nonetheless. To this day they still cook veggies by tossing them in a sack and throwing the sack into one of the non-sulfuric pools. Our corn a la pool was delicious.

We also learned that an unvented thermal had blown a few months back, swallowing the house built on top of it into the sinkhole below. And this told with the nonchalance of someone who’s seen it before and expects to see it again.

I also got my last “training” ride in on the apparently world-famous single track trails in the area. Felt like riding through jurassic park, it was incredible. Just outside of the mountain biking area was an agro-forestry plantation, and the juxtaposition was jarring. Barren, sandy soils destroyed by monoculture forestry just across the road from dark, earthy soils and a rainforest. Forestry is one of New Zealand’s top industries (who knew), and while they likely do it more sustainably than other places, it was still a pretty good reminder that our capacity to fuck up nature seemingly knows no bounds or borders.

Coromandel / Kuaotunu

From Rotorua it was off to the Coromandel, a sparsely settled peninsula with some amazing beaches. We stayed in Kuaotunu, across the road and over a dune to the beach. In addition to hiking and kayaking, we managed to squeeze in a few more surf sessions in the crystal clear water. We’re hooked. Awful, but hooked!

Whether it was the weather, the water, the beaches, the surfing, the sunset drinks on the beach, or something else, the Coromandel was probably our favorite spot.

Bay of Islands / Paihia

Our last proper stop was Paihia, where we stayed at a backpackers, along with tons of 20-something, gap-year Germans. Paihia is a launching spot for most Bay of Islands activities, almost of all of which are water-based, and virtually none of which were too appealing given that it was 20 degrees and raining. It was bound to happen eventually, but we finally had some crappy weather. More out of spite for the shitty weather than out of excitement, we did a boat/snorkeling tour which turned out to be great. Before we froze, we saw two eagle rays, a stingray, and a pufferfish, which were exciting. As amusing as hostel life surrounded by Germans was, we decided to get an airbnb in a more remote area for our last night alone together. Worth it. With the aid of some bubbly, we relived the highlights of the last two months and built up excitement for the time we’ll have together over the summer. We got another beautiful hike in on our last morning, dropped the car back off in Auckland, and that was it.

Two months down, and with them the first “part” of my sabbatical is over. Now a figurative and literal change of pace as I jump across the Pacific to Patagonia to start cycling for a couple of months. Gonna be wild!