Kia Ora! New Zealand North Island
1st to 8th March 2017
Although technically the furthest we've ever been from home, New Zealand has felt the most familiar, the most like Ireland.
I've always had a feeling I would love New Zealand, and after our first week exploring the North Island, I'm happy to confirm that I was right.
This place is, to quote a favourite Kiwi saying, "sweet as...".
We arrived to tasty pizza and a dramatic downpour in Auckland. Although we headed off after only 1 night and a quick catch up with Angela, it does seem a really cool city.
Part of the reason we chose to book our campers with Escape Rentals was that every van has a different design spray painted on the outside. We got polar bears. Awesome polar bears! Unfortunately, I couldn't think of a better name for the van than "Poley", but it remained a very cool mode of transportation despite that hinderance, attracting thumbs up and smiles from non-English speaking tourists and the attention of a toddler on our campsite who almost locked Nick in to get a better look!
Poley the van took us to many places on the North Island, starting with Whatipu Science Reserve, a nature reserve nearly an hour from any kind of town.
Arriving there the first night, we stood on the beach and as cheesy as it sounds, I really did feel on the edge of the world. Sometimes New Zealand just takes you that way...
Our next stop was Raglan, a very cool surfing town that was so much fun, we stayed 2 nights.
We tried our hands (and legs) at surfing again here, with Nick making really good progress catching waves, and me simply belting along on my belly, happy for my board to be carried by a wave whether I'm standing or not!
Midway through the week, we arrived at Matamata, parked our van at a small chicken farm campsite, and took a short walk to Hobbiton.
The excitement was almost too much for me as we reached the first group of hobbit holes, and after an hour of exploring this truly marvellous set, my face was sore from smiling so much.
In true hobbit fashion, we were welcomed into the Green Dragon Inn for a tankard of stout, a sit by the fire, and a feast of epic proportions.
Our Middle Earth adventure ended by the Party Tree, lit up by our handheld lanterns and colourful party lights (presumably leftover from Bilbo's 111tieth birthday!).
I wondered if anything could match our magic evening at Hobbiton. Luckily Legendary Black Water Rafting at Waitomo Caves was totally up to the challenge.
If you find yourself in New Zealand's North Island, I wholeheartedly encourage you to head over to Waitomo and take one of their action-packed tours. We abseiled, we ziplined in the dark, we jumped off rocks into rockpools, we floated along on giant rubber tubes. As we stared in awe at the glow-worms that these caves are famous for, they looked like a sky of twinkling blue stars above us.
Our tour included lots more than this, but the element of surprise (don't worry, all good surprises) was a big part of the fun. The glow-worms also have a secret, but I think it's more fun if you hear it waist-deep in the dark while gaping up at these twinkly guys...
Our last stop on the north island was a flying visit to sulphurous Rotorua. We settled our trusty campervan down at a campsite soley chosen for its lifesize dinosaur statues, before heading to Mitai Maori village for an evening of learning about Maori customs and eating traditional Maori foods.
We reckoned that this must be like what tourists feel like at Bunratty or the Burlington Cabaret, but in a good way...
These guys run shows 364 days a year, and it's a well-oiled production from start to finish. It's tailored for tourists right down to the mint sauce they provide with the traditionally roasted lamb (apparently they caved to overwhelming demand from British visitors!).
The only thing that kept me from feeling sad when leaving the North Island, was the knowledge that we were headed straight for the South Island.
North Island Snapshots
- Trying Pineapple Lumps (a Kiwi favourite) for the first time, and getting hooked on these chewy pinappley and chocolatey treats.
- Ageing about 10 years when I first drove the campervan over winding roads that surpass even the twistiest Donegal pass.
- Mosquito-palooza the first night in our van. We made the rookie mistake of setting up the bed at dusk, and our whiney little pals took it as an invitation to an all night Nick and Aoife buffet.
- Black sand between our toes at Raglan.
- The joy of someone knowing how to pronounce my name in Auckland (they had an Aoife working there before).
- Finding signs for "Hobbit Sushi" and "Strider Footwear" at Matamata, the town beside Hobbiton.
- Hot chocolate and cookies in the dark at Waitomo Caves.
- Sleeping by the river at Mangaokewa Scenic Reserve.
- Our Maori host greeting us in Irish at Mitai Maori.
- Working out a clever strategy for getting out of bed, into the front of our van, and on the road without ever having to put a toe outside in the torrential rain on our last morning in Rotorua.
- Birthday breakfast in a cosy café (tucked away from the Rotorua rain).