Kaikoura was the last stop for me in the South Island of New Zealand. Time for me to head north to Wellington. In order to do this I had to take a 3 hour ferry ride across the Cook Strait. This was by far the largest ferry I have been on in years. The last time I was on vessel this large was on a school day trip to Calais where all the teenage pupils spent their time productively in France buying rude playing cards and setting off firecrackers in flower beds. We set sail on time and the water was calm throughout the journey before arriving safely in Wellington harbour in the early evening.
As the capital city of New Zealand I was expecting some exciting things to do here. Truth is I have been to more exciting church jumble sales than this place. However, one good thing about the city was the Te Papa museum. Plenty of Maori exhibits on display but also a good deal about a whole host of things including the earth’s core and marine life. Worth the visit. In the evening I had a few drinks in a bar called Vinyl which had albums, posters and an old gramophone as part of it’s decor. Very cool indeed. Music was hit and miss though. Hardly think a Katy Perry song was appropriate in such a hipster environment. This was quickly cancelled out by The Clash and with it Vinyl’s creditably was restored.
I gave Wellington the boot ( awful, awful joke) leaving the city to head towards Taupo and into the heart of Lord of the Rings country. Here on the outskirts of the city is the Tongariro Crossing otherwise known in celluloid terms as Mordor. I booked a one day trek there and out of my million previous treks, okay slight exaggeration, it was the best of the lot. It was an early start with a 5am pick up before taking the shuttle bus to the start of the trek. The sun was rising as we approached setting the tone for the day with a spectacular view of the three major mountains in the area. The snow capped Mt. Ruapehu looked in especially top form as we disembarked ready for the 19km trek. 19km! Bloody hell. My feet would be in for a yet another pounding in New Zealand today.
The sky was getting bluer and clearer as the sun rose higher. I met yet another nice German girl on the bus who would accompany me on the trek ; my trip seems to be awash with meeting nice fräuleins. I wonder if there are any young women left in Germany as they all appear to be overseas. From the initial cold start it was quickly warming up as we made our way along the trail. It was a gentle 2km start as we passed by the actively volcanic, cone shaped Mt. Ngaurohue otherwise known as Mount Doom in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. With it’s multi-coloured top of reds, whites and yellows and with sulphur emanating from the holes in it’s side, the huge mountain stood an imposing figure on the landscape. From every angle and vantage point, the mountain became more and more impressive. We weren’t allowed to climb up to the top today as it was too icy thus thwarting everyone’s idea of taking a ring to the summit and throwing it into the lava as Frodo did in the movie.
Billions of photos later, we made our way further up the mountain terrain. The walk was much harder now; getting colder again and windier as we got higher up. With burning cramp and stretched calves, we reached another amazing sight. The Red Crater stood before us in all it’s …erm…redness and looking like a giant crater. From here it was a walk down the hill to see the famed Emerald Lakes; a series of sulphuric bodies of water that were fantastically green in appearance. Despite the sulphuric smell which hums of rotten eggs and my family’s living room after eating mum’s potato salad, it was a nice place to relax and have an impromptu picnic.
The rest of the trail, downhill thankfully, was a series of wonderful rock faces, volcanic geysers and a beautiful natural lake. 7 hours and 19km later, we made it back to the bus pick up point. It was an exceptionally quiet bus back to Taupo as everyone was thoroughly knackered. It was as if the driver had sprayed sleeping gas in the vehicle.
The next day I went to see a large rapid called Huka Falls before getting back on the bus to venture into Rotorua aka Middle Earth. From this city, I saw many unique natural and unnatural delights. Firstly I saw some sulphuric bubbling geysers and also some beautiful black swans in the city’s lake. Some less than smart tourists were feeding and teasing them. Oh how I wished one swan would have bitten one or two back. No dice I’m afraid. It was chucking down with rain too and I was soaked to the bone when I got back to my hostel. Of course the rain stopped and the sun appeared as soon I turned the key in the lock. Typical.
The next day I decided to take a tour to see a natural geyser eruption. At least this was what I was told. The reality was that a thousand other tourists including yours truly sit and wait at this ‘wonder’ to explode at precisely 10.30am each day. Amazing that it’s so punctual; if only London transport was this way. The reason for this precision is because it’s not quite natural. The sulphur beneath the surface is enticed to erupt by dumping soap powder into the hole which when mixed together causes it to burst into the air. Today was an exception and it was 15 minutes late because not enough soap powder had been added. When it did appear it was hardly the amazing natural spectacle I was expecting. Oh well, the surrounding nature park made up for it including a colourful sulphuric lake with various shades of orange, red, green and blue. The second part of the tour was to see a living, working Maori village. Though the guide was pleasant and said she was a villager here, it didn’t feel very authentic. This was highlighted by the contrived song and dance show at the end of the tour. I was even asked to join some others on stage to perform the Haka; the Maori war dance which the All Blacks rugby team do before their games. With my tongue out like a true Maori warrior I ambled through the charade. Luckily there is hardly any photographic or video evidence to embarrass me further.
New Zealand is very expensive especially in comparison to Asia and India. A tour I took to see the glow worms in Waitomo caves was astronomically priced; over £100 for a day trip. I hoped it would be worth it. It wasn’t. I mean it was good and the glow worm cave was beautiful with all the thousands of little guys lighting up the darkness. But for the 10 minutes I was in the boat for sauntering along admiring the view it was somewhat overpriced. Granted I did see 2 other caves in the ticket price but I have bought flights to other countries cheaper than this tour. That said it was a unique experience and way more natural than the soap powder geyser and Maori village farce.
Before I headed to Auckland to finally depart New Zealand, I joined one final tour and one that I’m so glad I did. In the heart of Middle Earth, lies Matamata or, as it’s now commonly known, Hobbiton. Yes, it’s a film set and yes, it’s not very natural in a country that has so much natural beauty. As a fan of the movie trilogy, I couldn’t pass up on this opportunity to see the Shire and transport myself into the land of the Hobbits. The landscape is lush green as you would expect with little hobbit holes dotted about the gentle hills. 19 miniature homes have been constructed here and left for tourists to wander around. Though none you can actually go inside, it is still a very pleasant experience remembering certain moments in The Lord of the Rings movies that happen here. There is the giant party tree, the maypole and Bilbo Baggins’ house. The best part was the Green Dragon pub and myself and a nice Mexican girl I met on the tour shared a drop of ale before the end of the trip. It was such a nice way to finish my time in New Zealand and not a nasty Orc from Mordor in view to spoil the experience.
All too soon, it was off to Auckland for the night with my Mexican friend to have a bottle of wine before flying off to another new continent, South America. 7 months gone in the blink of an eye. 5 months to go. And a little football tournament called the World Cup lurks around the corner. When I got on the plane I was asked by the heavyset man next to me if he could have my aisle seat. He offered me $100 US. I think it took me 3 seconds to make up my mind. We swapped seats. Funny thing was he should have waited as the plane had a few empty aisle seats. Too bad. Money was firmly in my pocket and would be much needed in South America. This World Cup will be very costly for me I’m sure. Probably even more so than a glow worm cave tour.
Ant's Adventure 