Auckland > Waitomo > Ohakune > Rotorua > Hahei Beach

Auckland

When we arrived in Auckland the weather was sunny and clear. Our hotel was by the harbor and walking distance to nice shops, restaurants and our car rental. We dined early at a modern Greek restaurant that was a great way to end the journey and rest overnight. We picked up the car and headed to Waitomo. John is rocking as the driver.

Waitomo

We’ve had a great two days in Waitomo. Our AirBnb was a home on a 700-acre working ranch with great views of pastures and countryside. Last night we met Fred and Barbara from England at dinner and talked for hours. Today we visited the caves and it was a glorious two hour tour, descending 150 meters underground on some truly astounding infrastructure. Waitomos’ claim to fame is its caves and magical glow worms. Depending on your level of strength and curiosity, you can raft the underground rivers or repel 300 meters down and hike the river bottom. About those glow worms: They are actually maggots. They glow to attract their prey, insects that find their way into the caves via a subterranean river. The insects are drawn to the starlike glimmer of the worms/maggots. They think the light is leading them out of the cave when they are actually being led to dinner. Nature, once again, teaches us about the dangerous draw of shiny things. In the afternoon we opted to drive to a Nature Sanctuary to view a protected site for birds. Lots of exotic birdsong, but few sightings in the late afternoon and dense forest. Oh, one sighting. An endangered owl. Quite a find for any birder. For Kate, it was dumb luck and a really good camera.

Ohakune

We’ve spent two days in Ohakune, a small town a bit off the usual tourist track. Kate has been fighting a cold but was quite the trooper today, getting out and hiking for 2.5 hours. After a 45 minute drive from town we walked the 2 hour loop to Taranaki Falls, the most popular hike in the Tongariro National Park. The volcanoes have not been active in several years. It was our first real hike, and tonight we are dragging! This was the easy hike! Regardless, this post will be brief as we are gassed. Tomorrow we head for Rotorura, a very popular site for tourists with many attractions including the lake, bicycling, speed boats, zip lines, etc. Kate is thinking spas. From now on, she will be leaving her hiking poles in the car, always at the ready.

Rotorua

We arrived in Rotorua late yesterday afternoon, and oh my, what a wonderful spot we landed in! Our AirBnb is right on the waterfront of Lake Rotorua, in a beautifully appointed home, with its own private beach. Hundreds of Black swans dot the seashore, all about 30 yards offshore. They sound like a group of children in a distant playground. Even with their song, we are enchanted with the quiet. The place is called “Wytchwood Lake House”. Some of the ladies will recognize a sister as our host. She absolutely is one of the tribe.

We were pretty exhausted when we arrived, between the driving and go-go-go of the last week. Kate is still recovering from a travel cold. We did venture out to the town center of Rotorua for dinner. First time driving in the dark. The Google Maps on both phones went bonkers. We got lost. Lovely. But, when we returned home, we sat out on the porch and had extraordinary stargazing. There was the Milky Way! This was a first for both of us Wow!

We decided today would be a rest day. We slept in late and ventured out about noon to a fabulous breakfast at a local favorite. We were seated amidst families with small children. So interesting to see the way the Kiwis let their children, even the little toddlers wander on their own. The little ones develop confidence early as they explore on their own meeting other people. One two year old actually tried to leave with another family. No helicopter parents here. After breakfast, we took a nearby trail to view waterfalls and giddy tourists running the rapids. Later tonight we will watch the sky. Professor Google says we should see the Southern Cross and Centarius. We hope for clear skies. It looks promising!

Day 3 Rotorua

Hold on. How old are you two? We played all day. First, a two hour zip-line adventure through a tropical forest. We had two guides all to ourselves learning about the history of the Māori culture as we walked through the forest. Between learning what plants were edible and the significance of the Silver Fern, we flung ourselves down four separate zip lines with waterfalls below. We also trekked over a very high, but rustic wooden bridge. By the end of the morning, John no longer carried a life long fear of heights. How did that happen? In the afternoon we went separate ways for a bit. Kate went to a lakeside spa for a massage and a soak in mineral pools. John went to Rotorua Skyline to luge down a steep track. The track is reached by riding a gondola up and go-carting down. Then back up again. In the evening we dined at home. Right before bed, the sky cleared and the stars showed more constellations. Tuesday morning, on the way out of town, we stopped at a local secret wellspring, for a walk among the 100 year redwoods. This forest was planted after WWI as a memorial to those lost. It’s extraordinary to see our California Redwoods growing tall among tropical palms.

Waihi Beach (our favorite mistake)

We thought we were going to Hahei Beach (pictured above on a sunny day), but JW actually booked us at Waihi Beach, about 2-hour drive of winding roads south of Hahei. At first we thought we were screwed, but it turned out to be a blessing on our wet, windy day. Most people know that Kate suffers mightily from motion sickness. Get me on a curvy road, and nausea is sure to follow. What most people don’t know about John and Kate is that we are not really beach people. Yep, even though we live in a beach town, sand and ocean is not our thing. But, how can we not visit a coastline that looks like this? What the picture doesn’t show is the road in and out of said coast. Miles and miles and miles and miles of glorious tropical mountains. Mountains mean, “Let the nausea begin.” If it was a sunny day, I would have endured. It was not. The only lousy weather we had was on the Coromandel Pennisula. So, we walked out onto the blustery beach, talked to a local fisherman who had hopes of catching a King Fish, local fish that can get as large as a tall man. We had a delicious lunch at a place whose Indian/ Kiwi owner really liked talking about tea. We returned back to our extraordinary Airbnb that was built by the woodworking host. We ate out of their garden for dinner and gorged ourselves on pineapple guava that was falling off of the backyard tree all night long. Incredibly delicious. Oh, and because John is John, he brought all the technical equipment that allowed us to connect to Apple TV. We caught up on our shows. What to do on a rainy night?