Auckland - Mercury Bay
Bypassing the scenic lookout from Mount Eden - one of the 70 dormant volcanoes in the region - out first stop of the day was Cathedral Cove, a stunning stretch of beach accessible only by foot or kayak. From the car park at the top of the headland, we set off down the walking track, and I struck up a conversation with three English guys - Russ, Matt and Kevin - and two English girls, Kirsty and Kate. Upon reaching the beautiful whitesand beach, we spread out our towels and were joined by several others, including Louise (another Brit), traveling buddies BJ and Ryan (English and Scottish), and Jade the Aussie. By the time we'd made the walk back up to the bus, we'd formed our own little traveling group -- The Family. Piling back on the bus, we continued to our destination for the night -- the town of Whitianga (Fit-ee-anga), the main settlement of Mercury Bay. Arriving at the cozy Turtle Cove hostel, we were greeted with a hearty homemade spaghetti bolognese dinner and cheery, clean rooms. After a few round of drinks with my new friends, I sunk into my white pillowy blankets and drifted off to sleep.
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Mercury Bay - Rotorua
After an early morning start and a much-needed coffee stop, we arrived at the Karangahake Scenic Reserve for a nature walk through the bush-clad gorge, across rickety swing bridges and through a precariously dark old railway tunnel, a remnant of the reserve's long-abandoned gold mine. Back on the road, we passed through the town of Matamata, which served as the filming location for Hobbiton in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. A few photos with the Hobbiton sign and we continued on to our destination, the town of Rotorua. The Māori name for the town is 'Whangapipiro' (Fong-a-pe-pero), meaning 'evil-smelling place' due to the rather toxic-smelling sulphur dioxide fumes from the geothermal activity in the region. The volcanic activity in Rotorua (besides releasing a rotten-egg stench) creates some of the region's most impressive volcanic geysers and hot mud pools (free spa, anyone?) That evening we enjoyed a traditional Maori experience at the Tamaki Maori Village: a customary welcome ceremony signaled our entry to the recreation of a pre-European Maori village, where they performed the haka (a traditional Maori war dance) and served the hāngi, a traditionally-cooked feast made in an earth oven, or cooking pit. With full bellies and a greater understanding of Maori history and culture, we boarded the bus back to the hostel for a night of drinks and fun.
Rotorua - Waitomo
Our first stop of the day, aside from the requisite mid-drive breakfast stop, was a New Zealand outdoor theme park, complete with a sheep-shearing show (say THAT three times fast), and plenty of adrenaline-pumping activities such as bungy jumping, Freefall Xtreme body flying (a real thing), and more. With it being too early in the morning for extreme sports and too expensive to watch sheep being sheared, Jade and I opted to catch some sun on the grass instead. Bad idea, as we had inadvertantly positioned ourselves next to the high speed Jet Boat watercourse, and -- quite without warning -- were drenched head to toe with a wall of water. On the upside, they gave us a free ride in the Jet Boat (which surges up to 100kph in four seconds!) for our troubles. From here we made our way to Waitomo, our destination for the evening. The name Waitomo comes from the Maori words 'wai' meaning water and 'tomo' meaning cave, and not surprisingly the town is reknowned for its underground limestone and glowworm caves, as well as blackwater rafting. Unfortunately, by the time we reached Waitomo the weather had turned dark and brooding, so we opted for a cozy night playing card games instead.
Our first stop of the day, aside from the requisite mid-drive breakfast stop, was a New Zealand outdoor theme park, complete with a sheep-shearing show (say THAT three times fast), and plenty of adrenaline-pumping activities such as bungy jumping, Freefall Xtreme body flying (a real thing), and more. With it being too early in the morning for extreme sports and too expensive to watch sheep being sheared, Jade and I opted to catch some sun on the grass instead. Bad idea, as we had inadvertantly positioned ourselves next to the high speed Jet Boat watercourse, and -- quite without warning -- were drenched head to toe with a wall of water. On the upside, they gave us a free ride in the Jet Boat (which surges up to 100kph in four seconds!) for our troubles. From here we made our way to Waitomo, our destination for the evening. The name Waitomo comes from the Maori words 'wai' meaning water and 'tomo' meaning cave, and not surprisingly the town is reknowned for its underground limestone and glowworm caves, as well as blackwater rafting. Unfortunately, by the time we reached Waitomo the weather had turned dark and brooding, so we opted for a cozy night playing card games instead.
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