A couple of years ago it seemed like everybody had to go to New Zealand. The Lord of the Rings movies were being released, the ‘Pure New Zealand” campaign was in full swing, and every couple of weeks I got a new email with a link of Flickr photos from yet another friend’s trip. My now husband, then just long time boyfriend, and I had never even entertained the notion of traveling to New Zealand. Australia, sure, but that island near it, why? It’s just a bunch of bungy jumping and sheep, right? But everyone kept raving about how nice it was, and how much fun they had, so when I ran across an amazing Air New Zealand fare, we decided to just go.

The only part of New Zealand’s South Island we visited was a day tour through Marlborough to taste wine, so we’ll save that story for next time (don’t worry, it has a happy ending, I fall asleep kind of drunk on the ferry crossing back to the North Island). This installment is all about our time on the North Island.

We spent a few days in Auckland, and drove out to see the dunes at Cape Reinga. We ended the trip ten days later with a nice few days in Wellington. But cities are not what New Zealand is about really, if you spend all your time in the major metros, you’re missing the point of New Zealand.

New Zealand is simply gorgeous. The coastal walkway at Coromandel is the most beautiful walk I have ever taken. There’s lush vegetation, adorable wildlife, and amazing views of the bluest water I have ever seen. It leads to the loveliest beach I have ever been on, Cathedral Cove. In describing many parts of New Zealand I end up at a loss for words, how many ways can you say something was just so amazingly-wonderfully-beautiful in a way that people believe you? As much as we would have liked to stay in Coromandel forever, thermal baths and demonic, bubbling mud pools beckoned.

We headed to Rotorua. I’m not going to lie, Rotorua is a little smelly, but it’s fine for a couple of days. It’s smelly because of all the sulphur from the myriad of thermal hot springs, geysers and crazy, bubbling mud that oozes up from the ground. There’s any number of places to check out these natural wonders, we chose Hell’s Gate mainly because of the name, and because there’s a spa on site where you can indulge in a mud bath and thermal soak.

As you can see, the front door does not belie the notion that the underworld is bubbling up along with the boiling hot mud. No matter which thermal site you visit, my advice to you is this: wear an old swimsuit, you will never, ever, get the smell of the sulphur out.

Intrigued by what lies beneath New Zealand (it’s so pretty on top, but the boiling mud makes you wonder) we headed to the caves at Waitomo. There are various ways you can visit the elaborate cave system at Waitomo, from a brief peek to a more in depth excursion, and we opted for the longer tube float through the caves. We suited up and jumped off a small waterfall into the caves. Props to our awesome guides who seemed to know every inch of the pitch black labyrinth we navigated. Pitch black is a little inaccurate though, the caves at Waitomo have some lit sections, provided by the natural lighting of the stunning glowworms that live there.

We left Waitomo for Taupo, and eventually Windy Welly to end our journey, by which time we’d figured out what everyone had been raving about. New Zealand has that rare combination of natural beauty, lovely people, weather, and exciting activities that make for a top vacation destination and happy travelers.

– Kelly G

Thinking about your own North Island adventure? Check out Viator’s North Island Adventure Guide.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 31st, 2007 at 5:56 pm and is filed under Australia & Pacific, Best of the Viator Blog, Destinations, Suggested Itineraries, Travel Inspiration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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