New Zealand and the Lord of the Rings - Part I

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. We flew into New Zealand, Auckland to be precise, from Fiji. I had just had the accident and was trying to walk, so our adventures were fairly minimal. We spent a few days there, stayed in a really creepy hostel and visited the hospital, where they confirmed my cuts were healing nicely with no infections, before heading out to see the landscape. We did have some amazing experiences while there though, we not only visited the best ice cream shop I've ever been too (Bill Clinton even stopped here on a visit in 1999), by the name of The Chocolate Boutique, but we went to the top of the Sky tower as well.







By far, in our few days in the city, Jack's driving was the scariest thing we did. We rented a car (the public transportation in New Zealand would have taken way too long, plus I was in no condition to sit on a bus for hours on end). He did an excellent job too! We did have a few instances where he drove on the wrong side of the road (over here its on the Left), but luckily no cars were coming. We then headed north to Sheep World where we saw a shy sheep shorn (say that 10 times) and learned about the natural environment before English settlers cleared the land for sheep grazing. We also learned how good possum fur is for the environment, they are a pest here and not native to the land. Possum fur is the only fur that is deemed good by the World Wildlife Fund (if you're going to buy fur, buy possum fur - its really soft too). Jack bought a pair of slippers and I'm a bit jealous.

Something you may want to consider if you visit New Zealand is that outside of major cities you will not find many hostels, hotels or B&Bs open late. We discovered this at a very inopportune time, as we were headed down the major two lane highway at 9 pm. Everywhere we stopped was closed for the night. We almost had to sleep in the car, but were saved by a very nice old woman who opened her B&B for a ridiculous rate to save us from driving off the road due to sleep deprivation. We learned our lesson!

We then headed to the Coromandel Peninsula to Thames for a night. We stayed a B&B run by a really interesting couple. They grew all of their own fruit and vegetables organically and the husband also had a wood shop (something I also dream of doing one day). Jack and I have discussed ways in which we could grow our own food as well, so it was such a great experience to see it in practice.

After our day in the car, driving around the peninsula, we found our way to Rotorua, a town with a high volume of volcanic activity. We went on a fabulous breakfast boat ride in the morning, after a night at a very good and sparse youth hostel, where we were the only passengers. Usually, they assured us, there were about 100 guests, but we were happy and lucky enough to have our own private tour. The crew gave us great pointers on where to go on the cheep, so instead of paying a bunch of money to see the boilers (like in Yellowstone) we just walked around the city to see the boiling water and mud. It was great! We also visited the Buried Village, the site of a - well you guessed it - buried village from a volcanic explosion over a 100 years ago. Although nothing like Pompeii, it was quite a site to see.

Our days drive from Coromandel Peninsula took us past Tongariro National Park, a World Heritage area. It may be most well known of late as the home of "Mount Doom" in the Lord of the Rings. "Mount Doom" is really Ngauruhoe mountain and is in the middle of two other magnificent mountains. All I can say is that the landscape is one film makers dream of. It was remarkable.

Our next stop was Waitomo, a place known for its caving and glow worms. We again stayed at a really fascinating B&B, this time it was an ostrich farm! The B&B was average, but the owners were hilarious. They were convinced by their entrepreneur son to go in on a scheme to raise ostriches years ago, so they moved to Waitomo and started the farm. We got the tour after breakfast. The eggs alone can feed 18 people! They way a ton, well really about two kilos - or about 5 pounds. You can also use their skin, feathers, and meat. Talk about a useful bird. I may not attempt eating an ostrich, but it sure makes it hard to argue not to. Jack tried an egg, he liked it well enough. I just stuck to my yogurt. We also learned that they could gut you in one kick of their leg - ouch. They really look and act a lot like dinosaurs up close (I assume of course).

After our visit at the Big Bird Inn, and our night hike to see the glow worms, we traveled south to the capital, Wellington. The drive, like all of New Zealand, was simply breathtaking.

Wellington was extremely nice, mostly due to the fact that we stayed with Peters' family friends, the McKinnon's. Although Jack and I love to backpack, and really enjoy our adventures, it was was relaxing and refreshing to stay with friends. It was a treat to have a room for more than two nights and a place where we didn't have to lock up our stuff when we left for the day. It was the perfect time too, as I was starting to miss the comforts of home.

While in Wellington, we visited Parliament at John's suggestion and witnessed a heated debate, as can only happen in the Westminster system. Not unlike the House of Commons. We also just walked around the city, took in the botanic gardens, rode the tramcar, visited the Treaty of Waitomo (the treaty signed by the British settlers and the Maori chiefs), saw an exhibition about Whales at the Wellington museum, and enjoyed home cooked meals by Avenal. It was extremely nice.

Pictures and more to come.