new zealand – Page 2

New Zealand South Island

February 4, 2017 by Alicia Leave a Comment

After two weeks of traveling in a campervan on the south island of New Zealand and little to no internet most of the way (for me, Brian did get a phone plan that helped tremendously but the west coast really had little service). We are back in Christchurch for a couple nights and I spend a few hours catching up on uploading photos and figuring out just where the photos were taken along the journey. I think I am still processing just all the many places we saw in our 10 days on the road. I plan to put together a list of things to see on the South Island, but for now, I thought I would reflect on the journey a bit as I process everything.

Here is the journey we basically took:

First off, the south island of New Zealand is a beautiful place. The west coast mountains are spectacular. Then you get to the glaciers and you are like, wow. Oh and the waterfalls. Go to Milford Sound and you will see many many waterfalls. I lost count after we passed about 5. Also how do you count waterfalls, if one turns into 20 down the mountain?

milford sound tour south island new zealand — milford sound

I would say the challenges of the trip (besides the number of times I bumped my head on different parts of the campervan…) were the roads going up, down and all around. I get motion sick in cars with elevation and twisty curvy roads. The milford sound trip was bad for me but luckily we stopped in Te Anua, a small cute town I would love to spend a day in, and got some motion sickness meds. They helped for a short time for the twisy curvy roads, but elevation, not so much. Milford Sound is also basically boat tours and I get motion sick on boats too. We started with lunch and the food actually helped at first because I was so hungry and then I ate too much too fast and was kinda ehhh. It was rainy outside and towards the turn around part of the boat tour we hit rough waters. Luckily that was pretty short lived. I was distracted by talking to a French girl, her mother and another girl from China.

It wasn’t until a week into our 2 week trip that we went to Milford Sound and we did a bus trip so that we could have some social time with others traveling. Brian was also able to enjoy the ride (much more than me) and see all the waterfalls, etc.

truman beach south island new zealand — Truman Beach look out stop

After Milford Sound, we discovered that when I listen to podcasts, it really helps to distract my mind from the curves of the road. It was then that we downloaded some podcasts and started to listen to podcasts on our drives. It really helped to pass the time. Much of the west coast, you don’t get a phone signal or anything. You also only get radio stations for maybe 5 minutes as you pass through a town. Podcasts were a great solution and now we are learning some “hardcore history” as that is the title of the podcast. Every so often I tune it out and just glance out the window at the scenery. I’m not sure how much I am getting out of the history podcasts, but it’s better than nothing and there is no test like school.

We made our way up the west coast, stopping by lookouts and doing quick 15 minute walks through the forest area when possible. The great thing about New Zealand is there is nothing that can kill you in the forest so it is quite safe. So much of the west coast you can point out where the land was originally settled on and then where the land remains untouched. My photos certainly don’t do the mountains justice.

While driving through New Zealand, you will see a lot of sheep. There are approximately 10 sheep for every 1 human in New Zealand. Somehow the sheep haven’t figured out how to take over yet lol. The sheep have plenty of land so I guess they are happy. Then there are cows and some red deer that are farmed.

The weather while we are here has been strange according to New Zealanders. I mean it is supposed to be summer since they are opposite of the US. Usually summer means about 30 degrees C (86 degrees F), however, we have been lucky if it hits above 20 C (around 68 F). Jeans and a sweatshirt were my typical outfit or a rain jacket, because it also rained about every other morning off and on. Then the sun would come out at 5pm…it has been interesting. New Zealanders are not happy that their summer weather has been so awful. However I can’t complain too much because it is still warmer than home at the moment.

fox glacier south island new zealand — Fox Glacier in the background

A bonus part of camping (for me) was just being able to see so many stars. One night towards the end of our journey, we stayed at a campsite off the road that overlooked some mountains and from our back window we could look up and see the stars. Due to the summer hours of daylight, it has been light from around 6:30am to 9pm and sometimes I don’t make it long enough for it to be dark enough to see the stars, but WOW is all I can say. That’s the city girl in me because I certainly don’t see that many stars at home. Brian however grew up in upper NY and could see a lot of stars and still laughs at how amazed I get at seeing stars.

New Zealand also has so many clear waters. They apparently have enough fresh water to last at least another 150 years. Most of the water from a tap (unless otherwise stated) is safe to drink. It is so comforting to know that and New Zealand is so fortunate. At the same time, they are also quite water conscious especially at campsites.

Most campsites we had a shower available, some you had to pay and we would skip a night, but otherwise not too bad. I did wash my hair with only conditioner for a week because that’s all I had. My hair actually got less frizzy and the curls really started to show. Definitely not terrible. This trip has definitely shown us how we can live with less stuff and I hope I continue to keep that in mind not only when traveling but also when I return home.

I think I will end my little ramble there and start to work on some sites to visit as I know you are planning your campervan trip to New Zealand now right?!

Do you like to camp?

Have you ever been to New Zealand?

The First Month of Travels: MIMM #102

January 30, 2017 by Alicia 2 Comments

A few days ago marked 1 month that I have been out of the country. What an adventure this first month has been so far! We have seen so much and it is still just the beginning really. Everything has pretty much been planned on the fly, so we ended up staying in Sydney for 2 weeks (check out my top things for Sydney). I think Brian really enjoyed it, as did I. It was nice to be back in a familiar city for me and we somewhat had a routine since we stayed in the same apartment for 12 days.

first month Sydney giraffe taronga zoo — Feeding Giraffes at Taronga Zoo Sydney

We then decided to head to New Zealand for 3 weeks. At first we thought the visitor visa was only 1 month and we figured 3 weeks was enough. We spent basically a full day planning the flights as you have to have your return flight in order to go there. We figured 1 week on the North island and 2 weeks on the South and I think that has worked out really well. Also, turns out the visitor visa is good for 3 months, in case anyone plans to travel to New Zealand, you can spend more time. Though we have about 5 days left of our New Zealand adventures, I think the amount of time we spent here worked out well. There are plenty of things (adventures) to do, but very expensive. Most of our South island adventures have been free walks at stopping points along the main road we are on. There is definitely a benefit to having a campervan and planning on the fly as to where you are staying. Some days, we make it 50km and other days we drive 200km, depending on the amount of stops.

queenstown travel first month — view near Queenstown NZ

Towards the end of our South Island adventures, we have been becoming more social with others who are traveling. It helps when the camp sites have something like a hot tub for use and suddenly you strike up a conversation with others. It is interesting to learn where people have been traveling from, how long they plan to travel and at what point in their journey they are. Sometimes we learn other places to go. Actually, just talking to some locals, we learn of some not so tourist spots to stop at and since our schedule is flexible, sometimes we can fit in the stops.

thunder creek falls — Thunder Creek Falls

I have to say this first month hasn’t been cheap at all! Australia and New Zealand are both expensive, which I knew, but there are some things that we were spending money on in the beginning that we have stopped, like getting a coffee or buying certain items at the grocery store that are more like treats and not necessary. The other thing is we haven’t stayed in any hostels, but we might try some when we head back to Australia as it is fun to chat with others around our age who are also traveling for months. I don’t really like sharing a room, but it may help us save on costs as well.

So what’s next? Well next week we are headed to Melbourne and exploring there and up to Alice Springs. We haven’t worked on the details on if we are renting a car, taking a bus tour and how many days. We should probably get on that soon…

dancer eglinton valley — dancer pose in Eglinton Valley NZ

We are also thinking of looking for a farm job of some sort along the way. I don’t know exactly when that will come into play, but it would be nice to have a bit more of routine for a month or something and earn a bit of money.

So far, enjoying the travels for as long as we can make it work!!

Thanks Katie for the link up

Have you ever been backpacking?

Rotorua New Zealand: 5 Budget Places to Go

January 22, 2017 by Alicia Leave a Comment

After 4 days exploring Rotorua, I decided to put together a few places that are fun to see and fit a budget. All of these activities could be done in just a couple days if you plan it out. We visited quite a few parks and one thing we noticed was that many parks charged an entrance fee. Essentially everything had a fee, which can make a trip quite pricey. To help you be more prepared than I was for the trip, I have put together a list of a few of the activities we did that were a lower price fee (under $40) or free.

What you should know about Rotorua is that it is the volcanic area consisting of lots of geothermal activity. It is important to stay on marked paths because even if you think something looks solid, it might crumble beneath your feet and you may not be far above boiling water. With that said though, I don’t want to scare you, as Rotorua is a beautiful place. Due to all the hydrogen sulfide in the air, certain areas may smell like rotten eggs, but I honestly didn’t find the smell that bothersome (if you have ever been to Hawaii Volcano national park, I felt it was worse in some areas there). Below are some ways to enjoy the variety of activities the area offers.

Wai-O-Tapu

Price: $32.50 per adult

This was definitely one of my favorite parks that we visited in Rotorua. I recommend getting there by 10am to see the Lady Knox Geyser first. They set it off at 10:15am every morning. It would go off by itself about every 72 hours, but they have a way of inducing the geyser which is cool to see. After watching the geyser, you can take a walk through the park. What I loved about this park was that there were 3 trails clearly mapped out on the guide and there were about 30 places marked to see along the 3 trails. I recommend taking the longer trail which only takes about an hour and a half, but if you don’t feel like you have that much time, there are 2 other options. The map is easy to follow throughout the trail(s) and it gives a little bit of information about why they named certain areas a specific name. My favorite was the artist’s palette, easy to see why they named it that because of all the different colors you see. This is purely natural and just the way that different minerals react with one another. Nature really is beautiful!

2. Skyline Rotorua luge track

Price: Gondola and 5 luge rides regularly priced at $56 but Christmas to the first week of February offers Night ride package at $39 starting at 6:30pm

If you are looking for more adventure, Skyline is one of the places to go. There are tons of different activities like zorbing and sky diving and more through Rotorua, but they definitely don’t come cheap. I found the Skyline luge track to be pretty affordable. It worked out for us that we were traveling at a time that they offered a night rate at a discount. So if you aren’t visiting Rotorua between Christmas and the first week of February, this is a bit more pricey at $56 for 5 rides (cheaper if you do fewer rides), but if you are visiting during the summer, they offer the gondola and 5 luge rides at $39 between 6:30 and 10pm. I didn’t even know about the luge track until we were on the bus to Rotorua and asked some other people what they planned to do. I was a little hesistant at first with how fast they went, but the luge is controlled by you and there are 3 tracks; scenic, intermediate and advanced. It is required to ride the scenic one first I believe and then you can do any of the others for your other rides. This is a great activity for a family with kids as well. Little kids can ride with you on the scenic or intermediate track and if they are a certain height, they can drive their own luge down the track. Super fun!

I will also mention that we upgraded to add in the zip line and 10m freefall for another $40. This is optional, but shows you how there are many options at this park area. I love zip lining. I was afraid about the freefall, though it’s not that high really. It was just really hard for me to drop off backwards, so I was pushed and it was quick, but not something I personally would normally do. If you are into that though, by all means, go for it!!

3. Redwoods (Whakarewarewa) Forest

Price: tree walk $25; other walks FREE

On our last day in Rotorua, we checked out the Redwoods forest. We had plans to do the treewalk, but when we found out it cost $25, we just decided to pick a trail to walk. We picked the green trail which I think was about a 2 hour walk with some fitness level. We didn’t realize how much uphill we would be walking but honestly that was a short amount of the entire trail and then it was flat or downhill. It is free to walk the trails through the park and I honestly thought it was much better to see more of the part that way than the tree walk would have given us. We even crossed some of the tree walk towards the end of our trail.

If you don’t want to do a 2 hour walk, no worries. There are walks that start at a length of 30 minutes and of course there are longer than 2 hour hikes if you are into a half day hike or something. It felt really refreshing to walk among the trees and smell the fresh air.

redwoods park view — view in Redwoods Park along Green trail

4. Government Gardens

Price: FREE

The Government Gardens is a park right next to the center of town. This was another place we enjoyed going for a walk. We started at Sulfur Bay and walked the trail that went around part of Lake Rotorua. There were beautiful views of the mountains/volcanos and also some geo thermal activity from sulfur bay. This area is also a protected wildlife area. You will notice many birds around the area. They tend to be near the geo thermal activity as insects are drawn to the warmth of the areas and then end up dying if they touch the water and it makes a great place for the birds to get food that way.

5. Polynesian Spa

Price: $29 per adult

Polynesian Spa is right next to the Government Gardens and contains many mineral water pools. They source their water right from the geo thermal area and have pools filled with Priest Spring water as a Priest came to the waters and claimed sitting in the waters relieved his arthritis. There are both acidic and alkaline waters. The slightly acidic pools (Priest springs) are good for relieving aches and pains and the alkaline waters aid in nourishing your skin.

The Polynesian Spa is open late so this is a great activity for after dinner to relax in the evening. It is also nice when it is slightly cooler outside. The temperatures of the pools range from 100 degrees F to 107 degrees F. They offer an adult rate and also a family rate and have separate family pools. If you wanted, there are also private rooms with a pool for a couple. This is also $29 but limited to 30 minutes, whereas if you just bathe in the adult pools, you can stay as long as you like. The adult pools were nice, there were 3 slightly acidic and 3 alkaline pools as well as a pool that was at least 4 feet deep and 100 degrees to stretch out your legs a little more.

Polynesian spa also offers massages as well which would obviously be more expensive. I think the adult pools was a great way to experience the Polynesian without spending too much money.

If you are looking for a mud bath option, I would recommend Hells Gate. This is not really a budget friendly option, but for a mud bath and mineral water pool experience, you can get the combo package with the park for $90 a person. You get 20 minutes in the mud pool and then as much time as you want in the 2 other mineral pools. I loved this as I had never done a mud bath before, but it was a fun experience and definitely made my skin feel softer. You could also do just the spa activities for $75.

Have you ever done a mud spa bath?

Where are you planning your next vacation?

Hobbiton and Waitomo GlowWorm Caves Tour

January 18, 2017 by Alicia Leave a Comment

Sometimes you look at tours and you wonder if they are worth the price. Well I can tell you, the Hobbiton and Glow worm cave tour was definitely worth the price and far exceeded my expectations. I didn’t know what the bus trip would be like for the 2 hour ride, but the driver talked the WHOLE 2 hours giving us the history behind New Zealand.

The native Māori people were living in New Zealand for a few hundred years when the British discovered the island. Captain James Cook made friends with the Māori and sailed to New Zealand multiple times introducing them to new plants and livestock. It wasn’t until the 1800s though when Britain signed a treaty to own the land of New Zealand. It was then that 2 brothers back in London decided to make fliers to advertise buying land in New Zealand. These 2 brothers had never seen the land but they advertised calm waters and plenty of farm land. Well what they didn’t know was that the waters from the West were rough and the land was entirely covered in bush and native plants. However they made good money and the very wealthy British people bought land.

In order to get to their land though, it was a 6 month trip down to New Zealand which still wasn’t even on maps. They were uncharted waters and they soon discovered the lies in the advertising when they tried to dock on the western side. Let’s just say most of their furniture didn’t make it to shore and ended up sunk underwater. But once they had arrived, they had to make due. They started to chop down trees and set up tents. However, the Māori did not like this. The Māori were the first to own the land and the more land one of them owned, the better status. The Māori ended up killing many of the first settlers. The Māori and Europeans fought for decades (about 60 years) before they ended up living semi peacefully on the same land. They even helped in the world war.

Though they were living peacefully, they were living their own lives. In the past 40 years, many things have changed. The Māori have now integrated with the schools in New Zealand. Whether you are of Māori decent or not, there is now a written and spoken Māori language taught in all public schools. Born in New Zealand, you would be known as a New Zealander. That is the name of the people.

That is just a short summary of the two hour talk on the bus ride. I found it very interesting. I had originally planned to sleep on the bus but that quickly changed as I learned about the New Zealand people and its history. Our tour guide made a good point about how in other countries you go on tours, they tell you, here is the tallest building; it is XXXX feet tall. While that might be an interesting fact, it is something easily looked up. It was great to have the knowledge of this bus driver to sum up New Zealand’s history in a way that kept my attention with some humorous stories and facts. Hearing about New Zealand in the first couple days of my trip made me look at the land in a whole different perspective and appreciate this beautiful country even more.

Well that was a bit of a long beginning, but after the 2 hour bus ride, we finally arrived at Hobbiton, our first destination. Hobbiton is located on a privately owned sheep farm, the only sheep farm in that area in fact. The original Hobbiton for the first Lord of the Rings movie was set up and then mostly torn down. I say “mostly” because they left about 7 hobbit holes when a storm came through and drenched everything. Then they had to move on to another project promising to come back. Well, by the time they did that, people had already figured out where the movie was filmed (thanks to the mountains in the background) as it was out in theaters and started calling the owner of the sheep farm to ask for a tour. So when Peter Jackson (director of the movies) asked to use the property again for the Hobbit trilogy, the owner asked if he could build it with permanent material. He agreed and said he would add even more details and that is how Hobbiton came to be.

hobbiton 4 — it was because of this big tree with a small body of water and rolling hills in the background that made it perfect in Peter Jackson’s vision

Confession: I have only watched the first Lord of the Rings movie and none of the Hobbit movies…so I can’t say I am a crazy Lord of the Rings fan, but Hobbiton was AMAZING.

Our tour guide was fun and of course knew the movies and was able to tell us what certain things were made of to look old, etc and about certain scenes like running scenes that make sense when you see the movie but then you see where they were filmed and they don’t make sense at all, like he ran from one end to another but really it was around the corner, love that movie magic!

hobbiton 2 — I loved all the little touches like these clotheslines

hobbiton 3 — got my bridge photo too even if it isn’t very hobbit like

Random fact about the photo above, in the original set up for the Lord of the Rings movie, the tree was real but it was cut down from another location and replanted. Obviously it rotted and couldn’t be kept so for the Hobbit movie when they rebuilt the set, they made a tree. The fake leaves imported from Taiwan and the trunk made of metal and other materials.

After a one hour tour, we got free beer at the end (I think that is included in the ticket price). Then with our tour, we had a buffet lunch set up. All the food was delicious and the dessert table was too.

We then headed back on the bus for a one hour drive to the Waitomo Caves for a tour to see glow worms. I knew this was something I wanted to do in New Zealand. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the cave because it stresses the glow worms out, so I just took a couple of the outside of the cave after the boat ride. You also have to remain quiet throughout so I wouldn’t recommend this as a family activity unless your kids are really good at being quiet for a while.

I don’t have much to say about the glow worm tour other than it was like looking up at stars. It was a pretty cool experience. There are also other options like black water rafting to see them, basically white water rafting but through a cave and in the dark.

Our tour ended and Brian and I hopped on a bus to Rotorua, which was part of the reason for us doing the tour as it was a way to get a tour and a ride to Rotorua without renting a car. For that reason, I believe it was also worth it. Of course you can also take the bus back to Auckland if you are staying there. I think it is nice to do the one way to save from renting a car and gas (because that is $2 a liter here so times by 4 (3.78 to be exact) and that would be like $8 a gallon!! Yeah you won’t complain about gas prices now will you?!).

I hope you enjoyed a bit of history and the Hobbiton photos. We are now 4 days into our New Zealand trip and loving it. New Zealanders or Kiwis (nickname) are very friendly and we have so many suggestions on places to see. More posts to come.

Are you a Lord of the Rings fan?

Have you been to New Zealand or is it on your wish list?

Disclaimer: All the history in this post I learned from the tour and writing from my memory so there may be errors.

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Wai-O-Tapu

2. Skyline Rotorua luge track

3. Redwoods (Whakarewarewa) Forest

4. Government Gardens

5. Polynesian Spa