New Zealand - from Auckland to Taupo

I arrived Auckland after 35 hours of different transportation methods. First accommodation at YHA Auckland International. After getting my room and my stuff fixed, I took a nice run to Auckland Domain which is a nice big park area just outside central Auckland. Conditions could not have been better – nice hilly grass field and temperature almost 20 degrees. In the evening a quick bite near the tower and back to the motel to prepare for the next day.

Some problems with time difference but I think it was to be expected (+11 hrs). In the morning meeting with the group and after breakfast on the road towards Coromandel Peninsula and more specifically Whitianga and Turtle Cove. In the afternoon we spend a good while with some bone crafts in a local carving shop. As a result I am now a proud owner of a Fish Hook that represents a person who is witty, friendly, strong willed and determined to succeed until the end of life.

Coromandel Peninsula viewpoint

In the evening we spend time just hanging out and doing some dinner at the motel. Next morning we got on to some seakayaking at Mercury Bay & Cathedral Cove. Me and my paddle partner ended up soaking wet after turning the kayak upside down once. After the wet adventure we headed to Waitomo (Kiwi Park) for the night. While driving I got strong Finland and Switzerland wibes since the similarities between these countries are clear: well organized, unspoiled nature, agriculture dominated landscape, small towns, expensive prices.

Hakatours seems a good choice so far – everything nicely handled. Would not like to be on Kiwiexperience bus which is full of teenagers and known also as the shag bus around here. Bar scene is almost the same everywhere – why come this far unless the emphasis is on the destination and journey itself? I’m officially old after writing this. Oh, one more observation – price level here is very high, almost Norway-high. Especially restaurants charge shameless prices for average stuff. On top of that internet is basically always with additional cost. I’ll try to get some local sim-card with data plan since also the roaming is ridiculously expensive even on sms.

At Waitomo we did the famous black water rafting and saw the glowworms at the Ruakuri caves. This was actually quite nice activity although you get a bit chilly while tubing in cold water. Our guides were excellent and overall the business was well handled by Black Water Rafting co. We kept on going towards Rotorua and on the way we stopped at AgroVentures activity park where some of us enjoyed ride on a speedboat and got a feel of a skydiving simulator. We arrived Rotorua and nice and new YHA there in the afternoon and in the evening we headed for Maori culture display at local Mitai-village. I’ve seen this kind of cultural displays before (Tanzania, Peru x3, Ecuador) and I have to say that this was really good and the food cooked at Hangi (hole in the ground) was just great.

Next day we also visited some thermal park called Wai-O-Tapu thermal wonderland which was a nice display of the volcanic activity within the area of Rotorua. From Rotorua we drove to Taupo where we were supposed to do one of the activities I was really looking forward to – the Tongariro Alpine Crossing which is a demanding day hike at the mountains. Unfortunately the weather conditions did not allow the hike so we got stuck at Taupo instead. We did Rapid Jet boating which was kind of a disappointment – wasn’t really that exciting or spectacular although the service otherwise was ok.