Captivating Kaikoura

I don’t care what other towns I see in New Zealand. None of them can possibly be as stunning as Kaikoura. A photo really can’t do it justice.

In Kaikoura, as in Rotorua and Taupo, most activities are not free; as much as I would like to go kayaking, whale watching, swimming with dolphins and/or seals, and sailing, it’s just not in our budget. (We’re going to splash out on a glacier hike, but that’ll be our only splurge.) However, the views in Kaikoura are totally free, and there’s a great hike around the Kaikoura Peninsula that is chock-full of scenic views. It takes three hours to walk, not including time spent taking photos.

Tongariro Crossing

Today we did the best hike I have ever done in my life: the Tongariro Crossing. Tongariro National Park, which happens to be the second oldest national park in the world (after Yellowstone), is home to what many people call “the best one-day hike in New Zealand.” We didn’t want to do any multi-day hikes this trip, but one day sounded good to us. We picked a day at random, drove down to the tiny town of Raurimu to stay the night, and this morning we woke up early to drive to Whakapapa Village, where a shuttle would take us to the starting point of the hike.

And what a day we picked. The sky was clear, the temperature was perfect, and there were not that many other hikers- I’ve heard that this hike sometimes attracts hordes of people, and it’s bumper-to-bumper traffic just to climb up a hill. Not today. I think we have good weather mojo 🙂

The best part about it was that the hike went through such varied terrain: past a volcano… over streams, then through a crater, overlooking the real-life Mordor… then past some brilliantly-coloured lakes… through a bit of snow (it may be spring but we’re at altitude!) into grassland… and finally underneath a canopy of native bush before emerging into a carpark. My favorite part, however, was the middle part: the Red Crater, Emerald Lakes, and Blue Lake. We ate lunch by the largest of the Emerald Lakes, and I think I spent the whole time gazing at it. I would highly recommed this hike to anyone.

Mt. Doom

I have to admit, I have only seen the first of the Lord of the Rings movies, and I thought it was so boring that I didn’t see the second and third ones. In college, my friends in my Shakespearean theatre group also tended to be really big LOTR fans, and I was invited to many a LOTR extended-edition screening, but I stuck to my guns and never attended.  Now I know I have to watch them: because today, I saw Mt. Doom.

Mt. Ngauruhoe, aka Mt. Doom, looking appropriately moody

According to Bob, director Peter Jackson sent members of his crew flying all over NZ, looking for an appropriate mountain to be used as Mt. Doom. I bet when someone saw this one, they said “That’s it!” and called off the search immediately.

View from the Wrong Side of the Road

Today we rented a car. It was our first time driving on the left side of the road, so we decided it would be a good idea to drive out of the Auckland city centre. Ha ha! It’d be great fun!

Well, not really, but it’s not as bad as you might imagine. It was weird at first to be on the “wrong” side of the road, but I think we only made one mistake each, and nothing serious (I pulled out of a parking lot from the right side instead of the left.) And it’s fantastic having a car here: the scenery is unparalleled. Both Japan and the US have wide, gray freeways that really look the same no matter where you are. Luckily, NZ hasn’t discovered that kind of road yet. Their highways are primarily two-lane affairs, winding and hilly, with beautiful vistas on each side of the road. The scenery from Auckland to Rotorua is typical of the North Island, I think; it’s like a thick, lush, green carpet covering the whole country.

Typical New Zealand highway

While the roads are not exactly easy to drive on (due to the oft-sharp curves) they are far more interesting than any interstate I’ve ever been on. Let’s hope they never discover interstate highways.

I Actually Like Auckland…

So why is Auckland so interesting (at least to me)? It’s the biggest city in New Zealand, with a population of about 1.5 million people. More Pacific Islanders live in Auckland than live in the Pacific Islands. There is, of course, the Maori population (not as big as, perhaps, a few hundred years ago, but still there.) Add to this heaps of Asian students undertaking English or tertiary-level studies and you’ve got a very Asian-Pacific city. It’s also, to the rest of New Zealand, the most hated city in NZ. The way New York is the center of the universe to New Yorkers, Aucklanders (purportedly) are out of touch/ don’t care about the rest of the country. We didn’t spend enough time there to crack that nut, but I for one will stand solidly in the pro-Auckland camp. The climate’s nice, the population’s diverse, and there are heaps of events going on.

We spent today at the Auckland Musuem (who suggest a $10 donation per adult, but really force you into paying it) investigating NZ’s history. Naturally there was a very large section on Maori and Pacific Islander culture (mostly, if not exclusively pre-European contact.) The Maori section included a reconstructed marae or meetinghouse. It was stunning. Bob was enthralled and spent about 10 minutes studying the woodcarvings.

Inside of a marae, Auckland Museum

Hello from the Southern Hemisphere

We didn’t have much of an October 26th. We took off from Hawaii at 8 a.m. and crossed the International Date Line shortly after. Actually, we crossed the IDL around the same time as we crossed the equator, which was very exciting. For both of us, it’s our first time below the equator (although we have both been to Singapore, which lies just barely in the northern hemisphere.) October 27th, then, was mostly spent on an airplane, because to get to Australia you’ve got to get much, much further past the equator. After a brief layover in Sydney, we caught our evening flight to Auckland.

We went up the Sky Tower on our first full day in Auckland, the 28th. Sky Tower, for those of you keeping track, is the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. About the geography: Auckland has not one but two harbours. (And since I’m in a Commonwealth country now, I’ll be using Commonwealth spelling. Right-o.) And it’s got 48 volcanic cones in the metropolitan area. Here’s the view we got:

Auckland Harbour and Harbour Bridge

I thought Auckland was a rather boring place to really kick off our trip, and Sydney would have been a much more auspicious destination, but it’s turned out to be an interesting city. I’m glad we included it.