On the ferry to the South Island now (vineyard tour this afternoon!)
so it is time for a North Island update. This needs to cover a couple
of weeks so it will be a top 10 this time (vaguely categorised by
region).
1. Russell - a very small bayside town in the Bay of Islands. Has a
lovely strip of restaurants on the sea front from where you can watch
a beautiful sunset while eating lovely seafood. The sea view is broken
up by other small islands and the curve of the bay which makes it even
more beautiful. It is a much nicer village than the more touristy and
commercial Paihia on the other side of the bay (although this is where
the nightlife is). The trip to Paihia is also worth it for the walk to
Waitangi island, where the treaty that defined modern NZ was signed.
It is not that striking in itself but has important historical
significance and a really nice cafe!
Our hotel in Russell was also worth a mention. Russell Cottages is
(unsurprisingly) an avenue of self-catering cottages with attractive
wooden plank facades and modern decor inside. Ours came with a small
garden and there is a communal pool if you don't want to swim in the
sea. It felt very homey and there is a local supermarket so we enjoyed
a really good night in (with some excellent local wine, which I think
might have been called Omata Estates).
2. Gallery Cafe - an out of the way cafe on the road from Auckland to
Russell. A beautifully done external balcony with amazing valley and
sea views. We only had drinks but would be an amazing place for a
sunset dinner. Nice little souvenir shop too.
3. Waitomo gloworm caves - on the drive from Auckland to Roturua. The
cave itself is pretty good especially the large Cathedral area, but it
has two really special features.
The first is a large area of feeding gloworms where you can see 100s
of the mucus strands they use to feed hanging down. Sounds really
disgusting but the appearance is more like spider's webbing and it
looks pretty special.
The second and best feature is the boat ride you take through a
completely dark area of the cave which is filled with glowing
gloworms. The effect is like the most beautiful night sky. A definite
'wow' moment.
If you want to see a live kiwi you can also stop off at the Otorohanga
bird park on this drive.
4. Wai-o-Tapu Thermal Park - in the Rotorua region, which is basically
an active volcanic region this park has an amazing collection of
boiling mud pools and lakes, geysers, sinter terraces and all the
other trappings of geothermal activity. The most spectacular features
are all the different colours of the rocks and waters which range from
lime green to red as a result of all the sulphur and other minerals in
the area. It is totally unlike anything I'd seen before. The only
downside is the pervasive eggy sulphur smell which is everywhere
including the centre of the town where you will stumble across natural
boiling mineral pools everywhere - there was even one in our hotel (42
degrees and very smelly - quite a bathing experience!)
Rotorua town also has a decent museum and a cheap baseball batting
cage in the Government Gardens which was easier than expected.
5. The Zorb - there are a million outdoor activities in NZ, but
Rotorua and the Taupo area are particularly famous for them. The Zorb
(just outside Rotorua) was the first one we tried and involves getting
rolled down a hill in a giant inflatable ball. Lots of fun but don't
do it after lunch!
6. Skyline Luge - there is a cable car that takes you up Mount
Ngongotaha in Rotorua. You can enjoy the views but most people seem to
go in order to luge (basically a sledge with steering) back down
again. There are 3 different courses with different levels of
difficulty but you can get up a pretty decent speed on any of them
and there is little in the way of crash barriers so it can be scary
but it is loads of fun. A don't miss in Rotorua.
7. Lake Taupo - the biggest lake in NZ and a very nice spot for a swim
or to skydive over if you're mad!
8. Huka Falls Jet Boat - the Huka Falls are worth seeing whether from
a boat or not. Although not high the sheer amount and force of
(perfectly blue) water is very impressive (and sufficient to provide
power to the local area). The best way to enjoy it though is on a Huka
Falls jet boat which is basically a speed boat thrill ride which zooms
you around the waters doing various tricks and eventually takes you
right up to the bottom of the falls. Totally recommended.
9. Wellington - in my opinion a much nicer city than Auckland and my
favourite city in NZ so far. A fun, arty vibe (even the civic
buildings are cool) with great shopping, eating and drinking
especially on and around Cuba St. The sort of place to take in a gig
(we saw a blues band, novelty band and terrible band in the pretty
empty Bodega club) and a film (we saw 'A Serious Man' - strange, I
still don't really get it!) It also has an excellent museum (Te Papa)
- the only one in the world to feature a colossal squid which is
impressive and scary! Finally the rose garden and begonia house at the
Botanical Gardens (travel up via cable car) were stunning. As a whole
the City reminded me a bit of a small San Fransisco.
10. Mac's Beer - we drunk this all over the North Island and found the
brewery in Wellington (which has a really nice bar and restaurant near
Te Papa). I liked the Spring Tide lager. Paul is torn between the
Amber and the Sassy red. Doesn't really seem to give a hangover
either. I wonder how well it travels to the UK...
I feel I should also mention Napier, a small town which was completely
rebuilt after the 1931 earthquake in the Art Deco style. A lot of the
buildings remain and it feels a bit like wandering around in an
episode of Poirot. A good stop off.
The South Island has a lot to live up to now!
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