We spent our New Year’s Holiday in New Zealand from the 24th of December 2016 until the 12th of January 2017. New Zealand’s greatest asset is its varied and unique nature.
On this relatively small territory there are loads of interesting places, some of which are unique. Snow-capped mountain peaks, scenic valleys, green meadows, vineyards, geysers and mud baths, golden beaches, fjords, caves, and volcanic lakes located relatively close to each other mean that you can spend a fun and varied three to four-week holiday in this country.
Our route was traditional enough:
North Island:
Flight into Auckland, car rental: Hobbiton, Rotoura-Whakatane (White Island) Caves Waitomo-Tongariro Alpine Crossing – Wellington.
South Island:
Ferry to Picton – Karamea (Opararu basin) – Hokitika – Franz Josef Glacier – Wanaka – Te Anau (trip to Milford Sound) – Catlins coast – Oamaru – Twizel (Mt. Cook) – Christchurch, flight to Auckland and home from there.
The trip proved to be very varied, and rich in both the impressions it left and the views it provided us with. We were lucky with the weather, and throughout the entire time we were there we only had one rainy day, although a couple of times we had to improvise and change our plans, adapting according to the weather forecast for the following day.
NORTH ISLAND:
We didn’t plan to go around the entire Northern Island and decided to focus on those places which the guide-books said were absolute ‘must-sees’.
Our personal favourites and highlights from the Northern Island are:
White Island
Lost World Cave and Glowworm Cave in Waitomo
Tongariro Alpine Crossing Hike
Lost World Cave and Glowworm Cave in Waitomo
Tongariro Alpine Crossing Hike
The White Island is a geothermal reserve and you can only visit it as part of an organised excursion, either by boat or by helicopter.
We chose the boat and at around 8 in the morning our boat sailed from the pier of the small resort town of Whakatane. The town itself is incredibly pretty and you should definitely stay the night there before a trip to the White Island. Located 4km from the centre, Ohope Beach is perfect for surfing and long walks along the shore.
On the White Island there is always white smoke coming from the top of the active volcano, which is where the name comes from. The island is 50km from the shore, and it takes 1 hour 15 minutes to get there by boat. Landing on the island is carried out with the help of Zodiac boats moored to the metal staircase which leads to the shore.
A rather large eruption took place here at the start of the 20th century which took the lives of a few workers who were there mining sulphur. Since then the island has been uninhabited.
The surface of the island fizzes and foams, the ground erupts jets of hot steam and oozes sulphurous streams.
After being on the island for about three hours we headed back. On the way back an enormous number of dolphins accompanied us for quite a long time, jumping out of the water right in front of the nose of the boat, as if competing against it, trying to see who is faster.
One more unusual place is the karst caves of Waitomo.
he most famous cave is Glowworm, where millions of glow worms make the walls of the cave look like a fantastic night sky, while tourists with float with baited breath in complete darkness down the underground river.
You can find photographs of this place on the internet, as taking photos is banned in the caves themselves.
There is always a huge number of tourists in this place, but that doesn’t make this sight any less exciting. If you feel like escaping the crowds of people, then I can recommend that you take either the first or last tour of the day (during the New Year’s Holidays the caves were open until 19.00, at other times they close earlier).
The cave system is very wide and varied and we wanted to do a bit of research beforehand, so we reserved a ‘Lost World’ tour with the ‘Waitomo Adventure Center’. In the space of 4 hours we got to go down 100 metres on a rope, walk through part of the underground cave, look at a small colonies of glow worms and go back up.
For safety reasons the organisers don’t allow you to take photos (even with phones), but our accompanying guide took a few to remember the occasion.
Here they are.
In the beginning we had to get changed into special jumpsuits and boots and do some training.
Then you get lowered down on a rope from a platform into the romantically named ‘Lost World’. The descent is very impressive, because the walls of the cave are covered in an emerald green carpet of plants and at times it felt like we were in Jurassic Park. The cave system is extensive and confusing, and colonies of glow worms live in small caves, which you can go up to and have a look. To get back up you take the stairs.
A 15-minute drive from the caves is the town of Otorohanga, with its famous Kiwi House, where during feeding time you can observe the national symbol of New Zealand – the kiwi bird. (Feeding takes place twice a day, we went to the one at 15:30). In photos the birds seem cute and clumsy, but in actual fact they are strong and aggressive, and the whole time the spectators are standing by the cage pouring in food they let out disturbing screams and try to attack you, trying to painfully gorge and kick with their feet and muscular thighs. It makes you wonder why New Zealanders ever chose this to be their national symbol.
My third personal highlight of the Northern Island was Tongariro Alprine Crossing, which in our case wasn’t exactly a ‘crossing’.
This is a very popular and rather difficult hike, which goes through the territory of the oldest national park in New Zealand. The Maori gave the New Zealand government this land at the end of the 19th century on the condition that the earth would not be used for construction or agricultural purposes.
The length of the trek is 20km, with sharp inclines and drops in the middle of the route. The route is not circular, starting and ending in different parking lots, but a bus runs between them on a special timetable, so if you want you can get back to where you parked your vehicle.
We decided not to bother with the bus transfer and did the trek to the Emerald lake and back again.
Having left the car in the Mangatepopo parking lot you need to go along the stream of the same name for quite a while until you get to a place called Soda Springs, where the path starts to slope steeply up towards the South Crater. After that, there’s the climb up to the Red Crater, which isn’t any less steep, but it’s from here that you get the view of the Emerald Lakes.
On the North Island we saw some other interesting places, too.
Rotorua Wai-o-tapu Thermal wonderland is the most popular volcanic park in New Zealand.
Lady Knox geyser, which goes off every day at 10.15 with the help of powdered soap which is dumped into the crater.
Hobbiton is where they filmed the Peter Jackson films about the hobbits, located in a very beautiful hilly area.
Wellington is a pretty, and despite its size, cosy city.
The most touristy street of the city is Cuba Street.
Ta Papa Museum. The most interesting part of the exhibition for us was the ethnographical section, which talked about Maori culture, and a short film about the history of the rise of the famous Haka – a war dance with chanting, made popular thanks to the New Zealand Red Socks rugby team, who use the Haka to scare their opponents before every game.
You can take a look at the city from above. To do this you can take a cable car at the botanical gardens.
Then you can go down along the terraces to the rose garden.
The best view of the city might just be from Wrights Hill Summit, where you can see the remains of the gun-fitted platforms, which were installed in the city at the end of the Second World War to defend the city from a potential attack by Soviet forces.
Ferry to the South Island.
SOUTH ISLAND
The South Island is rich in natural beauty.
My list of personal highlights from the South Island looks like this:
Oparara Basin
Forest (on the whole)
Mountain treks (also on the whole)
One of the most beautiful places on the Southern Island was the coast of the Tasman Sea near the village of Karamea.
One of the most beautiful places on the Southern Island was the coast of the Tasman Sea near the village of Karamea.
A 40-minute drive on an average quality gravel road from northern Karamea is the Oparara Basin – an area of protected forests, karst arches, caves and golden rivers.
A few easy trails start from the parking lot, but the most stunning are the ones going to Oparara Arch and Moria Gate Arch.
The golden colour of the river can be explained by the high tannin content, which is washed out from the soil.
On route from Karamea to Hokitika and further to Franz Josef Glacier and Wanaka there are a few widely known tourist spots, photos of which are featured in every report or guidebook about New Zealand.
For example, Punakaiki – the only part of the Paparoa National Park which the majority of tourists passing through the park go to visit.
An unexpected surprise for us was New Zealand’s forests, with very different types of fauna growing within 200km of each other,dozens of types of various mosses, and amazing ferns and trees from the Mesozoic period.
Our simple walk around Matheson lake in the Fox Glacier region on our only rainy day when the mountain peaks, which should have been reflected in the lake, were hidden by thick clouds, didn’t frustrate us but rather made us admire the green world around us.
The road to Fox Glacier on the Wanaka side goes along the sea for a little bit, and then diverts away from it. Along the road there are a number of notable sights, waterfalls, viewing platforms, and picnic areas.
Knight Point Lookout
The isthmus between Wanaka lake and Hawea lake.
The hikes on the South Island are of various difficulty, length, and offer various views.
We happily went to Roys Peak Track near Wanaka, easy and very scenic in the good weather.
One of the most iconic places to visit is the Milford Sound, the most northerly and most famous of the 15 fjords, which make up the Fiordland National Park. Its length is 15km while its width is less than one kilometre, and the height of the cliff faces is up to 1200m, which waterfalls flow down from.
The road from Te Anau to the fjord is already incredibly scenic, especially from the 25th kilometre onwards.
Mirror Lakes
The idyll was shortly disrupted by a bus full of Chinese tourists.
But after 10 minutes, harmony was restored.
The road continues to please with beautiful views.
Kea parrots in the parking lots attract a lot of attention.
And finally, after a three hour journey we arrive at Milford Sound.
The next day we arrive at The Divide parking lot, where the multi-day Routeburn Track starts, which leads us a few kilometres up to Key Summit.
I really liked Key Summit Track, although because of the low cloud we couldn’t see the iconic view with the reflection of the mountain tops in the lake on the plateau. However, the lush fauna along the path was very impressive.
20 kilometres from Te Anau on the other side of the famous Doubtful Sound fjord is the Manapouri Lake. In the evening the sun came out again and we got to go on a walk by the lake.
The Catlins
The southern scenic road, which connects Invercargill and Dunedin is less popular with tourists than the road along the west and easy coasts of the South Island. This road traverses the Catlins Coast, a wild coast of ancient forests, rugged bays, waterfalls, and the refuges of sea creatures and birds.
We didn’t have that much time to get to know the Catlins – half a day.
Having left in the morning from Te Anau, we went through Blaff in the hope of having lunch in a famous oyster restaurant in the town, but it turned out that the restaurant had burnt down.
In the latter half of the day we managed to go to Cathedral Coves – caves, located on the seashore, which you can only visit four times a day (twice before and twice after low tide).
That night we stopped in the fishing town of Waikawa.
The next day we drove alone the coast at a leisurely pace.
Nugget Point – a cliff rising 130 metres above sea level with seal colonies at the bottom and a lighthouse from 1870.
We ended the day on the Moeraki Boulders beach.
We spent the next day in the Mount Cook National Park area.
On the way to Aoraki/Mt. Cook national park it is impossible not to be impressed by the amazing colour of the water in Pukaki lake.
Having parked our vehicle in the parking lot of the White House Hill Campsite we walked to Kea Point Outlook.
This is how the path of the popular Hooker Valley Track looked the next day. The track leads you across suspension bridges to Hooker Lake with beautiful views of the highest mountain in New Zealand, Aoraki/M. Cook (3754m).
Next to Pukaki lake, 40 minutes’ drive from the hamlet of Twizel, where we spent the night, is another beautiful lake – Tekapo.
People love to take wedding photos by the Church of the Good Pastor on the shore by the lake.
Our New Year’s travel in summery New Zealand came to an end, we gave back our vehicle and flew out from Christchurch to Auckland and from there we flew home.
