One of the perks living in Sydney is you live close to New Zealand! It's a 4 hour plane ride and definitely a country worth migrating to! I swear I can live in this country if things do not go well in Australia. Mainly two land masses, I went to north island first but I plan to go to south part of the country as well some time in the future (who knows when). When flying here, I recommend renting a car as public transportation is not that good outside Auckland and surely you don't want to stay in Auckland for long, you'd want to go hit the road. I think I drove more than 800 km in my stay here of 4 days! To save you from thinking of what you'd do, here is my itinerary when I went here. :) I visited Auckland city, Waitomo, Rotorua and Taupo.
Day 1 - Arrival Auckland City.
You can go around the city. I personally didn't do much in day 1, arrived at around 4PM I think. Picked up my rented car and drove to the hotel. It was late so just walk around places nearby the hotel. Stayed at Auckland Harbour Oaks. Places to visit are Sky tower (where there is 360 degree restaurant), Auckland war memorial museum, Waitemata harbour and zoo.
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| Auckland Sky tower at night |
Day 2 - Waitomo Glow Worms Cave, Hobbiton to Rotorua
The next day, drove to Waitomo Glow worms cave. It's almost a 3 hour drive from Auckland so left the hotel early - 5AM. It opens at 9AM though but thought it was better to be ahead than be stuck in traffic. So Waitomo is known for its underground caves and glow worms . I wish I had photos of the caves but it's not permitted, it's truly a magnificent experience. The cave is dark and the worms are giving this blue green bio luminescent light inside. I have bought souvenir photos with the glow worms but they are computer generated! You can go splunking and water rafting too!
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| The entrance! Photos are not allowed inside the cave though! |
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| There's a cafe outside if you want to have breakfast. |
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| Here's a sample pic from google! But it's prettier to see in actual! You absolutely must go! |
After seeing the glow worms, I drove to Hobbiton which is around 2 hour drive from Waitomo. Hobbiton is where the movie was shot. It's amazing they preserved the place and props they used at the Hobbit movie (that I haven't watched!) and made it as a tourist attraction. Entrance is pricey though! I think $79 NZD per person.
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| Hobbiton tickets and maps! Had lunch here too. |
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| Little hobbit house! |
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| These are empty small like houses used for the movie The Hobbit. |
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| The hobbit town and me the giant? Well I could pass as a hobbit actually! |
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| The green dragon inn where you can have your free drink! I had ginger beer. |
After visiting Hobbiton, I drove to Rotorua which is another 2 hour drive from here. I swear renting a car is worth the trip and would save you money and time. You don't have to rush things or wait for the bus.
Arrived in Rotorua in the afternoon maybe 4PM so had time to spare to visit Redwoods in Whakarewarewa forest. There's a variety of outdoor activities you can do such as mountain biking, trailing and exploring 5600 hectares of land consist of towering trees and different exotic tree species! A must place to visit in Rotorua.
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| Redwoods at Whakarewarewa forest |
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| Huge giant trees! |
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| I think I paid $10 to be able to walk these tracks above so I can view the trees in midair! |
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| Some floating lanterns. There are also facts you can read about tree varieties and plants found in the forest. |
After Red woods, last stop of the day was Governor's Manor. It's just a giant house with flowers.
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| It's just a house |
This was the last stop and went to hotel.
Day 3 - Rotorua and Taupo
Again it's an early drive, left the hotel at 4am and drove to Taupo I think it's 2 hour drive. This was the scariest drive in my entire life! It was still dawn, and fog everywhere! Literally can't see a damn thing on the road. It was onlya 2 way road and trucks passing by on the opposite side! Fog lights on and I was on high beam, you can only see the little yellow arrow guide lights. Swear I was awake the entire drive and scared as a single mistake will lead me to my death. Considering I was having my worst GERD here and was sleepless the entire week. I only get an hour sleep in my trip here honestly. :(
Arriving at Taupo, had breakie and saw Taupo Lake... in fog. Haha..
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| Lake Taupo. Behind this view are supposedly glacier mountains but due to the fog, I was unable to see it. |
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| Hello black swans! |
After lake taupo, you can go to Huka falls which is only a 15 min drive from Lake Taupo.
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| Huka falls looks like rapid river actually |
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| so cool! |
After Huka falls, went back to Rotorua to see Te Puia wherein you can find geysers and hot springs. You absolutely need to visit here as well. Also in preparation to drive back to Auckland need to head back. :)
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| Visit Te Puia to see geothermal valley |
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| Carvings |
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| geothermal activities |
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| Erupting geysers! |
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| Need a mudbath? |
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| Sulfuric lake |
Te Puia was my last stop. There's plenty more to see in Rotorua and Taupo I wish I had more time. Drove back to Auckland as the next day is flight back to Sydney. I would definitely come back here some time. New Zealand is always a relaxing place and everywhere you go is scenic. The air is so crisp no pollution and the people are friendly. These places will always be dear to my heart.
I just came back from India as company sent me there for a business trip. I'll tell you all about it here too after my blog post of my trip to Japan! (my upcoming entry)
