We landed in Auckland but spent almost no time there, which is unfortunate because my family has good friends and extended family who live there and a few of them had even sent us wedding gifts. But, we had a busy itinerary and left early morning on a Great Sights motorcoach tour that took us from Auckland to the Waitomo Caves to Rotorua.
We drove through the Waikato region to the Waitomo Caves - subterranean limestone caverns that house Glow Worms. What was especially nice was when to test the acoustics of the cavern, our tour group sang "happy birthday" to my husband because it was his 35th birthday on this day. (My 34th birthday had passed on the flight from LA to Tahiti, which was not so exciting and very tiring. It did help us get better seats, though). We spent the evening in Rotorua, a town that smells like sulphur, i.e, rotten eggs. It was a horrible smell but after a few hours, you stop noticing. We walked along Lake Rotorua, but our big adventure was that night when we visited Tamaki Village, a recreated Maori village featuring tribal songs/dances and a banquet of foods cooked on hot rocks and earthen ovens.
Kia Ora (the Maori greeting meaning "be well")! Now, the experience was touristy, but we met real Maori people who helped upkeep the traditions of their ancestors as their livelihood. It reminded me of Plimoth Plantation. It was a cultural experience and I got a great photo of my husband with two Maori people while doing the tribal yell. The next day, we went to geothermal springs in Rotorua and took a sulphur mud bath. That stuff is good for something - it's great for your skin!
After this quick visit to the North Island, we flew to Christchurch to experience the beautiful landscapes of New Zealand. We rented a car and I left the driving on the other side of the road to my husband. Driving on the same side was tough enough in Spain.
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island and has a quaint albeit boring main Victoria Square, with the Chirstchurch Cathedral and pretty botanic gardens. We had a delicious dinner at Indochine, a fusion of Asian and NZ cuisine. For our day trip the next day, we were undecided over Hanmer Springs (spas and hot springs), Waipara Valley (vineyards), and Kaikoura (whale watching). We chose Kaikoura - a big mistake. The drive there was beautiful, but it was a terribly windy day and the waters were choppy. We had a tasty crayfish lunch at The Craypot before heading to the whale watch.
Despite the warnings of "severe seasickness conditions" and the weary looks on the faces of the just embarked passengers, we boarded the boat. The boat ride was miserable. Soon, a man behind us was getting sick, which made me feel ill. We saw a boat across the way getting tossed about the waves and we said, "those people are going to die." They must have said the same of us. However, the crew persevered (maybe because the company offered guarantee of seeing a whale or 100% money back). About an hour in, we saw the tail tip of a sperm whale for a few seconds and the crew called it a day immediately. I still remember clinging to the deck to keep from falling over and the churning inside my stomach. To their credit, the whale watch company refunded 80% of our money.
Thankfully, we made it to a vineyard on the way back; thus saving the day from being wasted. The friendly owner, Daniel Schuster, confused then guilted us into buying three bottles of wine, though.
On to better parts of the honeymoon... Early the next morning, we departed for Queenstown. The photo above is of Lake Tekapo, one of the most photographed sites in NZ. The water really is as turquoise blue as it appears. Gorgeous! We took several photos here and stopped for lunch at a very good Japanese restaurant before marching on to Queenstown.
We were exhausted from the 6 hour drive, but ready for the next morning's coach tour through the Southern Alps to the Milford Sound. We saw Silver Fern (the photo at the beginning of this blog) and mountainous landscape.
We arrived at the Milford Sound for a scenic cruise along the sound to the Tasman Sea while passing Mitre Peak. A final highlight to our vacation was the quick, small plane flight back to Queenstown. What a sight! Flying around New Zealand is amazing because of the views of the lush green landscapes and the glacier topped mountains.
On our last full day, we signed up for a LOTR tour. This was not all that exciting as the movie used scenery as a backdrop but added so much digital animation that one would never guess where many of the scenes took place. Still, we enjoyed more scenery.
That was the end of our honeymoon. Kia Ora!
What a great feature! I like how you call this feature 'Postcard:...' Nice touch...
ReplyDeleteSince I don't get to travel as much as I'd like, it's so great to at least get to read about different places/cultures. And I love the stories/memories!