Catching up!
Trip Start
Oct 05, 2008
1
7
23
Trip End
Ongoing
Christchurch,
South Island,
New Zealand
Thursday, January 1, 2009
In review....
After 7 weeks in the US and Canada we were defintely ready to move on. The various state taxes, car orientated living and rampant consumer culture had taken its toll on us lowly travellers so we were oth ready for something abit more easy going.....a week in the south Pacific it was then! We headed to Rarotonga, which is the largest of the Cook Islands. We flew there from LAX on the 23rd Nov - it was a night flight, so as per usual I couldn't really sleep, though I did get a little sleep in just before I was awoken for breakfast. Just after 6am it became light outside and we landed shortly after, which was quite spectacular arriving on a speck of land in the middle of the ocean. We got through customs pretty quickly and headed to our accommodation - Vara's beachouse. We were lucky enough to have a room by the beach on Muri lagoon, regarded as the nicest beach on the island. However, they all seemed pretty nice to us! We felt a bit spaced for the rest of the day due to a lack of sleep, but after a very good sleep that night we spent the rest of our time on the islands:
- cycling about on rented bikes
- swimming in Muri lagoon
- finding and eating coconuts on the beach
- watching the local cricket team, the mighty 'creeps' at the most scenic cricket ground i've ever encountered!
- Eating RIDICULOUSLY cheap fish from ocean fresh in the capital Avarua
- Snorkeling at fruits of Rarotonga
- Getting sunburnt at fruits of Rarotonga :(
- Lying about in a hammock reading....
It was a stunning place, with beautiful beaches and a warm and clean sea - which was so calm due to the reef surrounding the island. We loved the slow pace of life and cycling about places (one day completing a lap of the island in the midday heat). It defintely recharged our batteries and we really enoyed Varas and all the people we met there. I would highly recommend for anyone after some time on a tropical island....!
Our next stop was New Zealand. We headed to Auckland on 1st Dec, but due to crossing the international date line we arrived on Tuesday 2nd December. We were made to pay a $30 departure tax for leaving Rarotonga, but a VERY nice lady took it upon herself to pay us this back, for which we are enternally grateful!!! The flight over was fine and after getting through the hardcore 'bio-security' at Auckland airport we were off and on the bus. Auckland seemed very nice and it was nice to see cars on the left-hand side of the road again, as well as grass and trees - felt a fair bit like old Blighty!!! We got to our hostel and due to an admin error ended up in a double ensuite - sweet! We also sorted out our bus pass for NZ - due to the day it left we extended our stay in Auckland for a bit, but that was cool as we liked what we had seen so far....
We had a nice explore around Auckland over the next few days, wandering all over town, through Albert Park, along Queen Street and Karangahape Road. We found a lovely coffee place that sold some of the nicest muffins i've ever encountered + also went out for some drinks and a gig one evening. We were enjoying a far more favourable exchane rate in New Zealand that in the US, so it was nice to enjoy a coffee without worrying about destroying our budget!! While in Auckland we also signed up for a free tour and got to walk over Auckland harbour bridge and got taken up to the very desirable North Shore part of town...we had heard some negative things about Auckland but must say we really enjoyed our time there....
On the 6th dec we headed out of Auckland on the magic bus which we had a love/hate relationship with (more on this later). Within 30 minutes of leaving Auckland we were in stunning countryside - beautiful green, rolling hills. We followed round the Coromandel coast, stopping at the beautiful Cathederal Cove and looking out on Mercury Bay. We headed to the pleasant seaside town of Whitianga, though only stayed for one night. In the morning we were back on the bus, stopping off at Paeroa - home of the lovely soft drink L&P, which we became partial too whilst in NZ. We headed to Waitomo - famous for its glowworm filled caves. Here we went for some 'black-water rafting', which entailed tubing in pitch black, in a cave!! It was an awesome experience and amazing to see the beautiful glow worms. We had to do a bit of swimming in the cave + also jump (backwards!) off a small waterfall so it was nice to be back above ground (and in the warm and dry!) at the end of the day. We only stayed for one night as the place was practically a village, but it was a very nice place to stop.
The next stop on the bus was the highly geologically active (+ eggy smelling) town of Rotorua. The weather, which had been very nice, had unfortunately taken a turn for the worse, though it was still great to see bubbling pools of mud, geysers and the Wai-O-Tapu geothermal wonderland. We stayed in Rotorua for 2 nights, though kind of wish it was just the one...
Next stop - Lake Taupo. More on this soon.....(I promise!!!)
