Upon arrival in Auckland and seeing road signs or looking at a map for the first time it soon became clear that my first challenge would be to actually pronounce some of the Moari town names that we might visit, or to say them without starting to giggle when I read names that contained “Puke” or “Whaka” (pronounced “Fucka”) – more of this later!
Above is a map of the North Island where we spent all of our time - we never made it further South than Tongariro National Park - there was just simply too much to see and do; here are just a few of our adventures:
1. Sand boarding in Hokianga Harbour, Opononi (near Kaitaia)
This was a great experience, and one that neither Svan nor I had done before! Having done the water and snow "thing", sand seemed like the next logical option!
A few photos from the day
And here is a fun little mini-movie I put together: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKpzRmVVxi8
2. Tongariro Alpine Crossing, Tongariro National Park
The track was closed for a couple of days due to high winds but we finally got to do this hike of nearly 20km (rated as NZ's #1 Day Hike)! It includes an elevation gain of 800m, before descending back down 1100m. You get to see glaciers, great volcanic craters and the remains of the last eruption plus thermal pools. It is truly awesome - one of the best hikes we have done during this entire trip - although very popular with tourists, I would highly recommend it to anyone! I couldn't say the same for the "Crossing Backpackers" - the youth hostel where we had to stay the night before the hike. Everywhere else was sold out. This is definitely a trip full of 1st time experiences, however the youth hostel experience is one that I don't need to repeat!
Check out the link below for more photos and information from the main site:
http://www.tongarirocrossing.org.nz/
3. Whitewater rafting on the Rangitaiki River near Rotarua
This 14.5km raft along the Rangitaiki River included Grades 2, 3 and 4 Rapids (Grade 6 being the highest, but these are not commercially raftable in NZ). It was our first time and a fun experience with a great company called Wet N Wild http://www.wetnwildrafting.co.nz/ There are only a few photos of us waving our paddles on safe waters (below). Most of the 3 hours we were simply holding on to the boat or paddling frantically as instructed to prevent capsizing or worse. A great thrill!
4. Hole in the Rock Boat Cruise, Paihia, Bay of Islands
This boat trip around the Bay of Islands showed off some of NZ's most beautiful coastline. The highlight of the trip was going through a hole in a massive rock which isn't always possible. The gap only just fits one boat and the tide/waves can make it very dangerous. Going through was like being on a roller coaster. An added bonus was a helicoper fly past taking video footage for a marketing video, we felt like we were filmed by the papparazzi!
Check out the link below for my own mini-movie of the day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr4J5WXLYS4
5. Kayak Trip to Rangitoto island, Auckland
This was a great one day adventure which started with a 6km kayak across Auckland harbour, dodging various ferries and container ships along the way! We then hiked to the top of the volcanic island of Rangitoto, had lunch there and enjoyed the magnificent views across the harbour, numerous islands and of course the city itself, before hiking back down and making the return 6km kayak trip. We were lucky that conditions were supposedly "benign" with waves still up to 3 or 4 feet high at times. This combined with the fact that Svan was sharing a double kayak with someone (me) who had already capsized twice this year, certainly made her feel a little "uneasy". I am pleased to say that we made it without any incident apart from having to deal with our rather eccentric guide Graeme who had a habit of telling us to "stay close" before then paddling off into the distance, in spite of our best efforts to keep up!
Svan with views from Rangitoto Island
There was so much to do and we had so much fun, it is difficult to tell all. Some other highlights for me, with cool photos and fun memories from NZ include:
Mountain biking in Whakarewarewa Forest, Rotarua
Svan at the Waikite Hotsprings near Rotarua
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At the first 2 of Svan's social gatherings I had to smile when 2 different guys both commented to me, completely independently, that Svan had not changed after 20 years, and that I must be a “very brave” guy! Hmmmm who'd have thought it! :) It’s also amazing the things that come out during these re-unions… it turns out that Patrick’s pet name for Svan was “Concrete Lembke”! This was not for her will of iron or core of steel it was for her ability to be able to sleep through virtually anything, from parties in neighbours houses, thunder stroms or even earth tremors!
Patrick was a great guy to hang out with, and he was kind enough to let us stay with him at his place in Titirangi (yep pronounced as it is spelled). He teaches at a local school and we loved his stories of how he has to try and persuade his students not to speak “gangsta” as even though he understands them, the examiner wouldn’t! Aside from boxing and triathlons his other great sports passion at the moment is stand up paddle. This we also got to try. Our pre-NZ training, ie paddling on the 'floating yellow islands' in Florida, came in handy! The real paddle board was a bit more unstable but way more fun!
We were warned of "Orcas" out in the harbour and that we should not be fooled by any of the “re-branding” - they are "Killer Whales"! They had that name for many years with good reason, and we should definitely paddle faster should they be spotted. Luckily we survived the day without any large fins in sight.
Me with Patrick
Svan during one of Patrick's boxing classes - she won this fight by KO, and according to Patrick she is heavier than she looks! ...now who is the brave man?
We covered nearly 3500km on our travels during this part of the trip and didn't even reach the South Island! We travelled to the very tip of the North Island, where at Cape Reigna 2 Oceans meet (the Tasman and the Pacific) and you can literally see waves colliding from two different directions - amazing! We travelled down as far south as Hawkes Bay and The Tongariro National Park, and visited the Coramandel Peninsula and Bay of Islands and Bay of Plenty. We ended this trip with more great memories and Svan was able to re-light her friendships with many 'old' pals after being apart from them for so many years on the other side of the globe! Even with over 4 weeks to spend there was not enough time to see and do everything that NZ has to offer!
What next? I will be returning to London briefly for my mother's birthday and Svan will visit a friend in Portland .... and then we will finally hit the snow. Our next big adventure will take us back to British Columbia - primarily Fernie in the Canadian Rockies - where we will spend 12 weeks. So watch this space!
...but stay tuned for a bit longer. My quick NZ language guide for the naive traveller such as myself:
1. Do not think this is 'French'
It was when I called the hire car company to arrange collection of our car in Auckland when things first started to go wrong! I advised them that I had a booking to collect a car from a place I referred to as “Manger” which I pronounced similar to the French verb “to eat”. There was a brief pause then a slight snigger at the other end of the phone. The lady in her broad Kiwi accent then laughed and said oh you mean “Mangere!” (pronounced Man-ger-e). Apparently in Maori all of the letters in the word are pronounced! Probably another of the many reasons why NZ is so popular with Germans! ;)
2. Not everything that looks rude is 'rude'
With my very juvenile sense of humour, I was seeing “Puke”s or “Whaka”s (pronounced “Fucka”) wherever I looked! Sadly there is no exciting explanation for the word “puke” as in Moari it simply means “hill”, and in spite of extensive research I am unable to find the “Whakamama” to go with “Whakapapa”!
3. Then finally, those "give me a break" words
Some are virtually or completely unpronounceable! I could at least attempt names such as the “Whakarewarewa” Forest. This is a beautiful forest of Californian Coastal Redwood trees near Rotarua, but please don’t ask me to say it! Then there is the Guiness World Record holder for the longest place name in the World, which goes to: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu
Where do you even start? I am not sure what the locals were smoking when they named this hill in the Hawke’s Bay area, and for a hill it doesn’t even have “puke” in it!?!
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