For The Love of Travel

A rainy dull day for our drive to see Mt Maunganui. Located close to the port area of Tauranga, the extinct volcano, is a sacred Maori site with ocean-view hiking trails. The long, sandy Main Beach is popular for its surf breaks, while Pilot Bay Beach has calm waters for paddle boarding. The Mount Hot Pools complex offers saltwater bathing and spa treatments, while brunch spots, global restaurants, and boutiques fill the town centre. A lovely photo of Lynne with the mount as a backdrop. 

But our major activity planned for the day was the Hobbiton Movie Set tour @Matamata – offering an entertaining experience at the famous film set of The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, which neither Lynne or I have seen. Our guide escorted us around the 12 acre set, showing us the intricate detailing, pointing out the most famous locations, that amazing gnarled tree that dominated the landscape and explaining how the movie magic was made – we wandered, marvelling ….past and also ducked into Hobbit holes, the Mill and into the famous Green Dragon™ Inn, where we concluded our own Middle-earth™ adventure. And the weather gods were very kind to us, stopping with the drenching rains and crazy winds,  just as we arrived for the fantastic 2 hour experience.

Rolling hills with the faintest sprinkling of poplars took our fancy just as we drove off the set, but sadly the weather gods resumed their work within half an hour of us driving to Rotorua. So plans to do a walk in the Redwood Forest and experience the Wai-o-tapu thermal pools were scotched. We supped at “Atticus Finch’…the halloumi salad and spicy lamb rump were awesome.

Today’s journey had Lake Taupo as a highlight to visit. Weather gods still insisting on grey skies, fog and steady rainfall – offering little visibility anywhere. We a few scenic viewpoints along the way to be greeted with ‘valley white-outs’. We did see the outer edge of the Tokaanu Thermal Pool on the way.

Thence onward to Mt Tongariro National Park, home to the three mountains of Ruapehu, Ngaurruhoe volcano and Tongariro, whose landscape has developed over the last 300,000 years. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is an extended trek over steep volcanic terrain. Vents are still active and steaming in volcanic craters and there is a risk of eruptions and resultant rockfalls, ash and  ‘lahars’, fast-moving volcanic mudflows, so hikers need to be alert and know what to do in an emergency.  

We stayed at the Skotel Alpine Resort in the comfort of a little warm cabin, and had dinner in the restaurant. :). 

Fantastic photos in the hotel’s reception area.

Our long haul journey to Wellington, via Vinegar Hill,  Fielding, and Sanson. Atmospheric clouds were hanging in the foothills of Waimarino; a lovely rainbow appeared  @ Raetihi-Tohunga Junction. Thank goodness it cleared up along the way so I could take a pic at Stormy Point viewpoint. 

A delightful dinner @ Little India restaurant in the trendy Cuba St precinct. There was a ‘bucketing down’ sculpture in the mall….so fitting, given our recent drive experiences. 🙂

A drive to Mt Victoria the following day to catch the views on a non drizzly day. Yay.

An afternoon @ the wetaworkshop, the factory where amazing characters, properties and experiences have been brought to life. The creative development team works alongside 16 manufacturing departments -to create creatures, armour, costumes, weapons, vehicles, prosthetics, miniatures, art sculptures and installations. Founded in 1987 by Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger, they are still designing, building and innovating together, with their 400 staff. We met one of the designers at the end of the tour who encouraged us all to be creative and build things at home. I loved his foil dragon. He talked about a staff members’ wonderous invention, Pal Tiya ceramic, that will be used to paint over the dragon, making it rock hard and durable as a prop. It can then be sanded and painted.

Unbelievably delish dinner at Great India Restaurant – Nawab Tikka tandoori and a vegetable Kashmiri Korma….yummm!

Developed a bad flu 4 days before leaving for this delightful holiday. Drugged myself up with cold and flu tablets, taking antibiotics too …in the effort to get flight and adventure-fit. Miserable in isolation over the weekend. On the day of journey, took all day to pack 2 ‘carry-on’ size suitcases (one to check in with clothes, toiletries; the other to carry on board the plane with camera, drone and laptop). On airport arrival, just managed to do the walk to the Jetstar gate, replenishing energy levels at Bar Pulpo along the way. No sleep was had over 3 hour ‘red eye’ flight, with the flight crew either handing out food/drink or attending the ill young woman next to me.

Excited rendezvous with Lynne @ the baggage carousel. Discovered that there was a bus shuttle service to the car rental and started following the signs….an airport buggy driver along the way asked if we’d like a lift to the shuttle and we gladly accepted. A length of walk neither of us had the energy for.

After picking up the car, discovered no GPS onboard and my iPhone cable without a suitable USB attachment….arrh! A local IT store purchase had to occur before we set off and one was open at 7am. Yay. We knew we had no time to set up an eSIM before we caught the ferry boat to Waiheke Island @ 9am. But how to get to ferry @ Half Moon Bay? Then proceeded  a comical mixture of communications with members of the public- taking photos of a road route off a guy’s phone; talking from our car with passing motorists as to whether we were on the right road; pulling into a petrol station ….anyway, got to the ferry with 10 mins to spare and…they were waiting for us with open arms. Phew. 

Waiheke Island is a haven of olive groves, wineries and beaches, and delightful little villages, particularly Oneroa. Visited Allpress Olive Groves Tasting Room and greatly enjoyed sampling olives, oils and herb spread with garlic.  Beautiful day to linger on a scenic reserve with fabulous views over Matiatia harbour.

Lunched at Mudbrick bistro, perched on a hill overlooking Hauraki Gulf with views of Rangitoto Island and Auckland city. Very relaxing couple of hours.

Then a scenic hills drive to explore the island with dramatic vistas of the creamy white sands of Onetangi, Oneroa, and Palm beaches.

Perfect sunny day. Came across La Bodega, luxurious accommodation surrounded by a wonderful boutique vineyard and native bush….with an ace sculpture to boot.

After the return ferry journey, settled into our first night’s accommodation in Manukau. A dreadful disrupted night’s sleep with incessant coughing. Took myself off early to the Bakerfield Medical and Urgent Care Clinic – great nurse triaging system, saw a doc within half an hour and got the necessary meds free from the pharmacy attached. Wheezy bronchitis the diagnosis. We set off for the Coromandel Peninsula. At Ngatea-Pipiroa, the Bugger Cafe beckoned us to stop for coffee and take some naff but fun photos. The owners have designed the cafe’s interior with a lot of thought.

Along the 309 Road lies the entrance to the trail to the Waiau Falls. We walked through a beautiful bush glade to see the waterfall stream over a rock face into a deep pool below. The Kauri Grove is a spectacular stand of kauri trees soaring above the surrounding forest, with the walkway starting 1km further along the road past the falls.

Drove through the delightful village of Thames, saw a very special loo adorning the roadside at Thornton, wood-drift sculptures along the beach at Te Mata, sweeping views of hills and valleys with ocean highlights @ Kereta, before arriving @ Tairua on the east coast for the night.

Went for a drive up Mt Paku before dinner with glorious views over the Tairua River and South Pacific Ocean simultaneously. Hard to take a photo, nowhere to stop except private property. This mount has an intricate network of laneways, drives, and crescents with houses/gardens nestled, exploiting their opportunity for million dollar views. Then ready for dinner, tonight a delicious Indian meal @ Sangam Modern Eatery and Bar.