South of Auckland

Thursday 4th August 2016 – Up at the crack of dawn…happy birthday Aaron…after opening his birthday card we were keen to get an early start…but no…we found ourselves stuck in the mud…literally! Aaron heaved and pushed and eventually we were set free to go on our way. Our plan today was to get to Hot Water Beach. After five hours of driving Southwards we arrived. Although this is a tourism ‘hot spot’ it’s still one of the most unique natural attractions in New Zealand. As we walked along the beach we saw steam rising from the sand…scalding water actually pulses out of the sand at low tide and Aaron had made sure we got there at the perfect time. We knew that we could only dig a pool within two hours of low tide…research done, here we were. What better for Aaron’s birthday…a natural spa to relax in for a few hours! Some people were already there with lovely spade dug pools. Aaron started digging and we made a channel for the hot water to seep into our lovingly made pool. It was divine…toasty and relaxing. There we bathed…a free spa on the beach…a great birthday treat for Aaron. Getting up some Dutch courage we ran into the icy sea and ran back to our hot pool…what fun! Happy with our spa treatment we vacated our pool and offered it to some new comers who happily jumped into it like cuckoos invading a nest. Off we set again…it’s all go in New Zealand, that’s for sure. After four more hours of driving we came across Lake Okareka and set up camp. Would you believe it as I headed for the toilets I saw a mammal of some kind hopping in the undergrowth…what was it?! I beckoned Aaron over…it was a wallaby…but Australia had wallabies not New Zealand. Confused we consulted the Internet…yes it was a wallaby. Some were introduced here and we had seen one. I returned for another sighting…definitely a wallaby happily foraging and hopping around…what a treat! That night I cooked Aaron his favourite birthday supper…spag bol…full and content we slept well that night.

Friday 5th August 2016 – A very drizzly morning indeed. After feeding the resident ducks we headed off for Rotorua. The rain continued…and we drove. What you need to know about Rotorua is that it sits on a thin spot of the Earth’s crust immediately atop the Earth’s inner inferno…the result a geothermal active wonderland you wouldn’t believe! As we drove into the city the air was filled with the scent of sulphur…very bizarre. First we visited Kuirau Park. This central city park is punctuated every few steps with geothermal oddity. Seething mud pits and spewing cauldrons greet you at every turn. Steaming lakes give off the scent of ghastly sulphur…it really is a park quite unlike any other! Warning signs are everywhere…don’t come any closer they state! Next we walked through the persistent rain along Sulphur Bay. Beautiful black swans greeted us from the lake. As we wandered round the earth steams at you from every angle and that smell…sulphur…very eggy! A city of bubbling, hot activity…so unusual. Wanting some comfort for the evening we drove to Blue Lake Top 10 Holiday Park…a luxury campsite where we had hot showers, did our washing, charged all our gadgets and downloaded photos…wonderful!

Saturday 6th August 2016 – Leaving our deluxe camping site we headed past a beautiful red wood forest, the trees towering above and looking down with interest upon us. Today was to be a sight seeing extravaganza of geothermal activity! At Waiotapu we saw the hilarious mud pools. The hot steaming mud splutters and belches flying mud burps all over the place. The sound effects are so comical…almost like someone has had a Vindaloo the night before! Seething, hissing, plopping mud! What fun! Jumping in our camper van next we made our way to the Aratiatia Rapids and dam. By now it was raining hard so waterproofs on and with a Dunkirk spirit we raced to see this gushing spectacle. This once natural whitewater gorge now lays behind the gates of the Aratiatia hydro-dam…but wait…every two hours bells and whistles sound, the flood gates are raised and a half hour torrent of river is allowed to rage through the natural Aratiatia gorge. The re-born river surges to life, blasting into the zig-zagging steep Boulder garden…gaining fury and resplendent blueness as it gushes along. It’s a very impressive sight indeed. The rain was lashing down by now and after feeding a random cockerel in the car park onwards we went to Huka Falls. It was sensational despite the hard hitting wind and rain. The Falls are a 100m basalt crevice channelling the Waikato River. The result…a frothing aquamarine torrent over a 15m ledge like a bubbling pool of energy. ‘Huka’ is the Maori word for ‘foam’. An apt name and foam it certainly does! Our last tourist stop of the day was ‘Craters of the Moon’. By now it was freezing and the sleet had turned to snow…cold…cold…cold. We were not deterred! At the office we met Keith, a former UK resident now living in New Zealand. After a warming cappuccino we headed along the path. The earth seethes before your eyes, you are surrounded by hissing fumaroles and steaming cauldrons of death all safely viewed from a planked walkway that snakes through this primeval geothermal world. It was what I imagine prehistoric earth to once look like…so inhospitable. Clad with our waterproofs we wandered through steaming mist clouds that wisped over the tortured landscape. You are engulfed in an other worldly humid embrace. Surely this must resemble Satan’s ideal domain…very creepy. On exiting, our new friend Keith informed us that the State Highway 1 had been closed due to the dangerous weather conditions…oh dear…the road we needed to take…closed! Keith went on to give us a detailed alternative route which we willingly listened to that followed a more coastal road. Off we set. As we journeyed the roads got deadlier and snow surrounded us. We had to carry on or we might get snowed in and never get out! As we passed Mount Ngaurahoe, alias Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings, it was covered head to toe in snow…we had planned to climb it…not today or tomorrow alas. We just kept driving southwards away from the freezing weather and eventually made camp at Waikawa campsite, made hot food and laid our weary heads down. Phew…what a day!

Sunday 7th August 2016 – My most emotional day in New Zealand yet. The day had come to visit Wellington…my old namesake…and the town my dad had lived in for 5 years. Waking up to beautiful sunshine we drove southwards to the capital city of New Zealand. On entering Wellington I was so tearful but happy to finally be here. We stopped in the harbour…there were boats everywhere you looked. No wonder my dad loved it here being a sailor himself. After buying local honey at the market we began our Wellington multi-harbour drive. These wonderful roads make a loop all the way around the many harbours, bays and coves that lie around Wellington. The drive was stunning and the weather was fair. Wellington is a beautiful city and the coastline is magnificent. En route we saw signs to watch out for Little Blue Penguins crossing the road…the smallest penguins in the world. We made a point to come back at night to see if we could spot any. At the end of our drive we popped in for a game of mini golf at Carlucci Land. It resembled an imaginative fantasy land of metal sculpture as you played your holes. To my delight I won…not often I win against Aaron and I took much satisfaction in his rare defeat. That night, after a fruitless penguin hunt we dined on fish and chips and sipped coffee in Midnight Express cafe…Aaron enjoyed a rare go on a pinball machine…all on Cuba Street…the coolest street in Wellington.