New Zealand - A Feast of Varied Natural Beauty for the Eyes

Our six week self driving tour of New Zealand took us from the northern part of the North Island to a circular route around the South Island. While there was a lot of getting up and moving to the next really inspirational walk, hike, sight, it was so worth it.

In this blog I will add a few photos from the places we visited in the order of our itinerary. I will also intersperse a few categories of interest.

NORTHLANDS

Visiting friends on the Bay of Islands was the most tropical climate of our trip. Some stands of now protected Kuri trees (like Redwoods) and amazing coastal views, welcomed us to the heart of Maori settlements.

SNELLS BEACH TO ACKLAND

Do you think Ackland gets a lot of rain!

Fairy houses all along Snells Beach

COROMANDEL PENINSULA

It's a good thing that we had an amazing time exploring this peninsula before it was hit hard by two internationally reported storms after we left.

More fairy houses!

ROTORUA

If you like the sulphur smells both out of town and actually on the property of coastal hotels, this is the place for you. The textures, colors and of course the steam are a photographer's paradise.

Pause in the itinerary to list interesting and unique foods including, of course the famous meat pies.

This drink the New Zealanders say is only found in their country.

Said to be the BEST meat pies in NZ

At many of our functional and very comfortable motels, we were welcomed with fresh milk, tea, coffee and cookies. Same offerings at each place.

TAUPO

Hula Falls were roaring thus producing the aquamarine colors.

We took a sail boat cruise on Lake Taupo (lake formed by a volcano crater) to these relatively new Maori carvings.

In many of the places we stayed there were tractor trailers galore bringing logs to be shipped around the world but many to China. The government has an active plan to clear cut all the pines that were planted by the Europeans and get back to the indigenous forest.

NAPIER

This was a sweet city on the ocean that was devastated by an earthquake in 1931. As a result, most of the city was rebuilt in the art deco style.

While we were in Napier, the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, stepped down. The international community held her in high esteem for both her handling of a massacre in Christ Church and the pandemic. Of course there are other opinions including the protesting folks across the street.

Went on a wine tour to this vineyard with this colorful crusty female owner. After describing the red and white wines, she set them on the table, put ample crackers and cheese plus big bars of chocolate and told us to have at it!

We saw the rolling terrain and decided to take a 3 hour hike up Te Mata. You can drive up but we decided to take the easier walking route. Guess that's the New Zealand idea of easier (than the other?) Once again, Peter who is afraid of heights did it because there was no turning back!

WELLINGTON

Fresh, happening capital city on the ocean. A piece of art work depicting the tearing down of older neighborhoods to make a major road, a sweet cafe, and a sculpture garden for a nice cup of tea and a crumpet.

Rugby statue, of course!

Zealandia was a wonderful excursion high above Wellington. Many animals, birds, guides posted along the trails to give information and sweet neighborhood with many hydrangea.

National Art Museum, not to be missed. I liked the photo of women in the typical Maori boats, and a portrait of a Maori woman with a typical lower lip to chin tattoo.

FERRY TO THE SOUTH ISLAND

Beautiful ferry ride. See the map of how this is not a straight line journey! I was delighted to find my favorite donut before leaving the North Island!

ABEL TASMAN NATIONAL PARK

This was a 4 hour hike along one of the trails in Abel Tasman National Park. It was beautiful with varied terrain until we got to a spot in the trail where, because the tide was high, there was no way to proceed but take off your outer clothes, balance your backpack on your head and try not to slip on the rocks before making it to the other side!! Looking back it was another unforgettable adventure!

We did an interesting wine tour where you were served a wine and four pieces of food to try with that wine. It wasn't whether it was good or bad but you really tasted how each food item changed the taste of the wine. Try biking to 4 wineries! The tides are so high on the northern coast of the South Island that tractors are used to get the boats out to the water for tourist excursions.

BLENHEIM

It's all about the wine!

Hike on our way to Christ Church

CHRIST CHURCH

Suffering from a severe earthquake in 2011, 80% of the buildings were destroyed.

From "punting on the river" to the earthquake museum and many vacant lots still to be developed

From the gondola path down the mountain (bottom photo), appealing architecture and boat ride to Akaroa Harbour

The first photo shows how the government is clear cutting the invasive pine trees planted by the Europeans.

MT. COOK NATIONAL PARK

We only had an overnight to explore the path from the one commercial building (hotel) in the village. It is called the Hooker Valley Track and the views did not disappoint. Ended up at Hooker Lake with glaciers floating in the water.

A pause in the itinerary to show some wild life from the islands

The Moa, made extinct as humans arrived in New Zealand. One big animal!

Littlest penguins coming home after a day on the ocean to feed their young. This one is molting.

Our only photo of the famous kiwi that is only on Stewart Island. Elusive little animals!

Albatross

This little bug is amazing. It has been around since prehistoric times. When the weather gets cold, it just hibernates, sometimes for many years and then comes alive with warmer weather.

DUNEDIN

Very hip, college town with lots to do. Murals on many buildings. Went to Lamach Castle. Another story of rich people who end up depressed and taking their life!

The Ortago Peninsula was spectacular. We took the hike to Lover's Leap and found the views amazing.

Nugget Point Light House was an amazing hike. Peter decided to turn back at one point. Smart boy!

INVERGARGILL

STEWART ISLAND

Not much to see in Invercargill but below was our tiny plane over to Stewart Island. Approaching the runway in the rain below.

So many New Zealanders we met were curious about our going there and said they had never been but hoped to someday

Flock of albatross.

I have to show the Stewart Island Airport waiting room. It is the size of a big living room. You have the counter, old safe, hand knitted clothes, golf clubs to rent, postmaster and old telephone board.

TE ANAU

Lovely town on the lake.

MILFORD SOUND

Except for the large group of Asian young people who stood at the front of the big cruise ship and took 1,000,000 selfies, the scenery was as gorgeous as it could be. The Horner Tunnel and road to Milford Sound was outrageous.

We stopped along the way to hike the most green moss covered forest I have ever seen.

Traveled to Lake Manapouri to catch our overnight boat to Doubtful Sound. I would recommend doing an overnight in this beautiful fiord. You need to boat to a strip of land, drive over the mountain to get to your boat. To see the light from mid day, sunset and sunrise was spectacular. We only had 60 folks on our boat so to kayak or take a pontoon boat around the small inlets was special.

Let me pause and just show some curious and odd encounters on our trip

Pavlova is a very popular New Zealand dessert from the 1980 named after a Russian ballerina. It is tricky to make as you need to close your oven to cook it and never open it again for hours. Well, every market had plenty of store bought pavlova to save you a lot of time!

New Zealand is very strict about not tracking in any foreign matter on the hikes.

Can you guess what kind of a party this young man is having at the bar?

Lots of local bowling and cricket clubs in towns we passed.

Poster in a bar advertising DB (draft beer). The bottom photos is not far off from the hedges that delineate vineyards or crops to prevent wind damage.

QUEENSTOWN

Adventure capital of New Zealand - Mr. Bungy invented bungy jumping here in one of the canyon gorges

We found Queenstown high energy and full of adventure seekers. For us, visiting Arrowtown, outside of Queenstown was quaint and provided an amazing bike ride along the river, through paths laden with arching willow trees, suspension bridges over steep gorges of aquamarine waters to arid plateaus.

Arrowtown has some remains from the Chinese Settlement, the primitive houses where Chinese immigrants worked in the gold mines. Only men lived in this settlement.

WANAKA

Situated on a long lake, surrounded by the southern alps, this is the merino wool capital of the country.

Walks along the lake, a boat excursion to Mou Waho Island Nature Reserve and trail to the spectacular summit with small pools along the way. The boat captain and trail guide brings a native seedling with every small excursion group to plant along the trail. Below is one successful method of bringing back the Great Crested Grebes by building these floating nests.