Over the last 2 months, with social distancing, I’ve had a bit more time at home. This meant I finally finished editing my photos from my 2 week New Zealand road trip taken several years ago. I feel grateful that I have had the opportunity to travel quite a bit over the last 4 years and as a result have constantly fallen behind on my photo editing. As I edited and went through my photos, it reminded me all the things New Zealand has to offer and I can’t wait to go back this year if the boarders between Australia & New Zealand opens up.
My previous blog posts on New Zealand can be found here:
- Fujifilm X-T10 Travel Kit for New Zealand
- New Zealand Roadtrip Essentials
- Exploring Auckland, New Zealand
- Technocolour: Church of Good Sheppard, New Zealand
Continuing on with the series of New Zealand blog posts. We picked up our hire car in Auckland and drove down towards Rotorua where we spent 3 days. On our way down to Rotorua, we dropped by Waitamo Glowworm caves walked around the surrounding areas. Being out second day in New Zealand, we were awed by the New Zealand landscape and greenery. Little did we know that this was just the beginning of the spectacular views. I’m glad we started in North Island where the scenery was mainly green and lush, then building up to the impressive mountainous sights in the South Island.
Waitomo Glowworm Caves was our first stop along the way to Rotorua. It’s a cool little tourist attraction that is worth the visit. You get to wander around the cave then hop onto a boat where you glide silently through the grotto. You’ll be surrounded by what looks to be a galaxy of glistering lights which are in fact glowworms. It’s one of those experiences that I don’t have photos to show for, but memories and a sense of what it felt like at the time. After the caves, we decided to hike around the area. It turned out we were on the Waitomo Walkway and we got to a nice viewing point.
By late afternoon, we arrived in Rotorua. It felt like a small cosy town. We had a lovely old lady as our AirBnB host for 3 days, who added to the cosy town feel. Rotorua a popular tourist hot spot known for it’s geothemal activity and close proximity to a variety of tourist attractions. After we checked into our accommodation, we headed into town. We came across the iconic Rotorua Museum of Art & History and the town geyser.
Before we knew it, it was time to join our tour to the Tamaki Maori Village. It was definitely a touristy thing to do, but it was quite fun and interesting experience. You are introduced to Maori culture in the form of a welcome ceremony, song, dance, games, weaponry and food. You rotate through different “stations” to learn about a different aspect of the traditional life, then you sit down for a traditional Maori meal. You watch the preparation of a traditional geothermal hangi meal before digging into dinner.
This finishes up day one of our time in Rotorua. Next up, we check out Wai-o-tapu Thermal Wonderland and the iconic Hobbiton. Thanks for stopping by today.
Your friend,
Janice
Leave a Reply