December 9, 2022

December 9, 2022

We checked out of our Auckland Airport hotel to begin our journey home. New Zealand is an easy country to tour. About the size of California, it is mostly rural with friendly people and free toilets. The view is picturesque everywhere in almost every direction. No wonder Lord of the Rings was a visual feast for the eyes.

One side of my brain says we finally got unlucky with the rain, but when it really counted, we had clear skies or at least temperate weather. Unwittingly we spent most of our time on the wet side where we couldn’t have expected a rain-free multi-week holiday. After all it is a rain forest for a reason! A late Spring visit, while a tad cooler, also gave us wildflowers in great abundance.

We hiked almost every day visiting seven National Parks and tasting six of New Zealand’s ten Great Walks. We haven't done that since exploring the US in our RV many years ago. But ultimately we are now ‘sun people' and we much prefer our arid West. Unfortunately I am bringing back an unwanted souvenir of the maybe 85 miles we hiked.

At the airport we dropped off our rental car. After three weeks of left lane driving ingrained in my brain, I will probably have trouble back in the USA. Once through security, we ate breakfast in the Business Lounge. We had to share the small space with the Sydney Kings and their entourage, one of the ten professional basketball teams of this region. In the early afternoon our thirteen-hour flight to Dallas took off. I had to watch the beginning and end of The Hobbit movies to reminisce about our Hobbiton visit yesterday.

Our Tucson flight took off also on time. Finally two flights in a row without a hitch! We circled Tucson to approach the runway from the west giving us a tour of Tucson highlights, including the vast Boneyard Airforce of Davis-Monthan AFB, and ‘A Mountain' (our version of the Hollywood sign). And because we crossed the International Date Line again, we arrived before we left!

December 8, 2022

December 8, 2022

We left the sulfur-smelling city of Rotorua heading north. We set the car’s GPS for Hobbiton. One hour later we arrived in the city of Matamata. Even though a sign said Welcome to Hobbiton, I knew I was looking for a rural area. Checking the confirmation email, we reprogrammed the GPS with a street address. Despite the GPS and signage, it was still an adventure to find this countryside farm. The check-in clerk said more people get lost than not.

Despite the misadventure, we are early and we squeeze onto the 9AM tour. We join a busload of tourists who are driven into the center of a very large sheep and cattle farm. The rolling hills are typical of most of New Zealand. For the first Lord of the Rings movie (2000), this picturesque farm valley was transformed into The Shire, home of the hobbits Bilbo and Frodo. Like all film sets, it was built quickly out of materials (e.g. Styrofoam) not meant to last. New Zealand became a destination for Tolkien tourists, so for filming of The Hobbit in 2012, this set was rebuilt permanently. It probably is the most visited LOR site now.

We leave the bus and begin a guided walking tour of the set. There are several dozen hobbit homes built into and around the valley. I am a sucker for film locations; while Aimee pooh-poohed this visit. After her first view, she had a big smile on her face. We both are impressed with the level of detail in every house. I guess that is needed for the panorama shots, and in case an individual location might be needed during shooting. The guide said that, last minute, some noisy frogs had to be fished out of the local pond. That is something we now can relate to.

The tour winds past each of the hobbit holes. We only go in one to see that there is nothing behind. The interior scenes were filmed on a sound set. The homes of Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam are easily recognizable and bring back fond memories.

The tour finishes with a walk across the stone bridge, past the mill into the Green Dragon Pub. There we have a cider and a stout while soaking up the ambiance of this cutely decorated inn. In true hobbit fashion, I suggested we eat Second Breakfast here, but Aimee was afraid I would then want to skip Elevenses, Lunch, and Afternoon Tea. Instead we load on the bus for the short ride back to our car.

From Hobbiton, we continue north only stopping for a quick lunch. In downtown Auckland we stop at the War Memorial Museum. It sits inside an old neoclassical building atop a large city park hill. A Cenotaph monument dedicated to the soldiers of WWI and II sits in front. The Auckland Sky Tower is in the distance.

The museum covers the history of New Zealand but we intend to concentrate on only a few items. After entering we ran into several local Maori dressed in aboriginal clothing. We learn we are just in time to watch a Maori Cultural Performance. This is something we missed in Rotorua. We buy tickets for the performance and we are led to their small theater. It starts with several songs and finishes with the 'Haka', a war dance that includes their characteristic yells with bulging eyes and outstretched tongues. I was disappointed that there is no Maori Hula dance.

We start our museum visit in the natural history area looking specifically for the section on Ratites, or flightless birds. New Zealand at one time had the largest known birds, making ostriches look like chicks. The predator-free environment probably allowed their gargantuan evolutionary growth. Unfortunately when the Maoris arrived, they found them to be easy pickings and soon all became extinct except for the smallest species, the nocturnal Kiwi. I assume they tasted like chicken. The museum has several skeletons and recreations. The hipbone of the Moa, the largest, is above my head. The Moa egg is the size of a football.

My next area of interest is the Maori. The story of the Polynesian diaspora and the populating of the Pacific Islands over unimaginable distances by canoe is a feat that is not easily explained. The first section is large and just covers Maori creation myths. I find it to be silly and a waste of time. We find the real Maori history on the first floor. When James Cook visited in 1769, his Tahitian interpreter could communicate with the Maori, confirming their origin in central Polynesia.

Coming from tropical islands, many of the traditional foods the Maori brought along did not grow well in the colder New Zealand climate and they had to improvise. They found plentiful rivers so there are large displays of elaborate hooks, and various kinds of nets and fish baskets. The Maori learned to utilize New Zealand ‘Flax’ plant fibers for cloth making, especially to weave cold-weather garments. The Maori Flax plant looks like a tropical version of our Agave plant.

The Maori were known to be warlike with persistant internal fighting. Accordingly they lived in fortified villages and were skilled in making wooden Fighting Clubs of all sorts. A very long War Canoe dominates the hall. Their inter-tribal feuds were so strong that when the Europeans arrived, they used the guns they acquired not against the Europeans but against each other. Between disease and internal warfare, few Maori survived. The ones that did married the many whalers and gold seekers looking for wives. It probably didn’t help the bloodline that Polynesian women have a reputation for beauty (As Captain Bligh can attest). Government statistics suggest that maybe 15% of New Zealanders have some Maori blood.

The Maori men also had a strong tradition of full facial tattooing using chisels that left grooves. Women would only tattoo the chin. The Maori would collect the tattooed heads of their enemy as war trophies. The museum has the best collection of fine portraiture from the time of first contact with Europeans exemplifying this tradition.

Like all Stone Age peoples colonized by Industrial Europeans, New Zealand now has a complicated relationship with the descendants of the indigenous. It is an evolving history. Taking a cue from Grievance Politics of the USA, the Maoris are enjoying unprecedented political power which may reshape New Zealand. To the tourist the most obvious result is the resurrection of the Maori language and the move to make it equal to English if not eventually the official language. Maori is now taught in schools and the National Parks have all been changed to a Maori name. Cities are being renamed and New Zealand may become Aotearoa. The signage in the museum is dual with English second. This may assuage some British guilt but it does little to really help the Maori. Better to teach their descendants computers instead of a dead obscure language.

We left the museum intending to eat dinner in the downtown area, but parking is limited and most restaurants won't open for at least another hour. So we punted and drove through heavy traffic to the Auckland Airport where we checked into our hotel. Feeling lazy we had dinner in an adjoining restaurant. It was packed and the food mediocre.

December 7, 2022

December 7, 2022

From our motel on the northern outskirts of Rotorua, we drove just a few miles to the Agrodome, a farm theme park. Having grown up with farming relatives, I have little interest. Aimee, however is a city girl and wants to learn about this part of New Zealand culture. After all there are far far more sheep and cows than people in this mostly rural country. Our visit commences with a show of all the different breeds of sheep. Who knew (or cared) that there were so many. I learned that each breed has different wool qualities and production rates that are important for the various sheep markets, i.e. carpet wool vs clothing vs lamb chops. The show then moves on to sheep shearing, lamb feeding, and cow milking. In some ways the commentator made it an entertaining comedy show. It ended with a sheep dog herding….three ducks!

The show moved outdoors for a too short of a display on dogs herding sheep around. Being dog lovers we would have liked this part to go on far longer.

The final part of the experience was a tractor tour of the farm, which was mostly an excuse to feed sheep and alpacas. Aimee enjoyed this part. Afterwards we returned to our motel for hot chocolate.

In the afternoon we went into Rotorua, stopping first at Kuirau Park. Geothermal activity dots this area and this city park has lots of low-level steam vents. There is even a hot pool for visitors to soak weary feet. Rotorua has the reputation as the smelliest city in New Zealand.

We then drove to the adjacent Uhinemutu neighborhood, which is a living Maori village. The streets are very narrow and humorously many homes have a bubbling steam vent in their yard. We stop at St. Faith's Anglican Church. This historic and colorful church sits between the tribe's Meeting House and the lakefront Soldier's Cemetery. If the church was open we could have seen the window that has an etching of Christ in Maori garb who appears to be walking on the background lake water. Humorously we ran into another Tucsonan tourist wearing a U of A ballcap.

We then drove the couple miles to the south side of Rotorua to visit Whakarewarewa Forest Park. This recreational park started life as a research area assessing the viability of growing exotic trees for commercial production. Interestingly Redwood trees thrive here and grow faster than in their native California home. Our GPS had trouble finding this Redwood grove so we ended up walking within the Scion Tree Research area which had several groves of experimental trees. 

After exploring the area we drove around the corner to find the Redwood Memorial Grove. We were amazed at how big a Redwood Forest this park has. Unsurprisingly the always enterprising Kiwis are profiting at this park by offering a Treetop Redwood Walk.

We returned to our motel and decided to stay local for dinner. Hidden in the back bowels of our motel is a fancy restaurant. Aimee and I felt underdressed being there. I had a Coconut Curry Laksa Soup which was delicious. I now need to go to Singapore and Malaysia to check out this spicy cuisine.

December 6, 2022

December 6, 2022

We checked out and left Turangi, New Zealand heading north. The road follows the eastern shore of Lake Taupo. The large lake is the water-filled caldera of an ancient supervolcano. Just past the town of Taupo, we follow the Waikato River downstream and stop for a walk to Huka Falls. Here the wide river is forced through a hard volcanic gorge. The water is swirling and so blue from the minerals and bubbles.

Nearby we can see steam rising. This area is full of geothermal activity. We drive around the nearby Wairakei Power Plant. It has miles of piping that use superheated groundwater to drive electric turbines. Unfortunately they no longer do tours.

We continued our drive north along the Thermal Explorer Highway. We stop and do a short hike at the Rainbow Mountain Scenic Reserve. This colorful mountain is actually the side of a volcanic crater that is stained colors because of leaching minerals. There is a small blue lake at the crater bottom.

Only a couple miles away is Waimangu Volcanic Valley. We have lunch at their cafe before touring the park. A century ago it was the biggest draw in New Zealand because it had the world’s largest geyser and a beautiful set of hot spring terraces. Sadly these were lost because of the 1886 eruption of nearby Mt Tarawera. The park is ideal for weary hikers because it is mostly a downhill valley walk with return via a shuttle bus. The initial attractions are a couple large steaming lakes followed by an overflow stream. The small stream has colorful banks of stained silica formed from hot water percolating from the adjacent hillside.

Farther along the trail are several hot water terraces with ponds growing algae. The hot water allows different strains of colorful algae to form. I like the almost modern art look of this natural formation. This park is only mildly interesting to us. Once you have seen Yellowstone, which contains half of all the world's geothermal features, everywhere else pales in comparison.

The stream empties into a lake with Mt Tarawera in the background. Aimee and I decide not to take the boat tour of the lake where the historic Terraces once stood. Waiting for the return shuttle, we enjoy watching the many Black Swans on the lake. All of a sudden a chorus of croaking erupts from the lakeshore. It is very bassy and deep-throated. It has to be some monster frogs. Aimee and I scan the shoreline but cannot locate any of the dozens of voices. And then almost on cue, they all stop. This happens several times. Finally the bus driver arrives and he points out the culprits. Tiny green Australian Bell frogs with big voices!

Back at our starting point, we continue the drive north through mostly rural farmland. We make a stop along the way to photograph a pretty flowering tree, then we have to stop again to let a mother Magpie Duck with several ducklings cross the road. We end our day in the city of Rotorua.

December 5, 2022

December 5, 2022

This morning we returned to explore more of Tongariro National Park. The park encompasses a cluster of active volcanoes. We climbed the perimeter of conical Mt. Ngauruhoe yesterday. To its south is the higher snow-capped Mt Ruapehi. We park and hike the Taranaki Falls Walk. This circular trail traverses the alpine saddle between these two peaks.

It takes an hour for us to reach Taranaki Falls. It is a picturesque waterfall that plunges from a window in the basalt cliff face. The hike ends near the historic Chateau Tongariro Hotel. We stopped in for lunch but were told that they are only serving guests because of staffing shortages. We have heard that all over New Zealand. To service the seasonal tourist trade, New Zealand relies heavily on international employees which are only just beginning to return after the long border closure.

The only place we found to eat lunch at this tiny outpost was from a food truck. We ordered a toasted ham and cheese 'sammie'. While eating I saw a bright red Cinnabar Moth flying around. Unlike most moths, it is a day-flier.

Our next stop was the National Park Visitor Center. Tongariro is the oldest in New Zealand, becoming a National Park in 1886, only fourteen years after Yellowstone. We watched the park film about volcanic activity in New Zealand. The North Island has lots of active volcanoes and has a long history of eruptions. In 1953, 151 people died in a train disaster when the volcano above us took out a bridge. Just three years ago, 21 tourists died when White Island erupted.

Based on a ranger recommendation we drove to the ski field several mules uphill from the Visitor Center. The landscape below the snow-capped peak is a barren moonscape of basalt lava. I assume it looks less hostile in the winter when blanketed in snow.

A few miles below the Visitor Center, we stopped to do the short hike out to Tawhai Falls. This scenic cascade is nicknamed Gollum's Pool because a scene from the Lord of the Rings was filmed here.

On the way back to Turangi, we stopped to hike around Lake Rotopounamu. We didn't count on the twenty minute uphill hike to reach it. Tired, we just walked a small bit of the perimeter. Surprisingly we heard more birds on this short hike than we have in all of New Zealand.

For dinner we had a pizza at the pub. It was our first mediocre meal.

December 4, 2022

December 4, 2022

We woke early this morning in the small town of Turangi. We are going to explore our last New Zealand Great Walk, the Tongariro Northern Circuit. We are hiking the most famous section, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, often lauded as the best day hike in the country. Weather plays a crucial role, so I set aside two days in the schedule. The trail is often closed because of cold, wind, low visibility, or volcanic activity! Luckily the forecast for today was sunshine, so last night we quickly made a reservation for a shuttle transfer.

After gearing up, we drove twenty minutes to the Ketetahi Parking Lot near the finish of this one-way track. We couldn’t get a reservation in the parking lot so we just parked alongside the nearby highway. We are way early for our 8:30AM shuttle. Aimee sweet talks the bus driver and he makes room for us on the 7:30AM which is just leaving. This bus transfer takes us to the Mangatepopo Parking Lot at the start of the Crossing track. If everything works out we will end our 12.5 mile hike where we left our car at Ketetahi.

From the Mangatepopo road end, we began our trek just after 8AM. It is an easy stroll through a lava field. We are in Tongariro National Park which consists of the several volcanoes that make up the center of the North Island. The Park is also a World Heritage site. We reached the small waterfall of Soda Springs after an hour.

The track now climbs towards the volcano, Mt. Ngauruhoe. It is the picture perfect volcano. Cone-shaped, dark and still very active. It is also known as Mt Doom, because it played that role in the climax of the movie, Lord of the Rings. The filmmakers couldn’t have picked a better location. Aimee and I are feeling blessed during the ascent. We have blue skies and the weather is mild. I didn’t need to bring along all the emergency warm-weather clothing that the park recommends. We get nice views to the west, especially to Mt Egmont, on the far western shore. That volcano is the Mt Fuji of New Zealand.

It takes an hour of climbing to reach South Crater at the foot of Mt. Doom. We stop and have our first rest break and snacks. So far we are not overly impressed with this trail. A breeze picks up as we walk toward the Red Crater Ridge. The breeze is chilly but I don’t think it warrants adding any layers.

The track now ascends to the top of Red Crater, the high point of the Crossing. It is exposed so I figure it will get a little cooler and I add my raincoat as a windbreaker. After only a hundred yards the wind picks up to almost gale force and the wind chill drops precipitously. We have to stop in the shelter of a rock and put on every layer we have including winter gloves. We tighten the straps on our hats. It is a brutal hike up a loose rock field. We plow through and reach the top (elev. 6200 ft) in less than a half hour. Aimee said she saw one lady’s ball cap fly right off the cliff. I can’t imagine what this section would be like in bad weather. No wonder the park reinforces the weather alerts.

Almost as soon as we crest the top of the Red Crater and begin our descent, the wind dies and the temperature increases. The back side is one giant rock and gravel hill. Many people are finding it treacherous. I think it is a piece of cake, like running down a sand dune. Soon Aimee also learns to dig her heel in and she calms down. One side of the Red Crater is missing, exposing the bright red iron oxide of its center. It deserves its name.

The descent from Red Crater is interrupted to take photos of the Emerald Lakes that sit at the bottom. They are very picturesque in contrast with the gray and black volcano colors. In the distance is Blue Lake. These lakes are old explosion craters that have filled with mineral-rich water. We take our time and take lots of photos.

Since we are not yet halfway, we need to keep pushing on. Another half hour puts us across Central Crater to Blue Lake. It is large but loses it blue vibrancy up close.

I am not expecting much on this second half. I assume it is just a long walk back to the car. I am pleasantly surprised at the final crest to see a scenic vista with several large lakes in the distance.

The descent off the back of this volcanic mountain is long and winding. It doesn't help that I have to stop and take photos frequently. Besides the distant lakes, there is hissing steam in several directions. This backside also seems to have lots of native vegetation, especially large expanses of Red Tussock grass. I recently learned about this native grass at a conservation area in the South Island.

It takes hours but eventually we get below the alpine tussock region into some bushy alpine region. That gives way to forests. The descent is taking us through many biomes. This hike is not wanting to end. Stopping to take a photo occasionally takes my mind off of the marathon walk. Even when the official track does finally end at Ketetahi Road end, we have amost a mile down the road to where our car is parked on the highway. By the bottom my toes are hurting from all the downhill pounding. My personal GPS says we walked 14 miles compared to the 12.5 on the brochure. I have been long suspecting Kiwi miles were longer than ours!

December 3, 2022

December 3, 2022

Lying in bed, looking out my window last night, I saw stars again. I can’t believe how excited I now get for clear skies. I saw Orion again the first time up, but the second time the constellation Centaurus was center stage. Its super-bright star alpha-Centauri is our closest neighbor. I learned that as a child watching Lost in Space. After waking up, I was happy seeing a colorful sunrise. Aimee spoiled it when she announces that Air New Zealand cancelled our flight this morning from Queenstown to Auckland. Darn! Here we go again. We tried to book the one thirty minutes later but we were too slow. We got two of the last seats on a late morning flight.

We packed up and checked out and waited for the airport bus outside our hotel. The first never came. Almost an hour later one showed up. Today is not starting out so well. We made it to the airport and boarded our flight without issue. Immediately the baby in front of us screamed for the first ten minutes. Most of the people we have encountered in New Zealand seem to be young with children.

Our bad luck today seemed to end when we finally took off. The baby calmed down and we had clear skies for almost the first hour. We had great views of the glacial blue lakes we visited. The grandeur of the Southern Alps was before my eyes. I even saw a cloudless Mt Cook/Aoraki.

When we landed in Auckland, we took the shuttle to pick up our rental car. We got an unplanned upgrade but found the car has lots of quirks that took getting used to. Since we are late, we had to scuttle our tour plans and we instead drove four hours south to the the town of Turangi in the center of the north island. We had a hamburger dinner at the local pub and then went shopping for snacks at the grocery next door.

December 2, 2022

December 2, 2022

We have a superb view of Milford Sound, New Zealand, from our room. I woke up in the middle of the night for a bathroom break and noticed the stars shining bright. That is a good harbinger for the day ahead. It also reminded me that if it was clear I intended to go out and see the night sky. I remember from Australia that the Southern Sky has 50% more bright stars. I am way too comfy under the sheets so instead I peer up and clearly see the constellation Orion staring down at me. Being in the southern hemisphere it is upside down of course. A few hours later, that same clear view and bright sunrise woke me up earlier than I wanted.

After a late breakfast we turned in our loaned hiking gear, checked out, and waited for the bus. Milford Sound is clear and calm and gives me the opportunity for some nice reflection photos. I am pretty sure that happens almost never. I am grateful for the good weather my lucky charm of a wife delivered on this hiking adventure.

While taking photos, of course Aimee and I heard that elusive songbird again in the trees. This time it swooped down right over our heads straight to some flowers on a nearby Maori Flax plant. I quickly pivoted and got some shots so we could identify it as the nectar-eating Korimak or New Zealand Bellbird.

We drove the few blocks to the marina and loaded on a tour boat for our excursion on Milford Sound. We have glorious sunshine. This probably only occurs once a month. The only downside of no rain is the waterfalls are minimal. Minimal for Fiordlands, that is. There are still a huge number from wispy to roaring. Milford is a sight to behold. No wonder tourists have been striving to come here under great duress and high expense for well over a century.

Back on dry land, we began the long drive back to Queenstown. The route takes us up the Cleddau Valley through the Homer Tunnel that connects us to the Hollyford Valley and over the Divide Pass into the Eglinton valley. This road only opened in 1953. We stopped in Te Anau to eat our sack lunch. And then it is another two hours to Queenstown. We lug our gear to our hotel in the plastic bag we used as a waterproof backpack liner. After checking emails at the hotel (with another nice view) we return to Pog Mahones for a Guinness and Soup. Along the way we met several of our new friends from the tour.

December 1, 2022

December 1, 2022

We awoke in Quintin Lodge on the Milford Track in New Zealand, had breakfast and made our sack lunch. We assembled outside as a group again. Just as we were leaving, a Kea, or Mountain Parrot, landed on the tin roof above our head. Their plumage is jungle green. Great camouflage. No wonder we couldn't spot it before. Keas are notorious for curiosity with their hard beaks. They will open backpacks and pry rubber parts off cars. We watched as the Kea checked every nail and screw on the lodge roof hoping to find something loose.

Not long after setting out we got a long distance view of Sutherland Falls. For me that is good enough. My ankles and toes are very thankful I didn't hike to see it yesterday afternoon.

Our last leg of the Milford Track is mostly flat but at 13.5 miles the longest yet. Thankfully the rain has mostly gone. The track follows the forest for much of the route. I can tell that rainfall is heavier in this more westerly valley. The Fern Trees have returned.

There are few vistas in the dense forest canopy. We get glimpses of the Arthur River that flows down the center of the valley. It is wide and has lakes along its length.

We don’t stop for lunch until after the ten mile mark. We eat on the rocks by the scenic Giant Gate waterfall. The one negative of sunshine and no rain in Fiordlands is Sandflies. They are the New Zealand equivalent of our mosquito. They swarm and bite, and insect repellent seems to have little effect. We sit as close to the water spray as possible to keep them at bay. At the same time we have to fend off a persistent Weka that investigates every backpack looking for food.

The last three miles seem to never end, but they finally do and we reach the 33.5-milepost marking our successful completion of the Milford Track at Sandfly Point.

We then wait for the small boat launch that ferries us the short distance across Milford Sound to our accommodations. We get lucky and the captain allows me to squeeze on with Aimee on the next transfer.

At Mitre Peak Lodge we have our best view yet out our room window. And we can see some blue sky! And the top of Mitre Peak is visible. That is a rarity in the rain forest. We also unpack the bag we sent ahead. It is nice to have clean clothes and comfy shoes. We have a celebratory drink at the bar which also has a nice view of Milford Sound.

At every lodge we had communal drying rooms. A couple people complained of missing items. At our last briefing this evening, one Australian was reunited with a pair of missing underwear. In true Aussie fashion he decided to prove to everyone in the room it was his by mooning us!