New Zealand

August 2019

  1. Auckland
  2. Rotorua
  3. New Plymouth
  4. Wellington
  5. Picton
  6. Hokitika
  7. Wanaka
  8. Tekapo
  9. Christchurch

Day 1: Time to acclimate

Kia ora, New Zealand! We’re adapting to driving on the left side of the road and almost ran over our first possum. Very cliché — we’re like every other tourist who arrives here. We learned that there are 7 possums for every one person in NZ, which means we’re going to have plenty more opportunities to practice our possum-avoidance skills.

Day 2: Maori culture

We woke up to the “baa” sound of three orphan lambs being bottle-fed on the farm hosting our Airbnb stay. Not a bad alarm clock, honestly. The early rise was worth it when we saw the view that surrounded us: rolling green hills dotted with sheep (so many sheep), a beautiful lake, and blue skies. This is the New Zealand we imagined. We then drove to Rotorua, where we immersed ourselves in Maori culture: our new Airbnb host is Maori and taught us a lot, and then we went to the humorous and educational Tamaki Maori village experience.

The Maoris are badass! It’s no wonder the All Blacks national rugby team adopted the Maori haka chant to intimidate the opposition before every game (see video below). We got to experience the traditional version up close… and we definitely wouldn’t want to get on their bad side! The intensity is real.

When the Polynesian people first arrived in New Zealand in the 1300s, they called it Aotearoa, or “the long white cloud.” We’ve heard two explanations for this name: it refers to the clouds that helped the navigators find land, or it refers to the snowy mountain tops — having never seen snow before, they mistook the chain of white peaks for a long white cloud. Both explanations are equally poetic.

These people had sailed from the Polynesian island of Hawaiki (which no longer exists today, or at least not by that name). They were the first inhabitants of New Zealand, and separated from the other Polynesian islands, they developed their unique Maori culture over centuries.

The first Europeans arrived in the 1600s, and the relationship between the Maoris and Europeans was mostly peaceful until the 1800s. The 1840 Treaty of Waitangi brought NZ into the British Empire, but proved problematic because of differing information about sovereignty and land ownership in the English and Maori versions. Translation issues with massive consequences. After many decades of injustice, only recently were reparations made to the Maori as a direct result of protests and appeals.

Our impression is that these days, New Zealanders of all backgrounds take great interest and national pride in Maori culture. And for good reason — it is a fascinating, rich, and resilient culture that deserves to be celebrated.

Chief of the Tamaki village, in traditional clothing.

Day 3: Creative ornithology

Today we visited a nearby geothermal park, where we saw impressive geysers and lakes of shocking colors — neon blue and bright orange, almost as if someone had dumped paint in them. Add to that a great variety of bizarre birds. Eric names every new bird we see: “Look, there’s a red-headed snake fisher,” and “over there it’s a spray-tailed tarmigeon,” and then “wow, a rare blue-crested rabbit finch.” He delivers these proclamations with such confidence that you’d almost believe him. (Bea is pretty sure that Eric can correctly identify bald eagles. Maybe seagulls, too, but that’s about it.)

Day 4: Rotorua

The name of this town in Maori is “Te Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe,” which means “the second great lake of Kahumatamomoe.” Thankfully, the name was shortened to Rotorua (“the second lake”) — we doubt that tourism would have flourished otherwise. It turns out that Rotorua is only one of many beautiful lakes in the area, and today we explored several of them. Some of the lakes we saw had geothermal features and radioactive-looking colors. Others are home to tons of wildlife. We also went to the local spa for a relaxing soak in our own private geothermal pool with a view of the lake. Ah, bliss!

Day 5: A glowworm galaxy

Today we drove from Rotorua to New Plymouth, visiting the Waitomo caves on the way. Bea is easily impressed by caves — any cave, really — but Eric, who has led caving expeditions in the US, is decidedly not. So you can trust him when he says he was impressed with these caves. High praise. We first walked through the upper chambers, threading our way between stalactites and stalagmites. Then we descended to the lower level, where we boarded a small boat and floated silently into the darkness. The entire ceiling was covered with glowworms! It looked like we were floating through a galaxy of teal-tinted stars. So beautiful!

New Zealand glowworms are about 3 cm long, and each has many thin threads of saliva hanging from its body. When their tail lights up, it attracts insects, which then get tangled up in their sticky saliva and become dinner. It’s equal parts beautiful and horrifying — a bioluminescent death trap. Nature is just incredible!

Day 6: Dramatic reveals

We had planned to hike close to Mount Taranaki to get a good view of this impressive volcano, but when we woke up this morning, it was completely cloudy and rainy. No view of the mountain whatsoever. We debated, reminded each other of all the awesome no-view rainy hikes we’ve done in the Pacific Northwest, and decided to go anyway. During the hike, the rain turned to hail, and then to snow. It was below freezing. We considered turning back several times, but we persisted out of sheer stubbornness. Then, as we got close to our destination (after 2300 feet or 700 meters of hard-earned elevation gain), the snow stopped, the clouds opened up, and the mountain revealed itself!

It was a glorious way to see this isolated snow-capped peak, and perhaps our excitement led us to overstay a bit. Or maybe more than a bit. We departed as the sun was going down, and completed our adventure by descending through the forest in deep twilight, eventually using headlamps to navigate the dark path. It was fully night by the time we emerged from the forest at the trailhead, where we were rewarded with a cloudless sky and a stunning view of the Milky Way galaxy. What an awesome day! Worth every freezing moment.

Day 7: A private Weta tour

Today we drove from New Plymouth to Wellington, arriving just in time to go on a tour of the Weta studios. Weta is the company behind all the props and special effects of many of our favorite movies, including “District 9,” “Chappie,” “Ghost in the Shell,” and “Lord of the Rings.” As nerds, this was basically a pilgrimage. Traveling off-season comes with many perks, including being the only ones on the Weta tour (booking a private tour is prohibitively expensive, so we basically lucked into it).

Our guide specializes in metal and leather work, and made much of the chain mail and armor seen in “The Hobbit.” We heard lots of stories about the ingenuity and speed with which new props and costumes are made — creativity under pressure is clearly their specialty. Plus Eric got to try on a helmet that our guide made for one of the dwarves in the movie. We saw the robot costume from “I Am Mother,” the weapons and aliens from “District 9,” Green Goblin’s outfit from “Spiderman 2,” and many more. We also got to watch two sculptors at work, creating super cool masks — maybe for a future movie? The whole experience felt like being let into a secret world where imagination becomes reality.

We ended the day with an excellent dinner at Apachè, a local Vietnamese restaurant. We’ve mostly been cooking our own meals so far, so it was nice to eat out for a change.

Day 8: Te Papa deep dive

We wanted to learn more about the Maori culture, so today we visited the excellent Te Papa museum in Wellington. We could have spent days there — the exhibits are comprehensive, thoughtfully curated, and genuinely engaging.

We are now in Picton, after having taken the ferry from the north island to the south island. The ferry ride itself was beautiful, winding through the Marlborough Sounds. We’re looking forward to exploring the south island!

  • Te Papa Museum
  • Interislander Ferry: book through Direct Ferries to get a free upgrade to the Plus Lounge (including comfy seats, complimentary food and drinks)

Day 9: Vineyards, surprise llamas, and high-end wopwops

Our drive across the south island and down the coast was beautiful, though quite windy. We traversed vineyards at first, then pastures with lots of sheep (of course) but also many cows, a herd of elk (unexpected), and a couple of llamas (very unexpected). New Zealand’s livestock diversity keeps you on your toes. After descending from the mountains, the scene changed to rocky cliffs towering over the ocean — dramatic and gorgeous.

We’re currently in “the wopwops” (New Zealand-speak for “the boonies” or “the middle of nowhere”). We’re spending the night in Hokitika, a tiny beach town on the west coast of the south island. Fortunately, in New Zealand, even the wopwops have good supermarkets nearby, and we’re staying at a really nice Airbnb, so it feels sorta like the high-end wopwops. We’re not roughing it too much.

“Pancake rocks” at Punakaiki.

Day 10: All the kiwis

Kiwi is an overloaded word, and today we experienced all three meanings. We talked with several kiwis (New Zealanders), we ate four kiwis (the fruit), and we saw two kiwis (New Zealand’s national bird) in a conservation center. It’s a remarkably versatile word.

According to Maori legend, one day the king of the forest asked all the birds for a volunteer to live on the forest floor and eat the bugs that were damaging the trees. Each of the other birds declined for various cowardly and selfish reasons, but the kiwi agreed to sacrifice for the greater good. To do the job, the kiwi had to give up her colorful feathers, her beautiful wings, and the daylight of the treetops. But in return, she became the best known and most loved bird of New Zealand. It’s a beautiful story about selflessness and sacrifice.

There are five species of kiwi, each native to New Zealand. They used to be plentiful, but now they’re all endangered. Early settlers depleted the population through hunting, but nowadays the biggest threats to kiwis are stoats — furry weasel-like creatures that were introduced to tackle out-of-control rabbit populations, but turned out to prefer eating kiwi chicks. A classic case of unintended consequences. Domestic dogs and cats are the next biggest threat. That explains all the stoat traps and signs prohibiting dogs that we saw when hiking here.

Fortunately, conservation efforts are making a positive impact. With predation, kiwi chicks have only a 5% chance of survival in the wild. Conservation centers have raised that rate to 65% by incubating eggs, raising chicks to adolescence, then releasing them into the wild. That’s a massive improvement and reason for hope.

Today’s drive took us along the sparsely populated west coast of the south island, past the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers, and inland through the gorgeous terrain of Mount Aspiring National Park. We were treated to a colorful sunset over the mountains just before we arrived in Wanaka. We’re looking forward to exploring the area tomorrow — it looks stunning.

Day 11: Big skies, New Zealand style

We spent today exploring the area around Wanaka, and flying the drone to our hearts’ content. This area reminds us a bit of Montana: big skies that seem to go on forever, farming valleys with scattered homesteads, glacier-fed rivers that glow an otherworldly blue-green, and mountains in the distance framing it all. The landscape here makes you understand why New Zealand attracts so many outdoor enthusiasts and filmmakers — everywhere you look is another postcard-perfect scene. The contrast between the turquoise water of Lake Wanaka, the golden tussock grasses, and the snow-capped mountains creates a color palette that almost doesn’t seem real. This is exactly the kind of day we love: no strict itinerary, just exploration in a stunning location.

To cap off a perfect day, we had dinner at Big Fig in Wanaka, and we loved it. The place is super low-key, but food was creative, beautifully presented, and full of bold flavors — we just wanted to close our eyes and savor every bite. We weren’t expecting such an outstanding dining experience in a small town, but New Zealand keeps surprising us. If you’re ever in Wanaka, do yourself a favor and eat here.

Day 12: Lake collecting

Our drive today took us through rolling hills covered in tufts of tawny grass, with snow on the taller peaks. On the way, we visited as many lakes as we could fit in a day — we were basically collecting them at this point. We’re in awe of the lakes around here because of their surreal teal blue color. The glacial meltwater carries fine rock particles that scatter sunlight in a way that creates these impossibly vivid hues. At one point, dramatic storm clouds filled the sky, with occasional shafts of light peeking through, which further deepened the intensity of the lake colors. It was truly spectacular scenery — the kind of moody, cinematic lighting that photographers dream about.

We’re now by Lake Tekapo, which is surrounded on three sides by distant snow-covered mountains, and on the fourth side by the town of Tekapo where we’re staying. The sun was shining when we arrived, and lots of people were out and about enjoying the lakefront. We’re feeling energized and we look forward to exploring tomorrow!

Day 13: It’s not Photoshopped

We spent the day exploring Lake Tekapo. We still can’t get over the stunning turquoise color of its waters. We had seen photos before we arrived, but we honestly thought the color was edited. Photoshopped. Cranked up in Lightroom. Not so! It turns out that this intense color comes from the lake’s connection to rivers fed by the glaciers of the Southern Alps. The fine glacial silt suspended in the water gives it that impossibly vivid hue. Nature doesn’t need filters.

Tekapo is also a dark sky reserve, due to its very clear atmosphere and lack of light pollution. The town is home to the Mount John University observatory, and it’s one of the best places on Earth to see the stars, planets, and Milky Way galaxy. So of course we couldn’t end the day without doing some astrophotography. Standing under that sky, watching the Milky Way arc overhead in razor-sharp clarity, was one of those moments that makes you feel both incredibly small and incredibly lucky.

Day 14: Farewell Aotearoa

Today we drove from Tekapo to Christchurch, where we’ll catch a flight to Australia. Two weeks in New Zealand went by far too quickly. We barely scratched the surface of this extraordinary country — we didn’t even make it to the fjords, the Abel Tasman coast, or the Tongariro crossing. There’s plenty to come back for.

Kia koa, New Zealand — you’ve been good to us!