Aotearoa~ New Zealand: Part 1- North Island

For the first time in my life, I did not spend Christmas with family. Instead, I packed up a bag full of adventure and headed south to the land of Kiwi birds, All Black Rugby Players, and Remarkable scenery.

Becky, Caroline and I started our trip in Auckland which is the most northern city on the North Island. We rented a car while we explored the island that first week. It was odd driving on the left side of the road, but fun to have achieved! The scenery was beautiful with bright green rolling hills, and white sheep speckled here and there. We didn’t stay long in Auckland, but we did explore the museum and watched a cultural show that included the traditional Maori Haka dance.

After Auckland we drove to Rotorua where we stayed for two days. While there, we explored a Red Wood forest, hiked a small mountain, saw boiling mud pools, a geyser and soaked in hot streams. We also got to see a Kiwi bird in a special cultural center. Before leaving the area we visited Hobbiton (The Shire) and got to see the beautiful set up that was used for The Lord of the Rings. It was a very fun and informative tour!

Our next stop was Turangi which is further south and below the beautiful Lake Taupo. From Turangi we visited the Waitomo Caves. There we took part in the legendary black water rafting. We got into wet suits and explored the underwater streams through a vast cave system. This experience was like none other! It started with an abseil down into a cave, followed by a flying fox (zip line) in the dark with glowing worms overhead. After that we grabbed tubes and jumped (literally) into the stream. We floated on down the stream, went down a slide and enjoyed the glow-worms. It looked like the stary sky, except that these glow-worms are actually maggots with glowing poop.  We also got to explore caves on foot and climb up a few waterfalls. We covered more than 2km of cave on tube alone and enjoyed a hot drink and chocolate while we floated. The 3 hour underground adventure ended with hot showers and hot soup. This was definitely one of my favourite parts of New Zealand.

From Turangi we drove south to Tongariro National Park where Mt. Ruapehu and other nearby volcanoes that were the site of Mordor from the LOTR (Lord of the Rings) are located. We hiked around the beautiful rocks and enjoyed the changing landscape. As we continued to drive the road became very curvy and hilly (which I later realized is true of most NZ roads) and we nearly ran out of gas. Thankfully there was a tiny town with a gas pump. Close call!

We spent our Christmas Eve near the town Waikane at a Contemporary Monastery in the hills. It is at an old camp and it is a community of believers whose mission is to serve and welcome people who have no place to go, for what ever reason. We knew about the community through our friend Rocio who knows the Jones’, a missionary family living at the Monastery. They provided food and a tent for us to stay in. We felt like part of the community right away. That evening we spent the night at an artsy Potery shop, enjoying goodies and conversation, before walking by torchlight to the Anglican Church up the road. The church was completely packed (people sitting in the aisles and at the front) but there was a spirit of peace and joy that filled the cracks that people did not fill. After the service we walked home and enjoyed the clear night sky. The stars shone like I have never seen them before. The sky was full, and they were so bright. It was a beautiful Christmas Eve.

On Christmas morning we awoke to “Hey Indonesians (what they liked to call us), look outside your tent.” We were excited to find a newspaper stocking filled with an apple and some treats. It was a thoughtful surprise. Breakfast was heaps of fun too. We all wore festive or crazy hats while we ate our food which consisted of pancakes, ham, fruit, and the best part: ice cream! After most people were finished eating Boney M Christmas music came on and people started dancing. So we all (about 35 of us) joined a train that circled around the room. Then we sat down to a crazy present stealing/ guessing game. The rest of the day was filled will ginger-bread making, snack eating and socializing. When it came time to leave, we were sad to leave our new friends, but we had a plane we needed to catch in Wellington. We got to the airport with time to spare and headed off to Christchurch ready to explore the South Island over the next two weeks.

To be continued….