In 2013, I was freshly out of college, with a job, and a whopping two weeks of vacation to burn. While in the theater for the first Hobbit movie with some friends, we planned a trip to see Middle Earth for ourselves! It was my first trip outside of North America and for me was the catalyst to loving travel, but especially New Zealand. The second time I visited Aotearoa (Land of the Long White Cloud in Māori) was with Mr. Wander in a campervan. We drove from the Northern- to the Southern-most points of the two main islands in just three weeks. This time, I was especially excited to share a taste of the amazing things these islands have to offer with Mr. Wander’s parents! We started in the north in the capital city of Auckland, and had a few days to visit a friend we biked with in Wales. Then we picked up my inlaws at the airport and headed south while they slept off some of the jet lag in the car.
The Islands of Auckland
We arrived in Auckland late at night and were ready to crawl into bed once we finally got the right shuttle to the hotel. The next morning we had time until our friend finished work so we used the hobby as our travel planning office, working on early plans for the fall.
There was a restaurant where we could get a late lunch and then take rideshare to our friend’s house for the weekend. We had met her and her husband in September of 2024 on the charity bike ride across Wales, UK.
We connected as they were fellow nomadic travelers but have since returned home to be near family and explore new careers they have always been interested in. Unfortunately, this meant her husband was in Australia near the center and so we weren’t able to catch up with him, but we did get to chat on a video call.
She had an adorable little dog that we took to a walk up a hill near her house. There are a total of 48 similar hills around Auckland, which are are actually dormant volcanoes! We took the steps up and enjoyed the view of the city and then headed back for some delicious homemade hamburger tomato soup that tasted so much like one I grew up enjoying!
The next morning we took the ferry to Auckland city center and then onto Rangitoto island for a hike up another volcano, this one a bit taller. We climbed about 1600 ft to the top and then continued down a different way to a beach.
Here we enjoyed some sandwiches we packed watching boats go by and suddenly we saw one of the racing sailboats practicing out in the bay! This would race in the America’s Cup and New Zealand has historically done quite well. They looked like they were doing practice and testing runs, with boats following taking readings off sensors so engineers and mechanics can figure out how to improve their performance.
After watching for awhile we went back along the shore, sometimes the trail took us very close to cabins or homes. After over 7 miles of hiking, we arrived to the dock with 30 minutes to spare before our ferry back to the mainland arrived. The timing of the ferries aren’t the best for getting back to the region where our friend lives so instead of waiting another 2 hours downtown, we called an Uber.
That evening we relaxed, sharing travel stories and giving her dog plenty of pats and scratches. In the morning we did a long walk around the bay and even spotted a mobile sauna truck people were enjoying and jumping into the water to cool off. Then we had booked a ferry to a different island so she gave us a ride to dock and we said goodbye.
To the Wine Island
The ferry was to Waiheke island, where we took one bus, then caught a second bus, then walked a few blocks to our Airbnb. It was a guest house with a water view, but only when the tide was high enough. It was interesting seeing so many boats “beached” at low tide!
We took a few days to relax as after all the driving in Tasmania, visiting, and hiking I really needed a day to recover. The last day we visited a winery by taking the tourist bus that goes from one end of the island to the other. We picked a winery that was fairly highly rated and there was a second not far from the same bus stop. They didn’t have food themselves but there was a little food truck where we could order some snacks or a cheese plate.
New Zealand is most known for its Sauvignon Blanc, the most prominent regions are Hawke’s bay and Martinborough on the Eastern and southern parts of the north island, and Marlborough on the north end of the South Island. Waiheke is unique as an island near Auckland in the north is able to produce more full bodied reds such as Cabernet or Syrah and even whites like Chardonnay. We enjoyed our time so much we didn’t make it to the other winery but just took our bus back.
Near one of the grocery stores there was a food truck called “Mint As” that made very delicious burgers. This is akin to a typical Kiwi phrase, if something is really good they might say “sweet as”, or if they’re starving it’s “hungry as”. You could add “as” to many adjectives! Here I’m not sure if the meaning is to use plenty of mint, or if it’s very pristine, like mint condition. It was delicious either way!
Our ferry back to the mainland got cancelled and rebooked due to shortage of fuel, so we did get to sleep in a bit longer but they made us go back to Auckland city center. So after two busses, a ferry, and then an Uber back to the airport, we finally picked up our car for what was supposed to be the rest of the country – but more on that later. We explored around the area, visiting a flowershop cafe, for caffeine, then to a restaurant in an old post office that had a postcard as the menu, and then finally got into our hotel!
Greetings with Māori
In the morning it was quite rainy as we arrived back to the Auckland airport to pick up our travel companions – Mr. Wander’s parents decided to join us on five weeks of adventures across the Pacific. We even made them signs saying “Homeless and looking for loving parents” or something like that – I forgot to take a picture of it.
Jetlagged after 13 hours on a plane we shoved them in the back of our tiny car, thankful we are all quite light packers and made our way out of the city. As they napped here and there we did stop at one waterfall my FIL walked with us to see, just off the side of the road. But as it was quite rainy it wasn’t as fun to get out and explore to many places. In a historic area of Tauranga we stopped for lunch, where an old house was turned into a falafal and kebab restaurant. My tacos were quite delicious and I think the others liked their falafels.
My MIL really liked the colorful street!. Back in the car we continued down to Rotorua. We checked into the hotel and relaxed since they’ve had such a big travel day, and we could be out of the rain. In the evening I had booked a cultural experience with our dinner. I am pretty sure I did this same one 13 years ago but they have upgraded their buildings since then! We met our guides at the gathering place in the middle of town and from there took a bus out to their land.
Before we left, Mr. Wander was chosen to be the Chief for our bus, so they made us sit up front and he had to talk on the microphone a bit. This way our bus (and another that arrived just behind us with their own Chief) could act as visiting tribes to Te pā tū.
Along the way our bus driver and a few members of the family hosting us explained how things would work for the welcome ceremony. Mr. Wander practiced his greeting of a handshake and two touches of the nose, while the rest of us practiced the Māori hello, “Kia Ora”. As you travel around New Zealand, this is said on planes, ferries, or television which I think is a cool way to honor those that first lived on these lands.
After we arrived to the main gate area, several warriors were doing chants and movements, intended to intimidate and show tribal strength, wary of strangers approaching their homes. Then they presented two fern leaves on the grounds, one for each of the chiefs as a peace offering. Both chiefs went forward, bent and picked up the fern leaf with right hand, and then backed up to the group as an acceptance of offering. Once the extended offer was accepted, the Chief of the host family came out to greet both of our chiefs using the traditional handshake and double touching of noses.
At the end of the ceremony the Chief explained how the evening would work, and then four of his nieces and daughters split up our group into different parts of the village in the woods. They served several delicious canapes, such as this sweet potato crisp with venison and blueberry compote, prawn stuffing in a leaf and a nice fruity tea.
We learned abbout several games and implements used to train skills that would be needed in battle, like this pole game called Poi Rākau. As they called out “mauī” (left) and “matau” (right), you let go of your stick and move that direction and grab the next stick before it falls. It took awhile just to get used to the Māori names for the directions! In another area they had these balls attached to string that originally were used as wrist strengtheners for use of spears and other hand weapons. Now they are used more as a rhythmic instrument since the introduction of firearms by the European settlers.
They shared about how the shape of their structures resemble a person, the head at the top middle represented by a carving that changes depending on what structure that is or who’s family sleeps there. The roof line front edge are the arms, even with fingers sticking out, and the walls are legs.
Finally, we learned all about the haka, which wasn’t dissimilar to the show of strength during the welcome ceremony. This was the most intriguing because when I was here 13 years ago, they only let the men learn the haka. It was traditional to do before a battle and only men fought in the battle. It is meant to help warm up the body and mind for the fight, come together as a unified group and listening to your chiefs commands, and intimidating the opponents in the hope they will surrender and no battle happens.
This time thy talked about how women may have started the haka as a dance of farewell and good luck before the men went off into battle, and so this time we were all allowed to learn. I probably should have asked about the difference but was worried that I didn’t remember correctly.
Next we went into a stage area with stepped seating where the family put on a presentation with various songs, dances, throwing and clapping with sticks in time to the music, and of course the haka by both the men and women. There was a group from Korea in the front row, a few with cameras so I would guess they were some sort of YouTubers or similar and had spoken to the host family before arriving.
In the middle of the concert the Chief pointed them out and mentioned the song that was coming next and how in Korean they had basically the same song! They even sang a bit of it in Korean and mentioned it tells a similar love story. They also presented the Chief with a present of a traditional mask from Korea. It was a really interesting moment showing just how many similarities we have across the world.
Finally it was time for dinner! We were assigned a table with another family of four from the UK. It was fun chatting about their travels in NZ so far, as they started in the South and were near the end for their northbound journey. Meanwhile they served us three different appetizers, then four main dishes, several vegetable sides, and three desserts to each family of four that we split. It was so much delicious food! My favorite was the Wagyu beef short rib that was so tender and delicious. I forgot to take a picture of the menu with all the descriptions, but there were about three different kinds of potato dishes, lamb, chicken, beef, oysters and fresh bread A few of the things had been cooked in a traditional Hangi style, which is an underground oven.
At the end a few of the singers wanted to share in the cultures of everyone who was visiting so they asked what countries people are from and sang songs – often in the local languages from those countries. For usa they asked modern or older and I was about to say older but someone else said modern so she sang a bit of “Party in the USA”. For those from the UK she sang “Let it be” but this time the intro was in Māori and we had to try and guess before she sang the chorus in English. By the end she sang songs in German, Dutch, Danish, Mandarin, Malay, Russian, and finally in Korean. I could not get over how good she was and watching the faces of those from those countries they even seemed impressed as she sang in their native languages. It was such an amazing thing and was fun as people recognized songs.
Soon we had to get back on the bus and head back to town. ON the way the driver made Mr. Wander introduce himself to the rest of the group and then the driver led us in a few known songs like you are my sunshine and what a wonderful world. Since they had been upright for about 36 hours at this point between two flights over 17 hours, Mr. Wander’s parents were more than ready to crawl into bed.
Glow Worms in the Redwoods
The following morning we let them take it easy and started with a visit to a few geothermal sites right in Rotorua that are free and don’t require tours. We walked around a park with several pools that were bubbling a little but not steaming. We walked this loop and suddenly came up on people in what looked like hot tubs, but heated from the natural springs! It was raining so this one group had the place to themselves. There are other pools behind fences that are perfectly clear but the sign said the water was at 100C and were putting off a ton of steam.
There are many options to see glow worms around the country but the most well known are caves near Waitomo. They require quite a few steps or a long walk on a spiral path underground so it isn’t very accessible. In the last few years, however, a man-made cave was created above ground and right in Rotorua. They have a very healthy population of glow worms that were initially brought in but have since thrived. It has provided opportunities for closer study by scientists and is much more accessible to those with lower mobility, or a fear of going underground.
This was built in an area that was an experiment with the Californian Redwood to see if it would grow here about 120 years ago. It does well but they get so much rain they became a softer wood. You can pay to walk along suspension bridges from tree to tree and it is supposed to look pretty magical lit up at night. If you’re a fellow Lord of the Rings fan I can only imagine it feels a bit like lothlorien looks in the movies.
On our guided tour of the cave our guide shared with us videos of the glow worm in various stages of life, which lasts only about 6 months to a year. It starts as eggs and after three weeks they emerge as the glow worm larvae. Here it finds a spot and can create a sticky thread, similar to a spider’s web, to stick to the ceiling or wall of a cave, create a hammock for itself, and drop several long strings. It’s back end lights up, using the same mechanism as lightning bugs you might be used to. The light attracts bugs to come close and then they get caught in the string. The worm moves it’s head down to inject the insect with their digestive fluid to liquefy the prey and then drink.
It does this for many months, sometimes nearly a year, before it has enough food to last through the next two stages of life. First it creates a caccoon where it morphs into a flying insect, and also trades the digestive system for a reproductive one. Once they emerge the males have just 1-3 days to find females to mate with, and the females have another few days to find a suitable place on the wall to place their eggs, and then they die of exhaustion or lack of sustenance. The guide had a red flashlight in the caves to make it easier to walk through, but he let it go completely dark where the majority of the worms are lit up. So now that you’ve made it through all the science, enjoy the constellations of glow worms!
As we left the cave, Mr. Wander’s mom said “Mino-giizhigad, Miigwech, giga-waabamin miinawaa” which is Ojibwe for “It’s a wonderful day, Thank you, I’ll see you again” to our guide. He was speechless for a second and she explained what it was and how she had taught many kids from the Ojibwe tribes and being able to say that to them in their native language made them feel more welcome.
As he is Māori I could tell that really meant something to him to hear people respecting indigenous cultures on other continents as that isn’t always the norm. Then he shared with us a painting of his great-great-…-grandfather from more than 100 years ago wearing a shawl of kiwi feathers that was so ornate. He said it is only brought out for very special ceremonies and kept safe in a traditional timber box. After saying farewell, we made our way through rain and fog around Lake Taupo and towards Tongariro National Park.
Finally Seeing Mount Doom
Just south of Rotorua we stopped at a dam that releases water a few specific times a day. Those familiar with The Hobbit movies, they filmed the barrels through this area when the water was released and added back in the various Dwarves, elves, orcs and hobbits filming on green screen later. It was a bit calmer when we were there since we chose to visit the glow worms after they opened instead of making here in time.
It was nice to get out and walk around on the paths and on the bridge, and Mr. Wander’s mom chatted with a nice couple travelling through the region by bike!
As we reached a restaurant for lunch I received some unfortunate news about our ferry crossing in two days, It was cancelled! There are four boats between two companies, and I unfortunately chose the one that had a mechanical issue about 8 days before we were to cross to the South Island with our rental car. It isn’t easy to find a rental that lets you cross in the first place and looking at the other 3 boats they were too full even for walk on guests! I managed to call the rental company and was able to change the drop off for Wellington, rented a different car for the south Island, and bought flights to Nelson. Phew!
We were saving going too far into the park until the following day when the weather looked more promising, but we did stop at Tawhai Falls. It was gorgeous, especially when Mr. Wander took the upper photo in the gallery from the front! I was also intrigued to see what’s known as “Gollum’s pool” in Lord of the Rings, where he’s eating a fish with his little song.
In the morning we woke up to relatively clear skies and driving into the park a lovely view of Mount Ngauruhoe! This is my third time driving past this mountain and finally it wasn’t raining or full of fog and clouds. Just as we hit the base of the mountain there were barricades and so many people in running gear and numbers, I’m not sure how far their race was but they did run UP the mountain!
Continuing up the mountain we parked in a lot intended for the ski hill up here. I think you could get a ticket for the gondola but we just decided to do a little hike while we could get a good view of Mount Ngauruhoe. There were some cool cliffs that were fun to stand on the edge of – sorry mom!
After returning to the car, we started a longer drive down to Wellington, to the southern tip of the North Island. Along the way Mr. Wander had us stop at the Makatote Viaduct built in 1905. It was the last and highest structure in the KiwiRail’s main railroad line across the North Island. We also found some lovely rolling hills at the Parikino Lookout that reminded me of the Shire. Our last stop on the way to Wellington was in Whanganui and tried a local bread from a tiny shop that is the Māori equivalent of Native American fry bread called Parāoa Parai.
Once in Wellington, we stopped by the Weta Workshop, which has become a well known special effects studio and prop workshop thanks to their work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Since then they’ve worked on the newest Star Wars movies, Avatar series, Dune I & II, most Avengers movies, later seasons of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, and hundreds more!
On our tour we got to see many areas including into the swordsmith’s workshop where they can create a replica of many movie swords if you wish. Most places we were not able to take photos until the last two areas with many props and a hands on activity to try and makes something out of tinfoil. They had many amazing sculptures just using this including the whales, dragons, and an entire fireplace. Once you coated the foil in a certain style of cement it would harden and you could paint it to look like real rocks or scales of a dragon. Kim Beaton’s Tree Troll was made using this method! They were nearly selling working there to find more creative people to join their team. Wanting us to make random things from everyday recycling people to improve their skills so they could come work for them. That would be such a fun job!
After our tour we went to a nearby brewery with a tasty food truck for burgers and a few refreshing beverages, and then made our way to our hotel!
Next Time
Instead of by boat, we head to Nelson by plane where we start with some wine and a boat ride along Abel Tasman National Park. Wandering South along the Western coast we find glaciers, mountains, pancake rocks and jade, finishing with two nights onboard a small boat in Doubtful Sound. With amazing food and incredible views this was the highlight for the whole country according to our travel companions. Ka kite anō!
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