So, what do you do when you need to do your Master’s dissertation? Go for a 23 day trip to New Zealand of course (You can tell I’m a dedicated student).
It’s time for another wild, not thought through trip booking from yours truly. In my defence, I went into the travel agents merely to ask about options and prices and a 50% discount on the Kiwi Experience bus ticket I was looking at was going to expire in two days (I swear!).
With flights, a bus pass that started in Auckland and ended in Christchurch, and 10 days worth of accommodation booked in an afternoon, it was settled. I am a terrible student and I have an addiction to flying.
In the coming months, I costed up and booked more things, transfers, figured out which excursions I wanted to do, internal flights back to Auckland, and then my dad mentioned something to me that was very interesting…
The Lions tour was on whilst I was there.
Now I love rugby, I religiously watch the Six Nations, I’ve been to a World Cup game and I couldn’t pass up on this opportunity. That was another ticket booked – Eden Park for the Lions vs the Blues (the outcome of that match wasn’t great – but DRAWN TOUR).
So, with a backpack bigger than I am on my back (I know I tried to get in it), I was away on my 29 hours worth of solo flying. I arrived in Auckland technically two days later (oh time zones and jet lag, I do love you), at 5.30am, with the bus leaving from the centre of Auckland at 8.30am. This bus was going to be my home for the next 18 or so days (with the remaining 5 in Auckland at the end).
There are way too many people that I met and loved on this trip from all over the world, and if I do that’s all this blog would be… So the first stop was Hot Water Beach and Cathedral Cove, where despite being overcast, we saw a pod of dolphins – on our first day?!
Next was Waitomo, famous for its glow worm caves, quickly followed by one of the true highlights of the trip – Hobbiton. I am a huge fan, and it was a key reason I went to New Zealand. The sun came out and so did the cameras – I have waaaay too many pictures of hobbit doors on my computer right now.
After that, it was Rotorua, famous for its Maori traditions. After a quick dip in the hostel’s superheated pool, we journeyed to Tamaki Maori Village for an evening of culture, entertainment, and traditional feasting. I can understand why this particular excursion is consistently voted one of the best in the whole of New Zealand.
The next morning before leaving Rotorua for Taupo, we visited Te Puia Geyser and Maori Arts Centre where we ate eggs boiled in the geyser itself (not a cooking method I’ve seen on Masterchef).
Taupo was hands down one of my favourite places. Once we arrived and checked in, it was time for me to face my ultimate fear – bungee jumping over water. Now, I am massively afraid of heights over water, to the point where I hate bridges and can’t stand outside on a ferry, but I did it, nailed it and absolutely love it (please let me do it again!).
After that it was time for a boat party on Lake Taupo – there were pizzas included and BYOB on this pretty small sailing boat. It was all great until the captain decided to let the guys try steering. I’m not the tallest or the heaviest person in the world and the boat only had two ropes across the sides which normal height people can rest their feet on if the boat turns abruptly. I am not a normal height person. When the lads took the wheel I had to be held back in my seat by Lucy and Sian, two amazing sisters from South Wales.
Once back from the trip we carried on to the hostel bar, as we had an extra night in Taupo and didn’t have to get up early for the bus. Merriment ensued. Blurriness happened. Pitchers of beer were $9. And our bus driver’s knee popped out when he tried to do the splits… It was very good that the next day was really rainy and there were loads of films and blankets downstairs. It turns out I had lost my voice and wouldn’t actually get in back until about Christchurch…
Before our next port of call, we stopped at Huka Falls and Tongariro National Park so we could see the real Mt. Doom! After this we headed to River Valley Lodge which is a lodge in the middle of nowhere with no wifi and no signal, but with a full roast dinner and a dedicated bar stocked with treats such as mulled wine, hot amaretto, and apple juice (that solves a sore throat right?).
Onto Wellington, the capital. Unfortunately, I was on minimum time on the bus, so this is where we had to say goodbye to a lot of the people we’d been with up to this point. So after a wander around a beautifully illuminated Wellington, we met up with the people who were staying in Wellington for one last hurrah on a rooftop bar.
After a 6am wake up for the bus that would take us to the ferry for South Island, we ventured to Kaiteriteri, and a bus full of new people. Kaiteriteri is a really chilled beachside place near Abel Tasman so it was the perfect place to refresh after a busy couple of days and to prepare for the next section.
Next was Westport, another really chilled-out place where we paddle boarded down the Boller River before going on to Lake Mahinapua. Lake Mahinapua is a place that primarily only seems to get visited by the Kiwi buses so there is a huge dinner and breakfast laid on with a ‘P’ themed costume party with prizes for the best costume. There were Pharmacies, Pterodactyls, Presents, Poseidon, and loads more – I decided to go as Pint-size Posh Spice as it turns out I pretty much already had the costume.
We left Mahinapua for Glacier Country and Franz Josef where some people opted to skydive or helicopter over the glaciers – but pennies were starting to dwindle at this point with Queenstown and Auckland still to go. So instead a few of us opted to trek up tho the face of the glacier instead in a 4-hour round trip in the wintery sunshine.
Wanaka was up next with its cloudy and moody gorgeousness. We’d been advised to take it easy here as it had been a heavy few days and Queenstown was next. So instead we went to the local cinema which was decked out with couches and sofas in old cars (definitely didn’t sneak some wine in there too).
So Queenstown. Famous as the adventure capital of NZ and it didn’t disappoint. After another farewell bar crawl, I took part in the Canyon Fox, which is from the same mind as the batshit crazy Canyon Swing. Basically, it’s a zipline with a freefall, and my god, that was by far the most terrifying thing I have ever done. It doesn’t sound that bad, but if you try it, you’ll eat your words – or swear a lot like I did…
Next was Lake Tekapo which is supposed to be one of the best places for stargazing and seeing the southern lights. But of course, it was snowing when we went (in June?!) so the cloud cover was pretty obscuring. So instead we decided to hike Mt John and see the view of the lake from above.
My bus journey came to an end in Christchurch. As I was only there for one day, I tried to see as much as I could, including the Canterbury Museum. However, Christchurch is still recovering from the earthquake, so there’s a lot of work still going on. Despite this, it was a wonderful place just to walk around by yourself, including the giant park.
A quick flight back up north and I was in my final stop: Auckland. The next few days were a worldwide of walking, getting lost and not caring about it. I got lost trying to find Eden Park, but found more fans and figured it out. In order to avoid the insane away-game prices, I actually bought my tickets through the New Zealand Ticketmaster site before I left the UK and put my hostel as the local address. Not sure how legit this is, but it worked for me!
I visited Auckland Domain, the harbour, Mission Bay, Mt. Eden, and more cute coffee shops and vintage shops that you can shake a stick at. I pre-booked a hostel in Auckland on Hostelworld, which had a great bar and social scene and was easy to get to everywhere of interest.
The best part of my stay in Auckland (besides the rugby) was a trip to Waiheke Island, famous for its vineyards. I took part in a ridiculously cheap wine tasting at Cable Bay’s cellar door (approx. 15-20 min walk from the ferry terminal), then proceeded to have another glass in their picturesque restaurant, before wandering down to the artsy heart of the island.
So, if you love walking, exploring, amazing quality wines and beers and just general cultural amazingness – New Zealand is the one for you.
Amazing xx now i need to go there SOON!!