On the road again
Goin' places that I've never been
Seein' things that I may never see again
And I can't wait to get on the road again
On the road again
And I can't wait to get on the road again
On the road again
Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway
We're the best of friends
Insisting that the world keep turning our way
And our way
Is on the road again
- Johnny Cash / Willie Nelson
Coromandel sunset - January 2014
Over the next several months, we have a lot of visitors coming across the pond, ostensibly to see us. The reality, I think, is that we are just an excuse to make the trip of a lifetime. New Zealand is a long and expensive journey from the U.S. and Canada. This isn't a trip you do over a long weekend, or even a week; you have to block off at least two weeks and even that isn't enough to have a true Kiwi experience. Unfortunately, two weeks is about all a working stiff from North America can usually sort out.
As friends and family start planning their trek to The Land of The Long White Cloud, they invariably ask us what they should see and do, and we invariably tell them that two weeks is not enough time to do all we suggest. The best we can do is share our journey here and throw in a few newly gained insider tips.
In 2013 we started planning a two week trip to New Zealand to straddle the last week of January and first week of February 2014. Bridging months was the only way I could really get two consecutive weeks. As we were sorting it out and I was talking about our plans, the single best element of our adventure was suggested by a friend. He had visited NZ the year before, travelling in the traditional North American style by renting a car and booking hotel rooms. Once he got here, he discovered the Kiwi way ... travelling by caravan (motor home). I will be forever in your debt, Dr Evil.
In 2013 we started planning a two week trip to New Zealand to straddle the last week of January and first week of February 2014. Bridging months was the only way I could really get two consecutive weeks. As we were sorting it out and I was talking about our plans, the single best element of our adventure was suggested by a friend. He had visited NZ the year before, travelling in the traditional North American style by renting a car and booking hotel rooms. Once he got here, he discovered the Kiwi way ... travelling by caravan (motor home). I will be forever in your debt, Dr Evil.
Caravan living
Our plan was mostly to freedom camp, but every 3-5 days stay at a paid campground where we could dump our grey water, top up our fresh water, and do some laundry. New Zealand has an abundance of scenic spots ideal for pulling over and setting up camp, either in a tent or caravan. Unfortunately, this practice has led to discord when campers have been loud, camped in inappropriate spots, or left their rubbish (and waste!) behind. This has led to some communities passing local bye-laws limiting where people can freedom camp and requiring the use of certified self-contained vehicles.
There is a huge range of caravans commercially available for sale or for hire, but Kiwis tend to be pretty inventive so there are just as many home-built conversions on the roads and at campsites. It's not uncommon for people coming here on an extended trip to purchase a caravan on arrival, drive for a month, then sell it when they leave. We haven't see any of the giant bus-sized motorhomes that are ubiquitous on North American freeways, but there are quite a few older motorhomes (gypsies) that have become permanent residences for some people.
Gypsy, Clive NZ - Who rules Bartertown?
Google search a sample itinerary for a road trip in New Zealand, or talk with people who have travelled here, and everyone suggests a trip to the South Island. I can't say I disagree with that ... we have travelled very little on the South Island, but what we have seen has been majestic. Our trip in 2014 wasn't just a vacation though. We had thoughts that we might want to move here to live and work for a year. When trying to figure out where we might want to live, we kept looking at places on the North Island, so we chose to spend our two weeks touring there.
I really wanted to visit the Northland region, but there just didn't seem to be a way to get up there and do the other things we wanted to, so we decided that we could visit the Northland once we were living here. We charted a route that would begin by taking us from Auckland to the Coromandel peninsula. We spent a couple of days exploring there, went on to Rotorua, and then over to Gisborne. We planned to spend two days in Rotorua and only one in Gisborne, but had such a good time visiting with friends that we spent almost 3 whole days in Gizzy. From there, we headed down the East coast and eventually into Wellington, where we spent 2 days. We zig-zagged back up along the West coast with a detour through Taupo, and finished back in Auckland. We spent the night in Auckland but did not fly out until late the next night, so we took a ferry ride over to Waiheke Island on our last day.
On our trip over from South Carolina, we built in an extended (10 hour) layover in San Francisco so we could visit with friends there. We had a similar 12-hour layover in SF on the return trip.
I really wanted to visit the Northland region, but there just didn't seem to be a way to get up there and do the other things we wanted to, so we decided that we could visit the Northland once we were living here. We charted a route that would begin by taking us from Auckland to the Coromandel peninsula. We spent a couple of days exploring there, went on to Rotorua, and then over to Gisborne. We planned to spend two days in Rotorua and only one in Gisborne, but had such a good time visiting with friends that we spent almost 3 whole days in Gizzy. From there, we headed down the East coast and eventually into Wellington, where we spent 2 days. We zig-zagged back up along the West coast with a detour through Taupo, and finished back in Auckland. We spent the night in Auckland but did not fly out until late the next night, so we took a ferry ride over to Waiheke Island on our last day.
On our trip over from South Carolina, we built in an extended (10 hour) layover in San Francisco so we could visit with friends there. We had a similar 12-hour layover in SF on the return trip.
Mrs Flat Stanley at the Golden Gate Bridge - January 2014
The flight from San Francisco to Auckland takes 14 hours and crosses the International Date Line, so we left SFO at 10 pm on Saturday January 25th and landed in Auckland at 6 am on Monday January 27th. On the return trip, we left Auckland at 10 pm on Saturday February 8th and landed in SFO at 10 am on February 8th ... 12 hours before we left!
Our plan all along was to spend a day in Auckland then pick up our caravan the next morning and get on the road. In retrospect, we probably could have just picked up the caravan and headed out that day. Arriving in Auckland just before 6 am, we cleared customs and immigration pretty quickly and were in a cab to our hotel by 6:30 am. We hoped that we could drop our bags at the hotel, have breakfast nearby, and return to the hotel for check-in after exploring the city for the day. We were lucky and the hotel had empty rooms, so they allowed us to check in immediately. What an awesome surprise! We had a chance for a shower and a proper nap before we set out for the day.
Auckland NZ, January 2014
After picking up our caravan the next day and stopping at the Countdown for groceries and The Warehouse (Yeah!) for a coffee press, we headed South out of Auckland for the Coromandel Peninsula. The harbour and peninsula are named for the HMS Coromandel which landed there in 1820. The ship in turn was named for India's Coromandel Coast. By far the most prominent feature of the peninsula is the extensive Coromandel Forest Park. Because of the steep geography, most of the region's populated areas are located along the coast and the interior is criss-crossed with dozens of tramping trails.
We stopped in at the Kauaeranga Visitor Centre, gateway to Coromandel Forest Park, to plan a short day hike. At the end of our hike, we found a swimming hole. We finished our morning by stopping for coffee and ice-cream in Thames.
We spent the rest of that day driving along the coastline of the Coromandel, then taking the highway up and over the mountains to the East coast. Our plans to freedom camp on the shores of the Pacific Ocean were foiled. Every site we came to was full. The hour was getting late, it was getting dark, and the driver was getting tired. At one point, out of fatigue and frustration, I pulled back onto the highway and Kari had to point out that I was driving on the wrong side of the road! In the end, we paid for a campsite much further down the road than we had planned on going. We learned a valuable lesson that first day. From then on, we found a freedom camping site early in the afternoon, parked, and walked to our various destinations.
Around the Coromandel
The next day we travelled to Te Whanganui-A-Hei (Cathedral Cove) and Hot Water Beach. The cave and cove are used as the tunnel entrance to Narnia in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. We didn't run into the Penvensie children, in fact we were there early enough in the day that we didn't run into many people at all. The parking lot was packed by the time we were leaving though. Here we learned another valuable freedom camping lesson. The night before, we had driven past Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach to find a camp site. When we got to the parking lot for the walk down to the cove, there were a bunch of empty freedom camping spots. These spots were not on any of the listed guides or online sites that we used. A quick stop into the local iSite would have provided us with a much more comprehensive list of freedom camping options.
Hot Water Beach sits above a reservoir of hot water and heated rocks more than 2 km below the surface. The Maori and Orua springs are adjacent to the beach and release super-heated water that runs under the beach and mixes with the ocean. By digging a shallow pit, you can create your own personal hot-tub. Timing is critical ... it really only works for two hours on either side of low tide. We didn't have a spade so had to make do by digging with our hands.
We finished the day on the shores of Rangataua Bay in Tauranga. Here we had our first introduction to New Zealand's amazing adventure playgrounds and our third valuable lesson in caravan living. After getting muddy and dirty at Hot Water Beach, we all decided to shower. The shower/toilet in the caravan was akin to a "wet room" on a boat. The sink folded up against the bulkhead, and the shower rained down from the overhead. The entire room, including the toilet, got wet and it all drained into the same grey water containment tank. After two days on the road, our containment tank was full. The last shower was the last straw and the grey water tank backed up into the shower! It made for a pretty smelly night until we could find a grey water dump the next day. Lesson #3: If you travel by caravan, dump your grey water at every legal opportunity.
Rotorua was our first planned campground stop. We were going to be there for two days so decided not to freedom camp. In retrospect, I wish we had. There are some pretty amazing freedom camping spots on the shores of the lake and walking distance to downtown. In Rotorua, we went Zorbing ... jumping into a giant, water-filled, inflatable ball and flying/smashing downhill. And we had another opportunity to dig our own hot-tub (this time with a spade). The water bubbling up from the shore of the lake was so hot we had to dig a channel to let lake water in to cool it off. We finished by getting into a purpose-built hot-tub at the camp-ground.
Day 2 in Rotorua was set up to be a big day. We started out with a zip-lining adventure with Rotorua Canopy Tours. I have previously written about this amazing company.
Rotorua Canopy Tours operates in the Dansey Road Scenic Reserve, a 500 ha section of native forest that has never been logged. Trees in the reserve can be over 1000 years old. While the flora has managed to remain somewhat pristine, the fauna has not fared so well. As part of their conservation effort, Rotorua Canopy Tours have taken on the task of clearing non-native animal species from 220 ha of the 500 ha reserve through trapping efforts and the eventual erection of exclusion fences. Once the pest species are eradicated, their ultimate goal is to re-introduce native species. Our experience with them was professional and safe, but still had that young seat-of-the-pants feel.
Rotorua Canopy Tour - February 2014
Maori culture and traditions are central to New Zealand's identity. Our daily lives are steeped in Maori phrases, art, and ceremonial carvings. We meet Maori families and Little Highstead goes to school with Maori children. Our time in Rotorua included an evening at the Tamaki Maori Village. We were picked up from our campground and taken to central transport center where we awaited our buses to the village. On our way to Tamaki, our bus driver told stories of Maori culture and introduced us to the language. The big surprise of the trip was the nomination of a "chief". Our bus needed someone to represent them. My lovely daughter nominated me, citing my strength, bravery, and knowledge of rugby. Of course, the entire bus unanimously supported her nomination (likely because no one else wanted the "honour"). I'm not a big fan of being the center of attention, but I gamely went along.
Being a "chief" along with those from the other buses did have some advantages: I stood front and centre during the wero (welcoming challenge) and I was asked to perform a hongi ... a Maori greeting in which foreheads and noses are pressed together and the ha (breath of life) is shared.
Tamaki Maori Village - February 2014
After entering the village, the other guests went off to see and participate in demonstrations of Maori dances, games, and ta moko (tattooing). The "chiefs" were pulled aside and taught the Ka Mate haka. Ka Mate was composed by Te Rauparaha, war leader of the Ngati Toa iwi, after his escape from enemies. He had hidden in a food storage pit and climbed back into the light where he was met by Te Whareangi (the "hairy man").
Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!
Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!
Tenei te tangata puhuruhuru
Nana nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te ra
A, upane! Ka upane!
A, upane, ka upane, whiti te ra!
I may die! I may die! I may live! I may live!
I may die! I may die! I may live! I may live!
This is the hairy man
Who brought the Sun and caused it to shine
A step upward! Another step upward!
A step upward, another step upward, the Sun shines.
Much like going to a Hawaiian luau or a Native American powwow, the experience was designed to be entertaining and showed only the surface of the culture, but it did give a hint of the greater depths underneath. It was our introduction to Maori culture and a greater New Zealand.
Tena koe e hoa ...
