New Zealand Reel

We have just returned from a one-week hiatus in New Zealand. It would be best described as a whirlwind tour. And in keeping with the tempo, here is a quick rundown of our experiences:

Day One:
Fly to Auckland after camping out for the night in the Melbourne airport. Nice flight. Food OK. Call rental company upon arrival. Car we end up with doesn't look like the sweet one we saw in the ad. Most likely former life as cab somewhere in Asia. Pack stuff in, strap surfboard to roof and head for Raglan.

Day Two:
This country is amazing. Like something out of a fairy tale. Hilko gets some surfing in at the Raglan Beach. Apparently the sets were good. That's what the locals were saying. Today we saw Mt. Doom from Lord of the Rings. Just as imposing as the movies. Reach Lake Taupo toward the end of the day. Good view of the lake. Nice evening at the cafe on the promenade.

Day Three:
Check out of the camper park just in time to avoid late fee. Long drive today. Due to poor sleep last night (or maybe other things) abundance of snide remarks about poor quality and inferior handling of our ride. We stopped in Marton for Hilko to visit his crew at the Training Center. He is welcomed as a returning hero. Everyone is in awe of him and we are in awe of their awe. Everyone wins. After a few hours of interaction, we hop in the car and drive down to Porirua, near Wellington, to stay at the home of Hilko's friend Peter Elder. Peter takes us to the highest point in the bay and we get a spectacular view of the bay and the South Island off in the distance. One day, we vow, we will return to see the other half of the country.

Day Four:
We spend the day in Wellington. Very nice city with a sort of European feel. We split up and spend the day finding our own ways around the place. Hilko heads for the surf shops, the girls to the cafes and clothing stores, I make my way to the book stores, of which there are many. Dinner at the Flying Burrito Brothers. No flying burritos or brothers, for that matter. Another evening at the Elder residence.

Day Five:
Today we make it up to Gisborne, which is quite a drive. The China Cab holds up even in the mountains. It must have been a very trusty taxi back in the day. We had another of many picnic table lunches with food from the local Woolworths. Thanks to TJ Stewart for the WW card. It saved us lots of Kiwi dollars. Props. Gisborne is a ratty town, but their caravan park is n-i-c-e. Great food for dinner and then a movie in the lounge. This place is posh.

Day Six:
We had a scare today thinking that the China Cab had an issue, but in the end it was a stone caught in the underbody making a terrific noise. Hilko's advice was to 'floor it'. He was right on. More beautiful driving with lots of sheep and not a lot of people. Today as we were cresting the top of a hill, there was a guy in a campervan headed the opposite way. He recognized us as backpackers and gave us the thumbs up. Made my day. One of the most attractive features of this country is how friendly and laid-back the people are. It's like they actually want you to see their country. People from Boston should take some tips from them. We spend the night at Waihi Beach. It was a little out of the way but there are few things that beat the experience of falling asleep with the sound of the ocean in your ears.

Day Seven:
Up early and a few hours drive to Auckland. I try for a chance to go bungy jumping but no luck as they are closed for the day. Nice lady says that they will be open at 9AM tomorrow(about the time I will be boarding the flight out of here.) Hard to be disappointed after a week here. Besides, there's no way that this is the only time I will be in NZ so I will just have some bungy next time around. We spend the day wandering around Auckland. Another nice city, but not as nice as Wellington. Too many tourists, though. Wait a second... Drop off the car and catch the shuttle back to the airport. Another night camping out. Better benches to sleep on. We even whipped out our sleeping bags. Bold. When morning comes, we board flight 123 for Melbourne. Big plans already in the works for trips back to NZ when there is more time available. This was a preview of sorts.


There you have it. New Zealand is amazing. And I don't use that word very much. Hopefully we will be able to put some pictures up, but words and pictures don't do it justice. Everyone out there, make plans to visit this country at least once in your life. Enough said.


We are currently on the road headed for Sydney. Hopefully we will be able to publish another post in a few days when we can hook up a camera and let you see some of the things that we have seen.

More soon,

Erick