Tag: NZ24
-
Homeward Bound
The weather when we headed north from Whakapapa really closed in, and was probably the worst rain of the holiday. We went out to the Marokopa Falls – This was a 10-15 minute walk from the car park, to view a 35m high falls. As it was raining – the waterfalls were in full flow.…
-
Tongariro National Park / Whakapapa
We took the Desert Highway to the National Park from Taupo. This gave some great of the volcanoes. It also meant we arrived at the south of the National Park so had the chance to do the Waitonga Falls walk. This was mainly through woodland, but at the high point of the walk was above…
-
Rotorua to Taupo
After two days in Rotorua it was time to head for Taupo. We had picked a few stops, the first was at the Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland. We had visited Waiotapu before – it rained heavily all the time we were there. This time we were a little luckier. This is probably the most colourful…
-
Rotorua
We visited Rotorua in 2018. It was torrential rain all the time we were there. Despite that, it was the place I most wanted to revisit. The first morning was spent touring round some of the lakes in the region. And a walk along the Okere Falls, this is a pleasant walk alongside the river…
-
Hobbiton
There were a lot of places we visited that had Lord of the Rings / Hobbit connections, but Hobbiton was the only place we visited specifically because of Peter Jackson. We visited in 2018 and wanted to go again, the experience was different. The grounds have matured more. The hobbit holes are surrounded by landscaping. …
-
Wellington
The first view of the North Island from the ferry. Wellington from the sea. We caught up with a friend and just wandered for a while. I did like Wellington. It was busy city. But especially on the waterfront there was a sense of quirkiness with unusual buildings, public art work and odd things. For…
-
Nelson, Abel Tasman and Picton
The road from the West Coast via St Arnaud to Picton is basically through steep wooded valleys. These look more like commercial forestry in the main, rather than the variety of trees and plants in the birch woodlands further south, or the rainforests on the coast. It felt much like areas in Scotland and Scandinavia…
-
Arthurs Pass to St Arnaud
There’s one thing that is often overlooked in New Zealand. The weather especially in the west is unpredictable, variable, and usually involves a lot of rain. The last time we visited in January/February (Mid Summer) the country was hit by a tropical storm and when we were in Te Anau, over 300mm of rain in about…
-
Tekapo to Arthurs Pass
The next stage of our trip was to cross the Alps over to the West Coast. This was going to be via Arthurs Pass. Due to the changed schedule, this was going to be the longest day of driving planned for the holiday. It was also one of the busiest roads as Arthurs Pass is…
-
On to Tekapo
Next stop was two nights in Tekapo. This was a last minute booking, and not ideal location as it was around 75 minutes drive from Mount Cook. It was though one the highest quality places we stayed in. From Wanaka we travelled through the Lindis Pass. This is really unusual, the hills looked really smooth and…