New Zealand

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Trip start
February 5, 2018
New Zealand Traveler
Take Off!!
February 5, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 22 °C
05.02.18 the day we finally leave for New Zealand.
Chris woke up at 5am and went into work to finalise a few things. When he got back I woke up and we started to pack. Of course Chris hadn't packed his bags yet. Once we showered and packed Chris's dad took us to the airport. At this stage we were definitly getting excited. We arrived at the airport at roughly 10:30am after checking in we had a look at the shops for a while. We bought a memory stick for the go-pro and had some yummy subway. After a short delay we started boarding around 12:30 and take off was just after 1:00pm.
We had some average food (some chicken and veggie fried rice) on the plane and watched Thor, which was hilarious if you ask me. After just over 3 hours we arrive close to 8:00pm. We got our phone sims sorted and made our way out of the airport. After about half an a hour on the shuttle bus we were at some corner shop in Aucklands city centre collecting the keys from a random guy, very strange. The shuttle driver then dropped us down the road at our whalf appartment. Our appartment was on the top level and we had the best views over looking the entire harbour! We relaxed for a little and showered, Chris then fell asleep lol. I bought some uber eats which I hadn't done before - the McDonalds here was delish. After some fatty food we then headed to bed. Cant wait for the adventures to start tomorrow!Read more
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Auckland Museum and Mt Edin
February 6, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
The day was a slow start due to Mandy being tired lol. Opened the blinds to see where the loudspeaker announcements were coming from. We found a cruise ship docked literally next to the appartment!! After showering we made our way down to the wharf where we found an info booth, we took a lot of brochures and booked the war museum tour. We decided to walk to the war memorial. We got lost a couple of times but found our way to Queen St where we went to a few stores, we didnt buy anything though lol. We found our way to the war memorial walking through Auckland University and Albert Park. We spent about 3 hours at the museum, which was a great insight into maori culture and the world wars, Chris also found his dad in one of the vietnam war books which was quiet humbling. We had lunch at the museum Chris had a salad sandwich and ginger and apricot slice, Mandy opted for the chicken burger and chips. After we left the meuseum we walked to burger king for ice cream. We were planning on walking to Mt Eden however decided to catch the bus as our feet were sore. We caught a bus to Mt Eden area where we walked up to the summit of a inactive volcano, the view was great. Once we finished there we then caught the bus down to sky tower for a look. We then walked down the the wharf and checked out the menus of all the restaurants, we decided to order food at a place called the fox. We both ordered the chicken parmy, which was the smallest parmy we had ever had lol we then went and got ice cream again. The main flavor we got was kiwi fruit, it was quiet nice. After ice-cream we headed back to our appartment were we watched all our videos from the day as well as some foxtel before bed.Read more
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Van Collection Day
February 7, 2018 in New Zealand
Woke up again early from Chris's alarm lol then finally fell back asleep. We both properly woke up around 8:30am showered and then started packing. We left our appartment about 10:45 and headed to the city center where we thought we would get a taxi. We then decided to walk to the bus stop however we got lost for a little while. We finally found a stop and hopped on heading back to the airport. After about 45 minutes we were at the airport waiting for a juicy shuttle to take us to collect our van. Had a quick maccaz and we were on our way. Signing the paper work only took us roughly 5 minutes, the lady who helped us was super helpful and chucked in a free dvd player and some dvds. They showed us the van and how everything worked then we were on our way. We decided to go get some essentials before we hit the road. We went to The Warehouse and bought several things and then headed to Woolworths to buy enough food for 3-4 days. We decided we should see the top of Auckland first so started heading towards the Bay of Islands. We headed from Auckland airport to Helensville and then headed to Warkworth and upto Wellsford and then onto Ruawal. We first stopped near Warkworth were we went off road and took some photos up a mountian. We nearlly died here from my attempt to 3 point turn on a cliff haha. We then stopped around Ruawal where we made some sandwiches, the view was amazing here - we were over looking hills, the ocean and a huge mountain. We continued onto Dargaville were we half set up the camper and had a short stop. It was now getting fairly cold and dark so we decided to go only a little further. By now it was about 9:30pm and we were at Baylys Beach. We were going to stay there however the camp site was $40 I think not lol. After about half an hour driving trying to figure out where to stay we went back to Dargaville and parked in a carpark at the back of the local shops. It was then nighty night for us as we were super tired.Read more
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Heading up North
February 8, 2018 in New Zealand
Woke up from our scary night in the carpark about 7:30am. We then headed to the local toilets to get changed before we were on our way. We first headed up the south highway where we were last night. We decided to stop off at Lake Taharoa where we ate some cocopops over looking the lake. We then continued our journey up through Aranga Beach and onto Waipoua Forest. The forest was really lush and thick not to mention very windy. We turned off several short gravel roads where there were a few good look out points. One we went along for about 5kms and then climbed a small firemans lookout, to be honest the view was rubbish and we were pretty cold. The weather today was terrible, high winds and very cold. We then continued though the forest where we stopped off at a river running next to the road. The next stop in Waipoua Forest was Kuri Tree where we hiked about 100 meters to the largest tree in New Zealand - Lord of the Forest. This tree was epic!!! Tane Mahuta is where the tree was located in Waipoua Forest. We then continued on along highway 12 to Opononi where we stopped at several amazing look outs here sand junes and mountains were right next to one another, insane view! One of the look outs was called Arai-Te-Uru Recreation Reserve which over looked Hokianga Harbour near Opononi. We filled up for the first time at Opononi which was $2.26 a liter.Read more
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Cape Reinga
February 8, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 17 °C
We continued along highway 12 to Paihia where we filled up again and not long after we stopped for some lunch on the side of the road. We had a freaky lady try talk smack to us haha was so weird. We then continued up highway 1 where we stopped in Kaitaia for a short while. From Kaitaia we headed up to Cape Reinga which took us roughly 2 hours as we stopped off at a few look outs along the way. We finally reached Cape Reinga which was so beauitful! There were several sand dunes around which looked amazing. It was so cold and wet here and even started to rain whilst we were walking to the look out. We hiked up this small mountain which was amazing, so windy though I thought we would fall of the mountain and die. The wind was easily over 80km up there. After we took some snaps we headed to the light house. The light house was amazing as it had all these signs which pointed the way of several countries around the world. At the light house you could see where The Pacific Ocean meet the Tasman Sea, this was awesome!! We then headed back to Kaitaia where we thought there would be showers but unfortunately they were closed by the time we arrived which was annoying as we were drowned rats. We then grabbed a quick feed at McDonalds (again lol) as our chicken was hot because the fridge didnt work - boo!! After a yummy McDonalds feed we headed to Taipa where we found a cool beach cove where we parked for the night.Read more
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East Coast - Bay of Islands
February 9, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 21 °C
Woke up at Taupo on the beach about 7:30am. It was so peaceful with no body around. We quickly got changed and then had some coco pops on the beach. After breakfast we got back on state highway heading towards The Bay of Islands, along the way we saw a tourist drive which we decided to drive down. This went all around Wainui Road. Along this drive we went down one of the roads which lead to Whangaroa Bay. The views here were great however it was very cloudy and over cast. We took a few videos and photos and then we were on our way. On the way down to Bay of Islands we called Jucy and spoke to them about our fridge not working. They told us to go to Keri Keri and an auto electrican there would fix the fridge. We had to wait and hour so we drove around and found a large stone building that sold old stones. We went to go in however it was pouring down rain so thought we would go purchase umbrellas first. We shopped around in the $2 shop and Amanda bought ponchos whilst Bully filled up the car - $2.09 a litre which was a fair price. We then decided to go to the automachanics as it had already been an hour. We dropped the car off and the receptionist then drove us back into town. We grabbed a bite to eat, Amanda got a steak and cheese pie and chips and Chris got a pork pie and x2 sausage rolls. Chris's pie wasnt that great, very interesting tatse. Chris then decided he wanted to go to the opshop of course haha. He got 2 alright tops I must say. Chris is telling me to say with brand new labels lol. The lady from the automachanics called us about half an hour later. We then collected our keys and were on our way. We had a quick shop at Woolworths to replace the food that was off and then headed on our way to the Bay of Islands.Read more
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Bay of Islands
February 9, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 21 °C
After our shop at Woolworths we headed to the Waianwaniwa Rainbow Falls which were pretty small however still good. It was raining heaps so we had to quickly run to the falls and back. We then continued on the State Hwy. We took a right at Puketona Road towards Paihia. On the way we took a short detour to Haruru Falls. These falls were taller than the others and had 2 amazing look out points. It was raining again so we hurried to the falls. When we got back to the van there were about 400 hundred chickens in the car park lol. We continued on this road and ended up at Waitangi Treaty Grounds. We wanted to go into the grounds however they were $130 plus the reviews werent great so we decided to continue on. We headed along Paihia Road where there were some pretty amazing views down to the beache. Amanda wanted to get closer to the bay so we decided to go down a road which she believed to be sealed. It was not!! About half an hour later we were still on this gravel road in the Russell Forrest which was pretty amazing mind you. We came to a stop where the road was covered with water after about 10 minutes of deciding whether or not to go through we did. We were now heading around the Te Rawhiti Inlet. We first stopped at Dicks Bay and then headed to Parekura Bay. This bay was our favourite so far. We stopped at several different places along the road and explored several beaches. We loved how the farms and the beaches literally joined next to one another right on the beach.Read more
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Whangarei Heads
February 9, 2018 in New Zealand
From our favourite Parekura Bay we headed down to Helena Bay and then back onto the State Highway. We started heading to Whangarei where we knew there would be somewhere to stay near by. We decided to head down to Whangarei Heads where we had found several free accomodation sites. On the way there we found a sign saying Falls so of course Amanda wanted to go take a look. These falls were called the Whangarei Falls. This falls were AMAZING! There were several look out points and a muddy stair case we climbed down. The falls were so full and heavy that the spray was hitting us about 20 meters from the base. It was crazy, literally felt like we got out of the shower. Definitly recommend this water fall to people. After the falls we continued on to Parua Bay and onto Whangarei Heads. This place was crazy!! The large mountains were covered in fog and there were large rocks in front of the mountains. On the other side you had an amazing coast view and towards the water there was a seaport which had hundreds of shipping containers. We found this amazing camp site on the base of the foggy mountains. We had a quick walk on the beach and tried to find some oysters. Chris found one and eat it - gross!! We then cooked some pesto pasta as the sun set. Today was a good day of exploring.Read more
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Whangarei - Coromandel Peninsula
February 10, 2018 in New Zealand
We woke up to find our van full of mosquitoes which were eating us alive in the early hours of the morning. We spent the next 4 hours eradicating them out of the van, we then fell back asleep for a few more hours. When we woke up we discussed what we were having for breakfast and decided to have vegimite and cheese sandwich which ended up being eaten in our undies in the rain. We left the camp site around 10am and headed back to Whangarei itchy and tired. We got back on the highway 1 heading to Auckland. We took yet again another detour to Ruakaka to have a look at Ocean Bay were there is apparently whale sightings however we didnt see any even though Amanda tried to call for them! No response from the sea haha! We then got back on the highway 1 and headed to Wellsford were we had been before. We decided to explore down the south east coast this time. On the way we saw a sheep sign to sheep world so thought we would have a look. Sheep world was in Warkworth. We didnt do a tour as it was $35 however did buy several things from the store. I bought 2 quality sheep skin white rugs and have then shipped home and Amanda bought some socks for her grandma. From sheep world we headed through Auckland and over the bridge. We made our way down to Drury where I suggested to Amanda we should go over look some Irelands at the top of Ponui Island. As we where heading up through Manurews we saw a sign for a water fall Amanda wanted to.go so we turned around and headed that direction. The water fall was called Hunua. At the carpark of the water falls we decided to cook some cheese toastoes which where good, we then decided to cook our dinner which was pesto pasta again. After we finished cooking we headed to the falls to have a look. It was magnificent lots of water spray coming off and showering us again. We decided to have a look for a place to have a shower, Amanda called this place and they where opened. We then headed straight but got distracted along the way. We stopped at The Warehouse where I got a jumper and we got rain goats. We then departed from The Warehouse where Amanda decided she needed KFC lol. So we went to the drive through and got Mandy food. Once we finished at KFC we departed alongthe edge of Coromandel Peninsula through Orere Point tl Thames and onto Tapu. This drive was amazing we could see all the mountains on the other side of the Bay. After about an hours drive we stopped in a carivan park where we showered and did some washing. The carivan park was pretty cool, it had heaps of small carivans and anxxes connected the carivans. We got talking with the owner and several people actually live in the carivans here. Fairly early night tonight which was definitly needed after our bug episode.Read more
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Coromandel Peninsula - Rotorua
February 11, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 19 °C
We woke up around 8 this morning on the beach of Tapu. The weather was still miserable and raining which was annoying. We decided to head straight down to Rotorua well that was the plan. On the way down we filled up and as Chris was filling the car I was quickly looking through several brochures and found one for this amazing rock in Hahei on the east coast of Coromandel Peninsula. We turned around and headed up the east coast, took about an hour and we were there. The weather was raining at it made it very hard to see the bay and all the large rocks coming out of the ocean. The main attraction was an hour hike from the top of the mountain down towards the beach. As it was pouring and there where no buses or travel boats we decided to give this a miss. I really wanted to see this so we have decided to head back up there on the way home. After a quick look on Hahei beach we grabbed an ice-cream and was on our way to Rotorua.Read more
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The Journey to Rotorua
February 11, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 20 °C
We stopped at a cider winery around Waihi which was really nice. We srill couldnt see completely becasue of the clouds however what we could see was pretty good. We both got a $10 paddle of cider which was yummy well Amanda thought so, Chris didnt really like his so gave it to Amanda. We also ate these delicuous chips, gravey and cheese dish and got some yummy pop corn chicken. Chris loved the the satay sauce and wanted to buy some buy they only supplied it wholesale. After about an hour we continued down along the coast to Te Puna. We then headed across the Tauranga bridge and around to Waitao. Amanda saw another water fall on the map so we headed down as it had amazing review. There falls where in Ohauiti Forrest in the large forrest area above Rotarua. These falls wheretowards the top, they where called Kaiate Falls. We had to walk a far way down to these falls however it was well worth it. There where about 4 layers of falls from the bridge we where on. These were probably one of our favourite falls so far. We then headed down highway 33 to the start of Rotarua. We found some more falls these ones where on the edge of Lake Rotorua, they where called Okere Falls. By now it was poring down so we we drenched. We still decided to walk down to the falls. The first section we went down wasnt to shabby it had only a small fall. There where some very old from 1901 turbines in the middle of the water fall. After a quick look around we went to another carpark and ventured back out into the rain. We found a path which was steep and flowing with water. We managed to climb down the stairs around around this broken tree. The rapids where crazy!! They where so strong they were coming up onto the stairs and lookout point. This was by far our favourite rapid/water fall.Read more
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Okere Falls and Rapids
February 11, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 21 °C
We were drowned rats by now haha. We decided to find a shower. We decided to go to the Rotarua local pool and have a swim and shower. We had a bit of a paddle then left there around 8:30. We now had to find some free camp ground, this was the fun bit- not haha. We found 2 free sites which were full so decided to treck to another about 20kms away. We only now realised our head lights where rubbish as Chris would say. This drive was a near death experience. Sharp turns and no lights is not recommended. What should have been a 10 minute drive took us about half an hour if not more. We finally arrived thankful we were alive hahha.Read more
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Day spent in Rotorua
February 12, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
Woke up fairly early again today in the free campsite. As we had no service last night being in the jungle we couldnt look at anything we wanted to do today. We headed up to what I thought was a volcano in Whakatane. We where half way and I couldnt see this volcano on the map so we decided to pull over. What it was was a volcano tour over to the Island but I forgot to write that on my map lol. Never the less we trooped on and had some bakery breakfast. We then headed back down to Rotorua. On the way down we stopped at Comvita which was a bee factory or as Chris says a honey processing extraction factory and laboratory. When we pulled up it was this massive white building and looked a little weird. We decided to do a tour as Chris was very interested and said a few times he wanted to go see the honey. The tour was actually amazing!!! They showed us how honey was created, how they place hives in isolated rainforests where it is only accessable via helicopter, we saw a live hive with the queen, we also catched a virtual reality video and learnt the life cycle of a bee from drones - workers and the queen. Chris bought some honey and I bought some some cream for Mel which was some medical honey. We then continued on back to Rotorua, on the way down we stopped for a few photos as the weather wasnt to bad. We then headed to The Redwood Forest where we went to explore however YET AGAIN the windows did not close on the van. We had to call Jucy again and they arrange another machine to have a look, we headed straight there. When Chris was looking at the motor he actually realised what the problem was when we where there. It was the fusable link to the battery so an easy fix. About half an hour later we decided to head back to the main town area we walk along the edge of lake Rotorua looking at cool Geothermal Pockets. We found some huge ones in peoples front yards. We then found a WW2 memorial ground with large graves and plaques. We then headed back to the pools were we where yesterday and had a quick swim and shower. As we had a Maori tour booked so needes to be ready by 4pm.Read more
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Tamaki Maori Village Rotorua
February 12, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 21 °C
We then headed to Tamaki Maori Village in Tamki. We waited a little then boarded our bus called the Kotuku. We dedicated our Chef on the bus and got to the village and catche the greeting ceremony where they greeted each tribes (buses) leader. This was pretty good, we werent aloud to smile or laugh as it was disrespectful. We then headed into the grounds where each ground went around to each section. In one we learnt traditional games, another the guys did the huka and then we played some rop games and learnt some cultural information in another. Our chefs then led us to an area where we were showed the hungi, this was where they cooked the food in the ground. Our chefs then lead us to this large hall where we watched several cultural dances and song. They also did the huka which I enjoyed. We then headed to a massive fall and had a ginormous feast. Chris had about 100 mussels which he enjoyed. After about an hour we headed back to the Tamaki head quarters. On the bus we song several songs. We then decided to do some washing and drying as our clothes from yesterday were wet. This took about an hour. We then headed back near the airport on the east side of Lake Rotorua in Okawa Reserve where stayed in a small court near a yeti. Went to sleep about 12pm.Read more
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Another day in Rotorua
February 13, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 20 °C
Woke up fairly early in Okawa Reserve and then started planning our day. As we didnt get to Redwood Forest yesterday we headed there first thing. When there we decided to purchase the tree walkimg experience. This was a half an hour loop - 500 meters about 15 meters from the grond. This loop was really enjoyable with so many amazing large trees. We then did a 3km walk around the forest. We could have stayed her all day. It was a little wet still however however it wasnt going to stop us from our adventures. We then went on the search to find the Jelly Belly store. When we found it we only then realised it was up the top of the cablecart. We decided to purchase a ticket for the cablecart which also encluded x3 luge tickets. We headed up the cablecart which had a pretty good view. We then ecplored a little and had a look at the Jelly Shop. It literally had every flavour jelly belly. We then headed to the luge. We grabbed our helmets and started lining up. The bobsleds where pretty cool. Amanda was a littlw scared at the start however when we started going it wasnt as bad as she had thought. The loop was windy heading down a steep hill, Chris got a video on his go pro which was awesome!! It was literally like mario cart haha. When we were at bottom of the loop when then grabbed the chair lift back up. After our 3 goes at this we then headed to Te Pui which was a Geothermial large area where you could a tour. Te Pui is a multi cultural center. Here we learnt more about the multi cultural back ground of the mauri. Our tour took roughly an hour, we had the best guide who was very insightful. We then took our own tour around the gysters, geothermial areas, mud pools and steam pits. This place was epic!! So amazing!!!Read more
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Polynesian Spa - Rotorua
February 13, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
After the Te Pui we headed to the Polynesian Spa. Here we purchased a private room and general admition. We had half an hour in a private room which encluded a geothermial spa and shower. It was about 41° in our private spa. They controlled the water in the pool by adding cold water or we would have be boiled to deal. It was so hot in the pool we had to keep getting out. After our half an hour we headed to the adult pool which over looked Rotorua lake. So many naked Asians it wasnt funny! The different pools were different temperatures. We spent a while here just relaxing. After a nice shower we decided well Amanda decided she wanted Pizza. We headed to the local pizza store and then ate in the carpark. We then headed back to our Otawa Reserve where we had sleep the previous night.Read more
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Rotorua - Wai-O-Tapu
February 14, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
Woke up in our Okawa Reserve again. We really needed to started heading down to Wellington so decided today we would try and get as far as we could. Of course we got distracted only half an hour down. We stopped at Waiotapu and did the short loop. We first went to look at Waiotapu Thermal Track which had more geothermal mud pools we then continued to drive on to Lady Knox Geyser. Unfortunatly it was closed at this time however it didnt stop Amanda from going through the bush. There was a massive geyser here however it wasnt going at the moment. We then headed further down the road where Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland was situated. This place was amazing!! So many Geothermal craters, pools and there was a massive green Geothermal pool. In both of our opinions it was much better then Te Puia. After we completed the loop we hurried back to the Geyser as a show was about to happen. We parked the car and ran to the Geyser it was insane qith teh amount of people heading there. The presenter holding the show told us a the story of how they discovered that the Geyser could actually be activated. He told us how a prisoner accidently dropped his soap into it and it erupted with a chemical reaction with the bicarbs in the soap. This was how the presenter made the Geyser erupt for everyone today.Read more
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Huka Falls
February 14, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
We then continued onto Huka Falls. Once at the Huka Falls we took the Thermal Explorer Highway along side the falls. We stopped at several look out points and then stopped at the geogre. We walked across a bridge and have a look at the falls further down. We could see several boats in the geogre. On the same road we stopped Huka Honey Live. Chris was in his element here. They had a lot more glass hives, more manuka honey, honey ice-cream as well as honey alcohol here. They also had a video we watched of a guy man making a hive and Chris got to try on a bee suit. Chris tried several different honeys as well as some yummy honeycomb. We both tried some fig and honey ive-cream and also another honey ice-cream we cant remember, they were both really good though.Read more
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Lake Taupo
February 14, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
We then headed down to lake Taupo. We drove around the right side all along the lake. It was a little disappointing because the weather was overcast again and you couldn't really see a lot. We did stop for lunch and made some toasties again lol. The sun came out a little here which was good. We then continued on down State Hwy 1. We saw several tanks on the Highway and saw that it was a National Army Museum so we both decided to have a look. Unfortunatly they were closing soon so we had to rush through. The museum had really great attention to detail. We hurried through in half an hour when we returned to reception the receptionist kindly offered that of we would like to come back again it would be complimentary. We kindly accepted and continued on our way out. We then went to the gift shop and Amanda bought a book for her grandpa.Read more
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Wellington here we come
February 14, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C
We got to about Ohotu before we again took another detour haha. We saw a canyon sign and decided to follow the road which lead us to a massive canyon. We stopped at several places along the canyon and took some photos. A company which you could swing in the canyon we actually closed we thought that may have been because of the eroding we suspect from heavy rain hall. We then continued onto Mangaweka were we decided to follow the canyon and take the scenic root. This road was amazing, we took so many photos over looking all the hills and canyon. This way was taking far to long so we cut across to Cheltenham where we had a quick stop. This town was such a cute town. We continued down Highway 54 to Palmerston North. We had found a free camp on Highway 2 where Amanda called and they said to just rock up at any time. We headed to Woodville where we started taking Highway 2 down South. We got about a kilometer down and the road was closed, so annoying as it was getting dark and the campsite was only about half an hour down the freeway. We had to head back up and around the Palmerston North. We then made our way down Highway 1 to Muhunoa East where we stayed in Kimberley Reserve. It was about 10pm by now and we where hungry by really couldnt feel bothered cooking. Chris had a sandwich and potato chips and Amanda had some hot cross buns lol. Chris also decided to have a hot cross bun with bbq chips which he quite enjoyed. Off to bed it was.Read more
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Wellington
February 15, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Slept in a little today woke up around 9am then cooked some pasta dish for the next few dinners. We left there around 11am and headed back roughly 20km where we had seen a sign last light to Owlcatraz which was a bird sanctuary where Chris was hoping to find a kiwi bird, this place was Chris unfortunatly so we continued onto Wellington. We briefly stopped off Otaki where there was an old railway station, nothing to interesting to see so we left not long after. We then continued down Highway 1 where we saw a sign just out side of Welling to a New Zealand Police museum. We decided to stop in here which we where both glad we did. In side the museum there where cool officers uniforms we got to try on, great insite to the equipment, practices and several murder cases. There where heaps of displays and interesting things to look at. Amanda bought little Oliver a police outfit.Read more
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Wellington Continued
February 15, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 20 °C
We then continued on Wellington where we stopped in the main port at Lambton Harbour. We walked along the peer and then ventured into Te Papa which was a New Zealand free museum. We spend hours in here. There where several different stories and areas. They had a large Gallipoli exhabition which was amazing with large human replicas that where 2.5 sizes bigger then a real person. There was also an earth, sea and cultural section. We quit enjoyed seeing the largest colossal squid in the world to be place in a museum. Our feet where quit sore by now so we decided to find a local shower. We ended up at the Wellington Recreational center where we paid for a pool pass which included a spa and sauna. We sent a fair time in the spa, it was so nice to just sit down. We then headed to the local laundromat and waited there while ours wet and smelly clothes dried. It was now time for bed so we had a look at the free camp sites, there where a few in Wellington but they where just in a carpark. We decided to head upto Ngati Toa Domain which was near the brigde into Wellington.Read more
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Wellington - Mount Victoria
February 16, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
This morning woke up at 8am and packed up and made our way to Wellington where we had a list of things to do. We first headed to Wellington where we mistakenly thought it was the park where they shot get off the road sceen. We where mistaken lol once we realised we then headed to Mount Victoria where we headed down to the spot. This was where they where filmed get off the road screen. It wasnt what we thought exactly, we where lucky enough to arrive when a tour guide was there and we over heard him saying that the tree/vines above bank where synthetic. After a few cheeky photos we headed back to the car and ventured our way.Read more
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Picton
February 16, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 21 °C
We arrived on the shore about 6:30. We headed down Highway 1 towards Tuamarina where we cut into Cloudy Bay. We then drove along the bay aswell as up several mountains, the views were absolutely amazing. You could see all the wineries we had past as well as sea and mountains. We continued down a dirt road for 5kms and arrived at our free camp site which was called Robin Hood Bay. It was really nice, several campers were catching muscles in the Bay. A lovely american guy gave us a sample of his muscles which were cookes in garlic butter. We played some cards, planned some of our trip and then watched Swat. Chris would like to add I took up all the bed last night, in my defence the van was on a lean and I keep slipping down.Read more
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New Zealand Traveler
Weta Productions
February 16, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
From Mount Victoria we headed to Weta Productions where we then booked a tour to go through the work shop. Before our tour we watched a half an hour video of how Weta Productions started and also all the movies they have been envolved in. We where both quite surprised at how many they had actually been involved with. After the short video we looked around the gift shop where Amsnda finally bought a precious ring (precioussss with creepy voice) and Chris bought a black arror pendant necklace from the Hobbit movie. We then made our way to the back of the store where our tour began. The tour was Amazing!! It showed us how the props wherw created from start to finish. We also got to hold and try on several props. It had so many large props of Lord of the Rings such as the white orch from the Hobit, the Roborts from Distric 9 and a real life wart hog from Halo. There was also Sarons outfit and the 9 kings armor, they also had methril that frodo wore when he got stabbed. We both loved this place, highly recommend it. After we finished we got photos with the troll statues out the front then hurried off to the peer as we needed to get onto our Ferri to the South Island. We waited in the line for about an hour and a half then drove onto our boat.Read more
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