New Year in New Zealand (Part 1: North Island)

As a nature and outdoor adventure enthusiast New Zealand has been on my bucket list for quite some time. When my family and I were searching for a travel destination over the holidays I suggested NZ. Located in the southern hemisphere NZ’s summer is during our winter in the US making the perfect summer escape over the winter holidays. Although flights and accommodations were very expensive we were able to find some great flight deals and book accommodations in advance to stay within budget.

Day 1: Hobbiton

Our flight from the US landed into Auckland around 6:00 AM so we kept the day light with out only real plan being visiting Hobbiton or the site where The Shire scenes of Lord of the Rings were filmed. Hobbiton was was about a two hour drive from the airport so we had reserved a tour for 1pm giving us plenty of time to get the rental car and grab breakfast before driving there. Although a little overpriced the tour was informative and the location was definitely stunning. I think it was worth checking out, especially if you are a LOTR fan.

After the tour we drove to Hamilton a city about an hour away from Hobbiton where we booked an Airbnb for the night. Although we reached our airnbn by about 5pm we only had energy to go grab dinner downtown and then fall asleep.

Day 2: Waitomo Caves and Rotorua

We left Hamilton bright and early after having an excellent home made breakfast from our friendly airbnb host. We visited Waitomo Caves first where we had booked a 9 am tour well in advance since these tours tend to get booked days ahead. Waitomo caves have thousands of glow worms that can only be viewed in a few other places in the world. Although the glow worms were cool they were only visible in a small section of the tour for a total of about 5 minutes. This was another one of those tour experiences in NZ that we did because we didn’t want to miss the opportunity but were a little underwhelmed by.

After the tour we headed off to Rotorua which was another 2.5 hours south east. We were able to reach by lunch and spend the afternoon at the spa! We visited the Polynesian Spa where we were able to relax in the natural geothermal hotsprings. In the evening we attended a Māori show and dinner at Mitai Māori. The dinner was prepared in a Hāngi which is a traditional Māori method of cooking food using heated rocks buried in a pit oven, called an umu. The show consisted of a war canoe demonstration as well as traditional song and dance.

Day 3-4: Tongariro National Park

Ranked one of the top day hikes in the world The Tongariro Crossing was one of the top things I wanted to do. After doing a quick hike around the blue lake in Rotorua that morning we started driving towards Tongariro. That night we stayed at the Chateau Tongariro, a beautiful 1920s style hotel situated right at the base of the hike with incredible views of the surrounding mountains. After enjoying a wonderful high tea at the hotel we prepared for our long hike the next day. When we inquired about the shuttle the concierge told us to call ahead of coming downstairs in case of bad weather delays. Unfortunately the next morning we woke up to rain and the concierge told us the trail had been shut down for the day. Since we couldn’t hike the main attraction we decided to do the Taranaki Falls hike, another short hike in the area. The hike was lovely and gave us a better view of the interesting ecosystem around the volcano and a wonderful view of the waterfall up close. The landscape actually reminded me a lot of Iceland. Sadly we couldn’t stay an extra day to attempt the crossing again since we had back-to-back books in Wellington and then Christchurch the next two days. I guess now I just have another excuse to come back to NZ!

Day 5: Wellington

The next morning we headed out of Tongariro into Wellington, the capital of NZ and the second largest city. Wellington reminded me quite of lot San Francisco with its rolling hills and ocean views. Diverse, modern and beautiful Wellington really charmed us in the 1/2 day that we were able to spend there. We stopped for lunch on Cuba St. a popular street with cafes, restaurants and hipster vintage shops. Of course we had to follow up lunch with a flat white which Wellingtons will claim was invented in their city.

After lunch we headed to the Wellington Cable Car is a funicular railway. The cable car starts in Lambton Quay, the main shopping street and rises 120 m over a length of 612 m to a view overlooking the central city. Not only was the view incredible but we were able to take a beautiful walk back down to Lambton Quay through the Botanical Gardens. The weather was sunny and warm so it was a perfect day to just spend the afternoon walking around the lush gardens.

In the evening we stopped by Cuba St. for dinner before heading over to the waterfront to catch live music and then fireworks for the new year. It was exciting to be the first ones in the world to celebrate the new year especially since it was still early in the morning on the 31st back home in Austin, TX. One day in Wellington was not enough and I wish we were able to fit more time in our trip to fully explore the incredible city.