North Island Road Trip, New Zealand

We have been in New Zealand for 16 days and have spent 14 of those days traveling in one way or another.

We left you in Nelson on the South Island. From Nelson we took a bus to Picton. From Picton, then, we took the Interislander ferry to Wellington. The Interislander is a very comfortable 3-hour ferry ride through the beautiful Cook Strait.


on the Interislander ferry

Once in Wellington we were finally on the North Island. We had just one night in the city and what better way to enjoy our time than by eating? Matt and Aimee had recommended Aunty Mena's for some Malaysian and Chinese vegetarian cuisine where Jochem had mock lamb curry, I had mock chicken laksa, and we both missed South East Asia.

The next day we took an 11-hour bus from Wellington to Auckland. The next day, then, we finally picked up our JUCY CRIB campervan that would be our home for the next week. Unfortunately, we had a few troubles with our campervan. Twice the battery died and the AA had to come and fix it. Once the battery had to be replaced altogether by a new one. Finally, in one inexplicable moment, the windows refused to close. Several hours were lost and a few grey hairs were grown. Other than that, though, we had a blast driving around the North Island in our campervan.


our JUCY CRIB

From Auckland we quickly made our way to the Coromandel Peninsula ('quickly' being a generous term since we got lost twice and had to drive on a long gravel road through the Coromandel Range due to a deadly accident in the Kauaeranga Valley). We found a camping spot on Hot Water Beach Holiday Park, rented a spade and walked to Hot Water Beach.


Hot Water Beach

The basic idea is to dig a hole, wait for the hot water to ooze up, and to enjoy your personal spa pool. However, it's quite tricky to find a spot that is not too hot or too cold. In the end, though, we made it work.


Hot Water Beach

The next day, after an orgasmic breakfast at the Hot Waves Cafe, we drove to Rotorua where we ended our afternoon in the Government Gardens at the fabulous Polynesian Spa - a complex with 7 different spa pools overlooking Lake Rotorua.


Polynesian Spa

We set up camp outside Rotorua at the Lake Okareka Scenic Reserve. This campsite is managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC) and was therefore very cheap, but also lacking in any facilities other than toilets. But with views like these, that's easy to forget.


Lake Okareka Scenic Reserve

We cooked ourselves some dinner and poured ourselves some New Zealand wine - happy days!


Lake Okareka Scenic Reserve

The next day it was time to explore Rotorua, which is this wonderfully weird town, filled with a rotten egg aroma, steamy mud pools and erupting geysers. We went to the Whakarewarewa Thermal Village where Maori have been living for centuries. Not only can you witness Rotorua's famous geothermal attractions from this village, like the Pohotu and Prince of Wales Feathers' geysers, but you also get a look at traditional Maori life. We were given a tour of the village by the chief's son, we saw a Maori dance performance and ate corn on the cob that had been cooked in a hot mineral pool, a so-called hangi, where the Maori cook their vegetables. It was wonderful - the water somehow gives the corn a juicy, more corn-like, flavor that bursts in your mouth. You don't need butter or salt or pepper, but you just eat it as is. It was very educational and fun and a definite must-see should you ever be so lucky as to visit Rotorua.


Whakarewarewa Thermal Village


a tradional garment in Whakarewarewa


our cooked corn on the cob in Whakarewarewa

Our next stop on the agenda was Mamaku Blue. We had decided early that Napier, in the Hawke's Bay wine region, was really out of the way of everything else that we wanted to see, and that we would therefore skip its wineries. But when we heard about a blueberry winery near Rotorua, we couldn't resist a tasting.


Mamaku Blue

We then made our way to the Waikato river near Lake Taupo to visit the Huka Falls - a very impressive sight, as the Waikato river is literally slammed into a narrow chasm before dropping into a pool.


Huka Falls

We then camped for free at Reid's Farm Recreation Reserve on the Waikato river.


dinner in our little home

And, when you need a shower the next morning, you have no other option than to jump into the freezing river (Jochem did, I didn't - I used some boiled water instead).


Waikato River

Then we drove to the DOC campsite called Mangahuia in Tongariro National Park to prepare for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. At first, I was afraid that this hike (or should I say 'tramp'?) would be too difficult for us amateur hikers, but, in the end, we decided that it would be ludicrous to pass this beautiful hike up with us being right there. It is said to be the best one-day hike in New Zealand, and it is indeed breathtaking, but it's not exactly an easy walk. The trail is 19,4 kilometers long, while I had never hiked more than 14 kilometers in one go, and the Dutch flat landscape does not exactly match the volcanic terrain in Tongariro National Park. It took us 8 hours, including stops, to finish it.

The part between Soda Springs, at the top of the Mangatepopo Valley, and the South Crater is called the Devil's Staircase and it is a climb that just goes on, and on, and on. In fact, you climb 340 meters to a height of 1660 meters. It took us 50 minutes of steep climbing to reach the South Crater.

The part between the South Crater and the Red Crater is not as long, but you still have to climb to the highest point on the trail at 1886 meters. Here it is cold and snow covers certain parts of the volcano. The wind is blowing at around 30 knots, which I have been told is not too bad, but it's still kind of scary because you're climbing up this crater with steep ravines on either side of you while you're trying to balance on loose rocks.

The absolute worst part, however, was the last leg between Ketetahi Hut and Ketetahi Car Park. This part of the trail is a 6.4-kilometer hike down the volcano and into the valley. Take a time to process this: you are walking DOWN for 6.4 kilometers - 2 hours worth of knee-breaking hiking time. Once we left the volcano we still had to hike through a forest that kept twisting and turning and just kept going, and going, and going. I almost cried when we finally reached the car park.

It was only yesterday that I met an elderly New Zealand man who told me that the Tongariro Alpine Crossing is really quite an easy walk for New Zealand standards. Go figure.


Mount Ngauruhoe, also known as Mount Doom from The Lord of the Rings, in Tongariro National Park


Red Crater in Tongariro National Park


Red Crater in Tongariro National Park


Emerald Lakes in Tongariro National Park

Needless to say, we were exhausted. We slept for 11 hours straight!

The next day we drove to the Waitomo Caves for a quiet boat tour through the Glowworm Cave. Glowworms are fascinating creatures - they hang in a kind of hammock suspended from the cave ceiling and lit their organs to attract food. It was quite magical to see - it was as if the stars were hiding in the caves as we silently floated underneath them. Sadly, though, we couldn't take any pictures so as not to upset the glowworms.

After a quiet evening at the Waitomo Holiday Park we took it slow the next day. We drove from the Waitomo Caves to Cambridge the next morning - a quaint little town where we had lunch at the very English Jubilee Gardens.


Jubilee Gardens in Cambridge

Driving through this area of New Zealand is nice because you are constantly surrounded by majestic hills and green valleys. I read that this is where Peter Jackson filmed his Shire scenes for The Lord of the Rings. We set up camp at Te Aroha Holiday Park and spent the afternoon walking around the Hot Springs Domain - Te Aroha means 'the love' and refers to the thermal waters of this region.

At night we watched two movies in our never-been-used-before DVD player - a perfect ending to our trip!

And now we're back in Auckland after having dropped off our campervan this afternoon.

I am getting a little bit weary of racing through this country, but we still have a couple of trips left. Tomorrow we take a bus to Paihia in the Bay of Islands where we hope to see Cape Reinga and Waipoua Kauri Forest, but hopefully we'll also get to take a day off, so to speak, to just do nothing. I know that it's a hard job, but somebody's got to do it.

Also, allow me to thank a couple of friends of mine for offering some really good tips that made our trip so wonderful:
* Matt and Aimee, for Aunty Mena's in Wellington and the Hot Waves Cafe in Hot Water Beach
* Ellen, for the Polynesian Spa in Rotorua
* and Derek, for Mount Ngauruhoe in Tongariro National Park

If you'd like to see more pictures of our world trip, check out our picture gallery here!

South Island, New Zealand

We are in New Zealand and we LOVE New Zealand! What follows is an account of our short week on the South Island.


walking from our bus stop to our hostel in Christchurch

After a very comfortable 3-hour flight from Sydney we arrived in Christchurch in the afternoon. We were immediately charmed by the locals who are friendly, helpful and down-to-earth. We made our way downtown by public bus to our hostel Jailhouse - a historic building that was used as a prison from 1874 to 1999. The place is spotless and we can't help but notice the difference between our fellow backpackers here and those in Australia - people are quiet, don't drink much and go to bed early. New Zealand oozes calm and I like it. Christchurch's CBD is still off limits to visitors due to the many earthquakes that still affect the area, although we didn't experience anything out of the ordinary while we were there. We spent our afternoon browsing the internet and eating pizza in the sun.

The next day we have to wake up early again because we have a bus to catch to Nelson at 7 AM. Although we have been told that we'll be travelling far, it only takes us 7,5 hours to get there, and with views such as these, who would complain?


a scenic break in Kaikoura during our bus ride from Christchurch to Nelson


waiting for our connecting bus to Nelson in Blenheim

My friend Derek, who travelled through New Zealand for 6 months, recommended the Golden Lodge for our stay in Nelson and, boy, am I glad he did, because it wasn't in our Lonely Planet while it is arguably the best hostel we've ever stayed in. It's more like a mansion than a hostel and it feels like a temporary home that you wish you could stay at for a while. We were lucky to get our own room and we were so giddy with happiness over this wonderful place that we bought a bottle of Malborough Sauvignon Blanc 2010 from New Zealand to celebrate. On a side note: while buying this bottle we were checked for our ID because, apparently, we don't look over 25. Since I hadn't brought my ID we weren't allowed to buy it. Jochem had to go back in alone to purchase it without me. Mag, I hopes this makes you feel better, since you're obviously not the only one who's assumed to be too young to drink!


dinner at the Golden Lodge in Nelson

The next day, then, we woke up early once more to catch a bus to Marahau near Abel Tasman National Park, the most popular national park in New Zealand and our #1 must-see on the South Island. Derek had recommended the Barn, but, sadly, they were full, so we headed next door to Old MacDonald's Farm, which wasn't too shabby either.


the view from Old MacDonald's Farm


our camping spot pre-rain

We spent the afternoon at the waterhole there where Jochem was obviously reverting back to childhood. The water in the river was freezing, but since it was so hot, we got in anyway and it was really refreshing.


the waterhole at Old MacDonald's Farm

At night it rained. I was pretty anxious about our never-been-used-before tent, but, luckily, it held. We woke up early for the fourth time in a row to explore Abel Tasman National Park. We didn't have a lot of time and we had a very specific to-do-list in mind, which is how we ended up with Kahu Kayaks. In the morning, we went on a guided kayak tour from Sandy Bay to Observation Beach. We passed Fisherman Island and Adele Island, where we saw wild seals, including a couple of babies. Although travelling by kayak is a great way to see a different side of the national park, it's not really my thing. It was pretty hard and it's impossible not to get drenched, which is something I don't care for very much. It was also raining a lot and, although it wasn't cold, I was wet and welcomed our hot chocolate break in Appletree Bay with open arms.


Abel Tasman National Park


Abel Tasman National Park


Appletree Bay

At Observation Beach we were picked up by a water taxi, which was probably my favorite part of the trip. The water taxis glide through the water at top speed and, due to the rough weather, it was kind of like being in a collercoaster. We were dropped off at Torrent Bay from which we walked to Bark Bay. Supposedly, this is the most scenic part of the Abel Tasman Coast Track and it was indeed really beautiful - at last a piece of wildlife that at least comes close to Nusa Tenggara! Unfortunately, Jochem had left his hiking boots on the water taxi and had to walk the entire way barefoot. Jochem is losing a lot of our stuff lately, so I thought this was pretty funny. We were picked up by water taxi at Medlands Beach and brought back to Old MacDonald's Farm.


Abel Tasman Coast Track


Abel Tasman Coast Track

Back at our camping spot we found the place deserted. The weather report for the next day was pretty bad, but we figured we could at least make it through another rainy night. It turned out that it was not just rain that was coming, but storm - 70-knot winds and pouring rain. Our camping spot was quickly turning into a river. I woke up at 1.15 AM because my sleeping bag was flooding. We somehow managed to move our tent, our backpacks, our rucksacks, our food and ourselves to the common room where we spent some time trying to dry everything. We slept on the couches, but not before we removed three huge cockroaches from the room. I don't mean to exaggerate, but I've been in South East Asia, okay? Cockroaches generally don't gross me out anymore. But these were crazy mutated cockroaches. I was ready to leave by then.


our deserted camping spot post-rain/pre-storm

So, the next day we took a bus back to Nelson and, of course, the weather has been beautiful ever since. Right now we're staying at the Green Monkey and the hostels just seem to get better and better - this one feeds us homemade cake every single night. It also hands out free bikes, so we grabbed a few and made our way to downtown Nelson, where we are right now.


Nelson


Nelson

We don't have much time here either, but we planned it that way. In hindsight, we spent a lot more time in Australian cities than was really necessary and we wish we could have seen more nature. Since we only have three weeks in New Zealand we decided to just skip the cities altogether and try to spend as much time outside as possible, which is why we eventually gave in and rented a campervan for a week. First, we wanted to rent a car and use our tent, but I don't want to spend the week frantically reading weather reports and analyzing each and every cloud. We quickly learned that the weather in New Zealand is unpredictable, so we spent some extra money and now we'll have an actual campervan, including a bed, a kitchen and a flatscreen TV. I'm so excited! Tomorrow morning we are taking a bus to Picton and then a ferry to Wellington. On Monday we take another bus to Auckland and there we will pick up our campervan and we'll explore the North Island from there. Almost everyone tells us that the South Island is more beautiful than the North Island, but we are nothing if not stubborn. We want to see the North Island and that's what we'll do. Our wish list includes: Hot Water Beach, Waitomo Caves, Rotorua, Lake Taupo, Tongariro National Park and Napier, but we'll see how it goes. I can't wait!

If you'd like to see more pictures of our world trip, check out our picture gallery here!

MY FAVORITE AUSTRALIA

ACCOMMODATION Eyal and Marieke's apartment, Melbourne, Victoria

ALCOHOLIC DRINK Choc-a-Bloc at Lambert Estate in the Barossa Valley, South Australia

BAR n/a

BEACH Castle Rock Beach, Manly Scenic Walkway, New South Wales

CITY Sydney, New South Wales

CLUB n/a

DISAPPOINTMENT every city besides Sydney

DRINK Australian-made ginger beer

FELLOW TRAVELLERS Alice Springs, Northern Territory

FOOD Eyal's cooking

LOCALS Alice Springs, Northern Territory

MELTDOWN Almost dying of rabies due to an incompetent/bad-tempered nurse in Cairns, Queensland (not to be dramatic, or anything).

MONUMENT Kata Tjuta, Northern Territory

MUSEUM South Australian Museum, Adelaide, South Australia

NATURE Outback, Northern Territory

RANDOMNESS 4 out of our 5 weeks in Australia I've shared my bedroom with twentysomething boys that should really try to cover up their privates more carefully when they go to bed at night.

RESTAURANT Fratelli Paradiso, Sydney, New South Wales

STATE Northern Territory

SURPRISE Sydney, New South Wales

WEATHER Cairns, Queensland

I wouldn't have wanted to miss...
...Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Watarrka National Park and West MacDonnell National Park, Northern Territory.

I could've skipped...
...every city besides Sydney.

I want to go back to...
...Sydney, with high heels, short skirts and lots of cash.

[inspired by The Other Flying Dutchman]

Sydney, New South Wales

We arrived in Sydney on Tuesday morning and have been enjoying the city for almost a week. You read that right: we LIKE Sydney! At last an Australian city that we loved at first sight. Sydney is very different from any other Australian city we've visited so far. It was founded in 1788, which makes it the oldest city in Australia. It feels much more European here than elsewhere - first of all, the city center wasn't designed as a grid so you'll find no large city blocks here. Hallelujah! I had almost forgotton what it was like to cross the street at whim without having to wait for a street light every 5 minutes. The streets and buildings appear to have been formed organically, naturally, which makes the city very 'gezellig'.

We are staying in Kings Cross in a little neighborhood called Woolloomooloo. I see no irony in the fact that we're staying in a neighborhood whose name is identical to the club owned by the most popular fraternity in Utrecht.


our neighborhood in Kings Cross

Our hostel is called Eva's Backpackers and it's a great place. There are no twentysomethings who start drinking at 11 AM, but people who work in the city, couples and even a few families with small children. The kitchen is small, cosy and always clean. We share our dorm room with 2 other girls, which is a relief in itself, because the teenage boys who usually share our dorm rooms always stare at me, sleep in till 2 PM and smell a little bit weird. We even have our very own en-suite bathroom, which is always body hair free.


our hostel in Woolloomooloo

The best part about our hostel, though, is the awesome rooftop terrace, which has some amazing views of the city center.


the view of Central Sydney from the rooftop terrace of our hostel

It doesn't end here, though. Sydney is arguably also the most expensive city in Australia, but there are a lot of things on offer for backpackers. For free! On Wednesday morning, for example, we were picked up by Sarah from Peek Tours who took us and a bunch of other tourists on a free 3-hour guided tour. She did a really good job and told us lots of cute little details. Sydney is stuffed with cute little details. A few examples:

The Domain, which is part of the Royal Botanic Gardens, where you are encouraged to smell the roses, hug the trees and talk to the birds.


Royal Botanic Gardens

The Matthew Flinders statue on Macquarie Street, where Matthew has been portrayed with his pet cat in the background. According to Sarah, poor Matthew was never able to find "his lady love" and therefore always travelled with his cat to combat loneliness.


Macquarie Street

This particular boar statue on Macquarie Street whose nose you're supposed to rub if you want luck. Jochem was looking to get lucky and thus rubbed a different body part of the poor boar.


Macquarie Street

This beautiful piece of art called 'Forgotten Songs' that not only displays bird cages but also plays bird songs. It is there to remind us of the bird species that used to live in Sydney before the Europeans settled and who have since been forced to move to the city limits.


'Forgotten Songs'

And, of course, we also saw these little fellas.


Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House

Although Sydney is a great city to shop, eat and drink, we had no money for any of that and so on Thursday we took the Manly ferry to Manly. Manly is named Manly because one of the early European settlers was impressed by how manly the Aboriginals who lived there looked. We had come to Manly to walk the 10-kilometer Manly Scenic Walkway, which is an absolutely beautiful trail. We passed seaside mansions and harbor viewpoints, hiked through the Sydney Harbor National Park, saw kookaburras and goannas and longingly looked at the little coves and beaches on the way. We had a picnic and a little nap at Clontarf Beach before hiking to the Spit Bridge and taking the bus back to the city. I love cities that have such outdoor opportunities right around the corner. It's why I love Edinburgh and why I can't wait to get back there in June.


Sydney Harbour National Park


the view of Manly from the Manly Scenic Walkway (including the tiny Manly ferry in the distance)


the view from Dobroyd Head on the Manly Scenic Walkway


the view of Castle Rock Beach from the Manly Scenic Walkway


Clontarf Beach


Clontarf Beach

On Friday we woke up at 5 AM for our tour to the Blue Mountains. They are called the Blue Mountains because of the blue mist of oil that comes up from the many eucalyptus trees. It was already going to be a cool day, but in the Blue Mountains it's even cooler than usual. In our case, it was rainy and foggy. Our tour guide said that it was like winter! His name was Jimmy and he grew up in the Blue Mountains. He called us 'possums' and said things like: "It's easy to get lost on this bushwalk, so we need to stay close together, like we're friends and stuff." He was hilarious.

We started our day at Katoomba with a bushwalk down the Furber Steps to the Katoomba Falls. At the bottom of the Jamison Valley we took the Scenic World funicular train back. However, this was no ordinary train. Back in the days it was used to haul the coles back up from the valley floor and it's quite steep at 52 degrees. It was fun, but also scary.


Scenic World

The sad thing was that, due to the intense fog, we weren't able to see the Three Sisters! So right before lunch and the Aboriginal dance performance, we hiked down the Giant Stairway at Echo Point where we at last caught a glimpse of the first sister. Definitely worth the extra trouble!


Echo Point

After lunch we went on another bushwalk to the Wentworth Falls where I was once again reminded of my dislike of stairs, but the views made up for the sore legs.


Wentworth Falls


the view of Jamison Valley from Wentworth Falls

Our last stop of the day was at Flat Rock where the fog once more made an appearance. It was quite dangerous, to be honest. Jochem barely made it out alive.


Flat Rock


Flat Rock

After all that walking and hiking we decided to take it slow on Saturday. We made our way to Bondi Beach, arguably the most popular beach in Sydney, and it being a sunny Saturday in January, it was very busy. We thought that it was quite windy and cold, so we didn't go into the water but just hung out with the seagulls.


Bondi Beach


Bondi Beach

At night we had dinner in Kings Cross at an Italian restaurant called Fratelli Paradiso. This was a real treat - it's the kind of place where the locals eat, the menu is in Italian and all the waiters speak with an Italian accent. Here we feasted on prosecco and white wine, eggplant with cheese, spaghettini and risotto, and cannolli. Why I can't find cannolli anywhere in the Netherlands is beyond me, so I had 3 pieces. Just to prove a point. Thank you, Joke, for making this lovely meal possible! It was a great way to end our time in Sydney and in Australia.

I can't believe we've been in Australia for 5 weeks already! Time flies when you're having fun, but time also flies when you're racing through a big country in just a few weeks. But I feel very proud of us - 5 weeks, 5 states (Queensland, Northern Territory, South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales), 6 major cities (Cairn, Mt Isa, Alice Springs, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney), 7 major tourist attractions (Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, Kata Tjuta, King's Canyon, Barossa Valley, Great Ocean Road and Blue Mountains), 8115 kilometers, 5 overnight bus rides, 6 youth hostels and 1 homestay. We survived it all! Of course we hope to come back some day and we've already got it all figured out - we want to fly into Sydney for a couple of days, then fly to Melbourne to visit Eyal, Marieke and Eddie again, then fly to Perth, rent a 4WD and drive to Darwin, visit Arhemland from there, and then fly to the east coast for a sail trip to the Whitsunday Islands. But first we're off to New Zealand tomorrow!

If you'd like to see more pictures of our world trip, check out our picture gallery here!