Travel: New Zealand

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tankee:

you did not go take the Luge at Rotorua? :yikes: :yikes:

Yes we did take the luge at Rotorua. Originally we just wanted to try once. But we had so much fun we had another go at it!

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The view of Huka Falls over a pedestrian bridge is quite amazing. We happen to see the cruise boat and jetboat at the base of the falls and wanted to try the jetboat ride. Unfortunately, it is already fully booked for the day so didn't have the chance to try. http://www.hukafalls.com/


We spent more time at Huka Honey shop instead. http://www.hukahoneyhive.com/

Our next stop was at Napier which was another 2 hours drive south of Taupo. We visited Hastings Farmers Market where we had breakfast. There farmers set up stalls to sell their products in a relaxing atmosphere.
http://www.marketground.co.nz/clubsite.asp?siteid=10577&pageid=35308&pagetypeid=1

http://i43.tinypic.com/1tv6ms.jpg\">

We drove up to Te Mata Peak to have a nice view of Napier/Hastings. The road up has lots of bends and have to be careful of cars from the other direction.http://www.aatravel.co.nz/101/info/Te-Mata-Peak.htm

Cape Kidnappers is famous for the garnet birds colony. But since it is high tide, we were not able to explore the place.

We had lunch at the Silky Oak Chocolate factory. It has a chocolate museum http://silkyoakchocs.co.nz/

There are many wineries around the area. We visited the oldest one
http://www.missionestate.co.nz/

http://i40.tinypic.com/2zjb8zo.jpg\">

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Of the 8 service apartments we have stayed in during our 12 days trip, the best must surely be Tarata Fishaway. http://www.tarata.co.nz/ We stayed in the tree house lodge which has a great view of the canyon. It was a remote place and at times wondered if we are going to the correct place. But once we were there, we realised that we should have booked 2 days there instead of 1.


The owners were very nice, bringing us around his \"paradise\". We decided to change part of our itinerary for the next day to fit in a rafting trip down the river. It was a memorable experience rowing down the river between the canyon with clear blue sky above. There was a trek to a hidden waterfall where we had to walk in the cold flowing water.

Those who are into Lord of the Rings would be interested to know that part of the Rangitikei River was used in the the movie. I felt like I was Frodo canoeing down the river...

http://i42.tinypic.com/2qt8lth.jpg\">

It was lucky that we decided to fit in the rafting activity instead of driving up to Whakapapa village to have a close look at Mount Ruapehu (tallest mountai in North Island) and Mount Ngauruhoe (Mount Doom in LOTR) because it was raining in the afternoon and the mountains were covered in dark clouds.

We managed to join the last tour at Waitomo Glowworm Caves. http://www.waitomo.com/waitomo-glowworm-caves.aspx . The guide (Mark) was excellent. Very clear in his explanation and caring for the group. Well worth the experience. Having been to firefly tour in Malaysia, this glowworm cave experience is different. The glowworm cave experience is more like looking up at stars in the sky while fireflies along the river is more like twinkling Christmas trees at the side.

We were so late in to our accomodations at Woodlyn Park http://www.woodlynpark.co.nz/ that the reception was closed and the keys to our Hobit rooms are in the doors (it is common in NZ to just leave keys stuck in motels as they trust you).

http://i41.tinypic.com/2gxmohe.jpg\">

It was another long drive back to Auckland. Just a word of caution about driving. Do be alert all the times and keep to a constant speed in straight stretches of the motorway. Be patient if you happen to be stuck behind slow moving vehicles. There will be passing lanes for you to overtake. I hardly see any overspeeding (in fact, I am guilty of more traffic violations than I see others doing it, my excuse is that I am not used to their rules, but that is not really a good excuse). Those times I made mistakes, I was lucky I did not cause any accidents.

I realise that Singapore drivers are generally not as gracious on roads and cut in whenever they can unlike my experience in NZ where they keep to their lanes.

Another thing is that - don't drink and drive. Although there are lots of wineries and beer is cheap. Don't risk it. The police there have road blocks to check on drivers. I have gone through one myself.

Finally, good luck in your travels in New Zealand. Have fun!

[Small Bell]

Hi! JR, enjoyed reading your NZ trip! I also just returned fr NZ Auckand, not switch not SIN time yet. Did you went to Cape Reinga?

[kohbee2.06303gmail.06303com]

Small Bell:

Hi! JR, enjoyed reading your NZ trip! I also just returned fr NZ Auckand, not switch not SIN time yet. Did you went to Cape Reinga?

Glad you enjoyed reading it. Maybe you can tell us your experiences too.

No, we did not go up north of Auckland. I heard that the Bay of Islands is quite nice but decided not since it involves driving up and coming back the same road. We also wanted to go to Gisborne but it is out of the way. So too is Taranaki and Wellington. We have to give those places a miss.

[Small Bell]

Humm… I’m not good in writing, took too many pictures as always… plan to sort them next year while children are schooling. BTW, did you notice the cute kiwi road signs near Rotorua? Upload 1 of them

[kohbee2.06303gmail.06303com]

Small Bell:

Humm... I'm not good in writing, took too many pictures as always... plan to sort them next year while children are schooling. BTW, did you notice the cute kiwi road signs near Rotorua? Upload 1 of them

There were some interesting road signs along the way. Didn't take any photos of them since I am driving... :yikes: Actually they have quite creative road signs using animals warning drivers about speeding, etc. Notice one on the way back to Auckland for truck drivers to do safety checks...

Yah, took lots of photos. Good thing it is now digital and not using film. Just shoot and delete later if not happy. Still the photos taken do not capture the situation when you are actually there.

[Dnls_mum]

JR:

Small Bell:

Humm... I'm not good in writing, took too many pictures as always... plan to sort them next year while children are schooling. BTW, did you notice the cute kiwi road signs near Rotorua? Upload 1 of them

There were some interesting road signs along the way. Didn't take any photos of them since I am driving... :yikes: Actually they have quite creative road signs using animals warning drivers about speeding, etc. Notice one on the way back to Auckland for truck drivers to do safety checks...

Yah, took lots of photos. Good thing it is now digital and not using film. Just shoot and delete later if not happy. Still the photos taken do not capture the situation when you are actually there.

Hi JR,
Just read your review. Sounds like a great trip. I just got back yesterday evening. No problem with time difference for us. We got into things well once we arrived at Christchurch, and slept well last night and are back to SG time today. I must say we are lucky that our flight timings are great and we were able to rest well on our flights. I'll be getting down to sharing my review of our SI trip in the next few days once we are settled back.

[coolit]

Am thinking of going to New Zealand during Christmas…how is it like? Always heard there are more sheep than people and worried that my kids will get bored.

[Dnls_mum]

coolit:

Am thinking of going to New Zealand during Christmas..how is it like? Always heard there are more sheep than people and worried that my kids will get bored.

If you still haven't booked your tickets and accommodation, then I think you are too late to plan to go now. Christmas is a peak season in NZ.