After celebrating the completion of our trek and saying our farewell to our friends, it was time to make our way to our next destination – New Zealand! Hobart, Tasmania was the only city that had direct flights, so we hopped on a bus for the three hour journey south and spent one more night in “Tassie” before taking off. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Hobart. Even though we were only there for one night, it definitely made an impression on us!
Hobart is an old port town that had a little bit of a tiny Boston vibe. We stayed at the Alabama Hotel (named after a boat) and wandered around the city appreciating the harbor, interesting buildings, and old row houses on the water. We also had some amazing food! We ate at an Asian fusion restaurant for dinner where we ordered from a tablet on the table and the food is delivered to us by a little track adjacent to the table. It was fun! And we had some of the best pork belly I have ever had – absolutely mouth watering.
The next morning it was off to New Zealand! We flew into Auckland (in the northern part of the north island) where we would stay for a night before beginning our road trip to the tip of the southern island. We didn’t have much time to explore Auckland. But we did have some delicious Thai food where we were introduced to our favorite NZ beer, Steinlager. We also visited the Auckland Museum which had an impressive collection of Maori (indigenous) artifacts.
Our first stop after Auckland and high on our list of things we were excited about was Hobbiton! Hobitton is where part of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies were filmed, most notably The Shire with all of the little hobbit houses. It’s not that I am a massive fan of the movie series, but I really geeked out at this place! The workmanship was just so impressive and I loved hearing all of the little anecdotes about building the set and filming the movies. They even had a to-scale hobbit house you could go inside and interact with!
The three hour tour was pretty comprehensive and it ended at The Dragon Inn where they served us beer as we looked out over the hobbit village. It was such a fun stop and super memorable – I was surprised how much I enjoyed it! Who knew I would be such a Hobbiton fan.
And on we went to Rotorua! There are several areas in New Zealand that have heavy thermal activity, lending itself to several hot spring tourist destinations, and Rotorua was a hub for many of these places. We found a thermal park a bit off the beaten path (some of these places can get really busy), so we decided to take the little detour and do a little hike through it! When we pulled up to the nearby parking lot, a faint sulfur smell lingered in the air. As we crossed the lake on the small ferry to the park, the smell slowly got intense and nearly overwhelming! I barely breathed through my nose the entire time.
But the thermal park was super cool! Pools of boiling water and vats of mud, minerally colors and steam everywhere. The earth is wild.
Next stop was Taupo, a little adventure town on a big lake. The lake was beautiful, but what really left an impression was the waterfall that we visited. We wanted to go on a walk and read in the guidebook that there was a nice path along the river to a popular waterfall. Honestly, we aren’t so fascinated by waterfalls, but needed to stretch our legs and why not check it out. Well it ended up being pretty damn rad! Rather than the traditional waterfall I was picturing, it was a several meters long and intensely powerful rapid. I have never seen waters churn so intensely. The sound of the thrashing and the blue swirling water was mesmerizing. Not a body of water you would want to find yourself in. I was so glad we made the trek!
From Taupo, we made our way to the southern tip of the north island where we would spend a couple of nights in Wellington. I really enjoyed wandering around this city! It felt like a miniature San Francisco with hilly streets, narrow houses, and beautiful ocean views. We did a lot of walking, tried several restaurants, and attended a performance at the Wellington Fringe Festival! It was a cool little city with a few universities and there was definitely an active scene that made it feel really lively. It was a nice place to end our exploration of the northern island. We were ready to cross the channel and head south!
Wellington is the kick-off point for the ferry service between the islands, so on Sunday morning we drove our car onto the massive ship for the three-hour journey across the channel. We would land in Picton and begin our road trip through the southern island from there!
Wandering Between Meals 
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