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North Island, New Zealand

Hobbits & Volcanoes

By David Goodlad

July 8^th, 2014

Auckland

Our first stop on the North Island, Auckland was a good city to unwind after our busy time on the South Island. We went for a walk by the harbor one evening, and were treated to just a hint of what Auckland had to offer.

Hobbiton

As many people know, New Zealand was the primary filming location for the Lord of the Rings movies. After filming the final film of the LotR trilogy, the original Hobbiton scene was torn down and left to the fade into the landscape. However, when the studio approached the original land-owners to film the new Hobbit films there, one of the conditions was that Hobbiton remain maintained and intact for tours. We took one of those tours, and were amazed by everything we saw – despite the cool, grey weather. Especially amazing was the landscaping – a team of gardeners maintain it year-round – and the unnoticeably-fake tree above Bag End.

At the end of the Hobbiton tour, we were treated to a brew at the original Green Dragon Inn.

Wai-o-Tapu Geyser

Every day, at 10am, the Wai-O-Tapu geyser is “helped along”, with some inert chemicals which break the surface tension of the high-temperature water just underground. Supposedly this geyser is how workers used to wash their clothes many years ago.

Wai-o-Tapu Thermal Park

So many landscapes, so little time. From inviting-but-scalding-hot lakes, to bubbling mud pits, to toxic-looking sulfur pools, the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Park blew our minds.

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Taupo; Lake Taupo

Lake Taupo was huge, but I had a hard time capturing its beauty. Instead, enjoy some photos of ants exploring the volcanic rocks which regularly wash up on shore.

Napier

We were pooped by the time we reached the wonderful Art Deco-styled city of Napier. I wish I’d captured it properly.

Te Mata

From Temata Peak, we could see the entirety of Hawke’s Bay, all the way back up to Napier. It’s a fairly windy road up – some locals claimed it was a rite of passage to drive it – but nothing like what we’d seen on the South Island. The real rite of passage looked to be what some local high-school boys’ sports team had to do while their coaches timed their progress: run all the way up, and try not to lose their lunches.

Not only was there an incredible view from the top, but when we looked closely we found the remains of sea life, long ago embedded in the rock before it was pushed up out of the ocean by tectonic forces.

Te Papa Museum – Wellington

Our visit to the North Island, and to New Zealand entirely, finished up in its capital, Wellington. We met some great new friends, I caught up on work, and we spent most of our time there socializing. We did have one significant tourist day, though, and spent a few hours at the Te Papa museum. By then, I was definitely photo’d out, though!