Our Journey from Wellington to Rotorua
After the drama, beauty, and occasional white-knuckle driving of the South Island, our final stretch through New Zealand’s North Island felt different.
Less cinematic, maybe. Less jaw-dropping at every turn. But still full of surprises: a sleepy Art Deco town, a waterfall we almost skipped, geothermal pools, towering redwoods, Māori culture, Hobbit holes, and one very real concern that we might run out of gas in the middle of nowhere.
Click on the links to follow our adventures in Queenstown and Milford Sound, That Wanaka Tree and the historic Cardrona Hotel, The Lupin fields at Lake Tekapo, and our car accident in Ashburton, and Christchurch and Wellington’s moving Gallipoli Exhibit.
We left Wellington Sunday morning and made our four-hour drive to Napier, a beach town on the North Island’s eastern coast. As we left, I wondered if we’d spent enough time in Wellington.
I wasn’t able to answer that question, but I was ready for something different. Napier seemed to be what would give us just that.
Day 9 – Napier
Napier is known for its Art Deco architecture. I thought it would be cool to visit an eclectic little seaside town, hoping the architecture would bring with it an artsy crowd.
When we arrived, the streets were empty. Businesses and even restaurants were closed.
I didn’t do any research about Sundays in Napier. Had I bothered, I would have discovered our options were limited.
Yes, we could have gone to a winery and sampled their wines. But at this point in our trip, we were a little wined-out.
The aquarium was open, but neither of us was interested.
So we walked along the shore, making our way from Bluff Hill Lookout to Perfume Point.
Like a kid, I saw boulders along the shore and felt compelled to climb them. Making my way to the largest boulder, I inadvertently tested my hiking boots’ ability to repel water as I plunged my foot into the ocean.
They passed the test!
There were four or five families at Perfume Point. The kids played while the fathers and older siblings cast their fishing lines into the Pacific Ocean, hoping to catch what I could only imagine to be their Sunday dinner.
We didn’t see them catch anything.
But I really enjoyed watching this very authentic New Zealand family moment.
What initially felt like a letdown, arriving in a sleepy town that we never saw really wake up, ended up being a nice day for us to relax with no agenda.
Days 10 and 11 – Rotorua
Huka Falls
As we drove from Napier to Rotorua, signs for Lake Taupo and Huka Falls kept appearing along the way. Neither was on our itinerary.
We had reservations for the Polynesian Spa in Rotorua that afternoon. Time was tight, but we decided to sneak in a visit to Huka Falls.
This turned out to be the best impromptu decision we made on our trip.
After only a short hike from our car, we came upon the rushing river and waterfall. The force and power of the falls breathed air into the water, creating the most spectacular blue water!
The mist of the falls, combined with the morning sun, produced a beautiful mini-rainbow over the river.
Caught up in the beauty of the falls, we lost track of time. How could we not? The scenery was gorgeous.
We needed to hurry to the spa, but for this experience, the rush was so worth it.
Off to Rotorua, the geothermal hot spot (literally and figuratively) of the North Island!
The Polynesian Spa
The Polynesian Spa gave us exactly what we needed: a few quiet hours to relax and recover.
We wandered from one pool to another, each fed by natural springs. Some were known for their acidic water, others for their alkaline properties, and all promised some type of healing benefit.
I can’t say that I noticed any difference in my muscles or joints or the softness of my skin.
But I can say that it was the most relaxing moment my wife and I had in New Zealand. The issues with the car and driving on the other side of the road—the two biggest stressors on our trip—felt like distant memories. At least while we were there.
For us, the restorative benefits from the spa were less physical and more emotional.
The Redwoods Treewalk
I felt like we were in a different place after the spa released all the tension.
What the Polynesian Spa did for us emotionally, the Redwoods Treewalk at night provided laughter—true comic relief.
As we navigated the suspension bridges from platform to platform, 60 feet in the air among the gorgeous redwood trees, we looked as awkward and uncoordinated as could be. The bridges swayed as we walked across, and we held on for dear life as the younger visitors in front of us did as kids do—enjoying some harmless playfulness.
If anyone was watching, they may have thought we had a bottle of Pinot Noir beforehand.
These California Redwood trees were planted in this area about 125 years ago. Still, these (relatively) young trees soared to the sky.
The lanterns and lights hanging from the trees illuminated the walk with subtle, yet striking colors in the evening darkness.
I have never seen California’s redwoods in person, so I don’t have anything to compare them to. But these giant trees put everything in perspective. We are truly only a dot in the whole scheme of things.
We returned to the hotel that night in a totally different mood and frame of mind.
Our Last Full Day in New Zealand
With our flight home a mere 24 hours away, we had one day left in New Zealand.
Te Puia
I probably could have started describing Rotorua by one of its most distinguishing features: the odor of sulfur that permeates the town.
But the town’s odor was nothing compared to that of Te Puia Thermal Park. Oh my…
We decided to take a guided group tour through the park. But I had problems keeping up with the group. Not from any physical limitation. Rather, I desired to get a picture and video of the Pōhutu Geyser erupting.
The geyser sputtered more than it erupted. My patience didn’t pay off.
Throughout the valley, steam—along with its not-so-subtle odor—rose from the ground and smaller geysers. It was unlike anything I had ever seen, feeling almost prehistoric.
Our guide led us from the thermal area to the Kiwi Conservation Centre, where we entered a room in complete darkness, with the exception of a dim light, which I assume was to mimic the moonlight.
We saw two kiwi for only a minute or two as we moved quietly through the dark enclosure. It was brief, but still memorable. There is something pretty special about seeing an animal you have heard about your whole life but never expected to see in person.
Our visit to Te Puia ended with a traditional Māori cultural performance and watching students at the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute.
Throughout our trip to New Zealand, people would reference the Māori people and culture and its importance to the history of the country. Te Puia really brought it home. Our tour guide, who was Māori, combined his ancestral pride with stories that made the experience incredibly enriching.
We left remembering the tour more than the smell, and that says a lot.
Hobbiton (a visit that almost didn’t happen)
We shifted from New Zealand’s natural wonders and rich culture to something completely different: a movie set from films we had somehow never seen.
If you have watched The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit trilogies, you are probably familiar with Hobbiton.
Neither my wife nor I had ever seen any of these movies. Yet, we decided we needed to see Hobbiton.
But we came close to not seeing it at all.
Leaving Rotorua with a near-empty gas tank, we figured there would be plenty of gas stations along the way.
We were wrong.
The car was on fumes by the time we arrived at a car repair shop with gas pumps outside. I couldn’t figure out how to operate the gas pumps, and the two guys in the repair shop didn’t seem interested in helping me.
Yes, this American didn’t know how to pump gas. At least not with this pump’s payment system. We moved on, looking for another gas station.
I don’t know what we would have done had we run out of gas. We didn’t have cell phone service. We had not seen another vehicle in thirty or more minutes.
We would have been up the proverbial creek without a paddle.
Fortunately, we finally came upon a gas station with pumps I could figure out how to use.
Crisis averted!
The rolling hills and fields in Hobbiton and the surrounding area can only be described as breathtaking. You could almost say it looked like a scene straight out of a movie. Oh wait…it was!
We toured the cottages built into the hillsides where the Hobbits lived. Playfully, we would stand by the entrances of the various homes, pretending to open the doors that may have been, at best, four feet high. They actually made my wife feel tall!
Our guide made several character references that sailed right over our heads. We were unfamiliar with the stories. This didn’t take away from the novelty and beauty of the area.
Believe it or not, to this day, we still haven’t seen any of the movies.
Our Final Night in Rotorua
It was hard to believe that this bucket list New Zealand vacation was coming to an end.
And as much as I loved New Zealand, I missed home and my dogs.
We enjoyed our final dinner in Rotorua and recounted everything we did over the 12 days on the North and South Islands. The cold beer went down easily as we counted our blessings that we hadn’t run out of gas earlier in the day. Had we run out of gas, we might still be sitting on the side of the road.
My Final Thoughts on the Trip
The sheer beauty of New Zealand, especially on the South Island, is unlike anything I have ever witnessed.
It may be unfair to compare the two islands, and I hope the emotions from our car accident in Ashburton didn’t linger into our time in Wellington and Napier. But I found the South Island to be almost magical. The North Island, though remarkable in so many ways, felt different.
And maybe that was the point. It didn’t need to compete with the South Island. It gave us a different kind of memory.
If I could do it over, I think I would have extended our stay in Queenstown and Cardrona. But then again, I am not sure there was anything I would have cut from the trip.
Many of the videos and blog posts I reviewed before the trip recommended three weeks or more to fully experience both islands. I now understand why and totally agree.
What I do know is that New Zealand gave me the experience the kid in me fantasized about as I read our encyclopedias and researched the stamps I collected.
Proof that dreams can come true — sometimes with sulfur, empty gas tanks, and wet hiking boots included!
