Taupo and part of Wellington

Maori presence in Rotorua

Lots of activity since Rotorua – on my last day there I just walked around the city to check out the Maori presence (early New Zealand settlers), but it turned out to be a longer walk that I anticipated so my ankle started hurting. More than that my calves were killing me, especially my right calf, because my right leg has been overcompensating for my left leg, even though I try not to at this point (I basically have to re-learn how to walk… while on vacation). Fortunately Rotorua is famous for the geothermal activity in the area, and there is a Polynesian spa with lots of natural hot tubs (water from the ground with nothing added, and naturally heated). They are also supposed to be good for injuries because of the natural minerals in the water. Lesley talked me into going on my last night, so we walked there in the evening with another woman from the hostel. I initially balked at it because I didn’t want to pay money to sit in a tub, but after going I regretted not going EVERY night. The adult pool section has five pools, each a different temperature. The idea is to start with the coolest and work your way up. After five minutes in the coolest pool I already felt like a new person. My calves were SO much happier and looser, and that was just the first pool! They felt better and more relaxed with every pool until I was pretty much walking out of there normally (for reference, I practically hobbled in there). Such a worthwhile experience when a lot of my trip is based on my ability to walk.

The next day (9/18) I headed out on a bus to Taupo. It was only about an hour away, so I showed up at my hostel (The Rainbow Lodge) way before check-in. In the meantime I walked to Huka Falls, which is one of the only things Taupo is famous for (so it seemed). It was a nice leisurely walk along a river for a couple hours, with a spot to take a dip in some warm springs if you brought your suit. The falls were really nice, mostly because of the amount of water rushing past, not necessarily the height of them, but it was still a great sight. I caught the city bus back into town rather than walking the entire thing again, grabbed a coffee at Robert Harris (seems to be a better version of Starbucks for New Zealand; they do have Starbucks, but RH has lots of great drink options and a lot more food options), then headed back to relax at my hostel. As expected, it was not as great as The Funky Green Voyager, but it wasn’t bad. There were a lot more people who all seemed to have their groups, and there were lots of couches, so I just sprawled out on one and watched several episodes of the old show Heroes (you had to pay for wifi so I just didn’t bother).

Huka Falls

The next morning I woke up early, ate a small breakfast, and got a ride to the iSite where I caught my bus to Wellington. It was a long driving day – about 6-7 hours I think – but the views were phenomenal. It was even better when I started watching The Two Towers on my iphone, so I could see some of the same scenery out the window as in the movie! (Not *exactly* the same, but it’s poetic.) I also napped and did some things online (free wifi on that bus!), and generally just enjoyed the view.

I think this is Mt. Doom, viewed from my bus.

And then I got to Wellington.

Wellington was FREEZING. Literally, it was freezing for half the time I was there, or the wind chill made it feel freezing. There wasn’t a break in the clouds the entire time I was there, and it rained on and off for four days. Too bad most of the things I wanted to do were outside! Fortunately their weather website tells you what the forecast is and how many layers you should wear. Every day advised four layers with a fifth windproof layer. Have you seen A Christmas Story? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW4IZ0Flh3M) I felt like that kid getting bundled up to go outside, except that I WISH I HAD AS MANY LAYERS AS HE DID. If the cold wasn’t bad enough, there were practically gale force winds. Seriously – consistent gusts up to 50mph. I nearly got blown over when exiting a bus. But I wasn’t going to let that stop me – I had a schedule to keep to dammit!

The fence

On my first day (the day that looked the LEAST rainy) I took a city bus up to Zealandia, which is a predator-free sanctuary just outside the city. It’s not a zoo, because the animals are free to leave and enter as they please, except for the invasive mammalian predators. There is a massive fence surrounding the entire sanctuary that is designed to keep out cats, rats, possums, stoats, etc. so that the native species can thrive within the sanctuary. They have a double fence at the visitor entrance so that some pest doesn’t accidentally sneak in with the people. They also have traps throughout the sanctuary, and they have an emergency response team that is immediately dispatched if they get reports of an invasive species loose inside (includes a team of dogs that are specially trained to sniff out those species). All of that makes Zealandia a pretty spectacular place – you can see a ton of birds out and about that aren’t constantly hiding from predators. They have a pretty extensive trail system – most of it is contained to the front part of the sanctuary where you can do an easy 2-hour route (I somehow stretched it to 4), but the whole park has a few dozen kilometers of trails.

Kaka

I had pretty low expectations as the weather was awful, but I managed to see every bird species listed on the back of the trail map. I can’t imagine what it must be like on a good weather day! I saw… Blackbird, Pied shag, Grey warbler, Fantail, Tui, New Zealand pigeon, Saddleback, Kaka, Bellbird, Brown teal, Kakariki, Hihi, Whitehead, North Island robin, and Takahe (some of those might have English names that I need to look up). They have feeders in a few places along that main trail, so those are great places to see the birds. I sat down by one that was absolutely quiet, and within five minutes a whole swarm of birds came by, led by the Kaka. It was technically the Kaka feeder, so they were the only ones able to open the food catchments (stand on a bar that opens the lid; they are large parrots, so it’s their weight that does it), but the other species came with them to feed off the scraps or just join the crowd. It was a fantastic sight to watch. There was a pair of brown teal (rare native duck) hanging out on the ground, and even though they are much smaller than mallards, one of them was being super territorial and would chase away any mallard that so much as looked in his direction – it was hilarious to watch.

Pied shag

Brown teal

Kakariki

Hihi

Takahe

Since this was my first day out in Wellington, it was also my coldest. I didn’t follow the recommended number of layers, so I had to deal with that for the entire 4-hour walk. But I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take pictures, so my hands were absolutely frozen. I just kept thinking “Harry! You’re hands are freezing!” Bonus points if you know what I’m referencing! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOdxz77-lag). Eventually I caught the free shuttle back into the city and immediately went into the closest café for a coffee. I’ve had more coffee in the last week than I have in the last year just trying to stay warm! I stayed there for an hour looking through my bird guide and waiting a little closer to dinnertime before ordering food. But to my horror, come 4:45 they erased the food menu off the chalkboard!! Turns out they close the kitchen RIGHT BEFORE DINNER but continue serving coffee all evening. No food at dinner, and coffee before bed. That makes NO SENSE. But just as in Rotorua it looked like a bunch of restaurants and cafes shut down right around 5pm. DOES NO ONE IN THIS COUNTRY EAT OUT FOR DINNER?!? I had a very cold day and was looking forward to comfort food, but no! Fortunately, after an hour of frantically wandering around and googling restaurants on spotty wifi connections, I found Sweet Mother’s Kitchen, which had a mac & cheese dish that was to die for. It was creamy, cheesy, comforting, and delicious. It was a Louisiana-style restaurant, so of course it’s the Americans that have fatty comfort food.

I’ll catch up on the rest of my time in Wellington next post.