New Zealand - The North Island in Winter
The July before COVID hit, my little family and I went to New Zealand for the first time.
We've been in Australia for over 8 years now and this was our first hop across the ditch. We had a hard choice to make, go for the North, or for the South Island. We had just over a week. I think that's a perfect amount of time for a first taster of what is an amazing and diverse country with a fascinating culture. Our rough itinerary included: Wellington, Masterton, Mt Ruapehu, Lake Taupo, Rotorua, Matamata (Hobbiton) and Auckland. We hired a car from Wellington airport and returned it to Auckland airport.
Jurassic scenes of Tree Ferns across the North Island landscape
Approach to Wellington
Arrival in Wellington.
As someone who loves to travel, I'm surprisingly bad at flying. Whenever we take off or land, I find religion, although I generally swear off taking holy orders by the time I reach the baggage claim! Why am I telling you this? Well, Wellington has an airport that is fairly notorious for strong winds. That gives take off and landing an adventure status that I hadn't expected. Even the worst flyers though will be utterly delighted and mesmerised by the approach into New Zealand's small, but perfectly formed capital. A scattering of islands covers the ocean in the approach. If you get a flight that coincides with sunrise or sunset you will have an amazing view as the golden light glints off the water and throws the islands into crazily beautiful silhouettes.
Wellington itself has the feeling of a large village, where everyone recognises faces and the shops and eateries are refreshingly non-corporate.
You need to get your walking shoes on though as it is a very hilly town. Maybe good for a spot of leg training before you head to the ski fields! Being a hilly place, though, is part of Wellington's charm. You're met with a new view on every street and amazing views of the harbour are ten a penny. The nightlife in Wellington takes place on the Waterfront, which is covered in amazing pubs and restaurants with well-heated outdoor seating. Large groups of office workers pile into the pubs on a Friday night, but other than that you'll find it a relaxing and inviting area to spend time. We went to a German pub that served the biggest beers and most delicious schnitzel I have ever had.
Te Papa Tongarewa - The National Museum.
The Te Papa museum is ideally located on the waterfront. The name means 'Treasure Box' in Maori (Te Reo) and it's SO well named! It's huge, well-managed and has loads of interactive exhibits. It's the perfect place to spend a rainy day (and Wellington does get a fair amount of rain). When we were there it was clear just how much time, space and money had been given over to an amazing ANZAC exhibit. Giant, first and second world war soldiers, nurses and everyday Kiwis modelled with such skill that if it weren't for their sheer size you'd be convinced that they could spring to life at any moment. Of course, the North Island is a hub of Maori culture and the permanent display of traditional housing, jade and other carvings is fascinating. They have bought, moved and reconstructed whole family longhouses, the detailing on which is simply breathtaking. You can enter a lot of the houses and explore the rooms where the family would have spent most of their time or where important meetings would take place. There is, of course, also an amazing display of fossils, skeletons and expertly reconstructed representations of the country's unique (and long gone) mega-fauna that kids will LOVE.
ANZAC display at Te Papa Museum, Wellington
In and around Wellington.
If you have a little time to spare from just getting lost in such a gorgeous and friendly city centre, take the cable car up to the Botanical Gardens. Established in 1869, these gardens are perched on a hill with an amazing view. The cable car takes you up and up, past hidden neighbourhoods and some extremely pretty, brightly painted weatherboard houses. It's a quick 5-minute trip to the top, but there are a number of stops along the way which are great if you want to make a day of it. This gets you off the beaten track to explore the local cafes and shops in some of Wellington's most affluent, historic and charming suburbs. It's a lovely way to spend the day away from the usual tourist haunts.
The Wellington Cable Car to the Botanic Gardens
On the road in the North Island.
Much as we LOVED Wellington, I've never been a person to stick around for too long when there is such an exciting itinerary. Fortunately, Wellington is small enough to do very easily in 3 days if you're pushed for time. When you leave Wellington, do it in the morning as the distance can be long but it's a lovely scenic route, so you're not going to get bored! Depending on which route you take (there are 2), you'll either go over the mountains or around the coast. Summer would be a great time for the coast, but as we were up for a winter holiday we decided to tackle the mountain road. Some parts of the road have drops that are steep to the point of vertigo, but it is excellently maintained. Just make sure when you're hiring a car you get a 4WD in the winter. If you're planning to head to the snowfields, as we were, you're going to need snow chains - in snowy conditions it can be a requirement for reaching the ski resorts. More on that later.
The mountainous road from Wellington to Masterton and the North Island Interior
The road to Mt Ruapehu.
The landscape of the North Island is less obviously dramatic than the well known tourist magnets of the likes of Milford Sound and Queenstown, but that doesn't mean it's any less stunning. Wellington is small and human-sized, but the moment you venture into the mountains, you start to understand what made New Zealand such a sought-after country for film location scouts. Gone are the gentle blues and greens of the coast, replaced with dark grey slabs of rock, smatterings of bright yellow gorse, hardy dark green mountain species and towering tree ferns. One thing you will notice about New Zealand is that it's surprisingly empty of people. There are just over 5 million people living in New Zealand and almost 4 million of them live on the North Island. Even with that difference, it often feels like you have the roads to yourself. Once over the mountains, you'll descend into possibly the greenest of green valleys that I have ever seen (I've been to Ireland, so I've seen plenty of green)! You'll notice that the rolling hills that might remind you a bit of England are a bit of a funny shape. They look as if they're corrugated, almost as if man had a hand in their construction, but they're entirely natural. Their formation was a mystery to me and still is! They are one of many unique features of a unique island. You'll see nothing like them in Australia and you'll see nothing like the green, wide open spaces that stretch out ahead of you along the road.
Peculiar hill formations in New Zealand's North Island
Skiing at Mt Ruapehu.
This was my son's first experience of winter sports and my first in well over a decade. It was our first ever Southern Hemisphere winter holiday. We visited in July (my son's birthday and school holidays) but with hindsight I'd prefer to leave it until August as the snow cover was a bit hit and miss. You stay in the village below the pistes and need to drive up to the lifts every day. Make sure you have enough warm clothes as the weather can change dramatically, especially when the weather starts to roll in. I learned this to my cost when I accidentally got on a chair lift to the top of the mountain. It was the longest chair lift of my life and was spent mainly freezing inside one of the long white clouds that give Aotearoa its Maori name. The skiing there is great though, even with the short amount of time we had. The nursery slope is gentle and close to the cafe for those of you wanting to watch the little ones learning how to fall over a hot chocolate.
Mt Ruapehu in the distance as the snow came in
A word about travel/skiing insurance.
Two words actually. GET IT. I know a lot of people like to skimp on this part of their holiday, but if you're going to be a) driving in snow conditions or b) skiing, you REALLY need it. My husband fell and dislocated his shoulder on his first run, and the following 2 days of the 3, the runs were closed due to blizzard conditions. The lift passes were non-refundable, and the wagon to take the klutzy husband to the base of the mountain wasn't exactly cheap. Fortunately, we HAD insurance and got back everything that we'd spent on the skiing part, including the accommodation, as there was no point being there without the skiing. Disappointed, but ever optimistic, we at least had more to spend on the rest of our trip. Even if it did mean we spent my son's 14th birthday playing pick-up-sticks in our hostel!
Lake Taupo and Huka Falls.
It's difficult to find the words to describe Lake Taupo but we'll start with some basic adjectives: huge, blue, stunning. The road to Taupo from the central south of the island hugs the sides of the lake, taking you past vertical cliffs rising straight from the depths. Keep your eyes open to see Maori rock art and carvings, of which there are several around the lake circumference. You can't see to the other side so it feels very much like an inland sea and the weather can make it behave like one as well. During our time there it was quite overcast and windy which created waves on the lake's edge very much as you'd expect on the coast. Because of the lake, the town of Taupo is quite exposed, so if you're visiting in the winter make sure you take a decent coat. A five minute drive from Taupo is Huka Falls. Although there is a slight drop in these falls they are more easily referred to as 'Horizontal Falls'. The water (of which there is a lot in winter) is violently forced through a narrow gap in the river, creating spectacular white water. If you feel like it, there are a number of great little bush walks in the area.
Huka Falls, Taupo, New Zealand
Rotorua and the Ring of Fire.
Rotorua is located right on the Pacific Ring of Fire, meaning it's a literal 'hotspot'. The Earth's tectonic plates are in constant movement in this area of the world and it creates some amazing natural magic. Don't avoid this place because of the slightly eggy smell. It's sulphurous gas leaking from the many ground fissures in the area and there's nothing anyone can do about it, but you get used to it very quickly indeed. The Te Puia centre in Rotorua is a perfect way to experience not just the powerful natural forces in the area but also the thriving Maori culture in the area. Rotorua is central to keeping that culture alive and on the tour you will visit the Maori cultural centre, which houses artisans creating jewellery, carvings and much more.
Take the tour. You can go around on your own, but the geyser that everyone comes to see only erupts at certain times per hour and you'll be annoyed if you miss it. The tour guides are also amazing, friendly, engaging and knowledgable. Before leaving, make sure you visit the Kiwi Conservation project, which is on-site. Once your eyes get used to the dark, you'll be able to see the nocturnal Kiwis in action - they're bigger than you think. Your first lesson in Te Reo language should be to learn how to pronounce basic phonetics - 'Wh' is pronounced 'F'. That might clear up a few things!
Rotorua geysers and hot springs
Matamata (Hobbiton).
Just in case you've been living in a hole that wasn't built for Hobbits, Matamata is the location of the village of Hobbiton in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies. You can see exactly why the location scouts thought they'd stumbled on Hobbit gold. This place looks EXACTLY as you'd imagine and is so much more than just a film set. You can enter a number of the Hobbit holes, but don't be disappointed when you find there's nothing in them (the interiors were filmed in a studio). They are beautifully maintained and well-managed. Even though it was winter, there were more than 10 tours going at the same time. That sounds like a lot, but they are staggered, which means you join a small group that allows you to get as up close to the locations as you like. The party tree is there, along with Bag End and nothing will finish off your trip like a visit to The Green Dragon pub. It's fully functional, with a roaring fire, handmade furniture, ale, cider and soft drinks. When we were there, there was even a cat. We came to the conclusion that we would probably prefer to spend our days in the pub than running off to Mordor!
 Bag End, in Hobbiton |  14 year old child (not Gandalf-sized) for scale |
The Green Dragon Pub in Hobbiton
Tours run from Auckland and Rotorua to Hobbiton every day. Alternatively, if you hire a car, as we did, you can simply make it a stop on your way to your next destination. Our next stop was Auckland but we were exhausted so we're saving that for another day (maybe as a stopover for our trip to South America this year - watch this space).
