Sunday 18 May 2014

HOLIDAY DIARIES: NEW ZEALAND THE NORTH ISLAND PART ONE

Hello loves!

(Firstly apologies for the huge delay in getting this post up, I've been incredibly busy with sorting my move to Manchester and my Mums wedding. Anyway without further ado here is part one of my holiday diaries to New Zealand!)

After a long and hungry 26 hour flight (the vegetarian options on the plane were unfortunately lacking) I arrived in the beautifully sunny New Zealand! My lovely school friend Kim and her boyfriend were nice enough to let me stay with them for part of my trip, they picked me up from the airport and brought me back to their gorgeous apartment. The majority of homes are built with wood and tin roofs with inspiration from classic villa style homes.


My first day consisted of lots of chat, laughter and food - the usual catch up scenario after one of your best friends moves away and you see her for the first time in a long time! That evening Kim and Chris treated me to dinner at Mexico an incredible little Mexican restaurant in the heart of Ponsonby where all the waitresses wear Mexican flowers in their hair, it was fantastic! 

I was travellling round New Zealand by myself most of the time so I chose to hop on the Kiwi Experience tour in two separate places to see as much as I could with the little time I had there, because of the dates of the tour I was backwards and forwards from North and South to fit them in. However for the purpose of this post and for ease I am splitting the posts into North Island and South Island.

Kim and I took a road trip to Rotorua to visit the famous Hells Gate hot mud spa and take a tour around a Mauori tribe. It was so much fun at the spa, sitting in gurgling hot mud baths with the sunshine beating down on your skin felt incredible, the sulfur baths you go in afterwards were very relaxing but stank to high heaven!



The Mauori tribe greeted our tour with a traditonal dance and proceeded to take us around their grounds showing us different areas of their lives; tradition games, trades and dances. We were then treated to a special performance, half an hour of traditional dance rituals and songs followed by an out of this world feast consisting of traditional meats, breads, potatoes, vegetables and puddings.


Driving back home the following day we stopped a few times to stand in awe at the beautiful scenery, Rotorua is known for its thermal activity as it lies on Rotorua caldera, the town is covered in bubbling mud pools and steaming lakes. 


Next stop was the Karanghake Gorge - one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places I have ever been too, it was so tranquil, the weather was stunning the the scenery was incredible. 


Next stop on our journey home was  a climb up/around Mount Maunganui, you could see for miles and it was littered with holiday makers and sheep!


And finally we stopped for lunch in Paeroa the town where New Zealand's famous L & P lemonade originated.


My first road trip ever was pretty spectacular! Other highlights of my time in Auckland were walking along the viaduct and watching the boats and the city pass us by, the botanical gardens, the fashion exhibition at the local museum, Mount Eden, the beach and my big jump off the highest point in Auckland, the sky tower! 

Mount Eden and The Viaduct - from the top of Mount Eden you can see everything, it was stunning and so interesting to see the city layout, so different to the UK such vast spaces of greenery and fields dotted between high rise buildings and housing estates.


Base jumping off the Sky Tower - I'm not going to lie, I was petrified! It was a beautiful day and I was standing with my toes over the edge of the platform looking down thinking why have I just paid to jump of a building?! They counted down 3, 2, 1 JUMP! and I just stood there, feet frozen to the spot shaking my head and then something came over me and I stepped over the edge and got the most incredible rush it was phenomenal! The jump was over in seconds and I landed on my feet at the bottom desperate to relive that moment, the utter sense of freedom I felt falling from the building with the wind rushing past my face and the array of huge buildings and water around me, perfection. 


The beach, a live band in central Auckland, the gorgeous vintage town Parnell and the Botanical Gardens - beach day was wonderful, slightly hungover from the party the night before we lay sprawled out on the beach for the majority of the day! Parnell is a gorgeous vintage style town with ice cream parlours, fabulous independent cafes and restaurants and a string of (expensive) little shops. The Botanical Gardens we visited on my second day along with the local museum which was so interesting and beautiful, an array of colours, smells and some of the tallest peculiar looking plants you will ever see.


Auckland is such a vibrant, busy, exciting city and one of the most fantastic things about New Zealand is that one minute you will be in the city centre and the next you are on the beach or climbing a fabulous mountain to see the views of the city, it really is the best of both worlds. 

A massive thanks to Kim and Chris for being amazing hosts and tour guides =)

Next stop on my holiday diaries is Paihia and Cape Reinga....

See you there!















4 comments:

  1. Looks like it was a really awesome time, these pictures are gorgeous.

    Meg | Meghan Silva's Blog

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    1. Thank you very much 😊 it really was incredible if you ever get the chance to go you must!

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  2. Soooo Sooooo Soooo jealous! I wish I had the courage to go travelling on my own :( I'm just such a scaredy cat! Glad you had an amazing time x

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    1. I was so scared but met loads of lovely people, it's incredible how many travel alone, you would make friends very easily 😊 xx

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