Curious New Zealand: Not Just a Pretty Face

Majestic snow-capped mountains, stunning glacial lakes, and green rolling hills dotted with woolly white sheep. Throw in bungee jumping, hiking through fern-filled forests, jet boating, parasailing, and other adventurous activities, and you have the prevalent image of New Zealand as a picturesque adventurers’ paradise.

But there’s more to this enigmatic two-island country… much more! My husband and I recently spent eight weeks over December and January in New Zealand. In Auckland, we stayed at Princes Wharf—a former commercial warehouse/shipping district that has been developed into luxury apartments, restaurants, and nightclubs. From our balcony, we could watch sailing ships gliding across Auckland Harbor, and the multi-lighting spectacle of the Harbor’s bridge at night. Our central location allowed us to stroll to the informative Maritime Museum, partake at pubs and restaurants nearby, and check out sights such as the Sky Tower and the Edwardian-Baroque Ferry Terminal.

On our must-do list in the Auckland area was a tour to the Hobbiton movie set, used for “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and even if you’re not a Hobbit fan, it is utterly charming. Other worthwhile attractions include Mount Eden—the highest spot in Auckland— and Auckland Domain’s Winter Garden, with its flower-filled glass houses and fernery. Our tour guide also introduced us to delicious Hokey Pokey ice cream and a chocolate bar.

Moving south: In Rotorua—North Island’s geothermal heart—we saw Maori villages, spitting mud pots, spouting geysers, white-sediment terraces, yellow sulfur pits, and steaming green lakes. And let’s not forget the sulfur smell. You get used to it.

Another attraction nearby led us underground to the Waitomo Glowworm caves—one by boat and another via a descending spiral walkway. Looking up at thousands of tiny glowworm lights on the cave ceiling is like gazing at a starry night sky.

Near the town of Ohakune, at Tongariro National Park (its two volcanoes are stand-ins for Mordor’s Mt. Doom), we hiked up to a highland bog for an awesome view of seismically active Mount Ruapehu. On September 25, 2007, a few months after our first visit there, Ruapehu erupted, spewing ice-slurry lahars (volcanic mudflows) into the surrounding valleys. In winter, Ohakune is a popular ski resort.

On Feb.3, 1931, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake devastated the town of Napier. It was rebuilt using the popular style of the time—art deco—which gave Napier its distinctive appearance.

The Northern Explorer train runs three days a week from Auckland to the country’s capital city—Wellington—referred to by locals as “Windy Welly” for good reason (at times, while walking, I felt as though I was going to take flight a la Mary Poppins). Here, you will find a unique Parliament building known as the “Beehive”; the world’s first and biggest wildlife sanctuary called Zealandia—named after the sunken continent hidden under New Zealand; a cable-car ride and its historical museum; and the fascinating Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, which offers a 48-hour ticket because you can’t see it all in one day.

From Wellington, the most picturesque way to get to the South Island is by ferry. Both companies—Interislander and Bluebridge—cross the Cook Strait between Welly in the north and Picton in the south. The Southern Explorer train will comfortably deliver you from Picton to the whale-watching capital of Kaikoura, and from there to Christchurch—beautifully reconstructed since the devastating 2011 earthquake. Worthwhile excursions from Christchurch include a “Cheeky Kea Travel” tour to Arthur’s Pass National Park with a stop at Castle Hill rock formations, a hike to Devil’s Punchbowl Falls, and a chance to experience adrenaline-pumping “whirlies” during a river jet-boat ride. In Christchurch itself, don’t miss the exquisite Botanical Gardens, the Arctic Center with its chilly immersive and wildlife exhibits, a tram ride, wall-sized nature murals, punting, and other sights along the River Avon, and New Regent Street—said to be the most beautiful street in New Zealand—which pulses with lighting displays at night.

We rented a car in Christchurch and drove to Oamaru—a town overflowing with Victorian architecture, and home to a fascinating Steampunk museum. A short drive along the coast took us to the Moeraki Boulders—spherical rocks shaped from mudstone about 60 million years ago.

Next stop: Queenstown, which holds the unofficial title of New Zealand’s most adventure-oriented (obsessed) city. On the thrill-a-minute menu are parasailing, bungee jumping, jet-boating, paragliding, downhill luge (part go-kart, part toboggan) racing, mountain biking, and even riding a mini sub that launches from underwater, breaking the surface at a 45-degree angle like a missile. We opted for a tamer trip aboard an old-fashioned steamboat, which ferried us across the lake to a farm to see a sheep-shearing and sheepdog-herding show. Queenstown also has a variety of good restaurants, including Vietnamese, Italian, and an Irish pub complete with a dart board. The city’s pretty peninsula park/botanical garden hosts an ice-skating rink and bowling green.

In Dunedin, we were surprised to see a statue of Scottish poet Robert (Robbie) Burns in the city’s Octagon—a central plaza bustling with restaurants, cafes, ice-cream shops, a cathedral, Maori arch, town hall, art gallery, central bus stop, and opportunistic seagulls poised to grab a bite of dropped food. Burns’ presence is connected to Dunedin’s Scottish heritage, as we discovered at the city’s Signal Hill lookout, where a plaque on a chunk of rock reads, “This stone, hewn from the rock on which Edinburgh castle stands, signifies the bond that forever binds” the two cities.

Not far from Dunedin, we found a castle—the only one in New Zealand—built in 1871 by merchant-baron and politician William Larnach. Two hundred workers built the outer shell in three years, then master European craftsmen spent another twelve years embellishing the exquisite interior. After wandering through the rooms, climbing the narrow turret stone steps for a spectacular rooftop view, and exploring the expansive gardens, we enjoyed a very British tea lunch in the café.

Our final stop, Timaru—its name means “place of shelter” for Maori canoes once traveling the coast—rewarded us with the Maori Rock Art Center’s displays of this historic art form, and yet another typical British botanic garden with aviary, the likes of which we enjoyed in all New Zealand cities we visited. We also discovered innovative parks for children everywhere we went. Timaru’s offered a section for bike-skills training, a child-sized zip line, and a chance to roll around while inside a Zorb-type plastic ball.

Surprisingly, New Zealand was not created volcanically; it was part of the supercontinent Gondwana. After the tectonic-caused “breakup,” the Zealandia part separated from Antarctica and began to submerge, until plate subduction pushed New Zealand’s two islands out of the sea. So, it should be no surprise that hobbits are not the only whimsical beings here. We also met the White Rabbit from Alice’s Wonderland; little blue penguins (the smallest in the world, weighing 2-3 pounds); a giant extinct eagle flying overhead inside an airport; and the flightless, night-roaming kiwi, from which New Zealanders have taken their nickname. A curious country indeed!

For more about New Zealand and my trip there, check out my bookstore at: https://www.blurb.com/b/12409400-new-zealand