New Zealand: 2 Islands, 12 Days – Pt. 2

Continued from
New Zealand: 2 Islands, 12 Days – Pt. 1

West coast of New Zealand's South Island (all post photos by Andy Beal)

My friends Sheila & Andy Beal, the writer-photographer/husband-wife team behind the award-winning blog Go Visit Hawaii, often find themselves in places that aren’t Hawaii. They recently took their first trip to the North & South Islands of New Zealand, and Sheila graciously agreed to share it with me — and you, as well.

What were your favorite adventures/tours/experiences in New Zealand?

We really didn’t do much in the way of organized tours as our time was focused on traveling from town to town. While Andy was at the conference, I took a half-day Wilderness Experience tour ($135 NZ) out of Auckland to see the Waitakere Ranges rainforest, waterfalls, black sand beach, and gawk at the enormous kauri trees.

Whenever we’ve gone to a luau in Hawaii, we’ve enjoyed learning bits about the Maori history and culture. While in New Zealand, we definitely wanted to go to the Maori equivalent of a luau, a hangi; we chose to see one at the Mitai Maori Village in Rotorua, where a stream runs right through the woodsy grounds. The show and cultural demonstrations was fairly well done, highlighted by traditional haka performers, and lamb cooked in an underground oven was outstanding!  (Generally $104 NZ per person, but look for bargains through the Rotorua hakai-Site)

Haka performer and wooden statue at Rotorua's Mitai Maori Village

While in Rotorua, we were eager to explore the geothermal wonderlands there, and chose Wai-O- Tapu ($30 NZ per person). The experience could best be described as surreal; we saw incredible thermal and mineral pools, all bubbling in unexpected shapes and colors. Here, the Lady Knox Geyser goes off (well, it’s forced) at precisely 10:15am each day. It was a fascinating place, but after a couple of hours we were happy to escape the sulfur smell that permeates the whole area.

No need to adjust your monitor, this is the actual color of a geothermal pool at Wai-O-Tapu

In New Zealand’s capital, Wellington, we learned from the i-Site that we could take free guided tours of the Beehive, New Zealand’s parliament buildings. With a threat of rain, we thought it would be the perfect thing to do (and it was). While on the tour, the guide told us that the public was allowed to observe Parliament in session, and that luckily, we’d be able to see one that afternoon.

The guide suggested that we first get lunch across the street at the Backbencher Pub; decorated with political puppets and memorabilia, this is where Kiwi politicians have lunch and drink a pint. It was a great recommendation!  Timing was great for us to get back for the afternoon session, where we sat fascinated in the gallery, almost directly across from the Prime Minister.

In New Zealand's capital of Wellington, the Parliament buildings are known as the Beehive

In Franz Josef, we took the time to enjoy a private pool ($40 NZ for 45 minutes) at Glacier Hot Pools. Under a sky full of stars, we relaxed  and soaked in the warm glacial waters, surrounded by rainforest trees and ferns.

Near Fox Glacier, we carved out some time to hike around Lake Matheson, which we’d highly recommend for gorgeous views and a chance to check out indigenous plants and trees. This and most other New Zealand trails are well marked and very well kept.

Ahhhh...Lake Matheson

Also, Queenstown’s aptly-named Remarkables Mountain Range had our attention the entire time we were there. Snowcapped and amazing, we could happily look at that sight every day.

Queenstown's aptly-named Remarkables

At such a non-stop travel pace, did you two ever hit the proverbial wall? If so, how’d you handle it?

Near the end of our 12 days, we were sight-seeing’ed-out and weary, so we took a short drive to the Queenstown Lakes District’s Gibbston Valley winery & cheesery. Gorging on New Zealand wines and cheeses while parked on a big comfy sofa in front of a fantastic fireplace? It was just what the doctor ordered.

Gibbston Valley wine and cheese tasting

I’ve heard that New Zealand doesn’t often seem so different from America, but did anything feel strange to you?

Well, I’d say eating and ordering in restaurants.

For instance, we’d gone in search of a New Zealand style “big breakfast.” When the waiter asked what we’d like to drink we asked for coffee; the waiter then reeled off a list of about a half-dozen coffee-sounding drinks…none of which sounded like the plain ol’ coffee we had in mind.  At the risk of embarrassing ourselves, we chose cappuccinos — simply because we recognized what they were. After that, we learned that it’s almost impossible to find a basic coffee in New Zealand, with the exception of Starbucks. (Yep, New Zealand’s got ’em, too.)  Most of New Zealand’s coffee shops and restaurants serve espresso-based coffee drinks.

Unlike in the U.S., most restaurants charge for bread and free soda refills are unheard of. And, most food was served exceptionally hot. We burnt our tongues several times on soup that must have been invisibly boiling.

Would you return to New Zealand to explore different parts of the country?

We’re not in a huge rush to get back — we have a long bucket list for travel — but next time we visit we’d definitely aim for summertime. Then, we’d love to see:

• more of the northern end of the North Island
• the Napier wine region around Hawkes Bay
• Christchurch again, in the hopes of more pleasant weather
• the fjordland at Milford Sound

Caravan by a lake in Rotorua

On a side note, we were so inspired by the Kiwi penchant for caravan travel that we’ve started thinking of purchasing an RV and spending several months touring the western U.S., of which we’ve seen very little. We’ll see if those plans become reality…

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Andy and Sheila Beal share their passion for Hawaii travel at the award-winning travel blog Go Visit Hawaii.
Sheila writes expert Hawaii travel advice while Andy works magic on his cameras.
Join their active Hawaii travel Facebook community and say aloha to them on Twitter at Andy Beal & Sheila Beal.

Enjoy another of Sheila and Andy’s (non-Hawaiian) trips in Alaska: Cruising Down the Inside Passage