It’s interesting to experience something that you think you know, intellectually, only to find the reality much more powerful than the abstract knowledge. I KNEW New Zealand was a very different country to Australia, but I didn’t realise how much until I got here.
First – it’s so green! I’m not sure I’ve seen such a plentitude of green since I was living in the tropics. Certainly hasn’t been this green around Canberra for a couple of decades now.
Second – it’s not very flat, is it? In Australia, you can find vast swathes of flatness but here in New Zealand, doesn’t happen much. You get the occasional nice flat bit (such as the desert at the top and middle of the North Island – it’s very flat and also just scrubby vegetation cause there’s a massive volcano blocking the rain – unfortunately it was too misty to see the volcano properly but I did get a sense of the size and yeah, big) but overall the farming areas, for example, are still pretty much rolling hills of varying sizes.
Here’s the trip thus far:
AUCKLAND – well, it’s a city. Not a very interesting one either, at least from the 24 hours I was there. I described it as Sydney twenty years ago – hubby went for thirty years ago. Wanted to go to the art gallery, which is supposed to have a massive collection of Maori and islander art – seemed a good cultural experience within walking distance of the hotel. However, it was closed for renovations and the small exhibition space they’re currently using had bubkiss. So after some prevarication of what to do with my time before my lift arrived, I got on the city loop bus and for $1.60 got to see the main aspects of Auckland. I now consider that city done.
Should I end up in a city again, I have decided not to stay in the CBD. It seems to make sense, but generally I don’t think the real attractions (be they physical or cultural) of a city are there. I shall research, find the most interesting part of the city (or maybe outside the city) and stay there.
HAMILTON AND SURROUNDS – went to spend a couple of nights in Hamilton with the lovely Kylie and Russell. Was amazingly good to catch up with them again. Kylie was working, so Dr K and I went on some road trips. At night, we watched movies. I finally watched Wall-E, which I absolutely adored (!!!!!!!) and Up, which I also liked but not as much as Wall-E.
On the first roadtrip, we went to the Glowworm Cave at Waitomo, Mangapohue Natural Arch and the Marokopa Falls.
The cave was interesting – it’s very well set up for tourists, and walking through it is very easy with wide pathways and stairs (not narrow paths and ladders, as you’ll find in a lot of Aussie caves). The decorations of the cavern weren’t very impressive and I was wondering what the fuss was about. Then you get into a boat (a boat in a cave – okay, that was cool) and then the guide uses wires to pull you around in total darkness which just metres above you are thousands of glowworms – little pricks of blue light in the darkness.
There’s no noise, except the gentle sluice of the boat, the sound of the moving water lapping the cave wall and somewhere I could hear water going over an edge. Otherwise you lose sense of the other people in the boat and it becomes just you, your neck cranked while you gaze in awe at the beauty above you. Incredible.
No pics I’m afraid – you’re not allowed to photograph in the cave.
Next to the Magapohue Natural Arch. Dr K said not many tourists come past the caves which is a shame – this and the falls are wonderful.
You take a very easy walk, just a few hundred metres from the road down a very tall, very narrow cavern and then you reach the bit where the only part of the original cave roof remains. You know, I thought I took more pictures than the one I did and I can’t display that here – darn. Still, it was very beautiful and again, awesome in the true sense of the word.
Then onto the waterfalls. People who know Russell Kirkpatrick will know that he has a fascination with waterfalls that borders on obsession. The fact he’s contracted to write a book about New Zealand waterfalls is just adding to it all.
In Dr K’s estimation, Marakopa is one of the best waterfalls in the country, yet it’s not as visited because it’s off the track a little. You approach down a gravel track which is again reasonably easy walking (although downhill all the way, so coming back was a struggle for Ms Unfitness 2010). You get to the bottom and you see this:
Apparently more spectacular in summer – the water falls in one sheet to the ground. The noise was extraordinary and you got a real sense of the power. I tried to follow some water from the top to the bottom – it fell fast and hit the rocks with an explosion that made me think one of us pathetic humans couldn’t survive the fall. From where we were several hundreds of metres away, we were being hit with spray. Amazing.
The second roadtrip was from Hamilton down to Wellington. Eight hours. We played ‘guess the 80s music’ and I didn’t completely disgrace myself, even with my admitted gap in what should be my era of music. I was helped by the large amount of Australian music in Russell’s selection and there were a number of times I knew the song but not the title. Russell was most displeased I didn’t know Orchestral Manouvers in the Dark.
We stopped at the Aratiatia Rapids. Seriously cool. There’s a dam, so only a trickle runs through the stream. But several times a day, they open the floodgates and you watch them fill up. Twas fabulous.
The rapids at first The rapids are starting to fill
More water… Raft down that!!!
We looked at Huka Falls – a bit piss poor really. Then as I said, it was too rainy and misty to see the volcanoes, which was a shame.
So, there ‘tis. NZ so far. Will report on my couple of days exploring Wellington and district before I go on to Melbourne and Worldcon!