One of the best things about traveling BK (before kids) is the speed and efficiency of traveling. We flew out from Honolulu late at night and got to New Zealand the next day, which was actually the day after the next day due to the fact that we crossed the international dateline. Any who, like I said, we traveled fast. After clearing customs we grabbed a car and headed out into the biggest city in New Zealand, Auckland. Within hours we were steering an America’s Cup yacht across the harbor and staring down at the sea from the top of the Auckland Needle.

After seeing the sites, we headed north to our hotel. We had already noticed how nice people were, but this is when the real hospitality started. Upon reaching our small hotel, we got shown our room by the owner who was just as nice as can be and ran a nice, clean place. After having a spot of tea, we headed out to dinner. Pretty sure I had venison as I always had that or lamb.

I know, exciting so far right. Meat is so good I got distracted for like 5 minutes while writing. We found out the hard way the next day that the scuba trip we wanted to take books out months in advance, so we had to find an alternative; without the help of the internet or iPhones. What we stumbled across was Haggis’s Honking Holes. No pictures, but you can check it out here:

Needless to say it was an adventure. It may rank as the top thing we have ever done on a trip. This is when we realized that Kiwis (New Zealanders) are nuts. Too many stories for this blog but here is one quick one. After being under ground following a stream for an hour or so, I was the first one to plummet down into a cave. Looking around I saw four walls and nowhere to go. I called up to the guide and he said follow the water. I thought, this guy is kidding right, did I sign a waiver? So I dove down under water and came up in a cave full of glow worms. It was amazing. New Zealand was amazing and we had only been there one day. I think I may have to split this into 4 posts.

After 4 hours underground we headed out to the campground we found nearby in our guide. This was yet another encounter with very chill Kiwis. Upon our arrival to this campground we found a lovely green space; no signs, no directions, just a house. I reluctantly knocked on the door which was answered by a Yanni lookalike wearing a sarong and no shirt. I took a breath and asked about campsites. He brought me in to meet his guests, took my money and told us to make our self comfortable in any space we wanted. It was dark, but we setup and had a peaceful sleep under the stars. In the morning we realized we were camping next to a beautiful lazy river and the day dawned bright and cool. Next stop the mountains of Middle Earth.

Heading south from Waitomo, we headed towards a large mountain range that made up much of the backgrounds of Middle Earth. Including the mountain used as Mount Doom.

It was a cloudy day and we did a lot of hiking and exploring. Not much in the way of stories, but we did try Vegamite and it was some kind of nasty. Never heard of Vegamite? How about Men at Work? [They are not Kiwis, but they eat Vegamite sandwiches]

We mainly hiked around mountains and volcanic areas before making our way to Wellington and a plane to the South Island. I think I will end things here with a preview picture of the South Island and its Scottish heritage.

Safe Travels.

John