New Zealand

It is almost insulting to a country as rich in wonders as New Zealand only to spend two nights there. My brief stay was really just an extended stopover, as I couldn’t fly directly from South America to Brisbane, so I opted to come via Auckland rather than go straight to Australia. I had thought I would have three nights though, forgetting that I lost a day by crossing the International Date Line! Circumnavigating the globe in a westerly direction does make the jet lag easier, but it also means I am having the opposite experience to Phileas Fogg when it comes to the calendar!

It was a bit of a shock returning to an English-speaking country: one in which the Christmas playlist was already being given a thorough airing in shops and cafés. And it was somewhat incongruous being transported to a Winter Wonderland when the day of my arrival was the country’s warmest November day on record!

I spent my one full day in New Zealand on a fabulous tour that took us to some of the North Island’s star attractions. Our guide, Simon, had questionable tastes (he was a Luton Town fan…), but once I got over that I thoroughly enjoyed his detailed and knowledgeable commentary!

Our first port of call was the Waitomo caves. These are impressive in their own right, but the main event is seeing the glow-worms that light up the ceiling like stars in the night sky. It really was a magical experience taking the boat along the underground river to see them. They are actually flies in the larval stage, so maggots rather than worms. The constellations they form are three-dimensional and have a gentle, hypnotic motion as the wind catches the threads they dangle to catch prey.

From Waitomo, we drove to Rotorua, a hotbed of geothermal activity (quite literally) and an important centre of Māori culture.

In Rotorua, we spent a thrilling hour and a half at the Te Puia cultural centre and geothermal site. It was a veritable New Zealand highlights tour!

In the Māori Arts & Crafts Institute, we saw students at work, and some of the impressive fruits of their labours:

We also saw that other great emblem of New Zealand: the kiwi. Only 68,000 of these endearing, flightless birds remain in the wild. They evolved in a place without predatory mammals, so are under severe threat from introduced species.

The tour concluded with a walk around the other-worldly pools and geysers of the geothermal park:

The three hour drive back to Auckland was through some lovely countryside, but I was nodding off after my long day of travel and then the excitement of the tour. I found second wind back in the city though, sampling its nightlife with George (the former WBGS Head of Cricket) and then chatting with other travellers back in the hostel until the early hours.

Arriving in a slightly shabby area, I didn’t get the best first impression of Auckland, but the city certainly grew on me. The downtown area towards the harbour feels very cosmopolitan and has skyscrapers looming overhead, including the famous Sky Tower (which was next to my hostel).

Before heading to the airport for my flight to Australia, I climbed up to the crater of the dormant volcano Mount Eden. Seeing the glorious views was a fitting way to end my short but sweet visit to this beautiful country.