North

New Zealand is an undoubtedly beautiful country. Unfortunately, since I arrived, I have been cooped up in Wellington, stuck between classrooms and dorm rooms. So when the mid-trimester break rolled around, I was itching to get out. The South Island proved to be too expensive to move around, and further trips such as Australia and Fiji were out of the question, so I decided to go north. $150 later, I had my passport for the Naked Bus, a curiously titled service that specializes in cheap, clothed public transit. Five bus rides in ten days, taking me from Wellington to Taupo, then Rotorua, then Waitomo, then Auckland. The final trip would be a marathon 12-hour ride back to the capital.

Away to Taupo

The first stop on the trip was Taupo, a small tourist town on the shore of an enormous lake of the same name. Known for its hot springs and scenic landscapes, Taupo is a nice place to stay for anyone expecting a full schedule of activities. Like many places in rural New Zealand, Taupo is loaded with options for thrill seekers and casual travelers alike, from skydiving to bungy jumping to horseback riding to scenic lake tours. The area also houses Huka Falls, which is reportedly the most visited attraction in New Zealand.  This waterway, which can fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in two minutes, is a good two hour walk from the center of town, and is well worth the trip. After a day of horseback riding and hiking, it was incredible to head down to the hot springs and lay in the water for a couple of hours. The best part is: free! I spent entire day relaxing in a spa without spending a dime.

  

Away to Rotorua

If there is anything you need to know about Rotorua, it is that the town smells. It smells bad. Due to the high geothermal activity, the entire area reeks of sulfur, although it is much stronger in some areas. My hostel was, of course, in such an area. Don't let this deter you, though; the town is arguably the North Island's biggest tourist spot, and there are plenty of activities that reflect that. I spent the longest amount of time there, and if you're traveling around the North Island, I would suggest you do the same. In the four days I stayed in Rotorua, I went rafting, luging, zorbing and hiking in the Redwoods. Coupled with going to bars almost every night, this turned out to be the most expensive leg of my journey, but it was well worth it. The rafting experience was excellent, despite the fact that we flipped on the highest commercial fall in the Southern Hemisphere, something I was a bit wary of beforehand. Luging and Zorbing are relatively cheap and took up an entire day, and both are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities (Both are almost exclusive to New Zealand for obvious insurance issues.) For those of you that don't know, Zorbing is an activity invented in New Zealand that involves people getting inside a giant plastic ball and rolling down a hill. I did the HydroZorb, which is essentially a hot tub rolling down a hill.

Away to Waitomo

Waitomo is, to put it bluntly, a hick town. The kind of place where the only motel in the area has a noose hanging out front and the cows outnumber people. Made up of various farming properties and the Maori families that own the famous caves in the area, it is not exactly outsider friendly. With no car or public transit options, we were forced to walk about 2km to anything substantial. However, once I got over the initial aggravation of hauling my bags down a gravel road to the hostel, the atmosphere of the town eased my tension. For one, there is almost no light pollution, and anyone who enjoys admiring the sky will not be disappointed. The view at night is by far the clearest I've ever seen, which granted is not saying much, being from the ever-lit American suburbs.

As I said before, Waitomo is famous for its cave systems: over 300 snake underneath the hills for kilometers, although only a fraction of them are open to the public.  The most popular of these are the Glowworm, Aranui and Rurakuri Caves, and of these I explored the first two. If you want a relaxing, educational experience, this is your best bet. The package was a very reasonable price, and ended up being much more rewarding than I assumed. My guides were both Maori, and one was the great-granddaughter of the chief who discovered the caves almost 150 years ago. They were incredibly knowledgeable about the history and contents of the structures, and were open to questions and requests. The tours do not last that long (each was about 45 minutes), but they do not disappoint. The Glowworm Cave, while less impressive than Aranui in size and formation, ended with a silent boat ride through a small underground grotto whose ceiling harbored countless glowworms.

Fun Fact: There are now more cows than sheep in New Zealand. New Zealand also produces 1/3rd of the world's dairy products.

Away to Auckland

Auckland is New Zealand's largest and most populous city, and it feels that way. Whereas Wellington is defined by three or four streets, Auckland has a much more sprawling cosmopolitan layout. I did not get the chance to go out on the town, and for that I'm sort of glad; most of my experiences in big city bars have not been that enjoyable. I arrived late at night and stayed in my hostel for approximately 10 hours, which is about as long as I would ever want to stay in an urban hostel. Simply put, they suck. They're big, dirty, cheaply made and yet so expensive to use (one load of laundry cost about $6.) I much prefer the smaller hostels of Taupo, Rotorua and Waitomo, where the receptionists know your name and the kitchen feels like the one in your home as opposed to the one in your university. For the second night, I had my first CouchSurfing experience.  For those that don't know, CouchSurfing is a non-profit project based out of San Francisco that aims to let people around the world connect with each other and set up "free" accommodation at their houses. While there are never any monetary transactions between the parties, it is generally understood that the travelers will compensate the hosts in the form of alcohol, a night on the town, or a home-cooked meal. This service is not about finding an anonymous couch to sleep on for one night; it is an opportunity to meet and learn about new people, and many experienced hosts stick to this. There is a very clear etiquette that must be adhered to when talking and scheduling a stay, and failure to do this will most likely result in a rejection email.

Anyway. I stayed with a few Kiwis who had moved to Auckland from Christchurch after the earthquake. They had some amazing stories of being in the city during the event, and while I ended up spending more on wine for everyone than another night at the hostel, it was a much better experience than sleeping in a cheap cot that may or may not have had bedbugs.

The trip back to Wellington felt strange. I had been away for only ten days, and I had only lived in New Zealand for two months, but it felt like I was going home.

As per usual, here are some tips for traveling around New Zealand:

1.       Pack light. I had a duffle bag and laptop bag, both full of books, clothes, chargers, food, and other crap that I hardly used. I prepared for several different scenarios which, in retrospect, I could have dealt with in a much more efficient way. Forget the raincoat and second jacket, and only bring a computer if you absolutely have to. There are plenty of internet cafes or terminals inside the hostels, and although they come at a pretty hefty price (the standard was $1 for 15 minutes), buying a long-term internet card might be worth not having to lug around an extra bag.

2.       Budget your time and money. It can be very easy to book many activities on a whim (in fact, many of the things we did were booked two hours or less in advance, and some we just showed up to). This can get incredibly expensive very quickly, and can often eat up the short time you might have in that town. Before you go, plan the big activities and book them in advance so you know exactly how much you will be spending. Leave aside a few hours for relaxing, sightseeing, and eating of course. In each place we visited, there were also a ton of free options, like hiking trails or just sitting outside and watching the stars.

3.       Rotorua smells like rotten eggs. I can't stress this enough, it was pretty gross.

4.       For smaller towns, definitely stay in hostels. You will almost certainly meet a ton of cool people who like to have a good time, and the prices can't be beaten. If you go to more urban areas like Auckland or Wellington, it might be worth it to sign up for CouchSurfing. I had to make a $19 donation, but once that's paid, you have access to literally thousands of places to sleep for the price of a bottle of wine or a display of some culinary skills.

5.       Charge your stuff whenever you can get the chance. More often than not, your hostel room will have one outlet. Take these opportunities to make sure your cell phone, iPod, computer, camera and other electronics are juiced up, because if they run out you could be really inconvenienced.

6.       If you go horseback riding, secure your pockets. My brand new camera flew out of my pocket on the first trot, and while I found it after trekking through the trail for half an hour, I would not want to go through that again. Better yet, leave all of your belongings somewhere safe before getting on the horse.

7.       If you're drinking, don't just go to one bar. It's pretty easy in towns like Taupo and Rotorua to stay in one place the entire night (sometimes it's unavoidable, as all of the other bars close down and come to you), but take the time to look around and find another local bar that isn't full of backpackers. It could be even better than what you had planned.

8.       Pak 'N Save is backpacker heaven. $20-30 can get you enough oatmeal, trail mix, milk and other food for a week, assuming you know how to ration and cook. Also, look out for free stuff. Some of our hostels gave us free rice or pasta (enough for a family of four in our case) or barbeques at the bars. All totaled, we probably got about a dozen free meals throughout the 10 day trip.

9.       Make sure your camera has enough memory. Don't start your trip with room for only 100 pictures, because that will probably be gone in the first two days.

10.   Don't stand up when Zorbing. You will fall.

11.   Don't be afraid to ask for rides. I'm not advocating hitchhiking, but it might be worth it to make friends with locals or people in your hostel with cars, as walking 2km to an activity and back can be excruciating.

From The City To The Sea

Seeing as it has been about two weeks since arriving in Wellington, and I have not yet ventured to any part of the surrounding landscape that enticed me to come to New Zealand in the first place, I figured that the first days of from my lectures was a good enough place to start exploring. And so, armed with a digital camera, some muesli bars (granola, for you American types) and shoes I would later find out are not, and never claimed to be, waterproof, my international friends and I set out on Wellington's City to Sea Walkway. The title is a bit misleading, as you primarily stay on the hills surrounding New Zealand's capital, with the only "city" aspect coming in the form of the bus ride home. Nevertheless, if you like walking (and who doesn't like a good walk?), this is not a terrible way to spend your day.

We began at 10am, in Wellington's Botanical Gardens. The trail begins near what the locals refer to as the "Trippy Tree": an enormous topiary clipped in a circular shape, where the local kids engage in the occasional cigarette or other debaucherous activity. Climbing its thick branches gives one a particularly spectacular view of the city.

The trail snakes around Victoria University's Kelburn campus, which sits perched on one of the many hills encircling the capital. Despite being only a few minutes walk from the political center of New Zealand, the density of the foliage in the area (locals would call it "the bush") is curious and amazing. The trail twists in and out of civilization, with some stretches of the path becoming completely encapsulated in what one might mistake for the Amazon. Most of the bush looks fairly comparable to the deciduous forests of central Pennsylvania, however the mixture of lush tropical plants and thicker canopies make for an entirely unique outdoor experience.

After about an hour or so of trekking through the bush, the trail spills out into the beginning of a relentless expanse of hills (While I use the term "hills" throughout, do not be mistaken about their size. At their best, they can reach some of the low-flying clouds commonly found in the valley). Virtually any spot on these landscapes are perfect for picture taking, and I did not take these opportunities for granted.

Once we left the quiet shade of the forest, we became victims to Wellington's primary adversary: wind. The breezes that roll in from the sea are strong enough to knock you off balance, which is particularly frustrating when you are attempting to climb a staircase with no handrails. Nevertheless, venturing to the top of each hill is, in itself, its own reward.

The view from the highest point of the City to Sea Walkway. My Dutch friend, Roos, is pictured on the right. I walked the trail with her and some other friends from Denmark, Germany, and England.

It was here where we stopped for a quick lunch. If you ever plan to complete the City to Sea trail, you had better bring some sort of meal with you. There are no cafés or dairies on the way, and believe me when I say you will need the energy.

After a few more hours of traversing the hills, we ended up, rather abruptly, in a quaint neighborhood. It was here that I first got a good look at the architecture that one might consider a bit eccentric. The homes are not expansive in any way, nor do they look particularly expensive. But, unlike the Pleastantvillian, cut-and-paste style housing so pervasive in American suburbia, New Zealand's architecture seems to be mostly individual. Most had a 70s style split-level or ranch style to them, but every so often there would be a Victorian tower sticking out of an otherwise modern home. There was no sense of standardization among buildings, which was a refreshing change from the uniformity of my hometown.

The neighborhoods led almost to the edge of the island, where treacherous-looking rocks meet the ocean. In the distance, the South Island is barely visible, almost as if it was a drawing on a movie backdrop. In fact, almost every landscape we witnessed on the trail seemed unreal. Perhaps the reason for this is that I have never been in a place so naturally beautiful before, unless it has been through the medium of the silver screen. Sitting on the sea's edge, and later, thanks to the tides, in the café by the sea's edge, was a perfect ending to an exhausting but wholly worthwhile day.

Shortly after taking the picture above, Poseidon decided he preferred my lower half to be a bit damper than it already was.

In the usual fashion, here are a few tips if you feel like walking around New Zealand (or more accurately, when you have to walk around New Zealand. You can't get out of it.):

1. Shoes. For the love of all that is holy, bring hiking shoes. Ones that are comfortable. I made the 14km walk from the city to the sea in about 3 hours with decent shoes, and a day later, my feet are still sore. It is much more economical to bring shoes to New Zealand instead of buying them here, as any decent pair is going to cost you upwards of $150NZ. I got mine at DSW for $40US. Just bring them yourself.
2. A decent camera. If you have an older one that you've been meaning to upgrade, go for it. The landscapes of New Zealand are some of the most breathtaking you will ever see, and a high quality camera will do them justice. Mine is a Sony Cybershot DSC-W570, which takes incredible panoramic shots and HD video, not to mention some of the best image stabilization I've seen on a budget point-and-shoot. It was only about $150 as well, and is the perfect tool for making an amateur photographer's shots look exceptional.
3. A comfortable backpack with plenty of pouches. A bulky, amorphous bag can ruin even the shortest of walks, and not having one is definitely a mistake. My bag is small and loose, so most of my food and things were all mashed together. A light bag with compartments for a water bottle, food, natural souvenirs (I spent a good hour searching both the bush and the shore for shells, fossils, leaves, and all other assortments of special finds) will prevent everything from getting everything else dirty. If you want a lot of hydration for a long hike (or if you want to inconspicuously get drunk in a public place), a camel-back would not be a terrible purchase.
4. A light, well insulated jacket. Many of my friends brought winter jackets, which seems a bit like overkill. They're bulky, stuffy and a hassle to store when not being worn. I unfortunately did not bring any jacket (mine got ruined a few days before I had to leave), instead opting for a few pullovers. These work alright, but a small zippered jacket would be much more convenient.

Goodbye for now!

The Flight

If you are planning on traveling to New Zealand, you probably already know that you are in for a long trip. Nevertheless, I feel it necessary to stress the following point:

New Zealand is far away. Very far away.

Do not let this hurdle deter you, though. With adequate preparation and a little luck, it can actually be quite fun. While I cannot help you in the luck department, I can do my best to prepare you for the journey ahead.

My trip started in Philadelphia, and went a little something like this:

Philadelphia ---------6 hour flight ----------> Los Angeles (2.5 hour layover) -----------------12.5 hour flight-----------> Auckland (2 hour layover) ---------1 hour flight------------> Wellington.

All totaled, it took over a day to get from my bedroom to my dorm room. My flight times were structured in a way that would minimize jet lag: I left in the early evening, taking a red-eye to Auckland and catching a few hours of sleep in between on demand films, and touching down in Wellington about halfway through my day. Granted, it's still tough to get past 8pm the first day, but it's better than getting in at 11pm with a full night's rest.

The first, and possibly most important thing to know about traveling to New Zealand (or any faraway place), is that, unless you possess some sort of portable fission reactor, your electronic devices will die long before you reach your destination. There are two main reasons for this:

1. With the recent explosion of mobile energy-hogs, the airlines and airports have unfortunately realized that having a free power outlet within 20 feet of any given spot is not very good for business.

2. There is absolutely nothing to do on the plane. And if you think you can read for 13 hours straight, you're dead wrong.

If you're not in first class, don't expect to get any juice for your laptop, even if the entire plane is WiFi-enabled (only $12.95 to tweet from 35,000 feet). During my layover in Los Angeles, I noticed several Samsung brand mobile charging stations, which I foolishly thought was a neat idea at first. Upon closer observation, I realized that the four outlets at each station (which had no seats and a very small counter where one can stand guard over their precious devices) were not nearly enough to cover the power needs of the dozens of jacked-in nerds that wasted all of their battery life playing Angry Birds. I myself lost my entire charge watching a movie (or at least half of one; Toshiba batteries supposedly has some sort of grudge against Tom Cruise and his secret agent antics), and had to join the other outlet vultures who were circling around the stations, waiting for a spot.

This need for energy was not as relevant on the flight to Auckland, as Qantas Airlines generously provides TVs in the headrest in front of you. All programs are free to watch, and are of impressive variety and quality. The meals are also surprisingly delicious, and everything is included in the ticket price. Even the beer was free.

I was also lucky enough (and, in some ways, unlucky enough) in my seating arrangements. On the Los Angeles flight, I was seated in an exit row. This allowed for more leg room, but denied me a tray table or proper window to look out of. To Auckland, I was given an aisle seat in the middle section, next to an empty seat in an otherwise loaded jumbo jet. The person on the other side of the free seat and I worked out an arrangement to share the seat for sleeping, storage, etc., which made the flight much more bearable. Perhaps the most disappointing point of the voyage was the flight from Auckland to Wellington. I was given another aisle seat, and was deprived the spectacular view that the window allows. If you get a chance, definitely take a window seat for that flight.

A view of Mt. Taranaki from the flight from Auckland to Wellington. This is the only picture I took while on the plane, as I did not want to bug the person sitting in the window seat to keep photographing the landscape for me. According to Maori mythology, Taranaki fled after being wounded in a battle with Tongariro, another mountain in the middle of the island. The eastern slope is considered a premier skiing spot in the area, and trampers (hikers) enjoy the moderately difficult day-long trip up-and-back, despite the unpredictable weather patterns.

 

 

 

 
When entering New Zealand, keep in mind the severity of the native customs regulations. Any outside food or drink must be declared upon entry or discarded in designated bins.

To sum up, here are some tips to get you through the trip to Wellington:

1. Conserve your electrical (and physical) energy.

2. A pillow is not essential. On the flight to Auckland, each passenger is provided with a blanket, pillow, toothbrush/toothpaste, and a seat comfortable enough to allow a decent night's sleep.

3. Pack light, both for your carry-on and checked bags. US Airways did not allow any bags over 50 lbs, and forced the family in front of me to remove 3 lbs from their suitcase. Also, my carry-on laptop bag, when stuffed full of things I rarely used on the trip there, was a nightmare to carry around the terminals. When combined with my luggage (I had to transfer my bags in Auckland) and a 13 hour period of limited mobility, it resulted in being extremely sore the next day.

4. Get an aisle seat for convenience on the red-eye, and a window seat if you take a domestic flight to Wellington. Also, if you're willing, an exit seat will provide some much-appreciated space.

Good luck, and safe travels!