New Zealand - North Island by campervan

Last, loneliest, loveliest, exquisite, apart, ...
[Rudyard Kipling, Opening lines of poem on Auckland]
That was the big effect Lord of the Rings had on me. It was discovering New Zealand.
And even more precious were the people - not at all like the Australians.
[Ian Mckellen, English actor 1939-, plays Gandalf in Lord of the Rings]

We arrived slightly late and thought that we would not be able to pick up out camparvan that day! But Troels luckily managed as the very last costumor that day, and after picking up family and luggage in the airport and getting groceries, we drove off into the New Zealand landscape in the last light of day. In the deep dusk we arrived at Ray's Rest at the edge of the ocean, having a quiet dinner in the surrounding darkness.



The drive from Ray's Rest to Thames went through the typical New Zealand flat grassing land, but beyond Thames on the way up Coromandle's west coast, we seemed to be traveling through a lush green tunnel at the edge of the world. We got lunch in Coromandle Town and then had a great experience on a tiny train (of course build by an excentric English guy!) driving up into the rain forest in the hills. We crossed the peninsula and made it to Hot Water Beach, where a huge air pillow and other kids made it a haven for Storm and Astrid. We had a late dinner and played around until the sun set.



After outdoors breakfast we got a shovel and walked down to Hot Water Beach to find a long beach with 99% of all people digging holes on less than 5% of the length. As it turns out, hot water from underground sources drift through the sand in this strip at low tide, and if one digs a hole, it quickly becomes a hot tub! Our first dig was too much of a succes, as the water became too hot, but the second one did the trick. With the Pacific Ocean roaring in front, one could lie comfortably and watch. Imagine what this place is like during winter!
We had lunch at the beach reastaurant, and it was extremely good (the owner also collected champagne coolers). Back at the camp, we met 6-year old Signe from Denmark, and the rest of the day was dedicated to play (and relaxing).



Tina walked down and saw the beautiful sunrise at the beach. We then packed and did the last air pillow jumping, and drove south to beautiful Opoutere Beach, which we had essentially all to ourselves. What a treat in the seemingly everlasting NZ sunshine (a rare thing, we are told).
We then turned away from the ocean and drove through the mountain roads of Karangahake Gorge. At the Owharoa Falls, Troels went swimming, and we explored an old gold digging site after the gorge. The day ended at Flying Fox Campground, which had a fantastic zip-line (starting about 6 meters above ground - see Astrid and Storm riding it) and generally a good "old world" playground. However, it is near-impossible to get network in these parts of the world. Perhaps that is healthy.



In order to minimise the driving experience for the kids, we got up at sunrise and drove for an hour an a half, before first Storm and then Astrid woke and joined us for breakfast in Rotorua. In nearby Whakarewarewa forest we went walking among the giant redwood trees, which were imported (along with about 170 other tree types to experiment with timber production) more than 100 years ago. And it was not just a walk, but a walk about 15 meters up in the air on hanging bridges between the trees.
Just south of the city, we walked through the fantastic Waimangu Volcanic Valley, which had beautiful lakes of boiling water. It was the stranges sight, as if walking through a place balancing between heaven and hell. In reality it was a result of an eruption about 150 years ago. Afterwards we had lunch at a slightly slummy Tavern, and drove passed Huka Falls to Lake Taupo. It was a great drive down Lake Taupo to Tongariro National Park with a great volcano view. For once the camp site we arrived at was full, so we went to a an unmanned on, where we had salmon and Marlborough white wine for dinner - offgrid life in the beautiful sunset.



We woke up slowly and quietly, and following breakfast we drove up the mountain and went for a hike in the volcanic landscape. We then drove off towards Waitomo and its famous caves, and quickly the landscape changed from volcanic to lush. The rolling hills and small wodden houses made it resemble a drive through Tolkien's "The Shire" (as it happens, "Lord of the Rings" is filmed in these parts of New Zealand). Lunch was eaten at the side of the road among cows and fields.
The Waitomo camping site was great with both playground, trampoline, and pool. Unexpectedly, it had a great restaurant (Huhu) right next to, where we had one of the best restaurant meals of the whole trip (still second to IceBerg's in Sydney).



The days plan was to see the glowworms in the Waitomo Caves, and so after breakfast we got ready for this very different experience. Some people go for a 3-hour adventure in wetsuits and all, but we opted for the more kids friendly tour of just short of one hour. As we descented into the dark cave, little lights could be seen here and there, but this was nothing compared to the central parts underground. The cave was (dimly) lit up by these little creatures, which lives the most curious life cycles. We walked between stalagmites (and -tites) and ended by sailing out of the cafe in a small boat. It was quite spectacular.
Afterwards, went to nearby Otorohanga to see Kiwis, but this was really hard (as they are nocturnal creatures), and Storm was not in his best mood, so this was a total bust! We relaxed rest of the day, except for a hike by Troels and the kids up the hill. Troels and Tina had dinner at Huhu again, on the terrasse overlooking the campground playground, where the kids were playing... idyllic.



We were in no hurry to pack and drive towards Auckland, as our plane to Melbourne was in the evening. We drove through more pittoresque "Shire" landscape, and stopped in Hamilton to see their famed gardens and have lunch (at McDonald's). We returned the campervan with no troubles, and hung out in airport, until JetStar carried us away from these fantastic islands.