As I boarded the plane to Auckland I couldn’t help but think back to the first time I visited New Zealand. I’m not sure you can really call it a visit – more like a fleeting moment of airport traffic and jetlag as I spent 3 hours in the Auckland International airport terminal waiting to board my next flight to my new home Melbourne, Australia where my 28 hour journey from Canada would be complete! I remember landing in Auckland, knowing I only had 3 hours there, and through the exhaustion of crossing many time zones, wishing I could stay longer. I also remember thinking to myself, “I will be back here.” Fast-forward about 5 months and here I was again – sitting on a plane, staring out at the tarmac, but this time, I was here to stay! For a week, at least.
 

Kiwi Experience, a very popular hop on hop off bus adventure company in New Zealand offers travellers a method of transportation all over the North and South islands. I was fortunate enough to have been invited as one of 24 agents from across Australia and New Zealand on their North Island agent famil where we would be taken to all the hotspots on the North Island in one week. Our journey began in Auckland when we checked into Nomads Auckland and had a few drinks to kick off the massive adventure that lay ahead of us. Besides the itinerary we had been given before-hand, none of us knew exactly what was in store for us over this next week, but we couldn’t wait to find out!

DAY ONE

Up bright and early to begin the drive to the Coromandel Peninsula and Hot Water Beach, we soon realized the weather was NOT in our favour. Sea kayaking and digging holes in the sand to build a personal sized spa pool was not going to be the most fun in the pouring rain so…diversion! We re-routed and made our way down to the remote location of River Valley – a beautifully cozy adventure lodge tucked away in the rolling valleys of Taihape. After driving past a very foggy Tongariro National Park and Mount Doom (a place I WILL be back to visit and hike in the summertime), we reached our destination for the evening. Arriving at River Valley was like coming home. That feeling you get when you walk into your house after being away, when the fire is burning, and dinner is on the stove, was the same feeling we got upon arrival at the lodge. It had been a long day of driving through a constant downpour of rain, so sitting down to an enormous home-cooked roast dinner beside a crackling fireplace was nothing short of perfection. After we ate enough to last us three days and got to know the group a lot better with some cheeky games (that may have involved a few drinks) it was time to head up and check out the rooms – which we had been told were pretty interesting. We all know the typical layout of a dorm room – rows of single bunk beds that usually hold about 6-12 people. Now picture a dorm room with towering wood beamed ceilings and massive bunk beds that are all attached and can sleep 30 people!! Talk about a sleepover! After a few hours sleep in the coolest dorm room ever, we woke to find that the rain which had decided to keep falling all night was going to put a damper on our activities for the day which were going to be white water rafting and horse trekking. I had never been white water rafting and was looking forward to doing it at River Valley as it is a world renowned location, so was definitely a bit disappointed, but that didn’t stop our day from turning around very, very shortly…

 

DAY TWO
 

As we loaded up the bus and took off on the drive towards Taupo – the North Island’s biggest and best backpacker destination with everything from waterfalls, skydiving, nightlife, and sailing trips – we got a call from the lovely people at Skydive Taupo who had a window for us to skydive! This was, without a doubt, the activity I had been looking forward to the most. For as long as I can remember I have been an adrenaline junkie. Most people have a fear of heights – I have a LOVE of heights. Needless to say, the thought of jumping 15,000 feet out of a plane over New Zealand’s largest natural lake was a dream come true. After getting suited up, we took off on the pink plane ready to jump! The tandem masters at Skydive Taupo are so professional and make sure to capture every moment of your skydive experience on their handy little GoPro’s – mine even let me steer the parachute as we came in for landing! After freefalling 10,000 feet from the sky, through a raincloud, and over Lake Taupo we spent the next few minutes parachuting down and finally landed safely back where we started. I was so happy I just about cried! My dream to skydive had finally become a reality and all I could think about was when I would get to do it again! After the skydivers had all taken the plunge, some of the group took off on their evening sailing trip while the rest of us made our way to the natural hot springs at a nearby resort in Taupo. After skydiving through a -15 degree atmosphere, relaxing and warming up in the hot springs was just what we needed before another night on tour kicked off – this time at Base Taupo. The amazing staff there showed us a great time at the bar that has a few pool tables, a patio, fun cocktails in jars, and a great dance floor that we definitely tore up all night long! Today was probably one of the most exciting days of my travels so far – and we were only on day two!

DAY THREE

Onward and upward we took off towards our next adventure in the geothermal wonder world and cultural hub of Rotorua! Rotorua is so much more than just Hobbiton or a place that smells oddly like eggs. There are endless activities to take part in while in Rotorua such Zorbing – which is where you roll down hills in big plastic inflatable balls, gondola rides, luge rides, and incredible cultural performances such as the one we were fortunate enough to experience at a wonderful place called Tamaki Maori Village.  Before heading over to Tamaki for our marae overnight stay, we visited Te Puia which is a cultural centre in Rotorua to check out the famous Pohutu Geyser, bubbling mud pools, and unique geothermal activity that heats the ground and creates the strange egg-like smell that Rotorua is famous for. We were treated to an amazing steambox lunch that was cooked underground and consisted of salmon, dumplings, potatoes, veggies, and so much more! I think I ate more on this trip than I ever have in my life! Te Puia was definitely one of the most unique places I have ever visited and would recommend everyone who visits Rotorua to check out. From Te Puia we carried on to the Maori village of Tamaki. I had been looking forward to taking part in a Maori cultural experience for quite awhile and the amazing performers at Tamaki definitely exceeded all of my expectations! Without giving too much away, we were fortunate enough to see first hand how the Maori people live, dance, sing, cook, and overall just enjoy life. There is so much beauty in this culture I found myself becoming emotional at the performance and hoping it would never end! We soon sat down to a traditional hangi dinner which is a Maori meal cooked underground that retains the earthy flavours of where it originated from. After many servings of food and a few glasses of wine at dinner, some people who attended the cultural experience had to get back on a bus and head off to their accommodation for the night. Luckily, Kiwi Experience travellers were fortunate enough to settle into gorgeous rooms at Tamaki! The rooms are designed with long rows of beds that were some of the comfiest I had ever slept in and there were beautiful carvings that lined the walls. I would 100% recommend anyone who visits Tamaki Maori Village includes the overnight marae stay in their tour. It is definitely a special experience staying in the village with so many years of culture surrounding you – not to mention they have spa pools and an outdoor bar to hang out at as well after the hangi dinner is complete!

DAY FOUR
 

Since we had limited time in Rotorua before heading towards our next destination, we took the classic tourist route and spent a few hours exploring the magical little town of Hobbiton after a quick stop at a Kiwi Bird sanctuary where we were able to see a real live Kiwi bird! I myself am not a die hard Lord of the Rings fan, in fact – I’ve never even seen the films, and I still absolutely loved Hobbiton! It was fascinating to see how much attention to detail was put into the sets and to know that one of the world’s most iconic movies was filmed on the very spot we were standing. The guides are so knowledgeable and are even able to tell you a few secrets and fun facts from the days of filming. After the tour is complete you can visit the famous Green Dragon bar from the films for a drink and a bite to eat. From Hobbiton we made our way down to the town of Waitomo where we would spend the night at a little chalet-style resort called Kiwipaka. Before dinner we had our first taste of Waitomo’s famous glowworm caves on a guided tour. I had seen photos of these so called “glow worms” before but did not expect them to be as prominent and bright as they were on the cave walls! It was just like looking up at a sky full or stars on the clearest of summer nights. We were all fascinated and knew tomorrow was going to be an exciting day as we were going to get up close and personal with them again on our caving adventure! This evening the All Blacks were playing Australia in rugby so we spent the night at Curly’s Bar watching the game, consuming a few drinks, and having yet another roast dinner! Kiwi’s sure do love their roasts!
 

DAY FIVE
 

Up bright and early we were ready to get suited up for a day of underground adventuring. The Legendary Black Water Rafting Co took us out to experience their glowworm caving tours that allow travellers to climb, abseil, tube, and hike through the caves at varying levels. Being the crazy adventure junkie that I am, I decided to go on the tour they call Black Abyss, their most extreme caving trip that involves abseiling yourself down the steepest abseil in the world into the caves below, crawling and climbing through small confined spaces in the caves, tubing down quick moving water currents – with and without a tube, and eventually climbing up a high power waterfall to get yourself out of the cave a few hours later. It was probably one of the hardest but most thrilling things I have ever done in my life. Amidst all the struggle to get through the cold and powerful water that was at an all time high due to all the rainfall, we were able to find moments of peace in the depths of those caves and simply take in the moment, realizing that we were surrounded by millions of tiny glowworms in caves that were thousands of years old. I mean, how surreal is that?! The crew was incredible and made us all feel extremely safe at all times. They even brought down homemade muesli bars and juice to keep our energy levels up! When we finally made our way through to the end of the trip we were drenched, cold, and exhausted but happier than ever! We had conquered those caves and felt extremely accomplished. Waiting for us back at the start was some piping hot soup and bagels that we gladly ate before heading off on our big, green, Kiwi Experience bus to our final destination – Hot Water Beach! If you’ve ever wanted to dig your own personal sized spa pool in the ground then Hot Water Beach is for you! Located on the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, Hot Water Beach is a really cool place to stop over with Kiwi Experience and is where we spent our final night on tour. We stayed at a place called Hot Water Beach TOP 10 Holiday Park where we cooked one final meal all together, played heaps of crazy games, and stayed awake as long as possible talking about our favourite moments of the trip knowing that our last adventure was about to take place tomorrow morning – sea kayaking at Cathedral Cove!

 
DAY SIX
 

After a few hours sleep we were up bright and early for some sea kayaking at potentially one of the most beautiful spots I have ever been. Upon arriving at Cathedral Cove we were greeted by the crew at Cathedral Cove Kayaks on the beach. It was perfect. The sun was shining, the water was crystal clear blue, and there were a whole bunch of colourful kayaks waiting for us to take them out on the sea! We spent a couple hours out on the water, listening to stories from our guide and stopping for some coffee and biscuits on a little inlet with amazing cave formations right on the beach! We truly could not have asked for a better end to our trip – which just goes to show that sometimes detours make for the best outcomes!

After saying goodbye to Coromandel we were on our way back to Auckland. We spent the evening in the city saying our goodbyes over dinner at a great little Mexican restaurant and singing our hearts out at an Asian karaoke bar until all hours of the morning. We had become such a close knit group in such a short amount of time that it seemed impossible to leave each other. I truly believe that travelling brings people together. We are all on the same journey, and we all enjoy experiencing things that take our breath away, scare us, make us laugh, cry, and simply take us to new places physically and emotionally. This is the heart of travel and is why I do what I do! Kiwi Experience brought out the best of New Zealand’s North island in ways that will forever be ingrained in my memory. I will go back to New Zealand as soon as I can – it is definitely one of the most magical places in this world and has captured my heart forever! Kia Ora and until next time New Zealand…