New Zealand

Welcome back to Mikus.com’s  “Getting There. Doing That.” travel blog.

Today, is Monday, day 84. We’re visiting New Zealand. Like myself, you probably assume that there is also an “Old Zealand”. Turns out, your correct. (Well, kind of.)

According to NewZealandVacations.com, “In 1642 Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to discover New Zealand, calling it Staten Land. In 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicized the name to New Zealand.”

While New Zealand (NZ) only has 4.5 million people, it has 25 million sheep. Interestingly, it has only been inhabited (by people, not sheep) for some 800 years.

The country has a very large land mass per capita. In fact, its only major city, Auckland (on the North Island) is home to nearly half of the nation’s population.

Perhaps one of New Zealand’s biggest claims to fame is the fact that virtually the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed here. There was a really cool excursion that we opted out of that visited Hobbiton and the Glow Worm Cave, but you know, a cruise is kind of just getting a little taste of a lot of places, and I just could not see visiting these places with a large group of people. (Because, as everyone knows, Hobbits like to keep to themselves.) Maybe next time…

Unfortunately, we also did not visit the famed South Island, which is said to be some of the most beautiful regions in the world, including Milford Sound (which has been near the top of my bucket list for years). However, our visit to the North Island was breathtaking.

Hey, did you know that to help us poor feeble-minded travelers, the awesome folks on cruise ships (literally) replace the marble flooring in each elevator every night so that it displays the day of the week. Hence, I can say to you unquestionably, “happy Monday my friends”.

Our first day in NZ was spent primarily visiting the beaches and mountains regions outside of Auckland. Our Canadian buddies Chris and Beth invited us to share a private car and driver they had arranged. It turns out the car was a 2024 Volkswagen Van. (How cool is that.)

Our first stop was  Waitākere Ranges Regional Park visitor center, where we got our bearings straight at the visitor center’s viewing platform. I especially liked the covered, powered boot cleaner at the trail head entrance. It automagically sprayed water up from underneath and heavy-duty brushes rise up and spin. (Cleaning the soles of your boots before hiking prevents the spread of disease in the wilderness.)

Afterwards, we proceeded to Piha Beach, which was recently voted one of the top 50 beaches in the world! It dazzled us with its black sands and magnificent waves. Spectacular!

I especially liked the little house we stumbled upon just off of the beach. What a peculiar design. 

After several more stops to admire the beaches, we found ourselves at a little pub in Tirtirangi, NZ, where we indulged in local beer and grub. (Good fish and chips, which is the most popular dish in NZ). We also picked up a bottle of (Australian) Brown Brothers King Valley Prosecco to take back to the ship with us. It turned out that, this was one of the best Prosecco’s that we’ve ever had.

Our last stop before returning to Auckland was Mount Eden, just on the edge of town. Now we had been pushing our luck all day, barely staying ahead of the rain that had been following us.

As luck would have it, the short little road looping around to the top of the mountain caldera was temporarily closed. Having been lucky all day, we simply said no problem, and headed out to see what we could see. Just about the time that we closed in on the top, here comes the rain. But we stuck it out and made an adventure of it.

Afterward, we enjoyed a quick tour of the city and returned to the ship. Everyone was done for the day, but as the rain broke, I snuck back out for a couple more hours of exploring.

I can say firsthand that Auckland is an awesome city. Nice pubs and good food in the downtown area. Very little homelessness and virtually no graffiti. It made us sad to sail away from this gem of a city.

Shifting gears, let’s check in with our “The grass is brown on the other side too” department. Here is what we have for you today.

We’ve noticed that all of the drinking straws used on the ship hold up so good that they must be the old fashion kind that have been banned around the USA for several years. (Definitely not the paper ones that can’t get through a half a soda before the paper starts falling apart…) A closer look revealed that the ship’s straws are made of Oyster Shells. While the color and texture is off just a bit, you could almost swear that they are plastic. Okay, so far, so good. So what’s the catch? Well, a quick Google revealed that there has been some research that shows these straws may not be safe for use by individuals who have shellfish allergies. Also (this is the hilarious part) all of the straws are one-size-fits-all, and are (many) several inches taller than a normal straw. It’s especially fun when you get a drink in a short little highball glass. So as much as I would like to report that “everyone’s happy except the oysters” these straws are apparently not ready for prime-time and have a few kinks to work out.

🙂

The following day, we hit the beach running at The Bay of Islands, NZ, which can be described in one word. “Wow!”

This is one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen.  Unbelievable! We took a ferry to the island of Russell. The quaint village streets are lined with well-preserved, turn of the century houses. Most have white picket fences in the front, enclosed porches in the back, which overlook their lawns that stretch down to the beaches.

It is said that this area has the largest boat-to-population per capita in the world. I believe it. Also, the entire time we were here, I never saw a boat or a bicycle locked.

Talk about (ABQ’s) “don’t like the weather, wait an hour”, this places gets a nice little rain every 25 minutes, then turns as beautiful as Easter morning.

All of the shops and restaurants are beachfront, and there are very few tourists. We enjoyed the best coffee I’ve ever had in my life at a quaint little beachside café. (The Bailey’s helped.) 

We poked around the village for a few hours, then spent lunch at an Italian café (yum!) before heading back on the ferry to the mainland.

After enjoying a bit of outdoor shopping, get back on the ship to revel in how much we truly enjoyed New Zealand, especially our day in The Bay of Islands.

We both comment to each other that the little island of Russell is a place that we could live. Ironically, one of my buddies was saying that he and his wife liked Russell so much that they talked to a realtor. They learned that, in New Zealand, a foreigner wishing to retire and purchase property is required to be 66 + years of age, purchase a $700k (minimum) property, deposit $500k NZ dollars in one of their bank, and change their citizenship. He said he couldn’t move.

Next up, traversing the Tasman seas (some of the roughest in the world) on our way to Australia. But that, my friends, is another story.

Thanks for dropping by.

– Mike

“I always liked going south. Somehow, it feels like going downhill.” — Treebeard, The Two Towers