Week 2: Kia Ora North island, NZ
It’s been a week of reunions from our last journey to New Zealand 21 years ago. We wanted to introduce the kids to camper life and so, upon arrival, picked up a 6 berth camper van from a budget company named Jucy, which sends a lime green and purple van to the airport to gather up you and your things for a very reasonable price. The kids thrilled at the novelty of a camper van, with all the nooks and crannies for storing stuff, the tiny gas hob, and particularly the upper berth bed above the cab which required a hook on ladder to access. This one was fought over by the boys and ended up in the possession of M, with enticement to L that his little brother would be squirreled away up there. It was raining cats and dogs on arrival, which continued through our drive to Rotorua. Having had a handful of hours of sleep, were were all in somewhat of a dreamlike state when we arrived at the parking lot in the center of town by mid-afternoon, fortunate to squeeze into one of the last remaining free spots for overnight. We were greeted by the sulfuric stench of over-boiled eggs, courtesy of the surrounding volcanic hot springs in the area, who’s most proximal focus was the Polynesian Spa across the street from us. After a brief settle-in to the camper van (an order of magnitude more luxurious than then 1986 Toyota Hi-Ace that we purchased back in 2004), we trundled over to the meeting point for our Te Pa Tu Maori traditional village and dinner experience. We were bused about 15 minutes away to the wooded village site, where a traditional fire ceremony honoring relatives and the recently passed awaited us. After this welcoming ceremony, we were broken down into smaller groups and essentially had cultural workshops accompanied by modern takes on traditional Maori dishes reformulated into hor d’uervres like seaweed salad atop a small fried bread puff and venison tenderloin atop a beetroot chip. The cultural workshops consisted of dancing, stick-fighting, and games, which were inclusive and really quite fun. We were then herded to the dining area, where the traditional hangi cooking pits were opened and explained to us, prior to seating ourselves at candlelit tables. We received a feast of dishes - seafood chowder, duck confit, roasted pork belly and steamed root veg, followed by steamed pudding and chocolates. Not a very traditional meal, but quite tasty, and concomitantly we were entertained with traditional song and dance as well as and introduction to the haka. The evening concluded with the singing of a song from each country that the visitors were from- for Norway it was AHA’s “Take On Me.”
After a dip at the Polynesian Spa’s lakefront hot springs, and a lovely gelato at their cafe, we proceeded across the winding road through the valley (a 4+ hour drive) to Gisborne on the eastern coast to visit mom’s old friends R and T, who were emigrees from South Africa and Denmark via a long stop in wester MA. The last time we visited them, they had just settled into a home near the beach with their young family and new jobs at the nearby hospital. Now, the kids have grown up and left home, and they have moved into another home also near the beach. We arrived just as the sun was setting and were instructed to head across the sports field and over the road to the broad expanse of shoreline to catch those golden last few moments before dark. It was joyful and glorious, the light reflecting off wet sand like a mirror. We returned with sand between our toes, wet pants, and big grins. The rest of the evening was spent catching up and enjoying a nice bottle of pinot noir from Cross Ridge Estate near Napier.
The next day we set off southward to Napier, where we picked up a six pack of beer at the well-established Sunshine Brewing company and headed further south towards the Te Atu Estate vineyards for a brief end-of day wine tasting of some fantastic wines (sent home as souvenirs) and a drive back to the coast to a free shoreside campsite where we sat on the rocky beach and watched the sun set. After dark (comes early at this time of year, around 5PM), we sat around the motorhome table and indulged in instant ramen with bok chow and a fried egg on top. The night was particularly chilly, so we bundled up in most of our clothing and enjoyed the sound of the waves breaking a dozen feet from our camper.
Taupo was next on the list, a mere 2 hour drive from the coast. We arrived in time to sign up for a jetboat tour to Huka Falls, which was particularly impressive during high water at wintertime, and then on to a garishly lit holiday park with waterslides and large thermally heated pools for an end -of day soak. We all slept well that night.
We took the longer route to Auckland so that we could explore some of the more scenic roadways, but then ran right into the impressive commuter traffic on a Thursday afternoon. A 10 mile drive took well over an hour and we barely made it to our camper-van parking site In time to walk to dinner in the rain. A clever family had turned their front yard into a sort of AirBnB for camper vans which a nice paved parking spot, electrical hookup, outdoor seating (for better weather than we had), fairy lights, and even a salt-water jacuzzi in the back. Even in low-season they book out most nights. We met mom’s old friend A and her daughter C, who had last visited us about 15 years ago in Central MA as an older teenager traveling around the world herself. Dinner was at a tasty Chinese place focused on pork parts boiled in a large pot, served either atop rice or soup noodles with varying volumes of chili oil added (of course we picked lots). We had a nice catch up, half of us with sweat on our brows from the chilis.
To be continued…
