In this post I am going to talk about Rotorua, Napier, Hamilton and everything in between! We stayed in YHA Napier, Four Canoes Motel in Rotorua and YHA Waikato (June's Hall). My favourite is the June's Hall since it is a farm stay.

Little lamb at June's Hall backpackers


The North Island is famous for it's volcanoes and the seismic activity. Another thing that is famous or shine in the North is the culture. I am talking about the Maori people, the people of New Zealand. The North is an amazing place to learn about the Maori culture.

This is why we are going to talk about Rotorua. Rotorua is famous for it's geyser, mud pool and Maori villages. We can see a lot of Maori culture pieces all over in new Zealand but it is much more intensified in Rotorua itself. Since we got the discount from our Arrivals magazine, we went to the Whakarhewarewa Maori village. It is a legitimate living Maori village where real people still lives there. 

I am a Malay girl and Malays genealogy are the same as the Maori people. Our genes are directly under the Pacific Islander cluster. That explains why Malays and Maoris look so much alike! We were told that there have been 7 generations living in the village and the Maori people usually lives by the thermal pools for heat and energy source. They even cooked using the hot thermal pools in the village. 
Yep, that is a thermal pool


The Haka Dance

We were entertained by a cultural show by the Maori people in the village. We are free to roam around the village and see what the villagers do. This is a modern village, they do have electricity, cable, cars etc. But they do keep their culture intact. Interesting enough, I met one of my colleagues who is actually on holiday with her family.

We went to a free thermal pool in the city. Most pool charges you but since this one is government own, it is free. Ooh, when you enter Rotorua, you can smell the Sulfur overtime you breath.
Rotorua Lake
We did went to the Rotorua lake to enjoy the scenery and we detour a bit to see the Huka Falls. The sheer amount of water is just amazing. When in Rotorua, do not forget to visit the Te Puia Thermal Wonderland. They have the Lady Knox geyser and several thermal pools. Funny story, the discovered the geyser because some inmates were washing clothes by it and the geyser force flew the clothes by a couple of hundreds meter in the air.
Lady Knox geyser

Champagne Pool

The Devil's Bath

Huka Falls

We do explore to a lesser known site called Craters if the Moon. It is like a massive field with lots and lots of craters created by the small geysers and seismic activity. It was getting warm this time around and we did not enjoy the Craters of the Moon as much as we'd hope for.

Another famous filming location is the Mount Ruapehu which is Mount Doom in the Lord of The Rings. We actually wanted to do the Tongariro Alpine Trek but time is just not enough. The total time for the trek is 8 hours so you will need to spent at least 2 nights in the area to conquer this trek. Maybe next time! The next city is Napier. It is a laid back town by the coast. Of course, famous for it's fresh seafood. We just linger around the town and visited the Te Mata peak or as the called it the Sleeping Giant.
Te Mata Peak

Te Mata Peak - there is a trail starting from here

Napier town centre

Pacific Ocean

Mount Ruapehu/ Mount Doom/ Mordor

The final destination in North Island is the Waitomo Glow Worm Cave. Please go here. I could not emphasize enough on how this is the underdog attraction in North island. The glow worm is just amazing! It is like a trip to a milky way and I was surprise why this is not one of the wonders of the World. You will be guide through a cave, explaining the formation and you will be placed on a boat into the darkest cave you ever been in to witness the beauty this glow worm creates.



In this post I'm going to talk about the Auckland City, The Hobbiton and Coromandel Cove. I will cover the rest in Part 2!

We decided to spend around 1 week in each part of New Zealand. Honestly, I think this 2 weeks journey is just not enough to fully enjoy New Zealand. We landed in Auckland and I can say we spent a total of 3 nights in Auckland. Auckland is a big and busy city, like Kuala Lumpur itself. There is traffic everywhere. We stayed in 3 hostel/hotel in Auckland - Jucy Hostel, Ibis Airport and Haka Lodge - all received good reviews from myself.

Auckland city form Mount Eden

The Mount Eden lookout

The main place to go in Auckland is the famous Queen Street which is a typical business district. They do have some cute cafes for cafe hopping and you can try to enjoy the wharf and the Auckland Tower. We did ventured out a bit to the best look out point in the city which is Mount Eden. There is a parking space near the summit where you can park your car and walk to the top. 
Author at Giappo
This is the highest point in Auckland and you can have the best sunset here overlooking the Auckland city. One place we did managed to visit is the famous Giappo Ice Cream Parlour. The price is hefty but it provides an unforgettable ice cream experience you will ever have. Their concept is that you will choose the ice cream based on taste rather than the visual effect we are used to every time we visit Baskin Robbins. Do take note that Hokey Pokey is not halal since it has gelatine in it. The ice cream is presented gourmet style, so pleasing to your eyes and you bet, it tasted amazing as well!

The next destination I am going to talk about is The Hobbiton. The place that shot to fame because of it being the filming location for both The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit series. The filming location is located in a small town called Matamata which is not far from Hamilton. The drive to Matamata took 3 hours from Auckland.


Bilbo is not home today

We booked our slot prior to driving, but you can just walk in to the Shire's Rest cafe to purchase the tickets on that same day. We opt to drive to The Hobbiton, which is an extra by 10 minutes from the Matamata i-Site. If you are the books' or movies' fans, by all means, please come here. The set in Hobitton will make you lose yourself wandering in the Tolkien world. I looks so realistic and the rolling hills are just beautiful.



Free drinks at The Green Dragon Inn

You will be on a guided tour and there is not much time for photography. Everything is a touch-n-go so you would have to be quick to get that killer instafamous shot that will make your friends back home die of jealousy. They do offer free drinks at The Green dragon Inn which is of course a pub in the movies. They offered a non-alcoholic beverage too in the options.

New Zealand is mainly famous for it's beauty and because of that a lot of movies had New Zealand in their filming locations. The next one is both and Instagram famous spot and a filming location. It is the Cathedral Cove in Coromandel. It was way further south from Auckland and took around 3-4 hours drive. The drive was full with S bents and curves. 

This location is used in the Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, where the 4 characters arrived in Narnia from the London train station. To get to the cove, you will need to walk/trek for about 45 minutes. This is not a flat walk since there are inclination and stairs involved. It is doable for my standards - both of us walk in our normal clothes, for sure you can do it.
Yep, got my instafamous shot 
Beautiful cove

Parking space is very limited at the top and the beach will get crowded in the afternoon. Nevertheless, that fantastic walk-through cave was as I imagined and the waters are so blue. Sometimes, to get a good photo, you have to go through hell first. It was worthwhile. We then went to the next location famous to an unconventional beach.

Lots of people seeking heat from the cold wind
The reason I said unconventional is because the beach is situated on an active seismic activity plate. Which in turns, make the sand hot. It is like you will have a personal hot tub by the beach. It is call the Hot Water Beach on Mercury Bay. If you are interested in having your own jacuzzi, please bring your own shovel to dig up the sand to let the heated water comes to the surface.

On our way to Napier and Rotorua, we did passed through plenty of small towns that offers great FnC. I think the North Island is the best place to have fish and chips because the fish are fresh and the price is really good with the portion that we had. Till next time folks for Part 2!

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