Quick thoughts on driving on the opposite side: It's extremely nerve wracking and slightly nauseating for the first hour or two, to the point that the adrenaline drains nearly all of the energy out of you. I slept very, very well after the first night of driving. Basically every time a car comes around the corner, you feel like it's on a head-on collision with you because your subconscious assumes that it's going to be hurtling down the left side of the road. It's basically a contest of wills between your conscious mind and your subconscious, habit-based reflexes. I think after the first couple of days it became easier. However, once the driving became easier, it became dangerous because you're tempted to let your guard down a bit and stop focusing as much. There emerges an illusion of mastery that is soon shattered when you find yourself (once there is an open, car-less road ahead of you) driving on the right side without even thinking about it. This happened a couple times and was usually followed by loud shouts of sudden revelation and then some nervous laughter following the correction. I also had to get used to roundabouts, which are really the most ingenius form of traffic flow ever intvented. Forget about stop signs, just remember to yield to the right. It makes things move so much quicker.
First lunch break outside of the Wellington region.
So, A lot of driving for one week. Some might say a bit too much. I think we covered enough locations for a two week trip, and may have spent more time driving than relaxing. However, it's definitely a great accomplishment. I'm going to have more "people pictures" as other people's photos pop up on facebook. I'll be sure to put some put here once I get ahold of them. Here's a map of our route across the North Island. I've highlighted it in black:
The southernmost tip is Wellington, where I live. We took different routes up and down so as to see different parts of the country. Near the middle of the island is Lake Taupo, where our two routes intersect. The path up the east coast and continuing on the east side is our route up, while the track on the west side represents our route back down. We jetted up through the Northlands on the one accessible main highway. Our final destination, way up near the top of the map, was Waitangei. This is the signing site of New Zealand's important founding document, appropriately titled "The Treaty of Waitangei". One thing that I did not take into consideration is the fact that roads in New Zealand are not nearly as efficient or as well-maintained as U.S. highways. There's basically 2 main "superhighways": SH1 and SH2. Most of the time, these are merely 2-lane roads with the occasional passing lane emerging on each side. Most of the roads are curvy and constant road maintenance is prominent. Pretty much the only part of the road system that resembled the size of a U.S. highway was the stretch of road up north through the Auckland area, which was due to the large percentage of commerce and population located in that area (about half the population of New Zealand). This sometimes aggrivatingly inefficient road system coupled with the left side swapping made our driving experience a bit slower than expected, but New Zealand is only an island after all, and we got around in a decent amount of time in the end. Some Road pictures:
Wind Farm on the horizon.
A man outside a local store jamming. That's what it's all about.
The first day was probably the most driving intensive, as we drove straight up from Wellington through Napier to Taupo. Napier is the first location that the black line touches the east coast coming up from Wellington. It's a small city known for its vineyards and its wine country, but we didn't take up too much time there, as Napier is within driving distance for a weekend drive sometime in the future. We took an hour or so break and checked out the beach. We then drove through Napier on to Taupo, the place where all the lines intersect in the middle of the island. The weather in Taupo could've been better, but I can't complain due to the amazing geothermal pools that we found flowing into the river. Taupo has a natural reserve overlooking the river, and downhill through this reserve flows hot water from deep beneath the earth. It's not boiling, but not lukewarm, but really the perfect temperature that you would set a hot bath to. The water comes right out of the earth with force and forms large sandy pools in periodic locations down the hill, surging downwards until it intersects with the Taupo river. We must have spent hours just sitting in these pools, switching to different points (some locations were like calm baths, while others near the point of origin were like a waterjet massage). I know this may sound disgusting, but the main attraction of the hot pools was the level earthly manure that flowed inside of it. Apparently it's very good for your skin. This was a bit off-putting at first, but it's not like you're literally bathing in a pool of feces and I soon got past it. I really started to notice a very soothing, clean feeling during and after my time in the pools. The rocks under the pools were as smooth and frictionless as glass due to the prolonged exposure to the surging waters. I didn't take any pictures of the hot water streams but I'll have some up once someone else's pictures pop up on facebook, haha. During our time at Taupo we also checked out a mighty waterfall further down the river. It was impressive and I'm looking forward to going down and kayaking on the river on some future weekend when the Taupo sun decides to come out, haha.
Our first of three Backpacker stays was in Taupo. It was the most expensive Backpackers and probably the least impressive, but that's not saying it wasn't awesome. Backpackers are really cheap places to stay with communal kitchens and lounges. They're basically a place for like-minded (sometimes very exhausted) travelers to hang out in the same place and just have a good time in a warm, sheltered place. This hostel's lounge had a pool table and some very comfortable couches. Overall I'd give it a 7.5/10. I realized after my first Backpackers stay, however, that I'd prefer to stay in a Backpackers over a hotel any days of the week. It's much more real and the vibe is one of mutual cooperation and friendliness. Everyone says 'hello' to each other and finds mutual understanding in complete strangers, reveling in the excitement of travel and life on the road. The people running the places seem to be much more genuine and authentic about their friendliness as well, much more so than the generic, sterile and pressed hotel employee.
The next day we drove through Rotorua, and I inhaled the egglike fumes that I had so desperately missed for two months. It was a bit strange seeing all the places I had been for orientation two months later; I couldn't believe so much time had passed. We only stayed here for an hour or so, taking a break from driving and taking a quick look at the hot thermal pools. From Rotorua we drove North another hour to Tauranga and Mt. Monganui. The mountain was described as the coolest place in New Zealand by the kiwi that lives underneath me, so we made it a priority. Scaling the mountain took place on a gorgeous day and the summit overlooked the ocean, rolling forests and a beautiful city all in one. It was about 45 minutes to the top and 30 back down (as it is decidedly much easier walking downhill).We spent a solid three hours just relaxing on top of the mountain and drinking in the scenery and scents of the ocean. In ranking my favorite locations on the trip, I think this comes in a respectable third. Don't let this deceive you, however; choosing my favorite location on this trip is like choosing a favorite child. They're all wonderful. Again, I'll put some more pictures up when they pop up on facebook.
I've never been to Ireland, but the mountainside was very close to what I imagine it looks like.
I'm not good at self-picture taking.
From Monganui (the second point touching the NorthWest coast known as the Bay of Plenty), we headed North for Auckland, Whangarei and Waitangei. The area above Auckland is known as The Northlands and is subtropical in climate. It was a solid 3 hours to Auckland and then another 1 hour to our campsite. We took an hour or so to stop and rest in Auckland. This was the second time I've been to New Zealand's version of a big city, and I've come to the decision that I don't really care for it. It's huge and loud, as a cities usually are, but it lacks any sort of defining characteristics that places like Boston or even Wellington count on to be considered a unique and special place. Auckland also lacks any sort of "New Zealand" vibe. The country as a whole is much quieter and laid back than America, and I find that Wellington as a city is wonderfully reflective of that. While definitely more urban than most of the rest of the country, Wellington is an interesting average between a standard "city" and the rural atmosphere of New Zealand. It's nestled right inside a beautiful tree-populated harbor and there isn't a skyscraper to be found. There is really no traffic congestion and it is VERY rare to hear the beep of a horn. These little "New Zealand" traits are the reasons that I find Wellington special, and I don't think that Auckland is reflective any of it's countries unique characteristics. It's just trying to be a big city like New York, Hong Kong or London. Anyways, I got a coke and walked around the harbor and bit, and then pressed further North to Whangarei.
Next ish: Whangarei Waterfalls (also known as the most beautiful place I've ever seen), the Waitangei Treaty signing grounds, and The Shire. What's that? Oh, yeah, I saw The Shire. Stick around, more blogging after these messages.
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