On Your Own - seeking DIY suggestions for New Zealand Itinerary

[TLCOhio]

Thanks Terry, your posts and photos are always interesting and informative. We're cruising NZ on Princess in December

 

Losnab: Thanks for generously sharing TLC - I read your posts a few weeks ago from my Mini iPad. Now that i am looking at them on the computer I realize I must make time to view them on a big screen.

 

Appreciate these kind comments. Glad to know that both of you are persons of such high class' date=' great taste and wonderful judgment to make these generous comments.

 

[b']Good luck[/b] with your upcoming cruises. Yes, viewing on a larger screen does help to better see and appreciate the beauty and charm with these varied areas in these two spectacular countries.

 

Below are a few more visuals to help in building "the excitement" for those in preparing for these upcoming adventures. Keep the good questions rolling along.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 119,662 views for this posting.

 

 

Here is Karen from our Central Ohio group finding a cute Kangaroo for feeding at the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary with its location nearby to Hobart. And, surprise!!, this mother has an even more lovable baby in the pouch.:

 

 

 

Here is an example of a soaring bird at Cape Kidnappers, 19 miles south of Napier.:

 

 

 

Here is a picture from Waiheke Island's two kilometer stretch of white sand on Onetangi Beach. Here is my wife and Karen sitting, enjoying this nice setting before our return to Auckland.:

 

 

 

In Rotorua in the late 1800's they planted a massive grove of redwood trees from California as a test site. These trees (and the pines from Monterey) grow at a rate about three times faster than in their native areas. Karen from our Central Ohio group is shown here enjoying these redwoods and giving some sense for their size and height after only about a hundred years of growth. These redwood grew well, but the quality of the wood was not as successful as they got from the pines. Log production of these pines is now one of NZ's most successful crops in their fertile soils helped by this volcanic enrichment.:

 

 

 

At Te Puia near Rotorua in northern New Zealand, this Maori performance starts its ceremonies outside and then we entered the Wahiao Meeting House. Fortunately (with some skill), I was in a prime front row seat to be able to get great pictures, video, etc. Plus, experience the quality for how these members share these cultural traditions.:

 

 

 

 

Here is one of the views from the dramatic geyser, water and bubbling rocks/mud as featured at the Te Puia thermal displays. Very interesting and tied to the activities of New Zealand. It is called the "Shakey Isle" because there is lots of steam, hot rocks and superheated water right under the surface of these lands. The biggest at Te Puia is Pohutu Geyser. Pohutu means "Big Splash"!! It erupts 10-25 times a day and shoot up to 98 feet in height.:

 

[calliopecruiser]

I did a 10 day road trip on the north island last fall, after I disembarked from a transpacific cruise. I had a fabulous time.

 

Wellington - I wish I had spent more time there! I highly recommend it.....I loved the Zealandia http://www.visitzealandia.com/ reserve, and took a tour of the Weta Caves shop, an interested special effects studio for many (all?) of the movies shot in NZ. Also the Te Papa museum. The city had a great vibe, and I'd love to go back.

 

Rotorua - a kind of touristy city since it's right near all the geothermal sites, but it's also near The Redwoods (yes, California redwoods), which is a wonderful place for a walk/hike/ride http://redwoods.co.nz/ If you do want to visit one of the geothermal sites, I can highly recommend Wai-O-Taupo http://www.newzealand.com/us/plan/business/wai-o-tapu-thermal-wonderland/ I didn't visit any others so I can't compare, but this was great and well worth the time and money.

 

Check out a hot water beach - I think there are several in the north island, but I went to Hot Water Beach in the Coromandel http://www.thecoromandel.com/new-zealand/Hot-Water-Beach/ It's just a really strange sensation to stand or sit in a "hot tub" dug in the sand within 10 feet of the water. I stayed in a nearby hostel, and they loaned me a shovel for my venture (and the schedule of low tide times)

 

If you're looking for authentic hot springs, I can't recommend Waiariki Pools (in Ngawa Springs, in Northland) enough. It's a hole in terms of it's appearance (pools are just wooden boxes in the ground, there are no showers or lockers, fencing is old plastic pallets and ferns held together with binder twine) but it has a very peaceful and relaxing feeling. The multiple pools are small, temperatures vary but are posted, the sides are wooden, the bottoms are sand, and the water ranges from green to brown to black. It's a real locals' place (I met a few there for their weekly soak), and it's very relaxing. Not just hot-springs heated pools, but real pools of hot springs water http://www.ngawharetreat.co.nz/the-hot-pools/

 

My photos:

[SoCalGal005]

Thank you for sharing, TLCOhio and Calliope! Your photos are stunning! It really is paradise in New Zealand and I look forward to returning soon.