The Tropics Shoreline
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posted 5/19/98
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When traveling, a week on the road seems twice as long as at home so visiting New Zealand for only a week seemed a worthwhile and exciting thing to do. The weather in mid-March, as it approaches fall in the southern hemisphere, is rather agreeable and by then the visitor stream has thinned out. I arrived on United from Los Angeles in first class condition although there are quite a few other ways to fly into what seems, at first blush, to be a very isolated place. Auckland airport has a good express bus into city center for about $6(US) and after talking to people on the bus, I found that the city's electric power had been distrupted by worn transmission lines and everyone was limiting their consumption by 15-20% lest they enjoy complete periodic blackouts! After a bit of window shopping, I found a low-cost car rental outfit that would give me a four-door, manual-shift vehicle for $21/day, weekly rate with unlimited mileage. Okay, so rather than stay in a browned-out town I drove some three hours southeast to Rotorua, a charming resort area in the heart of the active volcanic country which also happens to be a stronghold of Maori native polynesian culture.
www.holiday.co.nz/website/images/rmaplg.gif
As it was dark by the time I arrived at Lake Rotorua, I engaged the first lodging on the lake (Rainbow Resort at Ngongotaha) and for $20 had a couple of rooms with kitchen and TV for the night. Next morning it rained heavily and I decided that a quick trip north to Tauranga along the coast on the Bay of Plenty, might produce better weather and indeed it did. In fact, this pleasant port town is known for its good weather and many New Zealanders have opted to retire here. The town is not heavily advertised as a travel destination but it has much to offer especially as a stopover. Mt. Manganui at the water's edge is its best known landmark and its adjoining beaches are fine. I will recommend a franchised Valentines Restaurant which I first tried in Tauranga. After enjoying their enormous buffet offerings, I found myself looking for them in Rotorua and Auckland as well.
With the return of good weather, I aimed for Rotorua using my now-favorite back road that heads straight south and, except for about 5 miles of gravel mid-way, is an excellent short-cut to Rotorua. In an hour I'm at the base of the alpine cable car that slowly rises some 3,000 feet to attain a lovely view of the lake, town and green countyside. This attraction is very popular with tourists and many come up to try the interesting luge run on wheeled sleds while the elderly set seems to enjoy the restaurant especially in the evenings when the cable car roundtrip fare is cut in half to $4.
Rotorua has developed as a first class tourist center with a variety of attractions, most especially the geysers, hot springs, mudpools and related volcanic phenomena. The entire islands, of course, are situated at the margin of a tectonic plate that is being lifted along its length by the huge underthrusting Pacific plate and this resultant zone of weakness permits hot magma to penetrate closer to the surface, heat subterranean water for the geysers and hot springs and produce the occasional earthquake.
This display of mother nature is best viewed in the south and eastern part of the city and at a few special areas which are about 30 minutes drive further south. To get a better feel for the fumerole area, I stayed a couple of nights next to the Whakarewarewa geyser area in town at the pleasant Regal Geyserland Hotel where a room with a view of the steaming hillside area cost something like $100 per night. Incidentally, accommodations at every price level are available in town, from the $6 backpacker special on up.
Rotorua has a few sheep ranch exhibits which delightfully display the sheep dog's skill. I like the arrogant manner of the working dog when he jumps on the backs of the sheep and runs to where he wants to go. There are must be something like 100 sheep for every person in the country.
After Rotorua, the road north beckoned. The drive through Hamilton to Auckland consumes 3 hours and takes a bit of concentration as it is a two-lane road (don't ever forget that driving is on the left hand side) with an extra passing lane every so often. These pull-out areas are not very long and tend to end abruptly so constant caution must be maintained. Fortunately, all the major roads in northernmost NZ are in fine condition and, as you might imagine, there are multi-lane highways in and out of the very large urban area of Auckland.
Rather than stop in Auckland, I kept going over its big bridge and headed north along the long peninsula towards Northland and its excellent boating area called the Bay of Islands. It is about a three hour drive to Russell and Opua where boats can be rented by the hour, day or week. The offshore islands provide a protected area of the South Pacific that can be readily enjoyed if only for an hour or two boatride. A 15-minute ferry ride will transport your car from Opua to Russell and then a leisurely drive south along the east coast back to Wharangei and Auckland is rather easily accomplished.
Auckland contains about one-third of the entire country's 3.7 million population and is certainly a dominant attraction from the top of its new needle-shaped Sky Tower to the bottom of its sprawling suburbs along the inlets and waterways of the area. I liked the penguins at Tarlton's sealife exhibit with the original underwater plastic see-through aquarium and the antarctic drive-thru on simulated ice buggies. I also found the waterfront and its maritime museum very rewarding. At the museum, one can view the America's Cup, one of only nine or so replicas in existence, the original of which New Zealand proudly treasures as the current holder.
The week-long visit was just fine. I would recommend some version of this itinerary if you are stopping over on the way to Australia; however, if you have an extra week or two then
the trip to South Island should be undertaken as it has its own charms such as glaciers and fiords that are not to be found on North Island.
One of the strengths of the web is the ease with which links to extraordinarily fine material can be uncovered. To illustrate, see:
webtravel.org/nz/moon/index.html
nz.com/
expedia.msn.com/wg/places/NewZealand/Auckland/HSFS.htm
city.net:80/countries/new_zealand/auckland/
www.nzway.co.nz/contents.html
onenz.co.nz/index.html
www.nztb.govt.nz/
The Tropics Shoreline
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GeoCities, Your Home On The Webposted 5/19/98
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