We were captivated by New Zealand's amazing wildlife on the South Island, so we started our North Island adventure at Zealandia, a nature preserve in Wellington that has a 500-year goal of returning a 225-hectare valley to the condition it was in before humans ever set foot in it.
Our nighttime tour gave us a glimpse of our first kiwi (sadly not pictured - it was very dark)! And the daytime tour showcased some of the country's amazing birds, including the tekahe, one of the craziest-looking animals we've ever seen.
Our nighttime tour gave us a glimpse of our first kiwi (sadly not pictured - it was very dark)! And the daytime tour showcased some of the country's amazing birds, including the tekahe, one of the craziest-looking animals we've ever seen.
We explored wildlife underwater as well with some diving at the famed Poor Knights Islands. We got the best surprise as we jumped in the water when a New Zealand fur seal came to play with us!
We didn't think New Zealand could get much cooler (partly literal - the water while we were diving was SO cold), but then we headed to Hot Water Beach. It's a small town known for a beach that sits atop significant geothermal activity.
At low tide each day, you can dig a little pool in the sand on the beach and make your very own hot tub. It took about half an hour of prospecting before we found a spot with hot water, but once we struck geothermal activity, it was amazing!
At low tide each day, you can dig a little pool in the sand on the beach and make your very own hot tub. It took about half an hour of prospecting before we found a spot with hot water, but once we struck geothermal activity, it was amazing!
We like to think we made one of the best hot tubs on the beach. We had a piping hot stream on one side and regular cool sand on the other, which kept us from getting too hot like many other people on the beach did. (Note that we were wearing our winter jackets on the beach, but the water was hot enough that we had to go fetch cold ocean water to cool down our tub!)
After enjoying our DIY spa, we traveled further around the North Island, taking in the sights and meeting fascinating folks along the way.
After enjoying our DIY spa, we traveled further around the North Island, taking in the sights and meeting fascinating folks along the way.
Finally, as we returned our trusty and ridiculous van, we spent our last couple days in Auckland wandering and eating so much delicious food. In particular, we had the most amazing meal at The French Cafe. (Joann got too excited about the lemon meringue dessert, so we missed taking a picture.) :)
With that, we finally had to say goodbye to New Zealand. It's been an amazing three weeks, and we were excited for our short stop in Fiji - the very last of our trip. Here's to one last adventure!
- JC & GK