Auckland and Beyond
Aug. 5th, 2018 01:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lillibetWe made it to our flat in Auckland and ran out to a nearby restaurant for some Italian food. Da Vinci's was old school pasta, perfectly tasty and incredibly quick. We were able to pick up groceries and be back at the flat in under an hour.
We started our Saturday by walking through the Domain, Auckland's big and fairly central park, in order to reach the War Memorial Museum, only a small section of which focuses on war. We watched an interesting and enthusiastic performance of Maori dances that introduced several of their weapons and games, as well. Then we wandered through galleries that focused on Maori history and culture, animals of New Zealand past and present, and the history and current state of women's equality here. We also had a very tasty lunch in their cafe, which had more and better options than I've come to expect. I had a chicken & bacon strudel that was really good and different.
I had thought we might do the walk around the outside of the Sky Tower's observation deck, but that was sold out for the day, so we ended up jumping off it instead. The jump platform is 192 meters above the ground and they send you down harnessed to a pair of wires, so it's really not scary at all after that first big step. All of us said we would do it again! After our jump we went back up to the observation deck to enjoy the sunset and then found a really good sushi bar, Tanuki, about halfway back to our flat. For dessert we got softserve from a Chinese chain called Aqua S. Alice had the apple pie flavor surrounded by cotton candy and topped with pop rocks, but Jason and I just split an apple pie/sea salt twist, which was better than it sounds.
This morning we managed to pack, have breakfast, and be on the road by 7:30am. It was about 2.5 hours to Waitomo, where we visited two of their famous glowworm caves. The first included a boat ride under the constellations of glowworms. The second was a longer walking tour through much more interesting cave formations. The glowworms were very cool, but I've apparently been spoiled by Howe Caverns, which are more interesting caves, overall, thanks to the higher mineral content of the soil the water has stopped through to form the caves. Still, very cool and fun!
From there we drove on to Hobbiton, where we hung around in the gift shop for an hour, waiting for our tour. They took us over to the movie set on busses, then walked us through the enormous complex of Hobbit holes, gardens, bridges, etc. as the guide told us stories about its construction and filming. It was foggy and raining most of the time, but that didn't matter: it was a magical experience.
After the tour they escorted us to The Green Dragon, where we had a lovely dinner. Laid out on the table was an array of dishes for the table to share: roasted chickens, salmon, and squash, beef stew, mushrooms, braised lamb over bubble & squeak, sausages, potatoes, mash, succotash, rusted veggies, and salad. We washed it down with locally made beer and wine and then they brought us an entire board of desserts: pies and Pavlova and fruit and marshmallow bars. In between courses there were costumes to try on (someone should make Jason a Hobbit coat) and a fire to sit by. The whole thing was marvelous!
But then it was time to leave, walking back through the now-illuminated village with lanterns in hand, taking a few final photos, and then boarding the bus back to the parking lot. The drive to Rotarua was tough--dark, windy roads in rain and fog at the end of a long day--but we made it to the Princes Gate Hotel and Alice was asleep within minutes. It's been a very full day of amazements!
Next up: Rotarua!
We started our Saturday by walking through the Domain, Auckland's big and fairly central park, in order to reach the War Memorial Museum, only a small section of which focuses on war. We watched an interesting and enthusiastic performance of Maori dances that introduced several of their weapons and games, as well. Then we wandered through galleries that focused on Maori history and culture, animals of New Zealand past and present, and the history and current state of women's equality here. We also had a very tasty lunch in their cafe, which had more and better options than I've come to expect. I had a chicken & bacon strudel that was really good and different.
I had thought we might do the walk around the outside of the Sky Tower's observation deck, but that was sold out for the day, so we ended up jumping off it instead. The jump platform is 192 meters above the ground and they send you down harnessed to a pair of wires, so it's really not scary at all after that first big step. All of us said we would do it again! After our jump we went back up to the observation deck to enjoy the sunset and then found a really good sushi bar, Tanuki, about halfway back to our flat. For dessert we got softserve from a Chinese chain called Aqua S. Alice had the apple pie flavor surrounded by cotton candy and topped with pop rocks, but Jason and I just split an apple pie/sea salt twist, which was better than it sounds.
This morning we managed to pack, have breakfast, and be on the road by 7:30am. It was about 2.5 hours to Waitomo, where we visited two of their famous glowworm caves. The first included a boat ride under the constellations of glowworms. The second was a longer walking tour through much more interesting cave formations. The glowworms were very cool, but I've apparently been spoiled by Howe Caverns, which are more interesting caves, overall, thanks to the higher mineral content of the soil the water has stopped through to form the caves. Still, very cool and fun!
From there we drove on to Hobbiton, where we hung around in the gift shop for an hour, waiting for our tour. They took us over to the movie set on busses, then walked us through the enormous complex of Hobbit holes, gardens, bridges, etc. as the guide told us stories about its construction and filming. It was foggy and raining most of the time, but that didn't matter: it was a magical experience.
After the tour they escorted us to The Green Dragon, where we had a lovely dinner. Laid out on the table was an array of dishes for the table to share: roasted chickens, salmon, and squash, beef stew, mushrooms, braised lamb over bubble & squeak, sausages, potatoes, mash, succotash, rusted veggies, and salad. We washed it down with locally made beer and wine and then they brought us an entire board of desserts: pies and Pavlova and fruit and marshmallow bars. In between courses there were costumes to try on (someone should make Jason a Hobbit coat) and a fire to sit by. The whole thing was marvelous!
But then it was time to leave, walking back through the now-illuminated village with lanterns in hand, taking a few final photos, and then boarding the bus back to the parking lot. The drive to Rotarua was tough--dark, windy roads in rain and fog at the end of a long day--but we made it to the Princes Gate Hotel and Alice was asleep within minutes. It's been a very full day of amazements!
Next up: Rotarua!
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