Taupo that I found out was more than just the lake. Taupo was our first stop after spending the day before driving from Auckland to the Hobbiton Movie Set. We started the day in Taupo by driving over to the Huka Falls. I wouldn’t say I was really amazed by the falls – but the fact that the water was so blue made me wonder if it really was natural or man-made (but of course it is natural). The sight of foamy blue waters galloping down against the black riverbanks was something that I would probably not see anywhere else but in Taupo. Huka Falls is said to contribute 18% of electricity in New Zealand so it is not all about the beauty but also very much significant to the livelihood of New Zealand people.
Huka Falls
From Huka Falls we drove back out to the main road and our curiosity led us to Craters of the Moon whose signboard we found by accident. After paying the entrance fee, we were led to a long wooden walkway that took us across beautiful bushes with steaming vents and bubbling craters here and there – except that I did not see any bubbles. May be because it was summer and all the craters were dry. I could hear the sound of boiling activities coming from beneath the soils though, and the sight of steams rising up from under there was just other-worldly. One of the locals who happened to be there told me how she once witnessed a guy slip and fall right into the boiling mud but that was before all the walk-board was built.
Craters of the Moon in Taupo
Pulling out from that little unplanned detour, we drove further south towards Wellington – the capital of New Zealand. That part of the road trip took us near to Tongariro National Park which is famous for its near-perfect cone-shaped volcano. This volcano was featured in LOTR too, as the Mount Doom or Mordor where Prodo has to bring the cursed ring to be destroyed before it falls into the hands of Saruman. Climbing up the mountain known as Tongariro Aphine Crossing is one of the great walks in New Zealand – together with Milford Track among others. I really wish I had at least another extra day so that I could do the day-climb. Unfortunately we had a tight schedule to keep up with so I had to spare it probably for another visit – if ever. Uhuks.
Mount of Doom
Well, after driving across plains of bushes and vast areas of planted alpines, we finally reached Wellington. It was not the best evening to be in Wellington though. It was so windy and cold so we had to brave through the unwelcoming weather to take a brisk stroll along the waterfront walk. Otherwise we would miss the only evening we had in Wellington. I was not particularly impressed by Wellington. It looked so empty and most of the shops closed early. The only place that was quite lively was Courtenay Street and that was all. After helping ourselves to a simple dinner at the Burger King’s there, we returned to our hostel and be prepared for one of the most anticipated parts of the whole journey – the inter-island ferry cruise across the Cook Strait.
Spending an evening at the waterfront of Wellington
We booked the inter-island ferry cruise through the same company that we rented our car from. It did not come cheap – thanks to the depreciation of Malaysian ringgit – but we really wanted to do it. Booking for a place and doing the crossing was much easier that I had thought. I paid the tickets for 2 persons and one car through Jucy Rentals without specifying the date and made a phone call to confirm the date and time later. They later sent me an email of date and time confirmation and a print-out of this email was all I needed to carry to the inter-islander ferry.
We took the one at 9am and moved from our hostel as early as 7am. It was a long quite of cars so it was safe to go early. We drove in, passed the print out to the officer at the gate (I think they only wanted the reference number) and he returned it later with a pair of boarding passes. The crew members were all there to arrange everything and we only needed to follow their instructions. It was an easy drive-in drive-out business. We didn’t even need to move our luggage out of the car.
After parking the car as instructed, we pulled up the hand-brake, walked out of the car and joined hundreds of others towards one of the biggest cabins that I had ever been to. It was more like a mini-shopping mall, complete with high-end restaurants, lounges, cafes and children’s play area. We picked a seat on the outer lounge so that we could see the view right from our seats. Unfortunately, the weather was not really on our side and the view was shrouded by thick clouds so there really was nothing much to see.
I briefly fell asleep but was woken up by a full-blast honk and jeez, the clouds had opened up, giving way to one of the most breath-taking sceneries that I had ever seen in my entire life! I could see the multi-layered hilly farms beyond the seashore with dots of goats grazing hungrily all over. Some of them were so near to the seaside cliffs for a moment I got worried and wondered if they’d ever slip and fall to the unforgiving ocean. It was so beautiful a sight I almost cried in excitement.
After 3 hours of cruising, the beautiful town of Picton finally came into sight. It looked so welcoming and so ready to usher us in to the South Island – which is known for its breath-taking places that make New Zealand one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Going out of the ferry was so easy I did not even have time to record it on camera. I could not believe that we were already driving on the South Island.
Under normal circumstances, we would have made our way to Christchurch using the coastal road on the East coast. Unfortunately it was still closed due to an earthquake so we had to use the alternative road via Murchison. The road took us across inland districts where some of the roads were still being repaired probably due to the sudden surge of traffic. We stopped to take in the beauty of Nelson Lakes – and it was there that I had my first encounter with the sandflies – probably New Zealand’s version of mosquitoes but much more ferocious and unforgiving in nature.
Nelson Lakes
We pushed further to the south, to a beautiful small town called Murchison where we would be spending the night. It was more like a village with a few rows of shops and a gas station, a chapel, a town hall and even a museum! Surrounded by beautiful farms and nestled in a beautiful valley, it really is so easy to fall in love with Murchison.
We stayed at a hotel called Lazy Cows Backpackers – which turned out to be one of my favorite accommodations in New Zealand. It has a little garden in the backyard, and it was there that I had my first encounter with an apple tree. I mean, seriously, I have been to several 4-season countries before but I had never encountered an apple tree. New Zealand apples have always been my favorite among all the apples available back in KL so seeing an apple tree in New Zealand certainly made me jump in excitement.
Lazy Cow Backpackers in Murchison
The room that we were placed in was partially underground but it was so cozy and comfortable and I was especially impressed by the toilet. The toilet itself sits on an elevated floor and it has a beautiful rack right on the side wall.
After spending quite a bit of money on food for the first few days in New Zealand, it was good to finally be able to do some cooking and saved a few bucks in Murchison. Everything went well so far so we celebrated our little feast by opening a bottle of wine that we bought back in Auckland. We were hardly halfway through the journey but everything seemed to be quite so clear and real for us now.
Little by little the worries that plagued our heads before began to drift away and we were beginning to really enjoy the trip. There beginning is always the hardest part but we might be well over it now. We could not wait to explore further into this blessed country.