Journey to Auckland: Nelson, Rotorua, Hahei, and Orewa
10/27-10/30
The day that we left Wellington, we went to Sweet Mother’s Kitchen for breakfast. We got beignets and I got the huevos rancheros again. We drove to Nelson and stopped at the hotel before going to lunch at the Gintrap, where I got a sundried tomatoes and feta flatbread. It tasted like thin-crusted pizza with feta cheese, but it was really light and good. We drove up to a lookout over the harbor in the middle of a garden. We walked along the waterfront and through the downtown, stopping at Lick This for ice cream (cookies n’ cream). We drove back to the hotel, where we hung out before going to bed.
On the 28, we got up, had breakfast in the hotel room, packed up, and drove to Lake Taupo. We walked around the small town and climbed on a playground. I had a berry smoothie for lunch. We drove to Rotorua, where we went to Whakarewarewa Thermal Village. We did the tour of the Maori village, where we got to see the hot springs and geysers, the thermal baths, and where they cooked the food. We got to see a cultural performance, where they sang, did the haka, and used poi (look it up). After the performance and the tour, I kept thinking how it must be nice to have culture. I have no idea where I came from; we have no traditional foods we cook, no stories passed down, no nationality or cultural identification. We went to our hotel room and then got dinner at Capers, where I had delicious pea and asparagus risotto.
The next day was probably my favorite on the way to Auckland, when we went to the Hobbiton movie set. It was so cool!! With all the teeny, tiny details, you could easily imagine people living there, except for all the tourists and tour groups. For example, there was hobbit laundry hanging on lines and one of the hobbit holes that was probably in less than 15 seconds of the movie had a sign labeled Gone Fishing and had so many details such as a fishing rod and realistic dried fish on a table outside. We stopped at the Green Dragon (the pub in the movie), which actually works as a pub, where I got some of their ginger beer. I had a butter chicken pie for lunch on the road. We went to Hot Water Beach on the way to Hahei, where you dig holes and hot water comes up from underground. You let the ocean come in a bit to cool it and then sit in it like a hot tub. We got dinner at a pub and then played Scrabble for bed.
On the day we arrived at our last home, we got up early and walked the Cathedral Cove hike. It went along the beach for a while, going by some sheep pens, and then it went up and along the hills through the trees. At the cove, there was a hole through the cliff and the ocean was on the other side. We walked to the other side of the beach, where there was a cool little waterfall. The coast looked very similar to Abel Tasman. We packed up and checked out after fruit bread for breakfast. We stopped for lunch and I got potato, watercress, and garlic soup. The drive to Orewa seemed to take forever, winding along the Coromandel Peninsula and then getting stuck in the Auckland traffic on a highway. After getting settled and unpacking, Mom and Dad went to get groceries. Dad and I played cards while Mom made chicken skewers, potatoes, and asparagus for dinner. We watched the Voice before bed.
“A walk in nature walks the soul back home.”