Part 1-New Zealand North Island Itinerary

New Zealand is truly heaven on Earth! Although I always came across photos of NZ online & on mass media, NZ is a thousand times more beautiful than the most gorgeous panorama shot taken by the most talented photographer. This might sound exaggerated, but NZ must be included in everyone's travel bucket list, especially for the nature lovers. So, let me take you on a virtual adventure on the North & South Island of NZ ;)

Day 1 : Auckland - Hamilton

The journey began from Auckland. Air Asia X flies to Auckland with a ~1 hour transit in Gold Coast, Australia. We booked our rental car via Budget.com & received our keys at the Budget counter just to the right of the Arrivals gate of Auckland International Airport. We were pleased to get a brand new red Toyota Corolla Hatchback, with only 20,000 km clocked on the meter. We drove straight to Hamilton to check in at Eagle's Nest Backpackers Hostel, with the sun slowly setting on the 1.5 hours journey.

Since we didn't have enough time to explore Hamilton, we only walked to the nearest Pak n' Save supermarket to get groceries & had microwaved Brahim's instant rice for dinner (brought from Malaysia). 

Day 2 : Hamilton - Waitomo Glowworm Caves - Matamata/Hobbiton - Rotorua

Our day started as early as 7.00am, since we had to drive one hour straight to Waitomo. Tickets to enter Waitomo Glowworm Caves were bought online in Malaysia & we booked the earliest 9.00am boat. The guide is local Maori lady & according to her, the glowworm cave is privately owned. She brought us into the cave & explained how the stalactites & stalagmites were formed. One of the most entertaining part is when she showed us the stalactite shaped like a bungy-jumping kiwi bird :D

After walking into the Cathedral (which is a part of the cave with a high ceiling, like a church), we descended more stairs to get onto a boat. The cave was pitch black, and eeriely silent except for our voices. When we're all settled in the boat, she quietly pulled on a rope to bring the boat deeper into the cave. 

The glowworms on the cave's ceiling lit up like the brightest stars in the sky. It was simply a magical feeling, an out of this world experience. Taking photographs are prohibited, and we had to remain as silent as possible, to ensure that we don't disturb the glowworm's natural habitat & the cave's beauty can be preserved. Be careful not to touch the cave's walls as well, or any part of the cave, since the oils of our skin can damage the cave's surface.

Waitomo Glowworm Caves Visitor Centre

The boat, taken at the end of the cave tour

Cafe at the Glowworm Caves Visitor Centre

Since we don't have any photos in the cave, enjoy this 4K video to experience the glowworm cave tour yourself ;) 

Next on the schedule is the tour of real Middle Earth. We drove straight to Matamata, caught the 12.15pm tour bus to visit the home of Bilbo Baggins - Hobbiton! Be sure to book your Hobbiton Movie Set Tour tickets online a few days before your visit, since the tickets get sold out pretty fast. The bus moves every 15 minutes from Shire's Rest Cafe & each bus were full of eager tourists :D The movie set was built on the Alexander family sheep & beef farm. White, fluffy sheep ran freely around the green, grassy farm. The tour is fully guided, which means we must remain with our tour guide at all times. This time our guide was an American lady who's a big fan of LOTR. The tour is approximately 2 hours long, but I still felt a bit rushed throughout the whole journey. There were always another group behind us & we cannot stay in one place too long.

Here is the Hobbiton Movie Set Tour itinerary: The tour will take you from Gandalf's Crossing, through a garden, then a frog pond. The pond was man-made & frogs were initially transported into the pond. After a while, the population grew too big & too noisy, the movie crew had to transfer most of the frogs to another pond. LOL. You will then walk through Sackville, until you reach Bag End - home of Bilbo & Frodo Baggins. Watch out for the huge fake tree! You will only notice that the leaves are fake when you're close to it. One spoiler though, the Hobbiton holes/homes are empty. All of the indoor movie scenes were shot in a studio in Wellington. Only the outdoor shots were taken in Matamata. Later you will descend down Bagshot Row until the Party Field. The guide will also take you to the home of Samwise Gamgee, his wife & children. The tour ends after you cross the bridge & enter The Green Dragon Tavern, where you can enjoy a free cup of non-alcoholic ginger beer. The tour bus will then pick you up & send you back to Shire's Rest Cafe.

Welcome to Hobbiton Movie Set!

Tour begins here - The Shire's Rest

Inside The Shire's Rest Cafe

  

Gandalf's Crossing

Hobbit hole

Hobbit hole

Home of a fisherman, or fisherhobbit

The frog pond

Look at the big, long crowdddd

There are even Hobbit laundry drying in the sun!

View from Bag End

Our tour guide & tour group

Hubs in front of Bilbo's home

Samwise Gamgee's home

The Watermill

The bridge & watermill

Inside The Green Dragon

Inside The Green Dragon - get you ginger beer here!

The Green Dragon

After the tour, we continued our journey south to Rotorua. Don't be alarmed when you realize Rotorua smells like rotten eggs, due to the hydrogen sulphide emissions. The attractions of this city are their hot thermal springs, bubbling mud pools & geysers. After an hour on the road, we arrived at the highly recommended Crash Palace Backpackers Hostel. This hostel is unlike most of its counterparts, they have a hot tub & pool table. They also provide free rice & pasta. The location is perfect - walking distance to the Government Gardens/Rotorua Museum, Tamaki Maori Village and also Pak n' Save. We were also warmly welcomed by the hostel staff. Since it was few hours before sunset, we dropped our bags & drove to Rotorua Lake. You can board a cruise ship or a jet boat here. Rotorua also offers a variety of outdoor activities such as zorbing, ziplining, ATV and gondola skyline rides. We wish we had more time to explore this amazing city..

Lake Rotorua Cruise

Lake Rotorua Jetboat

Zorbing on the lake

Another highlight of our day is stumbling upon Kuirau Park - a must visit in Rotorua. You can walk around the steaming/hissing geothermal activity/pool in this public park, free of charge. Be careful to stay behind the safety fences, as eruptions can spontaneously occur. Rocks were hurled 10 metres up into the air once from a new steam vent.

Kuirau Park geothermal activity

Kuirau Park geothermal activity walking path

Kuirau Park over the geothermal pool bridge

Gloomy view

Steaming hot rocks!

Journey to be continued... Read Part 2 of North Island Itinerary here

Look out for upcoming posts of our full itinerary below. I will also share the costs of the whole NZ road trip at the end ;)

Day 3 : Rotorua - Huka Falls - Taupo - Wellington
Day 4 : Wellington - Christchurch - Lake Tekapo - Lake Pukaki - Twizel
Day 5 : Twizel - Aoraki/Mt. Cook National Park - Queenstown
Day 6 : Queenstown - NZONE Skydive - Te Anau
Day 7 : Te Anau - Milford Sound/Piopiotahi - Queenstown
Day 8 : Queenstown - Auckland
Day 9 : Auckland Harbour - Auckland Tower - Art Gallery 
Day 10 : Auckland International Marathon - Karangahape/"K" Road
Day 11 : Auckland Bridge Bungy Jump - Queens Street - Possonby Street