Up an hour before dawn, kept my first run on South Island close to our Christchurch lodging – early tour start this morning. Quick 3 miles ‘round Burnside Park. Run highlights: rugby field, lawn bowling, morning sunrise. G’day New Zealand!
Full day planned – 4WD tour, Jet Boat…no TranzAlpine Train. Rated one of the world’s top six train journeys, but unfortunately all train travel on South Island down (‘til March 22nd) due to extensive forest fire (it’s Southern Hemisphere summer).
Off-roaded across a rural cattle farm [Torlesse Station], driving UP UP UP steep switchbacks, ultimately climbing 3000ft+. Stopped & took in the landscape – clouds poured in, keeping temps cool…beautiful Canterbury Plains loomed below. No cattle this high; altitude however doesn’t slow the island sheep. Sighted a herd lunching on moisture-rich shrub grass. HUGE topography change from yesterday, more reminiscent of Colorado than New Zealand’s tropical North.
45 minutes from Torlesse Station, jet-boated up one of New Zealand’s major snow-fed rivers, the Waimakariri. Spray jacket, hat, gloves, life vest – check check check, boarded my first [Hamilton] jet boat. Weaving in & out of rock faces, over white water rapids, thru high rock canyons…at times, gliding over water less than 3 feet deep. WOW, WOW, WOW!
Amazing shot of the Southern Alps on the return ride near Lake Pearson. Mirror image of Colorado’s San Juan Range. Stunning.
Rental car pickup tomorrow. 5 hour drive, west over Arthur’s Pass to Franz Josef Glacier. Super excited! Is it morning yet? 🙂
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- UP UP steep switchbacks, ultimately climbing 3000ft
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- high above Canterbury Plains
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- SHEEP!
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- spray jacket, hat, gloves & life vest — ready, ready to RIDE
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- View Hill
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- LOVE LOVE jet-boating!
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- return trek near Lake Pearson — WOW!
…meanwhile, far far away in Colorado — pup’s enjoying an adventure of his own 🙂
Jetboating the Waimakariri
Morning ‘geyser’ run, quick shower, hotel check out, short walk downtown. Last day on North Island (for a week).
Add bicycle to my expanding list of NZ transportation. Happy Ewe Cycle Tours. Hadn’t been on a bike since I crashed out of Ironman Boulder, August 3rd 2014. Mangled bike still in the garage…completely serious.
Half day tour. 27 stops around geyser-rich Rotorua, one of NZ’s flattest stretches of territory.
Government Gardens. Specifically, Prince’s Arch and Gateway (built for the country’s first royal visit in 1901). Met our happy guide, Roger – then received safety info which stayed [with] us, our entire NZ journey. Hand up, formed an L. Left means Life. Driving British this holiday…yep, on the Left. Phrase stuck for 2 weeks. Few times my travel bestie drove ‘American’, I’d calmly chirp – “Left means life, left means life” – & she’d promptly adjust lanes. No worries. LOL>
Bike, check. Helmet, check. First stop: Ohinemutu, a living Māori village and the original settlement of Rotorua. Ready to roll. Hadn’t cycled in 2 ½ years, started out a bit spooked. I’ve got this! Thanks Dawn, for reintroducing me back to the pedal 🙂
Fave stop: Kuirau Park, in the heart of Rotorua is New Zealand’s only geothermal public park.
Churches, historical buildings, public gardens – but it’s Kuirau Park I’ll remember. Plumes of foggy sulfur obscured our ride over the swallow lake center. Bridge-biking over barren wasteland. Warm, humid steam billowed from the ground. WOW, just WOW!
Legend of Kuiarau: In the early 1800s, the small lake in the centre of the park was much cooler and was known as Taokahu. Legend tells us that a beautiful young woman named Kuiarau was bathing in the waters when a taniwha (dragon) dragged her to his lair below the lake. The gods above were infuriated and made the lake boil so that the Taniwha would be destroyed forever. From that time on, the bubbling lake and the steaming land around it have been known by the name of the lost woman, although the spelling has changed a little from Kuiarau to ‘Kuirau.’
Ended today’s ride in Government Gardens. Specifically, Rotorua Museum – former Bath House, now the town’s museum. Photo opp, goodbyes to our guide, then ride-shared to the airport.
Small puddle jumper to Christchurch. Tomorrow’s adventures start on South Island!
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- morning ‘geyser’ run — every day’s a run day (even in New Zealand)
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- Prince’s Arch and Gateway
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- back on a bike
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- Ohinemutu
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- Lake Rotorua overlook
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- bridge-biking over barren wasteland
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- plumes of foggy sulfur
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- “Left means Life”
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- Government Gardens
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- AWESOME ride – thanks Roger!
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- next stop: Christchurch
Kuirau Park (Rotorua NZ)
The haka is a traditional war cry, dance, or challenge from the Māori people of New Zealand. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment.
Ended day 2, bit rushed thru Te Puia & neighboring Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley.
Māori welcome, followed by a traditional Haka [cultural performance] in Te Puia’s marae [meeting house]. While native Hawaiians & Māori share Polynesian roots, their dance traditions are super diverse. The Haka is not your Momma’s Hula – comprised of warrior chants & postures…was never invited from the audience to join in. LOL>
The first Māori settled New Zealand 800 years ago, leaving their native Hawaiki on 7 long boats, Waka. The seven major tribes of New Zealand are identified by their Waka name.
Toured Te Puia’s woodcarving & weaving schools, then quietly stalked New Zealand’s iconic (& endangered) Kiwi bird. Nocturnal by nature, a tiny female inside Te Puia’s Kiwi House would be my only Kiwi claim this trip. Unfortunately, no pics allowed.
Remainder of the tour would be spent geyser-gazing…my third continent of geysers. Iceland, USA’s Yellowstone & today, New Zealand’s Pōhutu geyser – biggest geyser in the southern hemisphere. Mud pools, vapour jets soaring 30 meters high – AND of course, that distinct sulfur scent. FAAANNNTASTIC!
Māori culture & geysers – coupled with tomorrow’s bike tour, a top 5 MUST DO New Zealand experience.
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- traditional Māori welcome
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- not your Momma’s hula
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- traditional woodcarving school
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- tiny female inside Te Puia’s Kiwi House would be my only Kiwi claim this trip
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- first Māori settled 800 years ago, leaving their native Hawaiki on 7 long boats, Waka
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- gurgling mud pools
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- Pōhutu geyser
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- biggest in the southern hemisphere
Māori Haka
Pōhutu geyser
