Monthly Archives: August 2018

We spent two full days in Fiji, most of which were spent relaxing by the pool and beach and enjoying the warm, sunny weather.  We had been so busy for the last two weeks, trying to see as much as possible in New Zealand, so it was nice to have a couple days to unwind.

The first day we didn’t get out early enough to get chairs by the main pool, so we spent the morning by the adult pool which was smaller but still beautiful.  We did keep track of the events schedule and went to the basket weaving and craft demonstrations.  I loved this because the lady let me try some of the weaving with palm leaves and I got to learn how to make bookmarks.  It actually wasn’t too difficult and I made a few for me, Mom, and Dad.

That night, after a gorgeous sunset, we walked to a nearby restaurant outside the resort.  It was right on the water and had pretty good food, including brownies that were really delicious.

The next day, Dad and Lindsey got out early to claim some chairs for us right by the pool and ocean.  It was the perfect spot to relax for the day and we even had a little shelter (the Hammond Hut as we called it) for shade if we wanted it.  Mom, Dad, Lindsey, and Unc went to a kava tasting session.  They all said that it tasted like dirty water and it made Lindsey’s tongue tingle.

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Later that evening, we all showered and got ready for dinner, but first we enjoyed “Bula Hour” drinks.  “Bula” is the Fijian greeting that we learned quickly after arriving.  Everyone you pass would say “bula” as a way of saying hello, and we thought it was funny when people would say, “Bula, family!” when were all together.  Each night at the resort there is a fire dance performance, so we got to see it both nights after Bula Hour.  It was pretty cool to watch and not something that I want to try.

For dinner we walked over to the same area as the night before, but went to a different restaurant.  It was really popular and ended up taking quite a while to get our food but we could enjoy the live music while we waited.  We enjoyed our last night of relaxation at the resort by playing some cards and then the next day got up to leave for Australia in the morning.  It was a great, relaxing stay in Fiji and I am glad we got a couple days to lay by the pool after being in winter mode for a couple weeks.

Bula from Fiji Airways!

After a little over five and a half months, it was finally time for me to leave New Zealand.  We spent our last morning in Auckland and took a ferry to an island town called Devonport.  The island had a hill that we walked up for a great view of the city.  As we were walking, it began to rain a bit, but it stopped pretty quickly and we were able to stay mostly dry.

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Once we got back to the town, we found a small café to eat lunch and then caught the ferry back to Auckland.  We had just enough time to stop back at our hotel, pick up our luggage, and head to the airport.  I was a bit sad to be leaving New Zealand, but knew we still had so many fun adventures to come in the next week.

We had an afternoon flight from Auckland to Nadi, Fiji and got there in the evening.  After an afternoon of travelling, we were all a bit hungry, so we went to the restaurant in the resort and got dessert.

Goodbye New Zealand!

Our first stop on the Coromandel Peninsula was Hot Water Beach (well, after breakfast at a nearby café).  It was low tide, so we took the shovels that we had borrowed from our hotel and went down to the beach.  It is well known because, as the name suggests, there is hot water under the beach that you can get to if you dig down about a foot.

We went down to the beach and found a spot between all the other people where the sand felt warm and began digging.  In just a few minutes we dug a pretty big hole that was filling with warm water.  It was interesting because depending on where you dug, you would find warmer or colder water.  In some spots, the water was steaming hot and it hurt your feet to stand there, and then just a foot over, the water could be much cooler.  So, we all tried to keep the balance so that everyone could stand in a warm spot and not be too cold or too hot.

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A lot of people wore bathing suits and were sitting in their own little “hot tubs,” but we decided to just stay in our clothes and roll up our pants.  Dad, though, changed into his bathing suit to get the full experience.  We put our feet in the Pacific Ocean quickly, but it was much too cold so we ran back to our warm pool.  It was funny that even though it was winter, everyone could enjoy the hot water and be comfortable in bathing suits, but then as they got out they would put on jackets and warm clothing.

This was a pretty unique experience and all of us loved being able to make our own little hot water spa.  We spent some time standing and enjoying the warmth before having to head back to the parking lot, which meant crossing through a small (very cold) stream.

Our next stop, Cathedral Cove, was only about 10 minutes away.  I had heard from my friends who had traveled here earlier that Cathedral Cove was one of their favorite spots, so it was on my list of must see places.  In order to get down the beach, you have to walk about 45 minutes along the coast.  It was a beautiful walk and the view of Cathedral Cove was well worth it.

The name comes from a huge rock arch that you can walk through to get to different parts of the beach.  It was cloudy when we first got there, but the beautiful rock formations and water were still so pretty.  Once it started to get sunnier it began to get even more beautiful with the sky and water such a bright blue.  A funny story now that I’ve been home is that at work, the screensaver on my computer changes every day and is usually pretty scenery.  I looked at it the other day and recognized the photo, and sure enough it was a picture of Cathedral Cove!  I was so excited to be able to say I’ve actually been there – to a screensaver worthy spot.

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We explored the beach for awhile and took lots of photos before we decided to head back up the path to the car.  Once we got in the car, it was later in the afternoon and was just starting to rain, so it was good timing for us to finish our hiking for the day and get on the road.  It only would take us about three hours to get to Auckland, our final destination in New Zealand, so we got there in time to have a nice dinner and ice cream that was just across from our hotel.

When we got tickets for the evening experience at Te Puia, tickets for the daytime were included for free.  So, we decided to go back the next day.  First, though, we went to Wai-o-tapu to see the Lady Knox geyser and the rest of the “thermal wonderland.”

The Lady Knox geyser has an eruption cycle of 24-72 hours, but to make it erupt more regularly park workers put a soap-like substance into it to break down the surface tension, making it erupt every day at 10:45.  It was pretty cool to see and was going off for over 10 minutes before we decided to head on to the rest of the park.

Lady Knox Geyser

Rotorua is known as an area with lots of geothermal activity (you can definitely tell from the smell of sulfur in the air), so you can find hot mud springs and geysers in many places.  Wai-o-tapu is known for its bright, colorful pools which makes it a little more unique.  There was one area called the Artist’s Palette, where there was a huge pool that was different colors in different sections depending on what minerals are found there.  One of my favorite spots, though, was Devil’s Bath.  It was the first pool we came to and was neon lime green.  It was so bright, it didn’t look natural even though it is only changed that color by the sulfur in the water.

Devil’s Bath

Artist’s Palette

After walking through Wai-o-tapu and taking all the different colors of steaming and bubbling pools, we drove back to Te Puia.  There, we were just in time to join a guided tour of the cultural center and geothermal park.  Our tour guide was very nice and because we were in a small group, he got to take us all around and tell us more about Maori art, history, stories, and culture.

Food storage

One thing that is very unique about Te Puia is that there is a school there that teaches people of Maori descent the arts of jade and bone carving, wood carving, and basket weaving.  We even got to go into the school and watch some of the students working, which was really cool.  I would love to try one of these amazing crafts (stay tuned for my blog post in Fiji).  There was a small kiwi house at Te Puia as well, but the kiwis weren’t too active so we didn’t really get to see them.

The end of our tour was by the geysers that we had looked at the night before, but now we were waiting for Pohutu, the big geyser, to erupt.  The signs showed that it would happen soon, so we waited for a few minutes and sure enough, it did erupt.  It was pretty impressive how high it was, so I was glad we were lucky enough to see it.  Unlike the Lady Knox geyser, Pohutu is not induced so you can’t predict when it will go off.

Pohutu and Prince of Wales Geysers

After our tour had finished and we had seen a lot of Te Puia, we had to get in the car to drive north about three hours to the Coromandel Peninsula, where we would be staying that night.  We stayed at a place called the Church Accommodation, which was actually an old church that was turned into a hotel (although we were staying in the house off to the side of the church).  That night we had dinner at the Pour House, the only restaurant in the small town of Hahei that was still open when we got there and everyone really enjoyed it- a great end to a busy day!