I probably shouldn’t admit to having a favorite city on New Zealand’s North Island. Every place we visited was amazing, and having a “favorite” would be like admitting to having a favorite child. (Which I don’t, by the way!)
However, if I were only able to return to one North Island city, I would choose Rotorua.
Head over heels.
In love? Well, no.
Actually, it’s head-over-heels-over-head-over-heels, rolling down a grassy hill in a large inflatable plastic ball.
The ZORB!
As we journeyed south from Auckland to Rotorua, we stopped for lunch (and a little time for exploration) in the whimsical and charming town of Tirau, New Zealand.
“Tirau” is a Maori word meaning “many cabbage trees.”
[A story, and another self-promoting post. Thank you for indulging me!]
While at a networking function last year, my friend Wendy Sipple – who happens to be the COO and Publisher of Style Media Group, a Folsom (California) publishing company – asked me where my next travel adventure would take me. I told her I was going to New Zealand in early 2013.
And then I boldly asked if SMG’s other publication, Style Magazine, might be interested in having me write an article about my trip.
If you don’t like to read blogs where the author “sings their own praises,” then you’ll probably want to skip my post today.
And probably Sunday’s too.
(But after that, I will get back to talking about my travels. I promise!)
I am generally a very linear person. Taurus; firstborn; structured and organized.
I like to do things in order. And my blog posts about my New Zealand trip have generally been chronological, starting with the beginning (at the top of the North Island) and continuing southward.
However, I am going to get out of order and skip to the end of my journey, because I want to talk about Antarctica.
“It’s hard to imagine a more geographically blessed city. Its two harbours frame a narrow isthmus punctuated by volcanic cones and surrounded by fertile farmlands. From any of its numerous vantage points you’ll be astonished by how close the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean come to kissing and forming a new island.” (Lonely Planet’s “New Zealand,” 16th Edition; pg. 60)
According to 2012 census, Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand with 1,397,300 people – approximately 32% of the country’s population. It was the capitol of New Zealand from 1842 until 1865, at which time the seat of government was moved to the more centrally-located and current capitol city of Wellington.
We spent two days in Auckland, and enjoyed visiting some of the more famous sites as well as a few lesser-known places. Here are some highlights:
At the suggestion of our group leader, I purchased a one-year membership to the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, which not only supports New Zealand’s efforts to protect their historic buildings, but also affords free entry to many trust properties located throughout New Zealand as well as Australia, England, and even a few Historic sites in the USA. For more information, visit their website.
I first used my membership in Russell, touring the Pompallier Mission which purports to be the oldest surviving industrial building in New Zealand.
Russell, formerly known as Kororareka, was the first permanent European settlement and sea port in New Zealand. It is situated in the Bay of Islands, in the far north of the North Island.
When European and American ships began visiting New Zealand in the early 1800s, the indigenous Māori quickly recognized there were great advantages in trading with these strangers.
Our first full day in New Zealand was February 6th, which happens to be a national holiday: Waitangi Day. It was on this date, in 1840, that the Maori people signed the Treaty of Waitangi, ostensibly making New Zealand part of the British empire, affording its people the same rights as other British subjects while guaranteeing Maori rights to their own land.
Although similarities have been drawn to treaties signed between the Native Americans and those who claimed their land, the politics of Waitangi Day are not the subject of this blog. (However, we did visit the Treaty House on the 7th — after the crowds thinned — and found it fascinating and mostly accessible. And that will be a future post.)
Anything Is Possible Travel 