It's been almost a week since we started living in our Motorhome and it's rained every single day. To stay positive Chris and I have started saying to each other; 'oh good it's raining, was worried we weren't going to get rain today'. We spent the last couple days in the smelly town of Rotorua. Surrounded by geothermal activity it's definitely a bit of a tourist trap town but well worth the visit regardless. Unlike other countries we've visited with geothermal spots Rotorua has fenced these places off and turned them into paid parks. There are several parks to choose from so we went for the Wai-o-Tapu Thermal Wonderland located 30 minutes outside Rotorua. It's claim to fame is being New Zealand's most colourful geothermal area with waters ranging from cyan to yellow and an especially vivid fluorescent green pool named the Devil's bathtub. Additionally there is a fungus that covers the vegetation in the area which is full of carotene and as a result is bright orange. For $32.50 each we entered the Thermal Wonderland and spent 2 hours walking around the park looking at various bubbling pools, colourful ponds and getting a nose full of sulphur. The highlight was definitely the 'Champagne Pool', 62 meters deep and 65 meters across it is the heart of the surrounding pools leaking into and blending it's minerals giving the area it's different colours. The other highlight was the bubbling mud pond located outside the park with free entrance. After an afternoon of geothermal action we did one of the few free activities in the region and took a short hike through the Redwood Forest. Fun fact this forest got it's name after numerous species of tree were planted to see which would grow best for lumber purposes, California Redwoods did well. After our nature walk we headed to Te Puia, another Geothermal park only 5 minutes from downtown Rotorua. The day entrance fee was a whopping $51.00 each so we skipped this and went straight for the 6pm Maori Hangi. Maori culture is very present in New Zealand, evident in the unpronounceable street names we keep encountering. At Te Puia we had the opportunity to attend a Maori show which included a showing of their songs, dances, games and we even got to participate in the Poi dance for the ladies and Haka for the men. After the show we sat down for our Hangi, dinner cooked in an earth oven. Our dinner included lamp, chicken pumpkin and kumara (type of sweet potato) plus a ton of non traditional foods like pasta and salad etc. After an extremely filling dinner we set out for a nighttime viewing of the local Geyser, Pohutu. We were expecting something similar to what we had seen in Iceland where a large hole of water shoots upwards in a massive gush. What we got instead was a hill side of bubbling water with thin spouts of geyser water pushed high into the air and evaporated. It was less dramatic but equally fun to watch especially at night back lit to really show off the steam. After a good nights rest in a freedom parking spot (loving free nights!) we headed out to Taupo. The rain must have known we were coming because it seemed to start the moment we parked the car in Taupo. Despite damp conditions we set out for Huka Falls and wow, just wow, this water is moving! Pictures don't accurately capture the force and the sound coming up from the water, it's very impressive. The water gets pushed through the narrow passage and dumps over a short but powerful waterfall into the lake below. We took the free and easy way to view the falls, from a walking path, but there are a few other more exciting ways to experience Huka Falls as well including a jet boat which we saw power-slide up to the waterfall. After a few minutes a getting thoroughly soaked in the rain we hid in the camper and retreated for the day into a service stop where we're now sitting with tea and free wifi. Hoping for some dry weather so we can take advantage of the great hiking in this area! If we get rained out tomorrow we'll likely head out to Hawkes Bay/ Napier where wine and beaches await!
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New Zealand is the country that just keeps giving. The further south we drive the further our jaws drop in wonder. Driving through New Zealand is definitely the way to do it! On top of the lush scenery New Zealand has an endless number of adventure sports to choose from! We had our first real taste of adrenaline when we went on the Black Abyss tour in Wiatomo. The Black Abyss is a 5 hour tour that starts with a 65 meter abseil straight down! After squeezing through the throat you find yourself in a massive limestone cave. This was by far the scariest part as we had to let ourselves down into the pitch black. Once we hit the bottom our other guide was waiting to unhook us and instructed us to wait in the dark with the others. This was our first chance to see some glow worms on the ceiling of this cavernous underground space. The next stage included a short walk admiring stalactites and cave coral until we reached a flying fox (zip line). Chris had the pleasure of going first having no sense of how long the ride would be into the pitch black. It ended up not being very long but was super fun regardless! After a quick snack of hot chocolate and granola one by one we jumped in the icy cave stream with our tubes and made our way through the caves. Once we got far enough into the cave we hooked feet and turned off all the lights. From here our guide pulled us through the caves as we gazed upwards at millions of glowing worms. It is honestly one of the most bizarrely beautiful things we've ever seen! Unfortunately we don't have any photos from this portion but imagine millions of green glowing specs surrounding you. Now imagine knowing those specs are larva that glow after eating their unhatched siblings. Eerily beautiful. After a relaxing ride we ditched the tubes, splashed down a water slide and continued deeper into the cave. After more cave exploring we reached the end of our tour and were given 2 options. A) take the easy way out B) take the fun way out. Obviously we all went for B. The fun way involved climbing up and over two reasonably powerful waterfalls into a small crevice of rock we had to crawl through until eventually we hit daylight. We would highly recommend The Legendary Black Water Rafting co. They were professional, excellent guides and a great time! After a good night sleep we were up and ready the next morning to see some Hobbit homes! We arrived into Hobbiton in the early afternoon to discover the cost was pretty steep. While we both love Lord of the Rings $80.00 per person to be cattle herded around a movie set with 40 other people seemed like a major ripoff. We were hoping they offered an option to wander around on your own for a smaller fee but this was not the case. We took some time to think about it but decided in the end $160 was not worth it and carried on to Rotorua disappointed but happy with our decision.
Tonight we're staying at a TOP 10 paid campsite. I haven't figured out yet why the paid parks in New Zealand charge per person when we're getting 1 site for 1 vehicle. If one of us hid in the car we could pay half the price? We've been too honest to try so far. Despite the $50.00 fee for the night we've got power for the night, hot showers, minerals pools, free wifi and are walking distance to Rotorua city center so we'll suck it up for tonight. Tomorrow we're going to further explore the region ending our day with a Maori cultural show and dinner which we're both really looking forward to! It's day 3 on the road and we're currently near Waitomo Caves waiting to plunge into the Black Abyss. While we wait we have some free wifi so figured it was a great time to update you on our first few days! We picked up our new home on Friday and had an interesting first day on the road to say the least! Once we figured out where we were going, no small thanks to a GPS, we were off towards Hot Water Beach! On paper it seems like a relatively straight forward drive. What the map failed to detail was the intense rain, switch back roads, cliff side shoulders all compounded by the fact we're driving on the opposite side of the road in a manual diesel fueled house. After 2 1/2 tense hours we finally made it to Hot Water Beach! Chris was a freaking trooper and got us there safe and sound but was definitely stressed and sore from the drive. Thankfully we were minutes away from digging a our own personal mud jacuzzi! Hot Water Beach is one of the coolest natural places we've been. During the 2 hours of low tide twice a day the water pulls back to reveal a section of beach naturally heated by underground hot springs. Bring your own shovel (or spade as they call it here) to dig our your own hot tub. By the time we got to the beach there were already several pools abandoned so we simply took one over, dug in a bit deeper and sat down for a good relax. The water gets surprisingly hot, in some places too hot for comfort! It was muddy and warm, highly recommend it! After some time the tide began to engulf some of the nearby mud tubs so we decided it was time to head back, shower and settle in for the night. The motorhome is surprisingly comfortable, cooking is a bit of a squeeze but otherwise really great! Day two we headed 15 minutes down the road from Hot Water Beach to Cathedral Cove. We got some great advice from a repair man who jump started our RV that morning (battery cables were loose). He suggested heading straight past the main starting point for the Cove hike and go straight to Hahei Beach where the proper start of the Cathedral Cove hike starts and takes you up the cliff side which is otherwise missed. This was great advice as this portion was more rugged and had beautiful vistas of the beach below (and less tourists). tThe hike took us about 45 minutes one way with many stops for photos and viewing platforms along the way. The hike takes you up and down a few mountains so which we told ourselves was worth at least 1 bottle of wine with dinner. When you finally reach Cathedral Cove it's well worth the hike. You're rewarded with a beautiful white sand beach, cliff face waterfalls streaming down towards you and a stunning rock formation. If we had thought ahead we would have brought a picnic with us and stayed even longer than we did. After the hike back and some lunch in the RV we headed back down the switch backs, in the rain towards Waitomo Caves. The drive took us about 3 hours and was much smoother than the first day with Chris getting more comfortable behind the wheel. Last night we found a freedom camp park which is essentially a parking lot on a farm where we could park for free but offered no facilities only 5 minute drive from the caves.
Our Black Water Abyss through the famous Waitomo Glow Worm Caves is about to begin so this is where we leave you! Will report our next adventures next time we have wifi likely in a few days from now. 2 weeks and 2 countries into our trip! We arrived to Auckland on Monday and have had an excellent week in the city. We've rented an AirBnB in the city center that bosts 'a small space with big views'. It's an extremely small studio, fortunately it was very affordable, perfect location and offers a great view of the city sky line! We're located a 15 minute walk from Ponsonby Street where we've found some fantastic eats, lots of art shops and great window shopping. We stopped in at a restaurant called Mexico which served up an impressive selection of tequilas, this really put Chris in his happy place! K'Street (Karangahape Road) is at our front door and is a hipsters paradise. Pot shops, nudey bars, music stores and second hand shops galore. Despite how this sounds it's actually really charming with lots of restaurants and pubs to choose from, and excellent people watching! Tuesday we set out for the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Don't let the name fool you, while the exterior and 3rd floor are dedicated as a memorial space, it's a very well rounded gallery. The First floor has an extensive Maori and south pacific art collection. There are full reconstructions of Maori buildings and active restoration projects happening on display. It was awesome to see they had viewing windows to showcase the restoration and preservation projects occurring throughout the museum as well. Chris and I spent 4 hours in the gallery and didn't notice the time pass until the we got word the museum was closing at 5pm! The weather hasn't been very cooperative this week unfortunately. Wednesday we got soaked while exploring the Viaduct Harbour and Wynyard Quarter. Despite the rain we were really impressed with the Habour area in the city with tons of excellent restaurants to choose from and lots of impressive boats including Auckland's America Cup racing boats. We only got a little bit lost trying to walk back after taking the long road home in the rain. Today, our final day in Auckland, the rain seemed to be letting up so we headed to Waiheke Island. For $45.00 each we received a round trip ferry ticket for Auckland's downtown harbour and a full day bus ticket which stopped at several wineries and beaches. Overall we've really enjoyed Auckland! Tomorrow we pick up our motorhome and start our big road trip to Queenstown. We have the RV for 36 days so we can really take our time exploring both the North Island and the South!
Fiji was incredible! We've compiled a short list of things we loved about Fiji and think would be useful when traveling to Fiji! 10. What to Wear Fiji is a conservative country when it comes to attire. We were reassured on the resort to wear whatever we like but when entering the villages there are some considerations we could make to respect their culture. When off the resort wearing bikinis, bathing suites and overly revealing outfits is not recommended and seen as disrespectful. You'll see men wearing a pocket sarong called a pocket sulu. It fits just past the knees worn with a tropical or loose fitting button up shirt. Women will wear long skirts past the knees with shoulders covered. Pants are seen as a foreigners wear although most of the young people will wear pants and t-shirts to work and change for village affairs. It's no problem for tourist to wear pants and conservative tops off the resorts. 9. Eat you heart out! Fijians eat a lot of fish and for good reason, they have an amazing selection at their door step. Definitely try some of the local catches served with some cassava and taro. Kokoda (ko-kon-da) is a local dish worth trying if you like sushi! It's raw fish served in coconut milk with spices and tomatoes; makes for a great lunch on a sunny day! Coconut, pumpkin and pineapple are also very abundant and delicious. If you are driving around Fiji you'll see lots of snack stands and food stalls along the road which are worth a stop to get some truly local flavours. 8. Drink it down Fiji has some great local alcoholic bevies worth trying. There are three major beer brands easily found, Fiji Bitter, Fiji Premium and Fiji Gold. Fiji Gold was a nice light beer not unlike Coorslight but better. Fiji Premium has a bit more flavour to it and Bitter is a bit hoppier. If you're not a beer drinker Fiji offers some great Rums made from the sugar cane grown in abundance. You can't go very far in Fiji without smelling the burning sugarcane fields. Kava is a must try when in Fiji too! It's a traditional drink made from Kava root mixed with water and some herbs. It tastes like muddy water and makes your mouth numb but definitely worth the experience. It's not just the drinking of the Kava that is worth it however, it's the clapping and ceremony that goes with it. Find some friends while in Fiji and ask a local they'll sort you out! Water is not suitable for drinking in Fiji. Fresh filtered bottle water is easy to find however. Fiji water and other's are produced locally. Purchase water in bulk off the resorts at a local supermarket where they're way cheaper. You can get a 2L bottle for under 3 FJD vs on our resort for 8 FJD! 7. Soak it in The weather in FIji is beautiful most of the year though try and avoid travel November to February during Cyclone season. Last February Fiji saw their worst Cyclone in recorded history and the damage was still apparent 7 months later during our visit. Blue tents dotted the villages, donated from China. Trees still knocked down and new power lines still being put up from the miles of lines that had fallen. During our visit in September the weather was a gorgeous 27 degrees and fairly windy. Because of the wind the water wasn't as clear as it would be in peak season, March and April. That being said it was still fantastic snorkeling! 6. Snorkeling Bliss Fiji offers some of the worlds best soft coral snorkeling and diving. Unlike their far off neighbours in Australia there is little fear here. While there are sharks in Fiji they are mostly reef, bull and some tiger sharks with very few attacks recorded per year. You can actually dive with bull and tiger sharks in certain parts of Fiji. We were advised there are no jellies to worry about and any jellyfish we did see don't sting. We didn't see sharks or jellyfish thankfully. 5. Talk the Talk Fiji' has 3 official languages with English being one. You'll find most people will speak Fijian to each other but can speak English no problem. While you can speak English to get around we recommend trying Fijian. It is a great language and fun to speak, worth using a few words during your visit! Bula (Boo-la) means hello but is used for lots of situations. Instead of saying cheers to a drink they'll say Bula! Vinaka (Vee-Nack-a) means thank you but again you'll hear it used more generally. You say Vinaka they'll usually say it back instead of you're welcome. You'll hear Bula Vinaka said a fare bit as well. The main language spoken and written in Fiji, where we get Bula from, is actually just one of many dialects spoken and known around the 14 provinces in Fiji. It became dominant after it was the dialect chosen to translate the first version of the Bible into Fijian when British missionaries came in the 17th century. 4. Cannibal Past Fiji has been populated as far back as 1600 BC. It's history is rich with stories of cannibal chiefs and survival. Not far from our resort at Wananavu in the village of Rakiraki you can visit the grave of the last known cannibal chief Udre Udre who's said to have eaten between 600-1000 people! This estimate comes from the number of rocks he collected, claiming that each stone represented a person he had eaten. These stones are now beside his grave located just off the Kings Highway. The theory on cannabalism in Fiji's past comes in part from the story of how people first landed on these remote islands, by boat. To survive the long journey scholars believe they would have started eating their dead. This later turned into something much more linked with their beliefs and hierarchy. For example, lower chiefs would provide body parts to the head chief after a battle which explains how Udre Udre could claim to have eaten so many. Cannibalism was not a subject I was prepared to bring up despite my intrigue but was relieved when some of the native Fijians we met brought it up themselves. Seen as a taboo subject and very unrelated from current day Fiji they now offer tours to Udre Udre's tomb and re-tell his notoriety. This is likely an easier subject for them to talk about now because most of the country is Christian. The people we spoke to often referred to the old religions as demon worshipping. 3. Current Day Fiji One of my travel rules is to never bring up politics or religion unless they do first. Thankfully they did and were very open about their past and present. Since 2006 Fiji has been united under 1 Fiji meaning anyone who lives in Fiji is Fijian. Prior to 2006 there were two governments 1 of Fijian Chiefs and one of British. There was more segregation of people as well with there being Native Fijian, Hindu Fijian etc. Everyone we spoke to seemed really happy with this change, to be united under 1 Fiji. Fiji is more than 50% Christian, churches can be easily seen in every village as you drive through. The church's are open to all during service so long as you respect their dress codes and are there for worship. We were advised that walking in to the churches to see them was frowned upon. Hinduism is second highest with over 40% and the remaining population is scattering of other religions. Only 0.4% of Fiji is non- religious! This would put Chris and I in the vast minority. Most shops are shut on Sundays because of this focus on religion with the exception of major hotels so plan ahead! 2. Gratuities
It's a horrible feeling to be unsure if you're cheaping out on a tip or if it's really not expected. In Fiji tipping is neither customary nor expected. However despite this there are times we feel compelled to give a bit extra for extraordinary service. At Wananavu Resort they had a fantastic idea that instead of tipping throughout your stay you had the option to contribute to their Christmas Funds Box. This money then benefits everyone working at the resort, not just the staff who interact with guests directly. We loved this idea and gave what we had left in Fijian dollars to this box at the end of our stay. 1. The People The people are in our minds,are what makes or break our overall experience in a new place. We met some fantastic people during our short stay in Fiji, both locals and fellow travellers. The locals in Fiji are warm, friendly and exited about sharing their culture. You can really get a sense from visiting the villages and meeting locals that they have a strong sense of community and caring for each other. It's Friday 15th in Fiji and our time here has been incredible. My back is slowly but surely healing so we've had to take it a bit easier than we would have liked but we've still had the opportunity to see and do a lot! On Tuesday we hired a boat to take us to an island about 15 minutes across from our resort where there is some fantastic snorkeling. The boat ride was intense, it's been very windy this week so we were catching some air in our little boat on the way over and back. It is incredible snorkeling here, we saw dozens of different fish and gorgeous colourful corals. We've also had the chance to do a bunch of snorkeling right off the resort, it's not nearly as good but still lots of fish to check out! Yesterday we took the afternoon to go on a Bamboo river ride with a lovely pair of newly weds from Italy. The rafting itself wasn't all that exciting, the bamboo raft was really neat and floated well enough our feet got wet but our bums stayed dry. A local ended up dragging us down the river up to his waist in water, he was afraid if he was on-board with the pole we would sink. It was beautiful seeing some of the local scenery and farm land as we slowly made our way down the river. Our guide from Wananavu Resort, also on board the raft with us, had some somber stories to tell as we made our way down the river. He recounted what it was like during the February Cyclone that wiped out the homes of 10's of thousands and killed 42 people. The damage was visible everywhere we looked when we drove to the river and back. Massive trees snapped in half, homes destroyed and debris scattered everywhere including the river we were heading down. Despite the damage spirits are high! Relief efforts we're easy to spot with blue tents donated from China found at nearly every home, unicef and red cross tents were also common sight. As we drove to and from the river people on the road stopped to smile and wave as we passed. The guide from the resort explained they though the cyclone in February was the worst in recent history they have cyclones every year and they always get through it together.
The resort staff have been incredibly warm and welcoming, excited at any chance to share their culture with us. At lunch and dinner they serenade us with live music including casual favorites from around the world and a good mix of local Fijian music. At night they also offer guests to participate in a Kava Ceremony. It involves a lot of clapping and drinking ground up Kava Root in water, I've included a video in Travel Vids. Tastes like dirty sock water and makes your mouth numb but was a really fun experience, definitely recommend it if in FIji! It's been a fantastic week so far with 4 more days to enjoy Fiji before we head to New Zealand! Vinaka, Thank you, be in touch soon with more stories next week! Took us 27 hours door to door and we finally made it! We can’t describe how excited we are to finally begin our travels! This week we’re staying at the Wananavu Resort on the main island in Fiji and it’s stunning! The hotel’s tag line is ‘the real fiji’ and so far it’s lived up to it. To get here we drove 3 hours from Nadi Airport passed through several small villages and down a dirt road into a remote peninsula where the hotel is located. Wananavu is the Fijian equivalent to many English words for wonderful, amazing, great etc. They wrap it all into one word. So far this place is definitely Wananavu! Our room is a gorgeous bure decorated with Fijian art and overlooks the Pacific ocean. What has impressed us the most however are the staff. They’ve been incredibly friendly and helpful! I’d like to say that we arrived and ran straight for the ocean however I won't be doing any running for a few days. A couple days before we left Vancouver I seriously threw my back out of wack and now it’s severely buggered. Walking and sitting have me whimpering so I've spend the first two days in bed trying to heal up. Fortunately my view from the bed isn’t too shabby! Chris also had the misfortune of catching a cold before we left but so far seems like the South Pacific air seems to be fixing him up! Wifi is paid by the hour and part of our plan this week is to unplug so you likely wont hear from us again for a few days. We'll have lots of stories and more pictures in the days to come though! Bon Voyage!
It's hard to believe our around the world adventure is about to begin! Over the next eight months we'll be visiting over 16 countries, 5 continents (including home), experiencing all manor of accommodation, transportation and food! We can't fit everyone into our suite case so we'll be posting pictures, videos and blogs. We'll be sharing tips and tricks and stories from our travels! We can't wait to share it all with you! Where are we going? Fiji New Zealand Sydney Australia Bali, Indonesia Malaysia Cambodia Vietnam Loas Thailand Tanzania Malawi Zambia Zimbabwe, Botswana South Africa Spain ????? Canada Recommendations and tips are more than welcome! We can be reached at [email protected] |
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