Honolulu, Hawaii

It's been a while..
                            It's been a while.

I've neglected to write this last post for almost two weeks. Oh well. Here it is: the very last leg of our fabulous trip! It was mostly travel time, but a few noteworthy bits.

Here's the overview of the trip home:
8 Hour Flight - Auckland > Honolulu
8 Hour Layover - Honolulu (& the focus of this post)
8 Hour Flight - Honolulu > Chicago
6 Hour Layover - Chicago
     Highlight: we found an S-shaped couch to take a nap.
Quick Flight - Chicago > Kalamazoo

Okay, I probably could have skipped that part, but it might come in handy later.

So, Honolulu! What a great spot for a layover! This wasn't in the original plan, but flight times changed about a month before we left, and this was one of two options to get us home. I can't even remember what the other choice was because this was just too great to pass!

We flew out of Auckland at about 9pm on Monday, and landed in Honolulu at 7am on Monday. I think my times are right on that.. But, I'm 100% sure about flying out Monday night and landing Monday morning- we're time travelers! So, that's cool. But, even better was the opportunity to spend the day in Hawaii.

We arrived on time, but customs took forever. It's a weird airport. Immediately after you get off the plane in the international terminal, they bus you over to the domestic terminal to go through customs. It was a weird process, but we made it. We stopped quick to brush teeth and wash faces before heading out into the bright island sunshine.

We had our day all mapped out for this stop to make the most of our few hours there: Waikiki Beach and Honolulu Brewing Company. We ended up adding a quick early morning stop to grab some breakfast and coffee. We slept very little on the first flight.

We made it over to Waikiki around 9am, and it was absolutely beautiful! It was also a bit mind-blowing to think that it was still the Pacific. Instead of the cool, rainy winter weather of New Zealand made the ocean pretty, but unappealing. Now, because of the heat and sun, we couldn't wait to jump into the same ocean!

Anyway, we found some outdoor changing rooms along the beachside walk, and were much more comfortable in swim suits than long sleeves and pants. We walked a bit to find a slightly less popular spot, but even at 9 in the morning, the Waikiki Beach is packed. We ended up just picking a spot so we could drop our bags and winter coats to finally hop in the ocean. Boy, did it feel refreshing!

We could have stayed here for hours. We were amazed that just two weeks before we were skiing on snowy mountains. We also realized that less than 24 hours ago, we were hiking a volcano similar to the one we could see from the beach. It was kind of surreal.

Eventually, we figured we should start moving in the direction of Honolulu Brewing Company.. But, really we were hoping to find a shower. Remember, we left the house early Monday morning, hiked 3 miles up a volcano, grabbed dinner, hopped an 8 hour flight, and now swam in salt water. We were in serious need of a shower.

We ended up at a local spot, or at least it seemed to be. It was a rather hidden spot between two rock walls, right next to the marina. Out past the rocks it was surfer city. There were dozens on the waves out there! So, we hung out in the shallow water and watched the show.

Eventually, I accepted the fact that we were probably burt to a crisp. (Ryan did warn me.) Fortunately, we found an outdoor shower here that all the surfers used to rinse themselves and their boards when they were done for the day. We were hoping for one with soap/shampoo capabilities, but a rinse was better than nothing!

Next stop: Honolulu Brewing Company - Great spot! We finally had good beer again. And, their sandwiches were pretty decent, too. We lingered here for a while, enjoying the island vibe. Eventually, it was time to head back to the airport. We were well exhausted by that point, and onto our next flight toward home (and one step closer to a real shower).

Auckland, NZ - Rangitoto

We kicked off our last day with a walk on the beach just across the street from our apartment. It was a beautiful morning, and we met a old local and his dog. He was super friendly; all the people here are. If only it was warm, we could have taken a dip. (We’ll just have to save that for tomorrow.)

We’ve really enjoyed breakfast here, so we wanted one last one. We went just up the road to Hiniscus Cafe and ordered our two favorite dishes of the trip: pancakes and eggs bene. Oh, and flat white #15, we think, which is the last one. It’s very sad. The coffee was good, but the food didn’t live up to all the other places we’d been. Our recommendation- skip this one.

Since it’s our last day and all, we figured it was the perfect day to climb a volcano! We headed back down to the Queen’s Wharf to catch the ferry over to Rangitoto. If I’m being honest, this is am activity we didn’t research enough. We figured ferries would leave pretty regularly, maybe every 15-20 minutes.. not the case. We grabbed tickets around 11:30, and the next ferry didn’t leave until 12:15. Nbd, we entertained ourselves by walking around a bit and playing several games of What Am I Thinking? Quality. Anyway, the real kicker- the only way to get out to Rangitoto is the ferry, meaning that’s the only way to get back, too. The last ferry back leaves the island at 3:30. It’s a 30 minutes ferry ride and it’s about an hour hike up to the summit.. the car needed to be returned before 4:30. Yikes! So, realistically, we needed to be back on the 2:30 ferry to comfortably return the car.

That was definitely the long version. Short version: it was a challenging, fast-paced hike practically straight up to the summit of the volcano. We stopped very little on the way up for scenic viewing. It was grueling. About 15 minutes from the top, I was about over it. Then, about 8 minutes later, we hit the crater- the actual opening of the volcano.

This volcano last erupted 600 years ago, so it’s had a while to grow vegetation, but still a massive hole right there! (Right there.) There’s still a lot of lava rock, but a lot of green has come through, too. After stopping to admire the crater, the only thing between us and the summit was 60+ steps, and we weren’t stopping with 4 minutes to go! Good thing, too. The view from the summit made it totally worth the hike. Breathtaking, in all directions.

We did manage to catch the 2:30 ferry and drop the car off on time. Awesome, right!? We thought so, too. For our last event, we grabbed dinner at the first place we ate here - The Post Office. It was a satisfying way to wrap up the trip. It very much felt like we went full circle. I suppose we kind of did, at least around the North Island.

Auckland, NZ - Shops & Eats

It’s Sunday. Our trip has almost come to an end. We’re totally not ready to come back yet, but we still have two full days in Auckland.

We started the morning at St. Thomas More - crazy, right!? There are actually several churches around here, but we couldn’t pass on going to St. Tom’s. The church was packed- standing room only packed. We were a bit curious about mass after our Manly experience last year. We were very pleased! It was a bit more traditional than our own St. Tom’s, but everyone sang and responded. And, people didn’t talk through the whole service! Definite win.

After mass, we headed over to Fusion Cafe in Ponsonby for brunch. It was super tasty. Recommended. We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping, kicked it off at a Ponsonby bookstore and ended with ice cream over by the wharf. It was pretty unremarkable. Auckland is a big city with a lot of people and quite a bit of construction. A couple of the spots were cute,  it we mostly found cafes, home stores and clothing boutiques. It was a nice confirmation that we were good not spending  more time in the city.

Back north, toward home now, to Deep Creek Brewery & Eats. It was another good stop. Btw- we’ve been super impressed with all the food in NZ; it’s significantly better than Sydney. Anyway, this stop was no exception. Good food. Decent beer. There was an India Brown Ale that was quite interesting, along with an IPA made with hops oil. Both new, always fun.

Waitomo, NZ - Glow Worms

Waitomo today!
We arrived around noon, and grabbed some tickets to the glow worm caves. The first available spot on a tour was at 2pm. All good. We went back around the corner to the Huhu Cafe. And, it was actually very good. Much better than hanging out at the half cafe near the ticket booth waiting for our tour outside.

So, lunch- delicious.
Next, tour in the caves!
Our group was huge, but our guide was awesome. She took us down many dark and damp steps down into the limestone caves. The caves are millions of years old, stalagmites and stalactites forming one centimeter every hundred years as the water slowly drips down. Our guide also pointed out some of the “art” around the cave walls.

Further into the cave, deeper and darker, we were able to see the glow worms! Well, they’re actually maggots in their larvae stage. They’re super cool! We turned all the lights off in the cave, and it was beautiful. The glow worms actually look like stars up there. But, the super incredible part was seeing their string webs hanging down. Our guide gave us a quick science lesson on the worms and their webs.

Finally, down to the boat! Here’s Ryan’s review:
 “Uh, it was... My jaw was open the entire time! I felt like an idiot when I went through because my mouth was so open, and I couldn’t stop looking up.”

We have done quite a bit of driving this trip. The landscape is beautiful around the country: snow-capped mountains, grassy rolling hills, tropical trees, rock cliffs, blue lakes and farmland. The farmland has its own beauty to it. It’s hard to go far without seeing cow or sheep. So, that said, this was my view for the majority of our travels.

Oh! And then we stopped at two breweries in Hamilton on our way up to our next place in Auckland.

Stop #1 Brewaucracy
Ryan wanted to go simply for the name. He claims it’s a really good name. Turns out you can’t technically buy beer there. They only do tasters and fill growlers. But, we had a handful of tasters, and loved the lady at the bar. It was a good stop!

Stop #2 Good George Brewing Co.
Quality place! We really liked this one. It always goes up in my book when they have food. We were familiar with the name since this is the places that brews for Hobbiton. They have good beer, possibly the best in the country. And, we ordered a taco platter- so tasty!

Taupo, NZ - Huka Falls

We took a bit of a road trip today to Taupo which is just over an hour from Rotoura. We went on a beautiful hike from Spa Thermal Park to Huka Falls. It was a beautiful day for it! Although only 50 ish, the sun was shining, and we were actually warm walking the trail. It was wonderful.

Huka Falls turned out to be more like rapids, but there was a small waterfall at the end. There’s a lot of power in that water. Actually, enough to power 15% of New Zealand. Also, that reminds me, on the drive to Taupo, we saw a nuclear reactor! It was safely and fully function in the middle of farmland. It was very cool. 

After our 2 hour hike, we headed to Trout Brewing Company for lunch in Taupo. It’s so German! The stout was decent and the pizza was tasty. It was kind of odd with an apricot sauce, but it grew on us. 

We learned that the don’t actually serve trout. In fact, in NZ restaurants can’t serve trout, but if you catch your own, this place will cook it for you. 

We head down to Lake Taupo to walk the shore a bit and see the snow capped mountains before heading back to Roroura. It’s another beautiful view. 

Rotoura, NZ - Te Puia

We kicked off the day with breakfast at Fat Dog Cafe. It was delicious, and I highly recommend their dairy free smoothie. The pancakes were good, too.

For today’s main event, we headed over to Te Puia to learn more about the Maori culture. We had been looking forward to visiting one of the Maori villages and learning more history of the island. Te Puia was recommended to us by the people we’re renting the house from; we figured they probably have a good idea of the area’s attractions. They were spot on. Oh, I almost forgot! By chance, Fat Dog offers a 10% discount coupon to Te Puia, so that was awesome luck.

Te Puia is The New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute. It opened in 1963 in Rotorua, New Zealand due to the impending threat of the loss of traditional Māori arts. We were able to walk through the institute and see students working on new carving and weaving. And, outside on the grounds, were able to see some traditional-style buildings and canoes. The details in the carvings were incredible, even in their biggest buildings, like the meeting hall, every piece that held it up was intricate. 

This building was for storage, especially food. 

We had a couple hours to explore the nature paths before the ceremony, which seemed like a lot until we started walking. The trails lead through an area of high geothermal activity, so we were able to see an abundance of hot springs and mud pools. 

Rotoura is famous for all the geothermal activity. We were able to view the pools closer here than we had yet and the nature around the trails was beautiful, but it wasn’t anything new. Well, that was until we arrived at the geyser. In one area, there are geysers that erupt a couple times an hour. We rounded a corner in the path, had enough time to realize people were sitting around waiting for the eruption, and right on cue, it erupted! 

Pohutu is the largest active geyser in the souther hemisphere. It erupts once or twice every hour and shoots as high as 30 meters. It has a Maori name, translated it means “big splash”. Because of its size and regularity, it’s the best know geyser in Te Puia. We were also able to see Te Tuhu, also know as Prince of Whales Feathers, because it’s the same shape as the feathers of the coat of arms. Te Tuhu often erupts before and after Pohuto. 

Rotoura, NZ - Redwoods

We had a lazy morning today- late breakfast, laundry, British game shows and HGTV. I know, sounds silly, but this is the first day since arrive that we didn’t wake up with somewhere that we needed to be, so we took advantage of it. Anyway, it was only a half day of laying around. We went to a great spot for lunch. I can’t remember the name of it..but the food was great, and Ryan liked the beer.

Then, for today’s highlight: the Redwood forest!

They have a walkway up in the trees that you can climb up and look around.  The view was pretty incredible. And, it was really fun to walk around the bridges. It was about a half kilometer loop, with bridged linking up the platforms around the trees. All the suspension was held up by slings, that in no way were harmful to the trees. The whole system was engineered by some Germans who were actually building an expansion as we were walking around! It’s due to open on Sunday.

We learned that these trees are actually the same as the California Redwoods! They’ve only been growing since 1901, so they’re not nearly as big though. Due to the distance from the equator, our latitude, it’s a very similar climate, and the trees love it! There’s also an abundance of ferns that grow in the area making beautiful canopies below the sequoia branches.

It’s definitely safe to say we enjoyed our trip through the treetops! 

Hobbiton, Middle Earth

On the way from Coromandel to Rotoura, we stopped off in Middle Earth at the movie set for Hobbiton featured in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Truly, it’s only a few minutes outside Matamata, but it actually does feel like you’re transported to the Shire. It helps that our tour guide was fantastic, and our tour group had actual fans!

Ryan was excited that so much of the focus was on the movies. Our guide pointed out the paths of actual scenes, knew how many second shots were on film, shared some of the camera tricks and pointed out Peter Jackson’s extreme attention to the detail of the set.

Outside The Green Dragon

The Mill

Gardens were adorable, even in this season. 

Extra 5 hobbit holes built for accuracy in the Hobbit. 

Our new hobbit home! 

Overlooking Hobbiton with the tree that sealed the deal on this location. 

It was truly great fun being Hobbits for the day! 

Coromandel, NZ - Beach

It’s been a rainy stay on the peninsula, but that didn’t stop us!

We made a trip across to Hot Water Beach. It’s a unique beach on the Pacific. Hot springs run just under the surface of the beach in a few places making the sand toasty warm under your feet. This also means that even on a relatively cold and rainy day, if you dig a hole in the sand, you’ll have very warm water bubbling out of the hot spring. Sounds good, right? Count us in.

We hired a spade for a few dollars and started digging!

We arrived within the best digging time, two hours before and after low tide. Although not the only people there, it really wasn’t too busy. Remember, it is winter here, and rainy, so that draws less of a crowd than the warm, sunny months.

Successfully snug in our hot pool! 

We did brave a dip in the ocean. As expected, it was frigid and jumping back in our hot pool was delightful. It was also pleasant during all the rain that came through. Really, it’s a great spot to be on a rainy day. 

Part 2: Cathedral Cove

We finally went hiking! The loop took about 2 hours. Again, we had pretty good timing. The rain was spotty on our way out, plenty of sun and dryness to for pictures. 

On the way back, it poured.