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AOTEAROA (aka New Zealand): Land of the Long White Cloud; also Land of the Strong Latte

Updated: Aug 4


We are using the term ‘Aotearoa’ rather than New Zealand as Aotearoa is the original Indigenous Māori name for the Land of the Long White Cloud. Out of respect for the original inhabitants of the long country we will stick with Aotearoa in this blog and in our videos. 

 

We spent 23 days in Aotearoa, and we wish we had a few months to visit this land properly.  This will be a place we return to once we’ve retired, and time is no longer a constraint.  That or this website and YouTube channel takes off and we can become professional travellers, but until then we’ll have to plan to return once we have retired. 

 

From Vancouver to Auckland the flight is direct, which is great. It is also 14 hours long, which is not so great, but it is the price you pay for the privilege of international travel.  We travelled Air New Zealand, and we will say the food was very good.  The seats were very squishy and uncomfortable.  I am taller, and my knees had bruises coming and going from being jammed against the seat in front of me. 

 

We left Vancouver on Thursday evening at 18:30 and arrived in Auckland on Saturday morning at 05:30 – missing Friday altogether.  It is interesting travelling down the planet rather than across – if you ignore the day difference, the time difference is only 3 hours.  Auckland being 3 hours behind the West Coast of North America (minus the day).  Jet lag was far less travelling to Aotearoa compared to travelling from Vancouver to Ireland.  The 8-hour flight across the eight time zones kicks our butts more than 14 hours travelling down the planet through the 3 (minus a day) time zones. 

 

We got here at the end of Aotearoa’s summer and the start of fall.  It was still hot, and the sun in Aotearoa is hot.  We’re not just saying this, and it isn’t just hyperbole – the sun is different and trust us on the sunscreen.  You can feel the sun prickling your skin without the sunscreen – it is very strange. 

 

We stayed in hostels all the way down the two islands and back, with a return to Haka Lodge in Auckland on the back end as well as when we landed.  We stayed in two different hostels in Queenstown and enjoyed hostel facilities in Auckland (same one twice), Rotorua, Lake Taupo, Nelson, Christchurch, Lake Tekapo, Queenstown (2 hostels) and Te Anau.  The only place we were not able to find a hostel, or a hotel room was in Wellington, so we had to engage one of the VRBO properties.  It was a nice room, but VRBO, Air BnB, or any of these kind of vacation rentals contribute to the housing crisis in cities/towns around the world.  We especially see this in Vancouver, and in Hawaii, Honolulu, the local people are being driven out of housing (both rental and purchase) due to the holiday rentals increasing costs beyond the reach of all but the wealthy.  We do our best not to contribute to this.  We booked quite some time prior to departure (9 months), and still could not find a hostel or hotel in Wellington.  We will have videos on our hostels coming soon that you can access here, and a video of our 23-day-trip itinerary that you can access here. 

 

We lucked out with a lot of what happened on this trip. You never know what a city is like until you get there, and for us travelling to Auckland was no different.  We booked at Haka Lodge Auckland for when we landed and, on our way back, before departure.  It is located on Karangahape Road in Auckland – also known as “K’ Road”.  This turns out to be the most eclectic strip of street in Auckland.  It is strong in Gay Pride, as well as having a range of diverse socio-economic situations living along this area.  This street is resplendent in restaurants, cafes, and some of the best food we came across in Auckland.  We didn’t eat out a lot, but when we did on K’ Road we were never disappointed.  A few of our favourites were Uncle Man’s (Indonesian), Gorilla Burger (plant-based burgers and delicious dishes), Jatt and Juliet (South Indian), Fort Greene (best coffee/lattes, breakfasts, and lunches), among many others.  Something to know about Aotearoa – eating out is very expensive. We live in Vancouver – considered to be the most expensive city in Canada.  Well, after visiting Aotearoa and eating out several times we have a new appreciation for how cheap Vancouver really is comparable to other places. 

 

 Some photos from the trip below the links

 

Links

Hostels

Wellington: we stayed in a Vacation Rental – not something we like to do as it takes away housing stock for local people.  However, we could not find a hotel, motel or hostel room anywhere.

Christchurch: https://www.jail.co.nz/ 

Queenstown (on the way back): https://hakahouse.com/queenstown-lakefront/

 

Restaurants, Activities & Things to See By Region


Auckland

Activities / Things to See  

Karangahape Road (where Haka Lodge is located)

 

Sky Tower: Walk and Jump

 

Waitomo Glow Worm Caves (could be an outing from Auckland or Rotorua)

 

Restaurants

New Leaf Kombucha: https://newleafkombucha.nz/ 

Fort Greene (our favourite for breakfast and lattes: https://fortgreene.co.nz/

 

 

Rotorua

Activities / Things to See

 

Restaurants/Cafes

Capers Café and Store: https://www.capers.co.nz/

 

Hostel (we stayed at)

Rock Solid Backpackers: https://www.rocksolidrotorua.co.nz/

 

 

Lake Taupo

Activities / Things to See

 

Restaurants/Cafes

We didn’t eat at restaurants in Lake Taupo. We cooked our meals at the hostel.

 

Hostel (we stayed at)

Haka House Taupo: https://hakahouse.com/taupo/ 

 

 

Wellington

Activities / Things to See

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa: https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/ 

 

Restaurants/Cafes

The Hanger Coffee Roasters (Flight Coffee): https://www.hangarcafe.co.nz/ 

 

Hostel (we stayed at)

 

 

Interislander Ferry

Bookings (be sure to book well in advance – we almost didn’t get a spot for us and the car 2 months before we boarded): https://www.interislander.co.nz/book 

 

 

Nelson

Activities / Things to See

Saturday Farmers’ Market: http://www.nelsonfarmersmarket.org.nz/ 

 

Restaurants/Cafes

Spice Curry Kitchen (seriously good): https://www.facebook.com/Spice7010nz/ 

 

Hostel (we stayed at)

Tasman Bay Backpackers: https://www.tasmanbaybackpackers.co.nz/ 

 

Some Stops Between Nelson and Christchurch That Are Nice

 

Christchurch

Activities / Things to See

 

Restaurants/Cafes

FUSH (Maoiri owned/run fish n’ chips): https://www.fushshorebro.co.nz/ 

C1 Espresso (send food through pneumatic tubes): https://www.c1espresso.co.nz/ 

 

Hostel (we stayed at)

Jailhouse Accommodation: https://www.jail.co.nz/ 

 

Lake Tekapo

Activities / Things to See

Mt. John Observatory Dark Skies Project (book at least 1 year in advance): https://www.darkskyproject.co.nz/choose-your-experience/the-summit-experience/ 

Tekapo Springs Star Gazing: https://tekapostargazing.co.nz/ 

Dark Skies Project: https://www.darkskyproject.co.nz/ 

Kayaking on Lake Tekapo: https://www.paddletekapo.co.nz/ 

 

Restaurants/Cafes

 

Hostel (we stayed at)

Lake’s Edge Holiday Park: https://www.lakesedgeholidaypark.co.nz/ 

 

 

Queenstown

Activities/ Things to See

Kiwi Park Queenstown: https://kiwibird.co.nz/ 

G Force Paragliding (from Skyline Gondola): https://www.nzgforce.com/ 

Arrowtown (30 minutes from Queenstown): https://www.arrowtown.com/ 

Coronet Peak (20 minutes from Queenstown – the ski hill with stellar views): https://www.coronetpeak.co.nz/ 

Shotover Jet on the Shotover River: https://www.shotoverjet.com/about/shotover-river/ 

 

Restaurants/Cafes

 

Hostels (we stayed at)

Haka House Lakefront Queenstown: https://hakahouse.com/queenstown-lakefront/ 

 

Te Anau

Activities / Things to See

Real New Zealand video on the Glowworm Caves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCtK7ktCR_8 

Lake to Lake Bike Trail Map and Site: https://fiordlandtrails.nz/trails/lake2lake/ 

 

Restaurants/Cafes

Pizza Café: run by a German family – quite a different take on pizza – very good.  Unable to find a website or Facebook page.  Look for it on Main Street about three blocks up from the water.

 

Hostel (we stayed at)

Te Anau Lakefront Backpackers: https://www.teanaubackpackers.co.nz/ 

 

 

Recipes shown in the video available in our cookbook on the Peaceful Nomads website.  Free to download and take with you on your travels: https://www.peacefulnomads.com/post/cookbook-free-to-our-guests 

 

 

Heading Back to Auckland from Te Anau

 

Queenstown

Hostel We Stayed at The Second Time for 2 nights

Haka House Queenstown (great kitchen – nice hostel; room was a bit small):  https://hakahouse.com/queenstown-lakefront/

 

 

Auckland

Hostel We Stayed at the Second Time for 2 nights

Haka Lodge Auckland (same as the first day – great hostel): https://hakalodges.com/auckland

 

Aotearoa / New Zealand Curiosities

Music we heard far too many times:

Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUjcjUF-urU

 

 Photos from Aotearoa

NORTH ISLAND

We stayed at Haka Lodge Auckland when we arrived and before we left to return home. Great kitchen, comfortable room, and great location.

Our private room with ensuite is under $100 NZD per night.

At Britomart we enjoyed a food truck festival with music and artisans selling their crafts.

This is the Town Hall music venue next to Aotea Square - an area where community celebrations are held.

Auckland's Sky Tower. You can opt to jump off it for a few hundred dollars. See links for up to date pricing.

Meyers Park is in the middle of the city and during cicada season it is deafening in here with the sounds of these large bugs. They are out November - April.

Top Leaf Kombucha (check the link) was a lot of fun, and great kombucha tasting. We don't drink alcohol, so we were really happy to have a tasting afternoon with local brew kombucha.

Auckland has a Chinatown - these are some of the oldest buildings in the city.

There are fun art installations around the city - you can spend a day just wandering and checking out Auckland. There are many cool neighbourhoods - our favourites are Karangahape Road and Ponsonby.

We love sparking water, and Antipodes in Aotearoa is in our top two favourites. The top spot is Tipperary Sparkling Water in Ireland.

Waitomo Glow Worm Cave was one of our favourite experiences on this trip. For me it was only outdone by the Te Anau Glow Worm Caves - both are amazinng, and they are quite different with the Te Anau Glow Worm Cave offering more adventure

Keep in mind the caves are a ssacred Māori site, so no photos or video inside the caves. The guides do give you an opportunity for photos near the end, so just hang on and enjoy the ride.

The exit of the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves

Rock Solid Backpackers in Rotorua- affordable; excellent location; funky old building; clean. We recommend this one - we had a private room; toilets/showers are just down the hall on many of the levels and there are lots of them, so no waiting. We didn't know you could end up with a room without a window. It was huge, and had a comfortable bed - just make sure you ask for a private room with a window. Unless you don't mind no window - it is very affordable (well under $100 NZD - check the links for up-to-date pricing).

One of the many common areas of Rock Solid Backpackers in Rotorua. There is a climbing wall attached to the hostel. You get a discount.

Rock Solid Backpackers has gorgeous industrial kitchens for use. There is one on each floor, and they are a lot of fun to cook in. We get to chat with people from all over the world, and sometimes were exchanging recipes with our fellow hostelers.

Rock Solid Backpackers in Rotorua is located in the bottom of that building with the mural. Rotorua - like all of Aotearoa - has bookstores in every town no matter how small the town.

Kuirau Park in Rotorua - there is no cost to enjoy this natural series of hot pools and sulphur ponds. This place is so cool.

Kuirau Park in Rotorua

Kuirau Park in Rotorua

Craters of the Moon: are closer to Lake Taupo, but you could also do this from Rotorua. From Rotorua it is about an hour drive (maybe a bit less). From Lake Taupo it is 15 minutes. Well worth the $10 NZD entry fee.

Craters of the Moon: closer to Lake Taupo than Rotorua, but an easy morning or afternoon from either location.

Craters of the Moon

Craters of the Moon

Craters of the Moon - check the links for the history and information about the steam vents. Make sure you don't step off the pathways - it is dangerous.

Haka Lodge Lake Taupo: one of our favourite hostels - a bright, airy room; ensuite; close to town (walkable - don't have to drive) and Lake Taupo (same) and great staff. The kitchen was a lot of fun - a little more chaotic, and everyone is having a good time cooking together.

Haka Lodge Lake Taupo: there are two kitchens - this is the bigger one, and the view from here is stellar - the photo below...

Haka Lodge Lake Taupo: view from the kitchen veranda / lanai / porch / balcony...

Haka Lodge Lake Taupo: the larger kitchen - a good time cooking in here.

Haka Lodge Lake Taupo: our private room with ensuite - check the link for up-to-date pricing. This was still under $100 NZD per night.

Haka Lodge Lake Taupo: a nice, airy, bright room. We only had one day in Lake Taupo and at Haka Lodge here - we wish we had an extra day or two. Next time.


Lake Taupo: the waterfront is very pretty. A nice lake-walk along here.

Lake Taupo: This is central to North Island and would be a good base of exploration for a lot of beautiful hikes and activities.






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