New Zealand part 6 - The North island

Wellington

Yeah so Wellington has a fantastic location in a naturally protected bay that is almost like a lake and is surrounded by beautiful mountains. Nothing to complain about there. But the city itself, well I guess boring is a good word. Imagine a mid size swedish city with the typical 60's concrete colossus and you're quite close. The fact is you don't go to NZ for the cities at all. It's the nature.

Having that said there actually are some newer and more cool buildings, especially the museum of New Zealand that is quite spectacular both on the inside and outside and really worth a visit.
During our two days in Welllington we also visited the Zoo, mainly to get a glimpse of the famous Kiwi bird, but it also turned out to be a nice little zoo in general. That day was also warm and sunny which was totally opposite to the day we came when it was 13 degrees and raining. Again weather reminded of Swedish summer!

Art Deco in Napier

Next stop was Napier, a smaller town on the east coast most renowned for a long beach and for having been destroyed by an earthquake in 1931 and rebuilt in a special art deco style. Yeah sounds more exciting than it was and the memory that lasts most in my mind is the absolute excellent thai restaurant that we visited.

Smelling water hole in Rotorua

Now it was time for Rotorua, maybe the largest tourist attraction on the north island. Rotorua is known for its hot springs and strong sulfur smell. I thought it was quite cool with all the boiling water and mud holes but Annika just couldn't stand the smell so we had to leave early next morning and headed off to Hobbiton.

New tenants in Bilbo's house

Hobbiton has become a gigantic tourist attraction, or trap some people would say. You can not get there on your own but have to go on guided tours that cost a fortune. However we actually thought it was worth it. It's cool to see the scenery for such famous movies and it is a very beautiful spot. It was also interesting to hear stories and anecdotes from the recordings. For example the doors to the hobbit cabins have various sizes so that the actors standing in front of them shall appear at different sizes.
There is also a huge man made oak in the area where all the leafs had to be painted individually twice to get the right colour. Peter Jackson wasn't happy enough first time.

We spent our last night in Auckland, the biggest city in NZ. Auckland has grown by 20% a year the last decades and many of those are "islanders" from Fiji, Samoa, Cook islands etc. Also many brits and other europeans have immigrated so there certainly is an international mix of people. Unfortunately a bit too many of them are living on the streets. We visited the famous sky tower which together with the big Westhaven marina with all sail boats are the most exciting things you do in Auckland

Auckland. Westhaven marina from the Sky Tower

Another Hobbit hole

Huka falls outside Taupo

So in general, what's New Zealand like? Well for us now living in Australia it's a bit like coming home to Europe. Weather and nature is similar. Most things you can see in NZ you can also experience in Europe. You have the fjords in Norway, the moorelands in UK, the agricultural flat landscape in Denmark, the lakes in Sweden etc. Still it's a nice country with friendly people and easy to find your ways around.If you want the nature experience the south island is where you should spend your time.

I know what you're now thinking. If I'm planning to go down under and don't have time for both Aussie and NZ, which should I pick?
Well, it's like choosing between Örebro and Stockholm. NZ is a great country and well worth a couple of weeks time but Australia has so much more to offer and is so much more different from home.

Selfie or Mauri art?

Cheers