North Island
My journey in New Zealand starts off in Auckland. After a very long day and half of flying, trying to navigate the New Zealand roads on the wrong side was definitely a hassle (apologies to any kiwi's I might offend, but you have way too many roundabouts). Though after a few hours of driving, I slowly but surely began to get the hang of it.
First stop along the way, Hobbiton Tours in Matamata. As you might already know from reading my Game of Thrones post, these type of genres are huge for me. I absolutely love the The Hobbit book and trilogies, as well as the Lord of the Ring trilogies. So I knew coming to New Zealand that I had a lot of these tours/attractions/filming locations on my to-do list here.
The tour bus picks you up at the ticket booth and you take the quick 10 minute drive down the road, while watching little info videos about the set and things you’re going to see on the tour. Our tour guide, I believe his name was Calum (apologies if I botch that spelling), was knowledgeable about the set and all the movies, which would make even the most casual fan feel right at home. He took us around The Shire, givings us all the background information on how these hobbit holes were built and made sure we all had plenty of time for pictures. And even if you don’t know much about the story, you’re still able to appreciate how beautiful this little village is and how much effort they put into setting it up. You end the tour at the The Green Dragon Inn, where they give you a complementary beer, cider or non-alcoholic drink and you get to take in the scenery.
Once that was over, I used my Campermate app (an app that is widely used in New Zealand and Australia for discovering campgrounds) and found this amazing little place called Brock’s Place. A little piece of land located in the back of their house, and over-looking their entire farmland. For only 8NZD, I got a nice little spot for my tent, and access to a cold shower (2NZD for a hot, but after a day of baking in the sun, cold was perfect). They had a building for 2 toilets and a charging station as well, for no extra charge. If you’re wildcamping in NZ, I definitely recommend staying here, only about 5 minutes away from Hobbiton, it’s a perfect place to spend the night.
The next day I was up and off to New Plymouth to head to the Pouakai Hut, and the incredible viewpoint over-looking Mt. Taranaki. But first I needed to find a place to buy a sleeping bag, because airplane blankets in a tent absolutely does not cut it. I learned that the hard way.
Surprisingly though, the very first mall I came across had a sports store in it, and sure enough I got my much needed tent. Now it was off to the mountain. Now the Pouakai Hut, is an actual place near the top of the trail that you can stay at, they have bunks, a little kitchen and toilets. You just need to get the tickets before you head up there, and also need to be one of the first people there, or just hope it’s not full when you do get up there. However, I had read other blogs that showed pictures of setting up a tent at the peak and being able to camp there all night, with the amazing view of Mt. Taranaki right outside your tent. So this was my plan.
It took roughly 2/2 ½ hours to get to the peak. And let me tell you, the view was incredible. Pictures seriously do not do it justice on how amazing it was up there. A HUGE recommendation if you’re ever in NZ.
This was when I ran into a problem though. There was a sign that says, “no camping with 500m” of a certain area, which I didn’t know where that area started or ended. But I figured I’d set it up where I saw the pictures of other people doing it, and hope for the best.
After about an hour of arguing back and forth with myself, I decided to ask a couple that was up there. They didn’t know whether I could or not anywhere up there, but advised me that they didn’t think I was set up outside the area. So after another 20 minutes of pacing back and forth, I figured I’d rather be safe, respect the land and find another spot for the night. This led to me packing up and trying to book down the mountain in a hurry in an attempt to get down before the sun sets so I’m not rushing down in the dark. After making it down, I had to scramble to find a hostel, and luckily I got there like 20 minutes before the receptionist left. Shout out to Ducks and Drakes for helping me out when i was in a pinch.
The next morning I was making my way back north to Waitomo to do the famous glowworm caves. On my way up though, I had passed a sign for another Hobbit tour. And even though I was too late for the tour. The woman who runs the company, Suzie, was an absolute sweetheart. She helped me find my camping for the night after advising me that place I had planned on going to, was no longer there. And she helped me book their tour for the next morning and assured that I was going to have a spot on it.
Once I reached Waitomo, I checked in to Waitomo Top 10 Holiday Park , a nice campsite located directed across from the ticket booth, and fairly cheap as well. I only paid 25NZD for my tent spot for the night. On top of being in prime location for the tours; they have a pool, hot showers and a big kitchen area for guests.
I didn’t do the famous Waitomo glowworm cave tour, but instead opted for the Spellbound Waitomo Glowworm Cave Tours, because it was a bit longer, and gave you the option to visit two different caves. The first being the main glowworm cave. After giving us a headlamp and taking us deep into the cave, our guide had us all turn off our lights and lead us down the stream in the cave. Surrounded by complete darkness, you look up to the ceiling of the cave and see nothing but thousands of little lights hanging above you. It looks as if you’re staring out into the night sky with endless stars above you. That, on-top of the information about the caves and the insects themselves made it a very worthwhile tour. After it was over, I walked across the street to a restaurant/pub. There I grabbed a nice meal, a couple two-three, and watched some rugby. I have no idea how the sport is played, but that didn’t matter. It was a good night.
I headed up to Hairy Feet, the Hobbit tour I mentioned earlier. And like everything Hobbit/LOTR, it did not disappoint. The farm has so many locations where The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was filmed at, and Suzie brings all the pictures to show you what the set looked like during filming so you have something to compare to. She lets you use a bunch of the props and swords for pictures. The farmland itself is beautiful as well. Plus it’s fairly close to Waitomo, so it’s easy to get them both done in one day. I headed back to the Top 10 Holiday Park to stay the night.
Next morning, I was up and out early to get back to Auckland to drop off the rental. Once done with that, I started catching up on all my writing and video editing at the hostel. And here we are now. Not much going on the rest of the night, just gonna get food and get to bed early. Flight to Queenstown early. My Youtube video will be up when I’m down with NZ completely. But for the blog, should I break it up between north and south island? or just one big NZ one? Shoot me a comment of how you’d like to see it.
Dan
17 Feb 2020Awesome, can’t wait see your next post
Moose
18 Feb 2020Appreciate that! Glad you enjoyed reading.
emily
18 Feb 2020awesome post! i say break it up – we want alllll the content!
Moose
18 Feb 2020Thank you! I’ll definitely keep that in mind!
Rob
20 Feb 2020Really enjoyed the stories! Keep them coming. Break up north and south, it’ll keep us coming back for more.
Moose
20 Feb 2020Thank you! I’ll be sure to do it like that then!