Welcome to yet another post about our trip through New Zealand! I hope you enjoy, and remember that my new children’s book, Rosie and the Missing Squishy, is available to order through the Norseman Creative shop and at Amazon! If you order through Amazon the book might get there a little faster, but if you order through the blog, the book arrives signed by both me and the illustrator! Buying a book is the most direct way to support the blog. I appreciate your support, and I hope you enjoy!
Jenny and I woke up none too early, well refreshed from our first night’s sleep in a real bed in a week. We had a long day of traveling ahead of us, but we weren’t going to let a little thing like flying out of the country that night stop us from exploring a bit more during the day. Jenny had planned one last adventure for us on the North Island, one last chance to see everything that New Zealand had to offer.
We caught a ride to the Queenstown Airport that morning, where we checked in for our flight then sauntered through security. Security did not take us very long, and we found ourselves with time enough to sit down and enjoy breakfast at an air-side cafe. Jenny and I sipped our coffees and munched our breakfast sandwiches while the airport filled with fellow passengers.
Our flight back to Auckland was short, much shorter than the ferry that took us from the North Island to the South Island six days prior. Jenny and I made our way back to the rental car kiosk, slipped inside another rented Kia, and headed to Waitomo in search of mysterious, glowing worms.
The drive from Auckland to Waitomo took us a couple hours, and we decided to stop for lunch at the most authentic Kiwi restaurant we could find, Maccas. With that familiar grub secured from those golden arches, we were off to Waitomo in search of these peculiar little worms.
We arrived at our destination, checked in at the front desk, and followed the tour guide down to the first level of caves. The first level was dry, with different cave formations (stalactites and stalagmites) and different attractions. One area had nice acoustics, so we sang Happy Birthday to some kid for his (alleged) birthday. The tour guide led us through the rest of the caves, down to the second level.
On the second level of our cave tour, we clambered into boats for a ride on an underground river. The tour guide poled the boat forward in complete darkness, explaining the history of the caves, and the reason the worms glowed.
Due to the sensitive nature of the worms’ bioluminescent tails, we were not able to take pictures until much later in the tour, in a spot where a bit of natural light leaks into the caves at the mouth of the tunnel where the river returns above ground. It was an interesting experience, and the soft green glow of the worms’ butts reminded me of those stars my parents used to stick to the ceiling when I was a kid.
Once we broke back into the light, it was a short climb up a set of stairs to the strategically placed gift shop. Jenny and I managed to escape the gift shop with only a small dent in our collective wallet spent on postcards, magnets, and stickers. After that, our final scheduled adventure was complete, but not our last stop in our New Zealand trip.
Throughout our stay in New Zealand, we heard a lot about the quality of the Kiwi’s beef. Unfortunately for us, our only exposure to it was on a Macca’s hamburger, and we hadn’t tried a New Zealand steak just yet. Jenny found a town on our way back to Auckland, Hamilton, where we could stop and give a Kiwi steakhouse a try. We parked our rented Kia, and walked into a restaurant called “Furnace” and were seated almost immediately.
I ordered a steak, Jenny was unable to resist the siren call of Roast Duck. Both dishes were delightful. We had to eat relatively quickly, as we had a plane to catch and Auckland was still a bit of a drive away. When we finished scarfing down our dinner, we paid our tab and made our merry way back to the Auckland Airport.
Jenny and I checked the rental car back in, then walked to the airline check-in counter. For some reason, we were not able to check in for our flight online in advance, and when we entered the airport we were greeted by a scene of chaos.
A long line snaked its way from the Hawaiian Airlines check-in counter all the way to the glass doors we entered. Whole families lined up to check in their luggage. Jenny and I assumed that, since we had no luggage to check, we would be able to skip this long line and check in for our flight and head to security. No such luck, upon asking an Airline rep who was attempting to wrangle the mass of humanity stretched between the doors and the check-in counter, we were told that everyone had to check in at the same spot.
We assumed our place in line and waited. In front of us, hundreds of passengers, each seemingly carrying whatever passed for luggage they could find. Cardboard boxes, plastic tote bins, coolers, canvas shopping bags, all that and more represented in the unruly line. Those items that couldn’t easily be contained in a suitcase, bag, or cooler, like the handful of large trophies we saw, were checked in on their own.
Arriving three hours in advance turned out to not be enough, but luckily for us the entire line seemed to be on the same flight. Jenny and I finally got to the counter, received our boarding passes, and high tailed it to security and the emigration checkpoint. Luckily, we got through quickly and made a brisk walk/run from the checkpoint to the gate in time to board.
Breathless, we found our seats, stowed our carry on bags, and buckled up. Mere minutes went by before the jet decoupled from the gate, taxied to the runway, and took off with a roar. We were on our way back home, our trip through New Zealand conducted at break-neck pace from start to finish.
Thank you for sticking around and reading to the end! If you enjoyed this article, consider “liking” and sharing it, and maybe even leaving a comment down below and subscribing to the blog! If you would like to support the blog, the best way to do so is through the Norseman Creative shop!