Part II of my journey to Cape Reinga.
1. Wellington (again)
Back on the North Island now, my first stop, naturally, is Wellington. While I had already been to Wellington, this visit also provided some notable experiences.
While not its biggest city, Wellington is the capital of New Zealand. For someone like me, visiting the legislature was high on the list. Colloquially referred to as the “beehive” (at least the office building part), the visit to the legislature was a treat but they didn’t let us take any pictures inside, which was a let down.
My time in Wellington coincided with a light and sound festival. Like most people, I’m attracted to bright and shiny things so the nighttime festival was a treat. One of the more popular exhibits was a Canadian creation–fuelling some personal patriotic pride.
I also made time to visit Te Papa, New Zealand’s national museum. I had been to Te Papa on my prior trip to Wellington but the museum’s fire alarm had been triggered and I didn’t get to see as much as I had wanted. This time, I start with an exhibit on Gallipoli. Admittedly, I knew nothing about this major battle from the First World War before visiting the exhibit. I lack the precise words to describe how I felt after viewing the exhibit, but I did feel fortunate that I could spend my youth in university and travelling rather than on battlefields. The human cost, both in terms of lives lost and the lived experiences (on both sides) was quite upsetting.
2. Geiser in Rotorua
While I had also already been to Rotorua, this time, my drive coincided with the eruption of one of the nearby geysers. Since that isn’t something you get to see everyday, I figured it was worth the stop.
3. Back to the Mount
The next highlight was visiting some of my (now) old friends at the Mount. Especially Zinnia who had grown up tons is such a short amount of time. She even made me dinner. Well, her or her mom Mel…or maybe it was teamwork.
4. Whangarei
I didn’t have much time to explore all the activities in this wonderful place, but I did get to hike around the refreshing falls. The trails also took me through some lush forest and felt like I was going through a massive tree-fort at many intervals.
5. Hundertwasser Toilets
I’ve seen some cool sights throughout my time travelling in New Zealand. And, I’ve stopped at many bathrooms on my road trips in this country. But never, ever, ever, did I think a rest stop would be one of those cool sights. Until nature called at the Hundertwasser Toilets.
6. Cape Reinga
Places you anticipate going to with great excitement rarely live up to their hype. Cape Reinga bucks that trend. It was every bit amazing and special as I had envisioned-probably even more so!
For context, Cape Reinga is on the northernmost part of the North Island. Allow Google Maps to assist again:
And let’s face it, I know you want pictures too:
While I’ve now made it to the northernmost part of the North Island now, I feel like this list needs to also have 10 items (like Part I), so I’ve decided to continue the list till my departure from New Zealand (oh, that’s right, I’ve decided to continue my travels and leave New Zealand at the end of the month).
7. 100 Mile Beach
A romantic sunset with my partner in crime on this trip.
8. Giant Trees and the Drive to Auckland
I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
9. Saying bye to Sheila the Second
Unfortunately my journey with Sheila would come to an end at this point. We’ve had a good run together. Sheila always made sure I got home safe, sheltered me when the hostels were booked out, and always went the extra mile without complaining. In return, I got Sheila some new tires, a new brake light, and kept up with her regular diet of unleaded fuel.
We’ve done over 12,000 kms together. I’m going to miss this one…
10. Finally, some rugby
I couldn’t possibly leave New Zealand without taking in a rugby match could I? And there couldn’t possibly be a rugby match without a good downpour.
And this marks the end of my time in New Zealand. But, I’m not going back to Canada just yet. New adventures await and so too do more posts…stay tuned!
Impermanent Establishments 