A Journey Through Paradise - My Travels Through the Northern Island of New Zealand (Part Three)

Hi friends! I want to continue sharing my journies in New Zealand. When I think back to my time in New Zealand, it feels like a whole other universe. New Zealand is such a peaceful country, boasting more sheep than humans. I lived in New Zealand in 2014 while studying abroad at the University of Auckland. However, I did not want to be in the center of the city, so I ended up WWOOFing on a farm 1 hour west of Auckland. I also wanted to see as much of the country as I could, so I found a "hop-on hop-off" bus company called Stray. Basically, I bought a "bus pass" of a certain route that allowed me to hop on and hop off the bus whenever I wanted to. The buses ranged from 10-40 passengers and one amazing bus driver, who was also the guide. It was an amazing way to meet other travelers from so many different countries. It also offered an easy way to travel, which I don't usually prefer, but when I was juggling a full course load and working on a farm, I didn't have much time to plan my travels or flexibility to "get lost".

I bought a bus pass that looped around both the North Island and South Island. My first leg of the trip started in Auckland, and I began to explore the most Northern part of the North Island. I wrote about the beginning of that journey in previous posts. After returning to Auckland, I settled into my new home on a farm and began my studies. We had a 2 week mid-semester break, so I decided to take off on the next part of my Stray Bus adventure.

We hopped on the bus in downtown Auckland and set off for Raglan, home of one of the best left hand surf breaks in the world! Raglan is known as a hippie surf town, with a slow pace in town and an intense energy in the breaks. We first stopped at Bridal Veil Falls, and hiked down to the bottom of the waterfalls for an incredible view. We had a great crew on the bus, with a wonderful and wild bus driver/tour guide nick-named "Splash". He carried his selfie stick all around for some funny group shots.

We then arrived in Raglan and got settled into our hostel, which overlooked the ocean. It was a rainy day, perfect for jumping in the ocean and getting wet! I hadn't surfed since my time in Costa Rica, but I passed up the surf lesson and just rented a board and wetsuit for the day. Wow, the surf in Raglan is different than in Costa Rica. First off, it was COLD! Also, the currents are extremely strong on the Western coast of New Zealand. Nevertheless, I had a beautiful time riding the waves in Raglan.

That evening, we returned to the hostel, took hot showers, and gathered for dinner and some games. We were playing cards, hanging out by the fire, brought out some instruments, and were sharing travel stories. The next day we packed our backpacks and headed to Waitomo for some amazing cave diving. The Waitomo Glowworm Caves were one of the most geologically spectacular sights I experienced in New Zealand. The caves are made out of limestone, and are a result of geological and volcanic activity. One of the cave's inhabitants is the Arachnocampa luminosa, a glowworm species that is only found in New Zealand. Our tour guide actually told us that it is the poop of the glowworms that glows, so we were all oo-ing and ahh-ing at a bunch of worm poop ;-)

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I went on a tour through the underground caves, and it lasted for a couple of hours. We went through the tour company, Waitomo adventures, and did their TumTumu blackwater rafting adventure. We spent those two hours climbing through a portion of the caves, on our hands and knees, climbing up sides of the cave, and tubbing through the portion of the cave that is filled with water. It was incredible.

I think my favorite part was when we reached the portion of the cave where no natural light could reach, and once we turned our headlamps off the only light we could see was the glowworms. They covered the entire ceiling of the cave chamber, so it felt like we were looking up at the milky way. There was also a point where we reached the portion of the cave with water running through it. The guide had our tubs lined up ready for us, but we had to scramble down a side of the cave to get to them....orrrrr we could take a 10 foot jump right into our tubes that were floating in the water. I was the first to jump :-)

We came up for air, saw daylight once again, and stripped off our wetsuits. We were back on the bus and heading to Maori land. Maori people are the indigenous people of New Zealand, and are around 20% of New Zealand's population. They have a beautiful culture and a rich history centered around community. This was one of my favorite days traveling through New Zealand. We first stopped at a Maori nature reserve, and a guide toured us around the area.

He showed us some historic cave drawings and explained some components of the surrounding ecology. We then headed over to some local hot springs.

That evening, we were welcomed into a Maori community. We gathered in their meeting house and community space, called a whare whakairo. The community members of that area were waiting for us in the meeting house, and we did the traditional Maori greeting, the Hongi. The Hongi is when you press your nose and forhead to another person's nose and forehead as a greeting. We practiced this greeting with every person in the whare whakairo, and it was such an authentic and connecting way to meet someone.

We shared dinner together, and then the males and females split up. The females were taught a traditional Maori Poi Dance. The males were taught a traditional Maori haka. We all regathered and performed for one another, with many laughs shared :-) We then returned to the meeting house and rolled out our sleeping bags, it was time for a huge group slumber party! That evening, some of the Maori elders came and shared stories and creation myths. We eventually dozed to sleep, and the next morning many of us woke up to share intense dreams that we had during our sleep in the whare whakairo.