Jan 5, 2019
Flight: Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) to Wellington, New Zealand (WLG); Air New Zealand economy
Hotel: Mercure Abel Tasman; Wellington, New Zealand


I had until 8 pm tonight before my flight to Wellington. I could have driven to Wellington in that time but the car rental would have been more expensive. I decided to go visit the Wai-o-Tapu thermal area again, having visited it also 14 years previously. The main area opens at 8:30. I quietly left the hostel and had breakfast at a cafe before driving south from Rotorua. On the way I passed the old Geyserland Hotel where we had stayed in 2004, apparently, now it is condemned due to shifting ground!

Wai-o-Tapu means 'Sacred Waters' (same etymology of taboo). It's about a 25-minute drive south of town. Stopped at the boiling mud pools before going to the visitor center, which was already quite busy. I got my ticket then realized I didn't have my hat with me so ran back to the car. The sun had come out again for a nice day. I managed to get ahead of most of the tour groups and spent the next hour or so wandering the full loop of trails. There are many colorful acid lakes and hot springs here.


Artists Palette



Champagne Pool

Devil's Bath



It was just after 10 AM and most of the crowd was clearing out to go visit the Lady Knox geyser, which the guides set off at 10:15 every day using soap. I didn't need to see that as I'd seen before. I decided to go for broke and go visit the Waitomo Glowworm caves, which were still another 2+ hr drive away. The main route was back through Rotorua but I cut across through the middle via Whakamaru.

Finally arrived at Waitomo just before 12:30 but literally missed the next tour at 12:45 and had to wait about 40 minutes for the next one. That would be a bit tight trying to make it back to the Auckland Airport in time. I had a mussel fritter for lunch that was pretty delicious. The caves are one of the most popular tourist sites in NZ and get very busy. I could have bought a ticket in advance but wasn't sure if I would have made it in time! The tour was OK and takes about an hour, going in the dry cave above then going down below to board the boats to the glowworm section. The glowworms aren't really worms, but a form of fly larvae that have bioluminescent lures. I had seen some in the South Island but still amazing going through the dark (have to keep super quiet) while the guides pull the boats along.

It was 2 PM now so hopefully that left me enough time to get back to Auckland airport. Unfortunately, I got stuck behind a long line of slow-moving trucks and tractors before Hamilton and it took nearly 20 minutes before I was able to pass them all and get back to normal speed. Finally got back on the NZ1 expressway again just north of Hamilton but that was short-lived, it is still under construction for a section near Taupiri.

I hit a bit more traffic when entering Auckland metro area, then got lost a bit looking for a petrol station near the airport.. the BP station labeled on my GPS ended up being for aviation fuel! But fueled up the car ok and dropped it back off at the car rental area. The car had been pretty dinged up when I picked it up but should have taken my own photos (the agency in Auckland city had) and the agent had to get the photos from them so that took awhile. But no worries (I had scraped up the passenger-side hubcaps but they didn't seem to notice....). They dropped me at the domestic terminal where I still had a bit of a wait before my flight. I checked in at a kiosk and headed to the lounge.


NZ AKL-WLG

The flight down to Wellington was uneventful. The Uber pickup point at Wellington was a good bit of a walk out in the parking lot. Caught a ride to the Mercure Abel Tasman hotel and went to sleep. This was my first time visiting Wellington.