New Zealand is one of the most stunning places I have ever been. I’d waited two decades to go and finally got my chance two years ago. I knew that if I loved it as much as I thought I would, I could always go back. And, I LOVE New Zealand. It is probably my favorite place in the world.
So, I planned a return trip! Over Christmas break we took all four kids (ages 11 to 14) and split the trip into four sections: Auckland/Mount Maunganui, Rotorua, Wellington, and Christchurch. All four areas are stunning and offer something very different. In today’s post, I’ll talk about our first two stops: Auckland & Mount Maunganui.
Mount Maunganui Beach
Mount Maunganui is located 2.5 hours East of Auckland on the Bay of Plenty. It is a busy town with a gorgeous, wide beach that spans for miles. Christmas in New Zealand is in the summer and many Kiwis spend their holiday on the beach, so I thought, why not us too?
I found that the easiest way to find AirBNB-type rentals is on a site run by VRBO called Bookabach. We found a place right across the street from the beach with a gorgeous view. This beach is perfect for surfing or running because it has lots of waves and compact sand. There is also a boardwalk that runs for a couple of miles right next to the beach, making morning walks or runs delightful. At the end of the beach is Mount Maunganui itself, a small mountain with a lovely view from the top. There are also several hotels, changing rooms, water, and a holiday park right by the mountain. A lot of New Zealanders like to come up here year after year, especially around the holidays.
Downsides of the Beach
The beach was not busy at all, which was fantastic. I have to admit, however, there were a couple of downsides to the area. Traffic could get bad and there were pests (though they didn’t bother us). “Mount Maulers” are lice-like larvae that like the dry sand and could get inside your clothing, biting you all over. They sounded awful, but we parked our chairs on the damp sand and never had a problem with them. There are also a lot of jellyfish in the water (and on the beach) this time of year. Our kids saw several in the water, but were never stung. None of the jellyfish are that harmful (their stings can hurt, but it’s not bad). I noticed that many people just wore wetsuits into the water, especially the surfers.
And speaking of surfing, there were a ton of surf schools all along the beach. They ran the schools out of little trailers and seemed to have lessons and board rentals running all day long.
Hobbiton
The Hobbiton Movie Set tour was almost everyone’s favorite thing we did on the trip. You have to buy tickets ahead of time because every Lord of the Rings fan wants to see The Shire. While there, you get to go on a two-hour guide-led tour. You’ll see Bag End, Sam’s house, and every hobbit hole in between, then you’ll end the tour at the Green Lantern where you can have a pint of beer just like a hobbit. We’ve been on the tour twice now and both tours were different. So, if you’ve been there before, it might be time to go back.
It’s also time to go back because last year (after we’d visited) they added two hobbit holes and you can tour the inside! Best. Part. Of. The. Trip. They are huge inside and so detailed. See for yourself. I already want to go back just to see the holes again.
Kayaking with Glowworms
One of the best things we did on our last trip was taking a glowworm cave tour with Spellbound Tours. In my opinion, a cave tour with Spellbound is the very best way to see glowworms. This trip, we wanted to try something a little different. Very close to Mount Maunganui, you can take a kayaking tour at night to a canyon filled with glowworms. You set off at dusk (after a drink and a snack with your tour guides) and get to the canyon when it gets dark. The walls are covered in glowworms and you spend the rest of the tour hearing about the glowworms and viewing the beautiful stars on your way back from the canyon. We had a great time on this tour.
Hiking Mount Maunganui
Back at the beach, it’s worth mentioning that you can hike up Mount Maunganui to gain an excellent view of the city and beach. Three of us made the hike on a gorgeous day. There are several trails to the top, but all are very steep. Our roundtrip hike from our vacation home along the boardwalk, up the mountain, and back was about five and a half miles, so it’s not the tallest mountain. It’s a great little trek on a nice day.
Auckland & Costco
Let’s rewind for a second to the very beginning of our trip. Our flight landed in Auckland, but we didn’t spend much time there. One of the things I wanted to do was check-out the only Costco in Auckland. Why? Well, we figured we could buy some reasonably-priced dinners there. We also wanted to do things that residents might do, just in case we ever want to pull up stakes and move to our favorite country.
The Costco in Auckland is huge and popular. We arrived 30 minutes before it opened and there were already a lot of people waiting with their carts at the bottom of a huge cart escalator. The inside looks just like Costcos at home, but they have a lot of New Zealand products, especially in the food sections. One thing I love about New Zealand is how much of their food is grown and packaged right in New Zealand. Most of what we bought was no exception.
We ate our first lunch at Costco too. I have two things to say about that. First, New Zealand Costco has the best french fries I’ve ever tasted. Secondly, we fed six people for $12 USD.
We also drove around in downtown Auckland for a while, but it was raining so we decided not to walk around. Alison is thinking about going to school abroad so we showed her the Auckland campus before we headed out to Mount Maunganui.
Next week, I’ll take you on an adventure to Rotorua where we dove into plastic balls and spent a night walking around like Ewoks.