I hope you’re enjoying my cruising series, hopefully you’ve been inspired in some way. If you haven’t read Part 1 or Part 2 yet, go check them out now!
I can’t believe we’ve been back for two weeks already! It feels so long ago now and I’m definitely getting ready to plan the next big adventure. This weeks instalment is all about one of the most beautiful countries in the world, New Zealand! Three of five of our port days were in NZ and the days kept getting better and better. This post will cover port days three and five, Tauranga and Bay of Islands. Our fourth port day was to Auckland, but I’ve decided to give this day its own post and save it until the end. So here off we go to Tauranga and Bay of Islands in New Zealand!
Tauranga, New Zealand
Hobbiton Tour
After two more sea days, we finally arrived in New Zealand! I’d never been to New Zealand before this and it always just felt ‘too close’ or ‘not exciting enough’ to make it very far up the bucket list. Let me tell you, these few days changed my mind by 100%! I cannot wait to explore more of NZ and am wondering how I can sneak a little getaway in this year to hike in the South Island.
Our first stop was Tauranga [pronounced: tau – wrong – ah] for a tour of the Hobbit Movie Set! The ship could dock at Tauranga so we were able to just walk straight off and into the town. All the tours were leaving from just outside the port which was really handy. No shuttle buses or tenders!
We got off the ship with about an hour to kill, before our tour bus left at 10am, so we wandered into the markets and checked out the local cafe scene. The town was quite small but I would’ve been more than happy to spend a few hours just exploring. It felt comfortable and was nice to have currency that we could understand! Honestly still can’t get over the fact that NZ coins are in SIZE ORDER! Revolutionary!
As soon as we met our tour guide, we knew it was going to be a great day. A lovely old Kiwi guy called Doug made the whole day about ten times funnier. It was about an hour from the Port out to the Movie Set, but the bus ride was ridiculously scenic. As we drove through Tauranga, I mentally added it to my bucket list as place to come back and explore more. Our drive even included a little pit stop to a Manuka Honey shop where we were treated to natural honey flavoured ice cream!
We payed just over $100 AUD each for the ‘Hobbiton Tour‘. I would highly recommend this as I felt like we had the perfect amount of time. Doug made sure we knew we wouldn’t have time to stop and eat and it would be a fast moving tour. His speech made me think it was going to be a massive spread out set with lots of walking, but this wasn’t the case. The guides let the groups really dawdle through the set as everyone wanted to take a million photos. This was nice as it let us go at our own paces and spend more time taking it all in.
For the Hobbiton tour, bus groups are taken through to the set every five minutes. It’s about a 3km drive out to the set through a massive 1250-acre farm belonging to the Alexander family. Originally only one scene of the film was going to be filmed on location but the farm was scouted as the perfect location for the whole Shire. The farm currently operates as both a tour company showing thousands of people through every day as well as a sheep and beef farm.
The whole set is so well maintained and preserved that you feel like you’re stepping into a whole different world as soon as you enter the farm. I am not a massive LOTR fan, and hadn’t watched any of the films in a very long time, but I still had an absolute blast. (In fact, as I write this, I’m thinking I might just go rewatch The Hobbit tonight!)
One thing that surprised me was that the hobbit holes are actually empty inside! It’s all just for exterior shots. I thought I’d get to explore a real hobbit hole, but sadly I couldn’t. I was also super impressed with the endless amount of detail in everything – from the perfectly maintained gardens to the mini clotheslines hanging up hobbit clothes.
NZ really put it on for us with the most perfect sunny day. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend our day in Tauranga and I honestly think the best part was the stunning countryside views and rolling hills. So much gorgeous greenery!
Overall it was an absolute 10/10 day! I can’t even think of anything else to say. I don’t think the photos can do it justice at all, you’ll just have to go check it out yourself!
Water Rafting & Car Hire
While we were on our Hobbiton tour, Syan and Joel went hired a car to road trip around Tauranga and go water rafting. Here’s Syan’s @syangarstang little feature!
My partner and I decided to hire a car for Tauranga as we hadn’t booked any ship tours. A few of my friends were in the middle of their placements in NZ so I had seen on Facebook a few fun things to do including car hire, water rafting and this place called “sky line”.
Car Hire
The car hire was very simple to book. We booked with Pacific Auto Rentals and for $130 got an SUV from 8am -5pm with unlimited kms. On the day of arrival, a shuttle bus picked us up from the port and drove us to the car yard (about 8kms away). Here we just signed a few documents, got a few maps and we were off!
We’d brought my Navman as I knew I could calibrate it to NZ maps, so we didn’t have to use our iPhone. As long as we were back at the car yard by 5.30pm for a shuttle back to the boat then we could go wherever we pleased.
We headed out to Rotorua, which was about 50kms away. The roads were very nice to drive on and NZ drive on the left like us, which made it stress free.
Rotorua is full of natural thermal pools. Pools of bubbling mud, hot natural springs and boiling sulphur. It looked amazing but smelt awful!
Water Rafting
We booked water rafting with a company called River Rats. The water raft was 45 minutes through a riverine of fresh water and halfway through held a 7m waterfall (the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world).
It cost $105 pp and it was the most amazing experience of my life. You don’t have to be a good swimmer or a strong paddler. All the skills are taught as you go. The guides were awesome and funny and by the end of the day I was jealous of their job! How do I become a rafting instructor?
We rafted through this river that was sat between two mountains. The water was 20 degrees and crystal clear. At no time did I feel unsafe, I was nervous coming up to the huge waterfall as I prepared myself for the raft flipping. Turns out 1 in 20 rafts flip and we happened to be that unlucky one, but it made the experience way more fun.
I have recommended rafting to every person I know that is going overseas and if I ever end up back in NZ I would do rafting over and over again.
Bay of Islands, New Zealand
Hole in the Rock Tour
Our second port day in New Zealand was Waiheke, but it was such an amazing day with way too many pictures that I’ve dedicated and entire post to it. (This will be posted as Part 4 and I will link it here once it is live).
Our final port day was Bay of Islands. I’d expected this to be white sands and crystal-clear water, but the island we docked on was just like the mainland. Again, we had to tender out to the island as the ship couldn’t get into the marina. It was about a fifteen-minute tender out followed by a ten-minute shuttle bus into town.
Luke, Jade and Syan were booked in to go Parasailing at 12.30 but we’d arrived just before 9am. I wanted to do some kind of tour, so Syan, Joel and I decided to go on a speedboat tour to the ‘Hole in the Rock’ ($99 NZD pp).
The tour left from the pier right next to the shuttle buses. We were told there was a three-metre swell, so it’d be super rocky, and we’d get soaked, but we didn’t get wet at all. It was so choppy out there that it was impossible to go through the hole, but it was so damn cool!
It was a 30-40-minute speedboat ride out and it was pretty smooth right up until the end where I thought we’d tip over. The experience of being in this tiny speed boat zooming through the ocean going past the hundreds of little islands that make up the Bay of Islands, was amazing. It was so cold and the wind was so strong but I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.
I honestly thought I’d be underwhelmed by the view, but it was truly amazing. Our guide gave us a little background information and informed us that the rock is a sacred Maori site, and only those with explicit consent are allowed to climb it. Back in the day, boys had to swim over to the rock, climb it to the top and chase around the birds that circled the top until they could pluck a feather, which they had to take back to the tribe to prove they’d done it.
The waves were insane, especially in our tiny boat. The company also offers a 4.5hr tour (for about $150), which has an island stop and the option to go swimming with dolphins. This would’ve been awesome, but we were on a tight time limit and when we saw that tour boat, were glad we didn’t do it as there were so many people packed in.
After showing us the Hole in the Rock, our guide took us into a little natural cave. I was drooling at all the gorgeous colours – natural rock formations with bright blue waves crashing against them were so beautiful.
Bay of Islands Parasailing
I didn’t go parasailing because I am the biggest wuss and terrified of heights, so I’ve got my good friend Luke @lukec98 to write a little bit about the experience!
What was a great thought in my mind 3 months prior to arriving at the Bay of Islands, as a great way to see the stunning scenery, turned to fear as I arrived to find parachutes zooming across the busy basin at enormous heights.
Located in the town of Paihea [pronounced: pie – here], Bay of Islands Parasail was only 1 minute from the cruise ship shuttle bus drop off point. After reading over the waiver form and signing my life away, it was time to board the speed boat vessel. Elliot, along with the driver, provided reassuring comments and reminded us that we should be VERY worried!
There were 12 of us onboard (2 triples and 3 doubles) who were all very friendly and had come off the same cruise ship as us. The staff made a few preparations and before we knew it we were speeding off across the clear, still waters of the Bay of Islands. The weather was perfect with clear skies, warm weather and only slight winds.
Our group, with Jade, Syan and myself were third to fly and once Elliot assisted us to put on our gear including a life jacket, helmet and harness we were ready to go. We made our way to the back of the boat where Elliot clipped us onto the parachute and gave us a countdown. 3….2….1, we were up and in the air. A very smooth ascent into the sky above where ferries and sailboats sailed underneath.
As we were warned in our briefings, unnatural snap and cracking sounds were made by the line and parachute which are all part of the parachute working correctly, well I hope so! This reduced our fears and we were able to enjoy the amazing scenery which surrounded us. Stood tall in the middle of the basin was the temporary 154th island of the Bay of Islands, which was the Ovation of the Seas. The biggest cruise ship in the Southern Hemisphere which towers over many other islands surrounding it. The feeling of being able to fly was incredible and I could not think of a better place to do it. The 12 minutes in the air went super quick as I could stay up there all day. For all 5 groups to parasail was approximately a 1.5hr round trip which allowed for the supporting of other groups whilst enjoying the scenery. It was my first and definitely not my last time parasailing.
Bay of Islands Parasail were charging $99 on the day, however we had pre-purchased for around $10-15 cheaper through ExperienceOz. In saying that, there is a risk that the ship may not make it into the port with a 24hr non-refundable period. However, lucky for us the risk paid off for us on the day! There was an option to have a GoPro attached to the parachute for $40 which is provided on an SD card. This films the whole 12 minute flight, and divided by the three of us equates to a very small price to remember this incredible experience.
Overall, this was a great experience which was perfect for the first-time parasailer. Whilst the boat was very full and there wasn’t much room to move around, this was to be expected for such a good price. I will definitely book this experience again should I go back to Paihea.
I hope you liked reading about Tauranga and Bay of Islands.
Next up is the final (and my favourite) part of this series, Part 4: Waiheke Island, Auckland NZ!
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