#Matheson Cafe Fox Glacier

[way337]

Matheson Cafe 馬松森湖咖啡廳：Fox Glacier 行程必停湖景餐點懶人包

《Matheson Cafe 馬松森湖咖啡廳》有人去過嗎？位於 Lake Matheson 步道入口，Lake Matheson可以看到這裡可以看到Mt Cook & Mt Tasman 雪峰倒影視角，吸引不少旅人前往，而Matheson Cafe評價很高，google評論超過900則，保有4.5顆星！招牌Bacon Bagel Benedict、Honey Toasted Muesli及單品手沖 West Coast Roast不要錯過～ Continue reading Matheson Cafe 馬松森湖咖啡廳：Fox Glacier 行程必停湖景餐點懶人包

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Fox Glacier - Lake Matheson

Today, I headed back down to Fox Glacier to do a few more walks that I didn't have the time (or energy!) to do yesterday. I had planned to do the Lake Matheson walk anyway, but the heli-hike guide yesterday suggested coming in the morning while the sky was blue and the lake was still. I didn't quite make it for the still lake (the best times are dawn and dusk and I was definitely not up before the sun rose), but I did make it for the blue skies! The weather has really been spoiling me on this trip.

You can see how sunny it is based on the glare on the photo! They had this cute little photo frame that you could stand in with Mt Tasman and Mt Cook framed nicely in the photo. The next several pictures will be all varying photos of the same view 😂 (don't come at me, they're all slightly different and equally beautiful) from different viewpoints along the loop around the lake.

When the lake is really clear and there's no wind, there's a perfect reflection of the mountain range in the background. As you can see, that is not quite the case here, but it is still beautiful! From this track, there is another track that shoots off called the Lake Gault Track. This claims to be a 3-hour return trek to another lake nearby with a different angle of the same view. Lake Matheson and Lake Gault were both formed when the Fox Glacier retreated and left a depression that later filled with water. Another such lake is Lake Mapourika, where I did my kayaking tour the other day. That lake is 80m deep, so I imagine these two could be something similar.

Luckily, it did not take me 3 hours - it only took two. Thank goodness for that because it was a bit of a brutal uphill that I wasn't quite expecting. And so returned Colleen soup. 🥵 It was surprisingly hot today - and the sun was at peak form.

After the walk, I went to get the beef jalapeno bagel from the Matheson Cafe (also a recommendation from our glacier guide) for a quick lunch. The energy replenishment was absolutely needed! A short drive away is Gillespie Beach, so I took a gander that way to check it out. I ended up sitting for a while and reading my book while watching the dolphins swim around! I have included a video down below - the dolphins are small and you might have to be patient, but there are a few in the video. Plus, I found a cool rock. And you can see how shattered I am from the hike 😂

Last up, I stopped at another glacier viewpoint with a giant waka. According to Māori legend, Aoraki and his brothers Rakirua, Rakiroa, and Rarakiroa descended from heaven to meet their half-brothers. While they explored the southern ocean, Tāwhirimātea sent a devastating storm, capsizing their waka. Aoraki, his brothers and crew, scrambled onto the side of their overturned canoe to avoid being flung into the maelstrom. The storm’s violence turned everything to stone - the waka, the crew, and their cargo - so creating the South Island, or Te Waka a Aoraki. The crew became the Southern Alps, with Aoraki petrified as the highest peak, Aoraki - Mount Cook, surrounded by his brothers as neighbouring peaks. (Yes, I did take that from a website - link here).

The brothers became Rakirua Mount Teichelmann, Rakiroa Mount Dampier, Rarakiroa Mount Tasman, and, the tallest of them all, Aoraki Mount Cook. I headed back to the hostel, ready to rest. I almost fell asleep playing my daily games on my phone at the table at 5 pm. I had to go have a snack to stay awake! All in all, a very successful trip to Glacier Country!

[itslucy666-blog]

SOUTH ISLAND NEW ZEALAND

South Island New Zealand - Our high 16 locations of the place to go in New Zealand South Island - If you're searching for spectacular surroundings, some superb locations to go to, with a variety of sights, actions and South Island journey. Dominating the South Island of New Zealand are the Southern Alps, which run the complete size of the island. Queenstown is the journey capital of New Zealand, and a terrific location to discover Milford Sound and Fiordland Nationwide Park. Within the south is Dunedin with its Scottish heritage and numerous wildlife. To the north are sunny Nelson and Marlborough, well-known for his or her wines and meals.

1) Queenstown

New Zealand's primary all 12 months-spherical alpine resort, magnificently situated beside Lake Wakatipu within the Southern Alps, Queenstown has each journey exercise possible. You possibly can strive your hand at jetboating, white water rafting or bungee leaping. In winter strive snowboarding on the close by ski resorts of the Remarkables and Coronet Peak.

2) Fiordland National Park

The biggest Nationwide Park in New Zealand is Fiordland, dwelling to the magical Milford Sound and Mitre Peak. Much less well-known, however even bigger, is Uncertain Sound. Take a cruise, go sea kayaking or fishing or strive one of many many hikes within the park.

3) West Coast Glaciers

The West Coast of New Zealand has the enduring Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers. Strolling to the face of the glacier, taking a guided stroll or helihike on the glaciers is a must-do New Zealand attraction. Take pleasure in spectacular mirror-like reflections of magnificent Mt Prepare dinner in close by Lake Matheson.

4) Dunedin

A previous College city, Dunedin is a novel mixture of historic buildings, Scottish and gold mining historical past, together with pure wildlife sights of Otago Peninsula.

5) Christchurch

Christchurch, New Zealand is the biggest metropolis and essential gateway to the South Island of New Zealand and is also known as the "Backyard Metropolis", with its picturesque parks and gardens. Take an experience on the Christchurch Tram, go punting on the Avon River because it winds its means by way of Hagley Park and the Botanic Gardens.

6) Nelson Region

A space is synonymous with arts and crafts, fantastic meals and wine, and the gateway to the pure wonders of Abel Tasman Nationwide Park, Golden Bay and Nelson Lakes Nationwide Parks.

7) Marlborough Region

Well-known for wine and meals, in addition to the close-by nature lovers paradise of the Marlborough Sounds. Marlborough is world well-known for Sauvignon Blanc wine and visiting one of many wineries is a should. Out of doors pursuits together with swimming with the dolphins, fishing, climbing or kayaking within the Marlborough and Queen Charlotte Sounds.

8) Aoraki - Mount Cook

New Zealand's highest mountain is a good place to base your self for scenic flights over Mt Cook and the glaciers, climbing, wonderful fly fishing, 4WD journeys or taking a glacier boat journey on the Tasman Glacier lake. You'll be able to go to the Sir Edmund Hilary mountaineering centre or strive star gazing within the night.

9) Hanmer Springs

Right here you'll be able to keep and chill out within the well-known Thermal Scorching Springs and Spa, have a therapeutic massage or spend time searching the boutique outlets within the village. Hanmer Springs can be nice for mountain biking, climbing or strolling on the forest trails, taking a jetboat experience and even bungee leaping.

10) Kaikoura

The small seaside city of Kaikoura, surrounded by gorgeous mountain surroundings of the Southern Alps, is a mecca for wildlife. Right here you'll be able to go whale watching, swim with the dolphins or seals, and look at pelagic sea birds of their pure setting. At night time strive the native crayfish (lobster) or different seafood specialities.

11) Wanaka

The idyllic small city of Wanaka, New Zealand is usually bypassed by guests. Nonetheless, Wanaka has a terrific vary of household actions, in addition to being a really perfect base for journey fanatics thinking about climbing, fishing, mountaineering, snowboarding or snowboarding. Wanaka has 2 world-class ski areas of Cardrona and Treble Cone, in addition, to cross-nation snowboarding on the Snow Farm, and freestyle snowboarding or snowboarding on the Snow Park.

12) Stewart Island

Stewart Island is strictly talking not a part of the South Island, however, is as a substitute New Zealand's third-largest island. It's not often visited by the primary time customer to New Zealand. Consequently, it has managed to take care of its unspoilt pure appeal. Stewart Island is a haven for nature fanatics with alternatives for fowl watching, fishing, climbing and kayaking.

13) Greymouth

The West Coast of New Zealand's largest city, Greymouth is the flip round level for the TranzAlpine specific from Christchurch, and in addition an area with quite a lot of historical past revolving across the previous gold mines. Join from right here with automobile rental or coach companies to the opposite West Coast sights.

14) Hokitika

A small vibrant historic city on the West Coast, dwelling to a thriving arts and crafts neighbourhood. Every year the Hokitika Wild Meals Pageant is held in March. Do not miss it, in case you are there presently of 12 months!

15) Akaroa

Simply 75kms from Christchurch, Akaroa has a terrific English and French historical past. You'll be able to simply spend a day seeing the historic buildings, boutique outlets, arts & crafts, or taking outing at an area cafe. For nature lovers, a dolphin cruise on Akaroa harbour is to not be missed.

16) Punakaiki

Situated on one of the crucial spectacular scenic coastal drives on this planet, Punakaiki is legendary for the world-renowned Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blowholes.

[spudandemdotravels-blog]

New Zealand - Franz Joseph and Fox Glaciers, Gentle Annie campsite

Hello everyone!

How are we in the last two weeks of our trip?! We have been determined to make the most of it, and to ensure that we got ourselves a decent tent pitch at the next site we were up bright and early to start our drive west. Spud triple checked the roof this time as we didn’t want to lose any more gear, and the drive over to Glacier Country was sound. We had yet another spectacular drive through mountains, around lakes and along the coast. The variation of the landscapes in this country just never get old.

We reached camp in good time, set up the kit and took some time to walk around Franz Josef township. The place is clearly set up for tourists, and as a result we found that it didn’t have much character. Still, the backdrop consisting of mountains and the glacier is magical, and we managed to enjoy a beer in the sun before calling it a night.

The next morning the four of us agreed that it was time for a break from doing everything together. When you live in very close proximity of another couple (especially in a tent) it is natural for tensions to run high, so we had breakfast together and then parted ways for the day. We chose to walk the Roberts Point trail which is part of the original trekking route up to the glacier. The walk is an 11km out and back, which took us around 5 hours to complete. We felt like we were walking through an amalgamation of Jurassic Park and Lord of the Rings. It was a proper excursion; there were four swing bridges, what was essentially a Via Ferrara staircase on the face of a cliff, rock scrambling, and stream jumping to negotiate. To top it all off the viewpoint of the glacier was out of this world. We had climbed 600+m and found ourselves at enough altitude to be at the level of the main body of ice. Thankfully the weather was on our side and the sun was shining. We stopped for lunch and pictures then headed back the way we came. Although we were quicker on the way back, the descent was a lot trickier than the ascent and we both had a number of moments on the way down thanks to our weary legs. We reached camp by about 4pm after hitch hiking back to the township, and spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on admin before getting an early night.

The following day we kept the same arrangement as we were enjoying some couples time, and it was our turn to take the car. After dropping the guys off at the head of the Franz Josef viewpoint trail we made our way to Fox Glacier. After yesterdays expedition we decided that we would walk the tourist trail to a viewpoint which was a one hour out and back. Also, the weather wasn’t too great so we didn’t want to risk not being able to see the glacier, so we made our way up the quickest way possible. We got a good view of the glacier which wasn’t as stunning as Franz Josef, but you got a clear view of the snout (the outlet of the sub-glacier stream) which was a first for the both of us. By the time we got back to the car we were ready for lunch so we collected some picnic stuff and made our way to Lake Matheson. We only walked to the end of the lake as it looked as though the weather was drawing in, but we enjoyed the scenery before holing ourselves up in the nearby cafe for a couple of hours before driving back to Franz Josef. We had tickets for the local ‘wildlife centre’ at 4pm, so after hooking back up with Brendan and Erin we spent two hours learning about the local wildlife and geography including Kiwi’s and operation nest egg designed to protect them from predators, Tahe, Chamois, Kea birds, Red Deer, glaciers, goldmines and the West Coast in general. The highlight for us was actually getting to see Kiwi’s! Unfortunately photography wasn’t permitted so we didn’t get any pictures, but we spent a good half an hour watching these funny birds peck around and annoy each other in what was a very dimly lit room which was a replica of the native bush at night given that the birds are nocturnal. We were all surprised at how big they were; they were about 30cm tall and weighed more than a kilogram. We all thought that they were tiny creatures!

We stayed one final night in Franz Josef before packing down with the intention to head north towards Abel Tasman national park. We were in for yet another spectacular drive which took us just over four hours in total, not including a stop at the pancake rocks in Punakaiki for lunch.

We picked a campsite around an hour north of Westport called Gentle Annies, which was apparently rated in the top three campsites in New Zealand. It sounded too good to be true, but as soon as we arrived we knew that we had hit the jackpot. Right on the coast, the campsite has the best facilities and cafe/communal area we have seen so far. It seems to attract a perfect mix of people, and offers a fire pit, pizza oven, electricity, free WiFi and cosy cafe area that is open 24/7 and runs on a trust basis. We initially paid for two nights but after one night agreed we would stay for a third night before making our way further north. Our first night was spent on the beach, which has the most drift wood but least amount of rubbish that we have possibly ever seen. We couldn’t see a single piece of rope or plastic along the whole stretch, it was amazing. We built a windbreak out of bigger pieces of drift wood, make a fire pit and sparked up a bonfire that we cooked a simple dinner of corn on the cob and potato’s in. We stayed on the beach all evening before hitting the sack for what was going to be a very good nights sleep after the cold climes of the Glacier Country.

The following day we both felt like a relaxed day with minimal driving. Brendan and Erin decided to make their was to Cape Foulwind to check out a fur seal colony, but after seeing seals on the east coast highway, we opted for a walk along the beach and another walk around Charming Creek in the afternoon once the car had been returned. During our beach walk we came across plenty of unique shells, fish skeletons (weirdly), an inordinate amount of drift wood, and the biggest mussel shells we had ever seen! We walked out to a nearby headland, before walking back along a track through the nearby fields where we foraged blackberries and the leaves of nasturtium that we ate as a salad for lunch. The guys returned from their trip mid-afternoon and as the sun was still shining we made our way to charming creek which was historically a site for coal mines and timber mills. The track largely followed the disused railway line which is quite low lying, so this time round there weren’t any breathtaking views. What was interesting however, was the amount of steelwork that had been left behind when the mines and mills were closed down. Old steam engines, train carts and steam trains were either left in the bush or had sheds built over them for preservation. It made for a different and educational walk, with a bit of extra foraging thrown in for good measure!

We woke up to rain the next day, which made good reason for us to spend a morning in the Cow Shed cafe catching up on plans for the next stint, and for some of us, the dreaded job search. By midday the weather had cleared, so after lunch we drove into Westport for a look around, had a walk on what was apparently an award winning trail around the harbour front, and then made our way to the old Denniston coal mining township. The township no longer exists but the remnants of the mine, its famous incline where the wagons were lowered down to sea level (and therefore the train line) and the foundations of the building gave it an eerie feel. It must have been both a beautiful place to live in its time, given the view over Westport and surrounding coastline, but a solemn and depressing place too. Nearly all of the information boards gave grim stories of deaths, hardship and isolation whilst the mine was running. Interestingly Denniston housed around 1400 people in its time; the largest in the area. By the time we had taken in the facts and the beautiful views it was time to head back for dinner. The plan for the next day was to head further north to the Tasman district for a couple of days walking in the famous national park.

(The view over Westport from Denniston mining town)

Adios!

Dan & Em x

[stevetervet]

Tour de NZ

You could swallow a thesaurus and still not find the words to describe New Zealand.

Tucked away in the bottom right-hand corner of the world map, so many hours ahead that it almost creeps into yesterday, NZ isn’t somewhere you ‘pass through’ - concerted effort is required to make it this far. But it’s worth it.

Our chosen mode of transport during a 12-day stay in the South Island was a camper van, to be collected from and returned to a depot in Christchurch. Having decided to crack on early (a 3am taxi from our base in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs to the airport), we had reasonable expectations of making decent headway north from Christchurch before nightfall or, at least, Ivy’s tea time. Not so.

Preliminary paperwork filled out at the hire company base, we stepped outside into teeming rain where a female employee was waiting to tell us everything we needed to know about the van. Once she had located where it actually was in the car park, her show-round got off to a shaky start when the pull-out step wouldn’t pull out from underneath the side of the van. “I just don’t think I’m strong enough,” she surmised. “You’ll just have to take a big step up.” Advising her that we wouldn’t, we yanked the step out ourselves and climbed aboard. “Where’s the TV remote?” we queried. “Just have a good look around” came the reply. Now fully aware our guide was anything but an expert, we strove to push through the rest of the formalities as quickly as possible only for the lady in question to ramble on and on. “Where’s the nearest supermarket?” I said, trying to make it clear we’d heard enough and were ready to go. “Where are you heading?” she asked. “Towards Nelson” we said, Nelson being the northernmost city in the South Island. “So you’re going south then?” came the infuriatingly dopey response.

But the van proved far more reliable than its owners and once we hit the road, our mood quickly improved. Major road closures, brought about by the recent earthquake, kept us away from the east coast but we trundled inland as far as Hanmer Springs. At the end of such a long first day on tour and having driven through torrential rain in near-darkness on some twisty roads to get there, the campsite felt like an oasis in the desert, if you’ll excuse the rather confused simile.

There was nothing much to see in Murchison the following day but with a pie shop and children’s playground among limited amenities, it served its purpose as a halfway stop for lunch. Repeated travel sickness on Ivy’s part secured her a seat in the front with me for the rest of the road trip. As we approached our family Christmas base a few kilometres north of Motueka, the Takaka Hill Highway really put my concentration and the van’s engine to the test with a series of sharp bends on a serious incline. With more than 300km already under our belts for the day, patience began to wear thin when we missed the turning and had to keep climbing until there was a piece of road wide enough in which to turn the van round and head back down again.

Scroll down to the previous blog to find out what happened next in what could loosely termed a Christmas Special.

After two-and-a-half days spent with the family, we took one of them - Rachel’s mum - with us for the remainder of the journey. Back through Murchison we drove before veering west and dropping anchor in a near-flooded Westport. The weather no doubt distorted our opinion of the campsite although we did find what I can only assume must be the world’s smallest pizza shop after setting the van up for the evening. The topping combination of chicken pieces and apricot jam worked better than I expected.

As we powered down the west coast the following morning it felt like the tour had really begun. The road was spectacular in places, taking us to within a few metres of the ocean with big waves crashing on the rocks and bringing the windscreen wipers into play. Tourists were beginning to assemble in large numbers at Punakaiki when we pulled in mid-morning. Camera phones were going off everywhere as we trod the walkways of Pancake Rocks, a rugged formation which reminded me of the Twelve Apostles along the Great Ocean Road back in Australia. It seemed rude to visit such a place and not try the pancakes in the cafe over the road for morning tea and the catering matched the views. More great roads carried us into Greymouth, the west coast’s largest town, although we only stayed long enough to do a big shop at the supermarket and watch a train pull into the station - the latter making Ivy’s day. Having planned to spend the night in Harihari, we decided to carry on further down the coast as we’d made good time (and Harihari looked like one of the most boring places on earth). Instead, we booked into a leafy site at Franz Josef Glacier which, as the name suggests, marked the start of the South Island’s stunning alpine region.

Snow-capped mountains were standing tall against blue skies at the start of our next day together. On the road towards Fox Glacier we slowed to a crawl around some of the acute mountain bends but that only gave us more time to admire the incredible vistas. After stopping for a walk around Lake Matheson, we continued on this exquisite stretch of road, crossing dozens of single-lane bridges over turquoise rivers which splashed along shallow rocky beds. And when we left the flat sections behind and began climbing again, the van’s big diesel engine performed heroically all the way to Haast.

Cooking our own meals inside the van had been going well but we enquired upon arrival in Haast where we might find a chip shop for that evening’s meal. The campsite owner said he knew of one place in the area but that it closed at 4pm. This didn’t sit right with me and, sure enough, further investigation allayed our fears with the news that opening hours extended much longer. Food was 35 minutes away in Jackson Bay at the bizarre-looking ‘Cray Pot’ - a former pie cart painted bright orange and situated on the water’s edge with mountains towering above us on three sides and the sea disappearing over the horizon on the other. The food was decent, if a little pricey, but I suppose we were paying for the experience - which was certainly unique.

On the way back to Haast for the night we stopped to refuel the van. The petrol station was closed although an after-hours box on the wall allowed you to pre-pay by card. However, none of ours seemed to work and a queue began to form behind us while a tired Ivy fretted in the front seat. A family at the pump next to us could see we were struggling and offered to help. I handed the man $60 in cash and his wife used her card to authorise the payment. Diesel finally flowed from the pump to our relief when I felt a tap on my shoulder. The woman handed me back the $60, wished us compliments of the season and climbed into her car with a smile. Such a humbling gesture left us almost speechless as the good samaritans disappeared down the road. Thank you.

With a full tank beneath us, the wonderful route south continued to unfold as we skirted Lake Wanaka before making a pit stop in Wanaka itself. Opting to snub the main highway from there, we tackled the more direct mountain route to Arrowtown - and what an inspired decision it turned out to be. Offering access to the snowfields in winter, the Crown Range Road, even out of season, is quite simply the most incredible stretch of road I’ve ever driven. The camper van was pushed to its limit as we relentlessly climbed higher and higher but the best was still to come as we went over the top and began to descend. Carefully edging down the side of the mountain, we hit a series of seven consecutive hairpin bends which forced us almost to a stop on each occasion. The van wriggled around each one and I allowed myself a flashing glance over the precipice, where solid ground fell away and the valley floor was laid out like a tablecloth hundreds of metres below. It was breath-taking, a scene somewhere between cycling’s Tour de France and the final moments of The Italian Job.

The campsite at Arrowtown was over-crowded. It had a different feel to most of the other places we’d stayed, with most people on lengthy holidays in tents and caravans as opposed to transient types like us in mobile homes. The night of New Year’s Eve predictably yielded little sleep with the site raucous until gone 2am but the day, which we spent in Queenstown, was memorable for positive reasons. Our boat trip across the magnificent Lake Wakatipu was complimented by a surprisingly good farm visit with vast mountains, once again, flanking us on all sides. “Let’s not mention the England rugby team” laughed the Kiwi farm guide when he heard our accents, but with a record-equalling 14 consecutive wins behind us, I was quite happy to ride the banter bus.

Queenstown, the ‘adventure capital of the world’ according to the PR people who try to flog you expensive excursion tickets, certainly offers plenty of thrill-seeking experiences and the town was particularly busy given the date. Our celebrations got no wilder than posh ice creams in a gelateria and an early barbecue back at the site.

The lack of sleep clearly impaired my decision-making as we prepared to make a prompt start on New Year’s Day. Choosing to refill the water tank with our neighbour’s hose backfired when the hose got stuck in the side of our van and said neighbour emerged earlier than I had anticipated. As Rachel chatted to the lady, playing for time, I resorted to brute force and yanked the hose head out, taking a chunk out of my index finger in the process.

We finally left the mountains behind and headed south-east through Roxburgh and other such tiny settlements before making the long, straight climb into Dunedin. Our campsite was not far from the beach but although the sun, sand and surf lifesavers lent the place a rather Australian feel, the water temperature was more Bognor than Bondi.

On the way north we broke the journey in Oamaru, another coastal town with a quaint Victorian shopping precinct and nearby penguin colony. We went for a look but the penguins were out.

By now the road was faster, if less interesting, and carried us inland to Geraldine - a stop recommended by someone we’d met at an earlier campsite. The site itself was tidy but even better were the food and drink options just around the corner, underlining Geraldine’s reputation as something of a regional gourmet centre. The zingy pasta sauce from Barker’s significantly enhanced the evening meal.

The run into Christchurch was about as straight and flat as you could get. Grey skies and drizzle matched the mood in the city; although they’ve worked hard to get up and running again after the earthquakes, it still looks like a building site and feels quite depressing. To see the grand old cathedral deserted and propped up behind wooden boards was pretty sad.

After a night at Spencer Beach the van handover went smoothly with the only problem being I left my sunglasses in the cab and didn’t realise until several hours later.

We flew to the North Island and stepped off the plane in Tauranga with the wind swirling across the runway and threatening to blow us off the portable steps. Many hours spent playing Tetris as a youngster prepared me for the next challenge - squeezing four suitcases and countless smaller bags into a car which also needed to carry five passengers to our base for the next week on the west side of town.

After all that time on the road, it was nice to unpack and settle down, although we continued to explore. Hunting for a parking spot in Mount Maunganui reminded me of beach holidays back home, as did the subsequent digging of deep holes in the sand until the tide came in to fill them.

We were chased by aggressive geese at Katikati Bird Gardens, marvelled at the different international sections in Hamilton Gardens and walked a volcanic valley near Rotorua. Here, too, we crossed rope bridges high among the giant Redwood trees and visited a ‘living Maori village’ at Whakarewarewa (that’s the shortened version, believe it or not). About 70 people live in the village, which remains open to the public - for a fee - even when funerals and other private events are taking place. We learnt plenty while we were there although our guide prickled whenever people asked questions she didn’t like. Sorry, but you can’t have it both ways - if you’re going to sell your soul to the tourist, don’t take their money and take offence.

But although the hot mud and geothermal pools of Whakarewarewa left me cold, this journey delivered far more highs than lows. The country’s landscapes are fabulously diverse and the people incredibly friendly (including of course the family who hosted us on both islands).

Ever thought of visiting this corner of the globe? Do it. Because despite making headlines for negative reasons in recent years, the huge number of foreign accents we heard on our travels prove that New Zealand’s natural beauty has a much greater reach than her natural disasters.