Opotiki - Tongariro National Park
We told you we would get our hands dirty this week, and we did! We stayed with a lovely couple, Kim and Debbi, who have a few sheep, cows, chickens, ducks, pigs, and a vegetable garden—their little farm provides their food and allows them to sell a little to local customers. We helped every morning with daily tasks like feeding the animals, cleaning their water, checking the young ones, and gathering chicken and duck eggs around the farm. It feels like Easter every day. In addition, we helped with other tasks like weeding, mowing, and chopping wood.
It feels good to have a long-term, warm home with good farm food. The family was very welcoming and told us more about the country and the area we stayed in. They also gave us advice on some activities to do when our work for the day is done. So next to relaxing and planning, we got away from the house now and then.
Because it is summer and the holiday period for a lot of Kiwis at the moment, the town organised a movie night at a park. A small event for the local people with food and a movie written and directed by a Kiwi and Maōri woman. If you’re interested, the movie is called The Mountain. A cosy way to end a workday.
Unexpectedly, we found out that there is another native tree which grows very big and can be around for thousands of years. The pūriri tree doesn’t grow very tall, but the trunk becomes very wide over the years. Within the Hukutaia domain stands one of the oldest pūriri trees of New Zealand, and it’s even more special knowing that the tree was a resting and highly sacred place of the Maōri. Not long ago, the domain was set aside as a reserve, which meant that all the skulls needed to be removed that were inside the big hole in the trunk. A guy named Norman Potts travelled through New Zealand to collect all kinds of native plants and grow them in the reserve. We couldn’t skip that!
At the beginning, we mentioned the homemade meals we received from our host. Having a BBQ on the farm during sunset with only food from the farm was one of the highlights. To finish the evening, we went on a little night walk through their native forest right next to the farm. Why at night? Well, that’s when you see a whole fairy village! Hundreds of glowworms are nestled alongside the path and glow through the night. It really looks like fairies flying around!
As our stay in New Zealand drew closer to an end, there were only a few things left on our must-do list. One of them was golfing. New Zealanders are big fans of golf; everywhere you go, there’s at least one golf course. In our area, there were even a few, so we picked the one with the best view. To be honest, golfing is not that easy. We lost a few balls along the way and even stopped counting our tries. Nevertheless, we had four hours of fun driving around in a cart, smashing golf balls with different clubs, and enjoying the view.
Enough playing around, it’s time to help a little more. After our daily farm tasks, we went to help some friends of the family. A Māori couple wants to marry in the community church, where their parents and grandparents had married, at the beginning of February. The only problem? The church had been neglected for many years and needed some restoration before it could host a wedding. So, we spent a few hours cleaning up and started to see the beauty of the place. We hope the wedding will be wonderful and that these small renovations bring new life to the church. And of course, there’s no better way to cool down after all those hours in the sun than in a nearby river.
We also enjoyed a day of relaxation, taking a short stroll along the beach, and introducing Belgian cuisine to thank Kim and Debbi for the wonderful time. With all those eggs on the farm, vogelnestjes (bird’s nests, or scotch eggs) with mashed potatoes seemed most suitable, with chocolate mousse and sabayon for dessert. We were glad they liked it and were even more amazed when their grandchild asked for Belgian food the next day.
During the last days of our stay, we finished the work we had started at the farm and helped them out with some IT tasks. We were also treated to an amazing dinner made by Flinn and Lou (their son and his wife). It’s crazy how fast you can feel at home sometimes and how relaxing work can be, even though you’re on holiday. We learned new things, and our minds are filled with ideas for when we’re back home. On our very last morning, we went to the farm on our own, packed our stuff (and forgot some things), and made sure everything was tidy. Something we’d been waiting for finally happened: we experienced our first earthquake—or at least the first one heavy enough to feel. It happened while we were enjoying lunch; the whole house had a little shake, and we just stared at each other before bursting into laughter. Quickly after, we ran to the beach to check on White Island (Whakaari) to make sure it was nothing too serious. Interesting island, by the way, but that might be a story for when we’re back home.
The day finally came to attempt the Tongariro Alpine Crossing again, and this time, the weather gods were on our side. Since the track is again no loop and the beginning and end are not close to each other, we searched for a way to do the hike early enough to see the sunrise along the way. Unfortunately, we had to give in and book a shuttle, which took us to the start of the track and picked us up at the end. This meant we could start at 6:30 AM when the sun was already rising, but it was amazing. We experienced a completely different type of nature again. Beautiful volcanoes, craters, and blue lakes without any vegetation. Just as they said, we felt a little bit like Frodo and Sam wandering next to Mount Doom. But that is not the only film that crossed our minds during our walk. The movie we saw in the park touched upon the Maori legend connected to the tree volcanos: Ruapehu, Taranaki and Tongariro.
And so, we started our way back to Auckland. Along the way, we stopped in Hamilton to hunt for street art and extend our collection. e spent our last night back in our car, watching the sunset, and woke up to the red glow of sunrise to start our final day. Then came the hours at the airport and the long flights ahead.
Similar to Australia we feel sad to leave and have to say goodbye to friends we made along the way. We had a wonderful time and are grateful for the experiences we’ve had. From New Zealand, we take with us the strength of a strong community that supports each other with a heart for nature. As a wish, we hope the connection between the settlers and the Māori continues to grow positively.
Goodbye New Zealand, may we meet again!
