Coffee Nirvana

Having gone on a whirlwind tour of the country, I’ve tried to highlight the important cities across the North and South Island in this post.

Hamilton
Hamilton is 2 hours drive from Auckland by car and I decided to visit its Botanical gardens, famous for its occidental and oriental gardens. Carrying a bottle of water was a good idea since the gardens can be vast and tiring. I immersed myself in the very English garden with a pool in the middle and hordes of tulips, bluebells dancing in the heat not knowing that they are a hemisphere away from home. The Chinese Pagoda architecture and the Japanese Tea Garden were breathtaking. I suddenly yearned for tea but that had to wait till I saw the Taj styled Indian Garden greeting me with roses in all hues. The Waikato river flowing serenely behind the marble structure reminded me of the Yamuna. By the time I finished walking through the rest I was famished and tired. So the Waikato river cruise with soothing music and warm food was ideal to end the day.

Rotorua
Rotorua is a tourist’s paradise. The city has geysers popping everywhere and is home to a volcanic history. Health Spas abound the city and the city was once famous for hydrotherapy.
As the Rotorua trip was with family, I managed to get a beautiful home stay overlooking a lake and with free access to the heated spa at the office next door. Te Puia is a traditional Maori village set amidst a huge geyser. As the Maori troupe in flax dresses performed the war dances clicking tongues out, it occurred to me that our Goddess Kali may have some Maori origins. The Maoris do not have a script and the beautiful kauri wood carvings represent the lineage and history of the village.

Walking down the path towards the geyser, we were greeted by an awesome sight. The huge geyser, around 4-5 meters high sprays water on the rocks and astonishingly, the spray is cool and not hot. This happens due to atmospheric air pressure that cools the water as it goes up. But you’ll find it hot if you sit on the rocks in front of the geyser. So once in my lifetime, I was both cool and hot!

Wellington
Wellington is located on the southern tip of North Island. Maybe its strategic location helped it become the capital of New Zealand, since Auckland outscores it in every other factor from economy to population. The Wellington Parliament is mix of new and Victorian architecture. The executive wing is built circularly and hence its name, the Beehive. Walking through the streets of Wellington in the hot autumn sun, the weather resembled that of our south Asian cities. We were obviously on the wrong day in Windy Wellington. Near the harbour, stood ferries to Picton in the clear blue Pacific waters. I was however going to fly south and watched them wistfully.

Christchurch & Mt Cook
There are two ways to reach south island. A ferry from Wellington to Picton and onward by bus is very picturesque and time consuming. The cheaper and faster way is to fly. It cost me 80 NZD from Auckland to Christchurch and I reached there in an hour. Getting down at Christchurch Cathedral Square, one can see why it is known as an ‘English’ city. Built in perfectly Gothic style, the Anglican cathedral stands at the center. The main square is cobbled and a tram runs through the major attractions of the city. The usher at the Millennium Hotel lobby was quite charming and spoke Her Majesty’s English. Hayes Park resembles Hyde Park of London. Even the rowdy weekend crowd could have been anywhere in London.

I had booked a day tour to Mount Cook. The peak and it surrounding ranges are unsurprisingly called Southern Alps! No points in originality for the homesick English in naming cities or regions. I liked Mt Cook’s Maori version – Aoraki (means son of Raki, the Sun God). The Alps is a creation of a collision of the Australian and New Zealand tectonic plates and is rising at a rate of 9mm per annum, which is a fantastic number according to the geologists.
The journey through the Canterbury plains revealed why New Zealand is a major producer of wool. Since most of the soil is volcanic and is not very fertile, sheep rearing is a major industry here. On the way to the peak, its picture perfect at Lake Pukaki, a vast blue expanse of water, with the snow-laden Mt Cook standing in the background serenely. At the church overlooking this view, the tour guide informed that many Japanese couples come to take their vows.
Mt Cook is where Edmund Hilary practiced mountaineering. The Alpine centre facing the peak has many Hilary videos & exhibits however the entry fee is 20 NZD! The view of Mt Cook from the Alpine center is breath taking; the snow laden peak reminded me of Austria. But the other peaks had little or no snow. The right time to visit the ranges is around June as the winter sets in. The snow-laden peaks and the glaciers bestow an ethereal beauty to the entire region.