New Zealand - ecotourism at the end of the world

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

If you look for New Zealand on the map, you will find it in the very bottom right corner of all geography. But in what amazingly beautiful and picturesque corner! Here is a paradise for ecotourists, hikers and adventure seekers.

By the way, did you know that when we have morning, it is already late evening in New Zealand? Or that when we have winter, there is a warm and sunny summer?

Let's get to know New Zealand better and try to create an interesting tourist route ourselves.

Auckland - gates of new zealand

Upon arrival in New Zealand at the Auckland airport, guests are greeted by figures from the Lord of the Rings movie saga, which was filmed here.

Auckland is the largest city in the country and is even considered a metropolis. But to tourists, it may seem like a huge village the size of New York with a continuous line of one-story buildings. And only in the very center - with two dozen skyscrapers.

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It is here that the concrete block Sky Tower is located - the tallest tower in the Southern Hemisphere. Its height is 328 m. Tourists can admire the beauty of Auckland from the observation deck, and the most daring are offered to jump from the tower down on a bungee. By the way, the bungee was invented in New Zealand.

Tourist notes! The first thing that catches the eye of a tourist outside the walls of the airport is the high prices. A transfer from the airport to the city by bus will cost $ 16, and a taxi - from $ 60 to $ 90. There is an alternative - hitchhiking. Local residents are happy to give tourists a ride for free.

Auckland is clean and beautiful. But tourists stay here for a maximum of a day.

They come to see the breathtaking beauty shown in The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia movie sagas - the famous Hobbiton Hills, Wayotapu Hot Springs with infernal geysers, Maori Aboriginal village, snowy mountains, virgin forests, plains, flowering meadows and ancient obelisks.

Hobbiton Hills - fairy tale sung by Tolkien

Hobbiton is a fairytale farm where the hobbits from The Lord of the Rings lived, it is located in the Waharoa area.

Walking around the farm, every now and then you remember scenes from the film: here Gandalf drove into Hobbiton in his cart, and here he and Bilbo Baggins smoked a pipe and blew smoke rings.

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The famous oak tree from the movie grows from Bilbo's hole. The tree is artificial and costs $ 1 million. In fact, the oak was transported from the United States in sawn form, and here it was collected together. Since the living foliage is opal, the oak had to be dressed in an artificial one.

Sunset in Hobbiton is an indescribable experience that completely immerses hobbits and elves in the on-screen world.

A visit to Hobbiton will cost $ 75 for adults and $ 10 for children.

Tourist notes! The most economical way to eat is to buy food from the supermarket. For example, tomatoes cost $ 0.87, bacon $ 6.99, avocado $ 1.99, eggs $ 2.99, sandwich bun $ 0.999.

Rotorua - the land of thermal springs and the Maori tribe

From Hobbiton you can go to Rotorua. Steam and hot water gurgle throughout the city of Rotorua. Here they are so used to it that they use geysers as a stove. And that's not all: houses in Rotorua are heated from geysers, and electricity in houses is from geyser power plants.

This is an absolutely ecologically clean place, like the whole of New Zealand, by the way. The indigenous people of New Zealand live in these places - the Maori tribe. The Maori themselves believe that their ancestors were gods who came to Earth from the stars of the Milky Way.

There are several Maori paid villages in Rotorua and one free one - Wakarewareva. In the paid village, the Maori wear traditional clothes and stage whole theatrical performances for tourists.

The most interesting thing about the aborigines themselves is their tattoo. They are applied all over the body (even on the buttocks). The fact is that the Maori never had a written language, and tattooing on the face is a visiting card of the aborigine.

The patterns on the arms indicate that this Maori is a warrior.

For example, from a tattoo you can read that a person is the son of a leader or that his mother is from another tribe. The patterns on the arms indicate that this Maori is a warrior.

The Maori are also popular for their ritual dance of the Haka warrior. During the dance, they loudly hit themselves with their palms on the body, shout out threats, bulge their eyes and stick out their tongue. All this is done to intimidate the enemy so that he can see what his severed head will look like after a fight with a warrior.

A visit to the village costs $ 100.

Valley of Waiotapu Geysers - hellish place

From Rotorua, the road leads to the thermal valley. Waiotapu Geyser Park is a rare and unique natural phenomenon. There are only 5 such geyser parks on the planet. In Maori legends, geysers are called "holes in the underworld."

And, indeed, a hellish place: it looks like an abyss of evil and stench - everything boils, hovers and has a specific smell. The names of the geysers are appropriate: Devil's Inkwell, Devil's House, Devil's Font.

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And in the very center of the valley is the acidic Champagne Splash lake. So it is called because of the bubbles of carbon dioxide that constantly come to the surface, like in a glass.

The Waiotapu Valley of Geysers is a dormant volcano that may wake up someday. Let's hope we don't catch it.

A visit to the geyser park will cost you $ 32.5.

Tourist notes! There are many campgrounds in New Zealand. You can stop at any of them and pitch a tent. Everything here is built on honesty. If you stay at night, it is assumed that you will pay in the morning, but no one ever checks the payment. Camping Klekotun is located on the way to the valley of geysers. An overnight stop will cost $ 20.

Having visited New Zealand, you understand that there is simply no point in going here for the weekend. You need to come here for 3-4 weeks, but even then you may not have time to see all the beauties of this region!