Oceania Diaries, Part 2: New Zealand

The airport had very comfortable seats, and it was far more modern than Nadi’s. I felt relieved. When Delta kicked us off the plane, I had almost written off Fiji, and for a while I did not think I would be able to get out of there.

There was no bus at that hour, so I took an Uber for 60 NZD. The airport staff said a regular taxi would have cost 100. Traffic was on the left again. We reached Auckland CBD around 1am, and I rang the bell. My host had waited up for me, watching Netflix. We talked for a minute and I went to bed. It was cold, but the bed was really comfortable. Writing these lines, I kinda miss that bed. The comforter was so heavy, the weather was so cold…

I wanted to wake up at 7 and leave at 8, but I only got up around 8:30. My host had made a small free breakfast, so we ate together and watched BBC. Somehow we ended up talking about politics. She was a good person who had worked at the United Nations in Geneva, and she told me about the Gold Coast in Australia. I left around 9:15 and bought two bagels on the way. I ate one and put the other in my bag. I only had a backpack, and I was glad I had not brought a carry-on. Delta had checked everyone’s for free in NY, and people had to wait for them after getting kicked off the plane.

Next was the car rental place, and I was tense, since traffic was on the left. It got worse when I told the Airbnb host that I was driving to Rotorua. She told me to be careful and said that on roundabouts, you go clockwise. I had not thought about that before, so now I was even more nervous. They gave me a Mitsubishi SUV. I pulled out slowly and took State Highway 1 for about 3 hours. It was a fun drive. When I arrived, I was proud of myself. I had not felt like that in a long time, like I had actually accomplished something.

My first stop was the Hell’s Gate geothermal park. I spoke to my wife briefly, changed, and got into the hot water. It was great. The staff and I chatted, and I learned about the New Zealand accent: “yes” becomes “yis.” I got into the mud pool by myself and stayed for 20 minutes. I put some on my face too. After that I took a cold shower and went back into the hot pool. I left around 2pm, ate something at the cafe and charged my phone.

At 4:30pm I had the Te Puia tour, only 20 minutes away. We were a group of 20. Our guide explained that the statues have four fingers, and a hand on the belly means wealth. It was clear that New Zealanders care a lot about their culture and history. They talk about the Māori language, place names, and “our ancestors.” Their ancestors followed whales to find islands and made weapons from whale bones. They also build houses for their dead and tattoo their bodies. There was an art school there, we watched artists practice wood carving and weaving. They make clothes and bags from harakeke, a type of flax. After that we walked near a geyser, which was quite active and fun to watch. I think watching the geyser was the best part of my limited time in New Zealand. We had some free time, so I sat on a warm stone. We also saw a bubbling mud pool.

Last was a kiwi enclosure where photos were not allowed. I learned that kiwis are nocturnal, flightless and endangered. Their population fell from millions to around 68,000, partly because dogs kill them, and they are mostly found in the North Island. Everyone else in my group had a meal included. I had only bought the tour, so I finished the tour and drove 5 minutes into town for dinner. After that I drove to the Airbnb, which was also nearby. It was in a dark, quiet spot though. After check-in I went to bed around 6pm. For safety, I put a glass cup behind the door as a makeshift alarm.

On August 26, I got up and went to a cafe. I wanted a heavy breakfast and ordered more than I could eat, but I think I finished it, I do not remember it well now. Then I went for a short run along Lake Rotorua. It was about an hour long, and I did not feel fresh. The imminent result in the marathon started to show itself to me back then, now I realize (or maybe I am just making it up). The geothermal activity gave the air a sulfur smell in places.

After the run, I drove ~1.5 hours to the Lord of the Rings tour. The land was green everywhere, with lots and lots of sheep. When it was time, we got on a bus. Our guide was a Chinese woman who was very passionate and cute. A man in the group asked her if she was Korean. He probably did not realize that it was a bit racist.

We saw a lot of hobbit houses. I learned that Peter Jackson and his team found the land while flying over it in a helicopter, then made a deal with the owner. Most of the people on the tour were old, 60+. I recorded the walk on Strava. It was about 1.5 km but took 2 hours with the group. We stopped for a drink at the Green Dragon Inn. I had tea. The sheep were everywhere, and the land is fenced with electric wire.

I drove back to Auckland listening to the radio, where they were discussing Australia banning AI-generated music from the charts. After I returned the car, I ate fried rice at a random place and went to a barber. I needed a shave, so it worked out. The barber was from Lebanon and he saw an ad on a newspaper back then, New Zealand was looking for some people who knew how to do stuff, and that’s how he ended up in Auckland. He said he has 6 kids. At the Airbnb, I showered and went to bed directly. Around 3-4am I called an Uber to catch my morning flight to Sydney.

Published: Oct 29, 2026.
Last edited: Oct 29, 2026.