AUCKLAND
SkyTower – the undisputed leader, a TV tower with a postcard view of Oakland
Devonport – an area that can be reached by ferry from Queens Wharf’s central pier
Queen Street – downtown’s main street for shopping enthusiasts
Eden Park – for sports lovers! We watched England and New Zealand in a cricket match.
HOBBITON
Many people know that the filming of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit took place in New Zealand. Perhaps you, too, fell in love with this country just after watching Peter Jackson’s films.
ROTORUA
Wai-O-Tapu is one of the twenty most surreal places in the world.
The unique landscape of the thermal park includes the world-famous Champagne Lake, craters, boiling mud and other pictures of hell.
WAIMANGU
Waimangu Volcanic Valley is a 10-minute drive from Wai-O-Tapu, so it’s easy to combine the two in one day if you’re in the Rotorua area.
There are three options for visiting the park: a hike, a boat ride, and a full experience that combines the first two. We opted for the hike, and we also grabbed tickets at 50% off.
Frying Pan Lake is the largest thermal spring in the world. The lake covers the volcanic crater of Echo, and its acidic water maintains a temperature of 50-60 degrees Celsius. The water is smoky and can even boil because of the carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide bubbles on the surface.
Miracle Lake was formed after the strongest eruption in the history of New Zealand in 1886. The country is at the junction of tectonic plates, so it’s dangerous but cool to live here. Talk about volcanoes and earthquakes soon.
WAYTOMO CAVES
Glowworm Caves are firefly caves of arachnocampa luminosa, endemics of New Zealand. There are such caves on the North and South Islands, and some of them are even free to visit.
Red Crater
There is an opinion that it was the pyroclastic flow that was the main cause of the deaths at Pompeii.
Then the volcano became even more active and the wind changed direction. Boulders began to fall near the group, exploding as they fell and splitting into burning fragments. The boys couldn’t turn back, so they ran toward the Central Crater. Already seemingly safe 3.7 km from the mountain, everyone was swept off their feet by the blast from the Ngauruhoe eruption.