Hobbiton and beyond: 21 must-dos in New Zealand
For the serious traveler, perhaps the most gratifying feeling is having “discovered” a place before everyone else; to have savored — and better yet, trumpeted its wonders on social media — before the horde comes in and ruins everything, driving prices up and generally making a once-secret Shangri-La — gasp — “touristy.”
New Zealand is on just such a cusp: Lord of the Rings diehards and adrenalin junkies have long been extolling the marvels of Hobbiton on the North Island and extreme sports like bungee jumping in the South, but the Land of the Long White Cloud is still on the verge of blowing up. It’s remote enough to discourage dilettantes but close enough — especially for us Filipinos — to make for a unique, relaxing vacay away from the stresses of Pinoy living.
Traffic? In New Zealand that means a couple of vehicles ahead of you moving at a brisk clip. Pollution? New Zealand air is so pure they actually bottle and sell it. Overpopulation? There are only 4.5 million people in the whole of New Zealand; there’s more likelihood of a sheep rubbing up against your leg than feeling agoraphobic in a packed mall during a Midnight Madness sale.
Which brings us to the commonly held stereotype about New Zealand: that it’s a rural, sleepy farming country where there are more sheep than people. That last bit is true: there are 40 million sheep and 4.5 million Kiwis (no, it’s not an insult to call them that) — a ratio of 10 to one — but NZ is far from sleepy.
“We’d like to be known as a creative, innovative nation with a lot of attractions like our wine-growing regions and stunning natural scenery,” says New Zealand’s Ambassador to the Philippines David Strachan. Strachan doesn’t mince words when he says he “hates” the more-sheep-than-people stereotype, which is why, to mark the occasion of 50 years of friendship between New Zealand and the Philippines, the New Zealand Embassy has partnered with Singapore Airlines on special promotions and fares to encourage more Filipinos to visit and discover the Land of the Long White Cloud.
According to Tourism New Zealand’s regional manager for Southeast Asia Steven Dixon, out of 3.3 million arrivals last year, 18,000 of those were Pinoys — 38 percent growth over the previous year. “It’s a really exciting time,” he says. “Filipinos stay an average of 21 days; we’re hoping for returns, and for them to bring their friends.”
Much has been said about the South Island’s action triangle of Christchurch, Queenstown and Mt. Cook: how scenic it is and therefore more popular for bungee jumping, skydiving and paragliding, but less is known about the North Island and its attractions. So that was our mission: to fly to Auckland and then drive south by coach, taking in the North’s various pleasures before departing from the coastal capital of Wellington.
Mission accepted.
How to get there
Singapore Airlines (SQ) flies four times daily from Manila to Singapore, where you can connect to SQ flights to Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch. (To expand its New Zealand network, SQ also partnered with Air New Zealand.)
Since it’s a three-and-a-half-hour flight to Singapore and a further seven and a half hours to Auckland, the best way to travel in style is via SQ Business Class, or Premium Economy if you’re on a budget. Premium Economy is SQ’s new class offering comfier seats, more recline, priority baggage handling and a wider selection of meals and spirits.
For those traveling on Business or First Class, the pampering starts at the SilverKris Lounge in NAIA 3, which is designed to feel like a “home away from home” with its living and dining areas complete with art by Impy Pilapil and a delicious buffet of Singaporean and Filipino favorites. I chose laksa and settled into one of the productivity pods, which offers not only more privacy but also electrical sockets to charge your gadgets, USB ports and a high-speed Wi-Fi connection.
SQ Business Class also offers a “Book the Cook” option of selecting a gourmet, chef-prepared meal before you fly when you manage your booking on the website (www.singaporeair.com).
The 7.5 hours to Auckland just flew by thanks to all the wide-screen entertainment on KrisWorld, two lavish, three-course meals served on real dinnerware, and a spacious cocoon of a seat, the back of which folded down to form a bed. We arrived in Auckland feeling fresh and ready to take on New Zealand.
Auckland: City of sails
The best times to go to New Zealand are spring and fall, according to our guides/guardian angels/snack suppliers, Tourism New Zealand market development manager Theresa Goh, General Travel New Zealand executive director Anna Black, and our coach driver-cum-tour guide, Patrick Hopa, a Maori gent. Auckland is not the capital (Wellington is) but the international gateway to the country, and it’s a cosmopolitan and colorful city with lots to see and do.
• Get a 360-degree view from the Sky Tower. At 328 meters high, Auckland’s Sky Tower is the best way to familiarize yourself with the physical contours of the city. In the midst of the striking land-sea topography you’ll see landmarks like the Auckland Harbour Bridge and volcanic island Mt. Ranitoto in the distance.
www.skycityauckland.co.nz/attractions/sky-tower/
• If you’re adventurous, climb or bungee jump from an Auckland landmark. The Auckland Bridge Bungy is the only jump in the world where you can wet your head in the ocean. It holds the world record of most jumps done in the least amount of time (80 jumps in 60 minutes), and you might even see a dolphin or two (NZ$160 per jump, $125 for a climb).
http://www.bungy.co.nz
The Sky Tower offers a gentler jump (NZ$225) — so gentle that the oldest person who’s ever SkyJumped was a 100-year-old woman, while the youngest was the four-year-old daughter of bungee inventor AJ Hackett.
https://www.skycityauckland.co.nz/attractions/sky-tower/adventure/
• Take a sunset cruise around Auckland Harbour. Being situated next to the sea, Auckland is also known as the City of Sails, because one in four families own a water vessel of some sort. The captain of our yacht, the Pride of Auckland, let us take turns steering while he dispensed interesting bits of nautical lore. Kiwis take their sailing so seriously that New Zealand is the first country outside the USA to win the America’s Cup — a fact they’re extremely proud of.
Buy tickets at the Booking Kiosk, Viaduct Harbour, Auckland.
• Smell the flowers at Auckland Domain or Michael Joseph Savage Memorial Park. The Domain is Auckland’s version of Central Park, with a War Memorial Museum and the must-see Wintergarden, featuring stunning flora native to New Zealand.
Park Rd, Grafton, Auckland
Michael Joseph Savage was a well-loved prime minister who tried to install a Maori parliament when the government confiscated their land. “Maoris have lot of respect for him, considered him rangatira — chief,” Patrick says. Today the monument also boasts beautiful gardens and an unparalleled view of Auckland.
19 Hapimana St, Orakei, Auckland
Where to sleep: The four-star Crowne Plaza Hotel Auckland. In addition to beautifully appointed rooms they have “sleep advantage” floors with three different kinds of pillows for business travelers. They don’t book families or honeymooners on these two floors (23 and 24), either.
https://www.ihg.com/crowneplaza/hotels/us/en/auckland/aklnz/hoteldetail
Waitomo
• See the Waitomo Glowworm Caves. Discovered by two Maori men and still run by their descendants today, these caves are a natural marvel. Glowworms are the larvae of a spider native to New Zealand, whose larval stage lasts nine months while adults they live a mere three to four days. Attached to the roof of these stalactite/stalagmite caves, their luminescent glow attracts insects such as mosquitoes, drawing them into a trap of threadlike webs that hang down like fishing lines. The climax of the tour is a boat ride where you float beneath what seems like an underground galaxy of stars — an unearthly, beautiful and unforgettable experience.
www.waitomocaves.co.nz
Matamata
• Join Team Hobbit or Team Wizard at Hobbiton. If you’re a Lord of the Rings fan like I am, it’s but natural that your Mecca would be Hobbiton, the Hobbit village seen in Sir Peter Jackson’s epic trilogy. Our guide David said that of the 1,500 visitors a day, 35 percent have never seen the movies or read the books, “they just want to make the people back home jealous.” Thirty-nine hobbit holes were built to scale to make actors like Elijah Wood (Frodo) look as small as hobbits or as towering as the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen). In fact, when you see McKellen hit his head in The Fellowship of the Ring, that was a real-life moment caught on film: “He didn’t curse, he was a proper British gentleman,” David reveals. “When Peter Jackson started filming no one had any idea what he was doing, or what hobbits were. They were just actors 5”4’ and below wearing funny costumes.”
After you do your round of the bucolic Shire, whose structures were rebuilt permanently for The Hobbit Trilogy, the tour ends at The Green Dragon Inn, where you can have a ginger beer or more alcoholic apple cider to toast your fellow “hobbit” friends.
www.hobbitontours.com
(To be continued next week)
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Singapore Airlines flies four times daily from Manila to Singapore. Purchase a round-trip Economy Class ticket to Auckland, New Zealand, using your MasterCard credit or debit card, and get a free one-way upgrade to Premium Economy Class. For more information, go to www.singaporeair.com.
Singapore Airlines PPS Club, KrisFlyer Elite Gold or Elite Silver passengers are also eligible for expedited New Zealand visa applications. Inquire at http://kb.immigration.govt.nz/contact.
In addition, all inbound and outbound passengers flying beyond Singapore get a $20 transit voucher to spend on shopping, dining, or at the Ambassador’s Transit Lounge at Changi Airport. Claim your voucher at the iShopChangi Collection Centres in Changi Terminals 2 and 3.
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Follow me on Facebook (Therese Jamora-Garceau), Twitter @tjgarceau and Instagram @tj108_drummergirl. Photos by THERESE JAMORA-GARCEAU
