Dan & Shelley Jordan did a LoTR Road Trip with guide Alex Cameron ten years ago. They fell in love with NZ and vowed to return, this time with their two boys Wesley (8) and Seth (5) in tow.
Escaping the British winter for a southern hemisphere summer, Constance their guide was surprised to learn they hailed from Ilkley in Yorkshire, a place she had visited a few months ago.
The family hit the ground running and escaped Auckland asap with the first stop on the three week holiday a movie set tour and second breakfast at Hobbiton.
Basing themselves in Rotorua for a few nights to adjust to the time zone they partook in some thrilling activities such as a helicopter ride with landing on the volcano Mt Tarawera, a walk in the Waimangu geothermal valley, “shinny dipping” at the Secret Spot and Zorbing.
En-route to River Valley, a favourite spot for the couple on their last visit, was a jet boat ride tearing up and down the Waikato River between the Aratiatia Rapids and Huka Falls. The weather was perfect for their rafting experience on the Rangitikei (Anduin) River the following day.
Moving on the group travelled South to Wellington via Taihape for a spot of gumboot throwing or as these Brits called it “Welly Wanging!”
Their arrival into Wellington was preceded by a refreshment stop at the De Molen windmill in Foxton, a visit to Brewtown, a refurbished Dunlop Tyre factory in Upper Hutt, which is now a mecca for craft beer enthusiasts like Dan; then a ride up the iconic cable car in NZ’s capital city to play at being human sundials at the Carter Observatory.
Then it was time to say Haere Ra to the North Island with an early start to catch the Bluebridge Ferry to Picton.
Having missed out on her previous trip to NZ, due to being preggers with Wes; Shelley celebrated her Haere Mai to the South Island with some Marlborough Wine, over lunch at the St Clair vineyard followed by a tasting at Cloudy Bay.
Next on the agenda was Kaikoura. The family were not disappointed by the wildlife on offer here. On their Whale Watch encounter not only did they see Whales but they got to view Albatross, Furseals, Dusky & Hector Dolphins.
All the big kids and little kids were excited about visiting Hanmer Springs, especially the boys. They couldn’t wait to play on the slides at the renowned Thermal water park. They got two cracks at it, once on arrival then again in the morning before heading to the West Coast. Where the “Wet” Coast decided to live up to its name and rain.
The weather gods appeared to be on our side though, clearing for our walk to see the Pancake Rocks & Blowholes at Punakaiki. Wesley was ecstatic to eat at the renowned Pancake Rock Cafe where he feasted on Snickers pancakes.
The family visited the new Paparoa Experience which was a hit with everyone, especially the interactive blowhole bit. The next stop was the National Kiwi Centre in Hokitika to see the kiwis, feed the eels and catch crawlies. Loads of fun.
Unfortunately Franz Josef was dismal and drizzly with no glacier in sight. Sadly their helicopter ride was cancelled and Dan was beginning to think that glaciers in NZ were fake. He remained unconvinced until Constance was able to prove their existance when the clouds cleared at the Fox Glacier viewpoint the following morning.
The weather was increasingly changeable but this didn’t stop the family from enjoying the beauty of nature: Hector Dolphins @ Ship Creek, Insta worthy shots of Thunder Creek Falls @ stone skimming and cairn building @ Fantail Falls.
They broke the journey to play in the maze and illusion rooms at Puzzling World in Wanaka followed by dinner at the historic Cardrona Hotel before reaching Queenstown, their base for the next few days.
It was an action-packed time involving a flight and cruise on Milford Sound, Skyline gondola and luge rides, a day on the Dart River Jetboat & Funyaks, a Helicopter Line Southern Glacier experience topped off with a Gibbston Valley wine cave tour and lunch, where they celebrated Constance’s birthday.
Then it was time to fly back to Auckland and drive up to explore the Bay of Island’s and New Zealand’s far north.
Paihia Beach Resort was a chance for the family to kick back, relax poolside and enjoy the sunshine. With a fun afternoon boat ride out to Cape Brett and through the hole in the rock before feeding snapper and swimming in thd shallows of Otetahi Bay with a stingray.
En-route to Carrington Estate on Doubtless Bay’s Karikari Peninsula the family frolicked in the surf & built sandcastles at Matauri Bay followed by fish n chips for lunch at the famed Mangonui Fish shop.
A day trip up to Cape Reinga, the northern most tip of New Zealand was very exciting for all but especially for Constance who had only made it there once before, many many moons ago.
This was followed by a massive work out, scaling the Te Paki Giant sand dunes, in order to sandboard back down these great heights at a rapid rate.
The last day was spent soaking up the sunshine, playing tennis, swimming in the pool, quaffing wine and eating lunch at the Carrington Estate Winery.
Departure day bought rain and heavy hearts as the group made their way to Kerikeri. In an attempt to lighten the mood Constance suggested a visit to the Parrot Place where everyone handfeed some beautiful birds whilst trying to avoid getting pooped on.
This was followed by one last liquid lunch for Shelley at the Marsden Estate Winery. Then sadly it was time to say goodbye at the Bay of Islands airport so the family could begin their long trek home to the land of tea and cucumber sandwiches.
It was very quiet in the car after that with no more requests for silly kiddy songs by Parry Gripp.
