Working holiday
With or without economic crisis I love traveling.
I am from Chile and from Early 2000 Chilean people started to know more and more about Working Holiday visas in New Zealand.
Just 1.000 visas per year, I don’t know if they are enough for all of us, but who can get one… LUCKY YOU!!!
I didn’t make a single plan before coming to NZ, for me this one would be a new adventure, and I wasn’t wrong, it was.
Hiring or buying a van to travel and sleep in it is an increasingly popular formula in countries with a beautiful and large land areas and lots of nature lie NZ, however I didn’t take it. I wanted to meet people, so I decided to take a bus for traveling and sleeping in backpackers (hostels) which are not very known in my country.
The distance from Chile to New Zealand is over 9.000 kilometers. However, neither the distance nor the long hours of the flights, about 15 hours, between flights, stopovers and transfers prevent Chileans from coming to New Zealand. More Chileans want to know the exoticism of this land, with beautiful and dreamy landscapes virtually untouched nature and in perfect condition. Although there are beautiful cities, New Zealand stands by its nature. It has the highest percentage of its territory as national parks around 14.
The North Island:
Of volcanic Origin, this island has less lush vegetation than its sister the south island, but it has a rich area of geysers in Rotorua. In this island I found the famous Polynesian Spa, where the temperature of water is around 30 degrees, water rich in minerals. This Spa is especially advisable during the night.
In Rotorua there are a lot of Maoris (12% of the population), here I had one of the most exciting experiences, in a Maori Village, called Te Puia trying the Hangi (Maori Food), Maori typical dances and of course HAKA.
Although the capital city is Wellington, Auckland has the largest airport in NZ. Besides being the largest and most populous city. Auckland is more than the SKY TOWER, it has an impressive bay with thousand of sailboats docked. Here you also can see volcanoes (Rangitoto and Waiheke Islands) now extinct, and the famous iron bridge HARBOUR BRIDGE, where I tried to do BUNGY JUMP and of course where you can have a beautiful view of the bay and the Pacific.
In anticipation of what you will see throughout the country, there is nothing wrong for nature lovers to enjoy a little museum of Kelly Tarlton. Penguins, all marine species including sharks, rays and wild piranhas come together in a large aquarium that shares space with a museum dedicated to the expedition of Antarctica.
Between Auckland and Rotorua, you can divert to visit the Waitomo Caves. The silence is absolute in its interior, and the visual effect produced by thousands of glowworms, in the ceiling of the cave and ride on a boat that moves gently lead the tourist the feeling of crossing the Hade. It’s one of those moments that are repeated throughout the trip in which you have the sensation of seeing something that is difficult to repeat.
Lake Taupo, such a great lake, BEAUTIFULL!!! Here I did SKY DIVING and one of the best tracking “TONGARIRO CROSSING”.
This’s considered the best one-day trekking tour of the country and is not in vain, The Tongariro Crossing is among the ten best single-day treks across the globe.
Tongariro National Park, about 20 miles southwest of Lake Taupo, was the first national park created in New Zealand and one of the first in the world. Also it owes its name to the Tongariro volcano, 1.978 m above sea level and although it actually consists of twelve cones, the main peak has two craters, the slope of the northern and the southern slope.
The tour has a distance of 18.5 km and do not forget to come prepared because the weather is very variable and can be passed in a few minutes of clear weather to dense fog and strong winds.
Napier
I came to this city by bus, a fast, safe way to arrive, as well as economic. Since the distances are short in this country, not worth spending to take plane, unless you are in a hurry. You can learn more about all their territory, beautiful landscapes, colors, etc.. The terminal is small and is located near the center. You can easily walk to the hotels and the central avenue. This coastal city of 50,000 is best known for its architecture. After an earthquake destroyed the city in 1931, the inhabitants rebuilt the art deco style today. Its well-preserved uniformity in style, make it an exceptional site. Only a few buildings survived the double blow (the Public Services Building, with its neo-classical pillars is one) and the dead were more than 100.
I stayed at a hostel that was across the sea, as it was low season I didn’t pay much. The view was beautiful, and despite being on a central avenue, there was not much noise from cars. The hostel was run by its owners, a Kiwi man and Dutch woman, impossible to forget them. Then I went out to walk the beach overlooked Marine Parade Ride, I liked very much, very artistic. Among the attractions of the region are in Cape Kidnappers Gannet Colony (Cape Kidnappers), the National Aquarium, its beach is long but narrow, where you go you can find parks, fountains, trees or just a single route. Art deco districts, concentrated between Emersion, Herschell, Dalton and Browning streets, is an immersion in style. The decorative elements are often above the buildings, so keep your eyes on high. Hawke’s Bay, the Spanish Mission and Art Deco architecture, gardens and walks through the bush. Another attraction is the first known prison in the country. Definitely this is MY CITY.
THE SOUTH ISLAND
If the volcanic North Island surprises you, The South Island, very mountainous, with much more lush vegetation, gives to you great feelings. Christchurch, one of the best cities here. Everybody calls it, The Garden city due to all trees, parks, vegetation which surround the Avon River.
As faithful reflection of the United Kingdom, the Scots also settled in these lands.
Dunedin, a university city par excellence and rich in cultural activities, has many memories of Edinburgh, with impressive buildings such as railway station and the university by itself, built of dark stone of the Otago Peninsula. It’s in this peninsula where we can find the biggest colony of albatrosses in the world, and numerous seals and curious penguins with yellow eyes.
The main treasures are located on the other side, on the west coast, in front of the Tasman Sea. Fiordland National Park is the biggest. Among the many fjords are two: Milford Sound and Doubbtful Sound. Rudyard Kipling defined this as the eighth wonder of the world. And the road that leads up there, the Milford Track, is considered one of the best routes. Over 55 kilometers that crosses an impressive forest of giant ferns and trees that make up the dense Fiordland region. To preserve the environment, the New Zealand Government restricts the number of tourists who can go there, so you have to apply months in advance. Most of the people who come into this park, come by car, where not detract from the stunning views, waterfalls, streams, lakes, snowcapped mountains and a permanent fog accompanied by a dull rain coat (it is one of the places with highest rate of rainfall in the world).
