Travels with Zen-Aida » New Zealand

Honeymooner’s paradise

zda — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:32:48 +0000

Honeymoons – what a wonderful time to explore a new country! And New Zealand is a place that offers it all: beaches, mountains, hot springs, culture, adventure. I don’t want to sound like the official tourism marketing agency, but it is true, this country does offer everything to honeymooners of all ages, by the way.

Thanks to the great honeymoon travel arrangements made by Liberty Travel, you can be enjoying fishing for trout in Lake Taupo (you can’t buy it, you actually have to fish it yourself), mountain biking through the Crates of the Moon, enjoying a thermal mud souffle treatment, or relaxing in a private pool with acidic mineral waters. Acidic mineral water is supposed to be great for the skin. Walking around the Lady Knox Geyser and last but not least, enjoying an evening’s entertainment – Maori style: For the indigenous people of New Zealand, the Maoris, night was an important time: it was then that the Sky Father Ranginui and the Earth Mother Papatūānuku lay in a firm embrace. Now if that isn’t a theme that goes with honeymooning...

Rotorua: The compleat hot springs experience

zda — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 23:40:36 +0000

My forays to the New Zealand hot springs were by far the most fun of my around-the-world trip so far. I admit to being a spa-water-mud addict and will gladly spring into any naturally hot thermal waters anywhere. But four hot springs/spas in four days – I really felt like having a gourmet feast! And amazingly, each one was different, not only from the water composition, but the entire atmosphere from clinical to rustic to luxury. So here is my assessment of these very special places, all located within easy driving distance of Rotorua:

Waikite Valley Hot Pools

Maybe the most “rustic” of the four, but enchanting in its simplicity and close-to-nature aspect. An Eco-Trail to the Te Manaroa Spring – the largest source of 100% pure boiling water in New Zealand - rounds out the experience. Just a 400 meter walk (at most) and there you are – gazing through fern fronds and steam into the bubbles percolating from the earth. How a boulder can be covered with luscious moss not a meter from this heat source is a wonder to me!

The five pools are all outdoors and offer something for everyone – children can splash about in the family pool, adults can relax in the “Tranquil Garden Pool” in 39° degree heaven while looking lush greenery surrounding the Otamakokore (say that fast!) River. I had the pleasure of enjoying my own (skinny-dipping!) little private sitting pool in a zen-garden-like atmosphere.

Oh, and just driving to the Hot Pools through the Waikite valley is great with all sorts of vistas unfolding at every turn, sheep grazing on steep little volcanic grass-covered cones, punctuated every now and again by an earth-vent letting off some steam.

Waiora Spa – Hell’s Gate

George Bernard Shaw visited this place in the early 1900’s and supposedly said something to the effect – as he was a confirmed atheist – that his religious friends would want him to go through this “Hell’s Gate” in order to attain salvation. True or not, it makes for a good reason to name this most active geothermal field in the Rotorua area.

After a self-guided leisurely walk of easily two hours through parts of the 25 hectares Hell’s Gate Thermal Reserve with its steaming fumeroles and boiling mud pools, I was ready for my treatment:

First you immerse yourself in a (private) large-bathtub size pool filled with geothermal water heated to about 39° and the finest of mud. It settles on the ground, so you have to keep stirring it up, or scooping it up and spreading it on yourself. The texture is silky soft, with a very gently exfoliating effect. Twenty minutes is all you are allowed in here. That’s plenty.

Then you take a cold, yes, cold water, shower (reminded me of the sauna experience – dipping into a cold water pool after being so hot). An attendant led me to a sitting pool of warm, sulphur-rich waters. Good thing she was leading me gently, I felt most lightheaded by this time. Another 15 minutes in those waters. Sulphur-rich waters are supposed to be good for the skin, helping to heal any cuts or wounds.

By the end of that session, I was ready to lay down. And that is exactly what the next step was going to be – on a massage bed, with gentle Maori music in the background. One hour – yes 60 minutes – of a heavenly “traditional Wai Ora massage” followed. I had a very good therapist (of Chinese birth) who started at the soles of the feet and worked her way up. Gentle, long but firm strokes. I probably fell asleep at some point … if this is “Hell’s Gate” then there is no reason to want to go to heaven. I wonder if George Bernard Shaw had a treatment like this one after his walk?

Polynesian Spa

Touted to be New Zealand’s leading international spa because it was voted by Condé Nast Traveller as a Top Ten Spa 2004-2007 and again in 2009, it is located on the shores of Lake Rotorua. This is a high-volume place with 26 pools in four areas with something for everyone: family, adult, private, deluxe. A natural hot mineral spring supplies therapeutic acidic water to the Priest’s Bath (named after the rheumatism-wracked catholic priest, Father Mahoney, who first soaked in his hand-excavated pool in the late 19^th century) and another spring provides soothing alkaline waters to the other pools. Fourteen pools have views of the lake. Everyone very friendly, everything very clean, all the pools very enjoyable. And yet – the experience did not get under my skin the way the others did.

Spa at QE

Originally a rehabilitation hospital for returning servicemen in 1942, it is now New Zealand’s leading specialist rheumatology and rehab health center. The Spa is a recent addition, although it shares the space with the hospital. Medical treatment and supervision is foremost at this establishment. The treatment spaces themselves exude that special old-fashioned hospital atmosphere, but that is not to say that it is unpleasant. On the contrary, you know you are in good hands, even if you are only here for “cosmetic” purposes – and all the waters are geothermally heated, wheter alkaline or containing sulphur. QE also offers medically supervised treatments of up to three weeks for various rheumatological and dermatological conditions, as well as just relieving “burn-out” syndromes. The treatments range from “Watsu” (gentle form of body therapy performed in a warm water pool combining elements of massage, shiatsu, joint mobilisation) to Pyretic Baths (a steam bath at a temperature of 43-46° and a relative humidity above 100%) to Aix Massage and more. Aix, pronounced “aches” intrigued me most….

I was given a tour of the facilities by the manager and then indulged in a one-hour Aix Massage. Naked (but covered with a towel) and wet, I lay on a massage bed while 8 shower heads with warm Rachel Spring (alkaline) water continuously sprayed on me. Stefanie, an excellent therapist from Glasgow, Scotland, performed an all-body massage using an almond-oil – she has a bathing suit on since she gets soaked, too. You’d think that water and oil don’t mix, but amazingly, the combination of water and oil does work and I ended up with silky smooth skin. This massage was first introduced to Rotorua from Aix-les-Bains, France in the early 1900s and is great for stress reduction and relaxation. Ahhhhh!

Well, that was all I did as far as spas go in Rotorua! Would I do it all over again? You bet! But there are still 94 other hot pools in New Zealand waiting!!

Rotorua: learn to love that smell of sulphur!

zda — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 12:45:49 +0000

Did you know New Zealand has more than 100 natural hot springs? I didn’t. So I was thrilled to find out that most of them are located in the North Island especially in the area around Lake Rotorua, an easy under-three-hour drive from Auckland. If you arrive in the evening, as I did, you know you have reached the city more by your nose than anything else – an aroma of sulphur pervades the air. Depending on the weather, this aroma can be perceived as slight during clear weather or stench of rotten eggs when it rains. Knowing that it is not harmful and that the air quality is very good in the area adds to its therapeutic value and made me want to breathe in gulps, well, at least not turn away in disgust.

Suffice it to say that I absolutely indulged myself in four pools and three massages within as many days. And each one was different and had its distinctive qualities, so I would be hard put to say which one was the best.

My search was helped by a website http://www.nzhotpools.co.nz set up by Sheldon Nesdale, who grew up in the Rotorua area.

The reason for this conglomeration of hot springs is the fact that Rotorua sits on a region of high geothermal activity. In essence, the earth’s crust is very thin here, and the waters and gases erupt everywhere. It was only in 1886, when Mount Tarawera, the local volcano, erupted and buried at least one complete village and changed the landscape in a major way.

Much of the regular heating and hot water is supplied by geothermal heat. Both hotels I stayed at, the venerable and historic Princes Gate Hotel and a charming B & B Tresco, for example, are on geothermal. They also have their own little geothermal pools and often the water is so hot, that it needs to be cooled down before it can be used. Fascinating!

I’ll be describing the various hot springs and massages more in detail separately.

Auckland: City of Views

zda — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 11:38:43 +0000

While not the capital of New Zealand, it is the country's largest city with 1.4 million inhabitants (roughly 31% of the entire country's population). The central city area is located on an isthmus between the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea, boasting two harbours on two separate major bodies of water.

I had been told by many people that Auckland is not a nice city to live in. Well, so far, I have spent two weeks here and have no complaints other than the wintry weather. Clean streets, good bus system, more coffeeshops and small Asian restaurants than anybody can keep track off, an astonishing number of shops and commercial spaces for rent/lease/sale, approachable and very friendly people, good accommodations. But if the landscape is to be green, then it must rain. And raining it is.

On the few sunny days so far, I have dashed out to take photographs. One of my first outings was a harbour cruise. I am a sucker for skylines and marine vistas, so you will have to indulge me.

The New Zealand Film Festival was the best show in town, so I took in several films in the magnificent Civic Theatre (see separate article "Elephants in the Sky").

Now I am off to investigate the rest of the North Island, especially some of New Zealand's over 100 hot springs!

Auckland: Elephants in the skies – the Civic Theatre

zda — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:30:39 +0000

Picture this: Auckland, New Zealand, prior to 1929. Stores only open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m Monday to Friday, few restaurants not open late. Although the first commercial film was shown at the Opera House in Auckland in 1896 and there were over 600 cinemas in New Zealand by the 1920s (a statistic states that in 1927 there was 1 cinema per 1000 inhabitants), there was nothing like the Civic Theatre, which opened its doors on December 20, 1929 amidst great fanfare. Built in only 33 weeks, it made the visitor of the new talking pictures gasp with wonder as soon as he entered the foyer: Inspired by Indian décor, 414 elephant sculptures hold up columns and light fixtures and guard Buddhas sitting crosslegged on niche pedestals in golden light. Blue and pink neon lights (in 1929!) backlight twisted columns and turrets.

Once in the main hall, which used to seat 2750 visitors, you think you are outdoors in a Moorish garden with minarets and spires as you look up - a domed cobalt blue ceiling full of twinkling stars and projections of the Milky Way (shown in their April 1929 position) explain why the theatre is called "built in the atmospheric style". Nowadays, it is only one of seven theatres built in this style still in existence and operation and the only one in Australasia.

The extravagant show curtain depicts an idyllic landscape of flamingos traipsing in a rhinestone-studded lagoon, overhung with branches of hand-embroidered cherry-tree blossoms, framed by two mighty columns of intricate, Moorish lattice-work, crowned by elaborate turrets that reach into the sky and are guarded by two statues of golden Abyssinian panthers with glowing green eyes.

Originally designed by architects Charles Bohringer and William Leighton for the businessman Thomas O'Brien in the style of the famous "Eberson theatres", the building contained several innovations, including a tearoom with dance floor (the Wintergarden) in its basement, from which patrons could observe the main screen and look straight up into the cobalt-blue star ceiling. There was also a 'gondola' orchestra pit which could be lifted or lowered as needed and featured the second largest Wurlitzer organ in the Southern Hemisphere.

With the onset of the Great Depression, which also hit New Zealand, attendance figures dropped. A contributing factor may have been Mr. O'Brien's insistence on showing British films rather than the more popular American ones. In 1968, the Wintergarden cabaret was closed and the last film shown was "LA confidential" in 1998. Sadly, by this time, the once so glamorous building had fallen into a state of disrepair. After a NZ$45 million (approx. €23 million/US$ 30 million) restoration, it reopened exactly 70 years after its inauguration, on December 29, 1999, and is now operated by THE EDGE^® , a company formed by the municipal boards to manage various Auckland venues. Once again, the Civic Theatre is the pride of New Zealand and now hosts visiting musicals, the New Zealand Film Festival and other top acts.

Where did the day go?

zda — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:06:36 +0000

Crossing the date-line doesn't hurt, in fact, you don't feel it at all. It's all just on paper and in your head: taking off from Santiago de Chile at 22:50 on Monday and arriving in Auckland, New Zealand at 4 in the morning on Wednesday. Actual flying time: 13.5 hours, roughly the same as Frankfurt - San Francisco. But it feels different, like I should be getting a gift certificate to cash in for the lost day. I suppose I will get it back in increments, as I continue flying west ....

Excellent flight on LAN, by the way. I am not a jaded business-class traveller who takes these things for granted, so, boy, did I love those fold-down-to absolute-flat seats, the pilllows and duvets cased in ironed percale cotton covers and the sheer space available. I could easily have slept those 13.5 hours, except that I felt so happy, safe and comfortable lying, extended in full comfort and enjoying the smooth flight, that I barely slept a wink.

Airstream Retro Coffee open at 4 a.m.

Arriving in Auckland at that pre-dawn time, I was surprised to find many services functioning already (but then again, it is in their interest to do so, since there are several overseas flights arriving): the duty free store, at least one bank, newspaper stand and a coffee shop - located in a converted "Airstream" aluminium caravan from the 50s, on the sidewalk, where everybody waits for bus/taxi/pickup, smart business idea.

I had informed myself online, but not made any hotel reservation yet. I decided to give the Aspen House a try because of their good rating on Lonely Planet and the fact that I knew they had space as well as being smack in the center of the city. Also, they had a two nights-for-one-deal going. Arriving at Emily Place via the shuttle-bus service at about 5:30 a.m., I am greeted by the single, loud and melodious song of an invisible bird hidden in what I later see is a charming city park, with four gingko trees, several rubber and palm trees, all easily over 100 years old. Aspen House is divided into a hostel and a hotel wing.

Aspen House Hotel on Emily Place

As a lady-in-her-prime, I choose a hotel room with private bath at $NZ65 a night. The high-ceiling room is adequate and clean, painted pale gray with one rust-red wall and a small window giving onto a blind inner courtyard. There is a slight resemblance to a prison cell, but maybe this is just the newest look in post-moderne-retro décor. At any rate, the double bed is incredibly welcoming, as I sink into it for a few hours of catch-up sleep.

Waldorf Stadium Apartments on Beach Rd.

A couple of days later, I move to the Waldorf Stadium Apartments, a building just opened in January 2009 with excellently appointed serviced apartments. I chose a studio of about 40 sq. meters, with a little kitchenette fully equipped including a cute dishwasher-in-a-rollout-drawer, my own washer and dryer, high speed internet and a city view. In addition, city buses stop right outside the door and Auckland's largest 24/7 supermarket is right around the corner. The weather is rather inclement, to but it elegantly... I think I will hibernate here for a few days.