Must Have: the Water Bottle

Water is expensive here in New Zealand. A small bottle here can fetch as much as NZ$3.50 or PhP 120! Imagine you have to pay that amount every time you have a meal--your daily expenses will shoot up in no time.

So one of the first things you have to buy when you get here is a good water bottle. I got mine from Mountain Designs at Downtown Centre for about NZ$10 (PhP350), but you can really get them just about anywhere. 

You can fill it up from any drinking fountain or faucet in the city. My fraternity brod, who works for the water utility, swears on their water's cleanliness.

Mount Ngauruhoe and Taranaki Falls

On the Tongariro Northern Circuit with Mount Ngauruhoe on the background.

If hiking (or tramping) is your kind of thing, New Zealand is a great place to do that. One, the views are fantastic. Literally, every photo could be for a postcard. Two, the trails are well taken cared of. They're clean and there are directional signs. And third, there are practically no dangerous animals to harm you (no snakes, spiders, etc.).

Beautiful day to go hiking.

I went on a short and easy hike at the Tongariro Northern Circuit near Whakapapa during my ski trip last July. I went with my fellow international students. We took the Taranaki Falls 2-hour hike.

With my fellow international students.

We entered the track at Whapapa Visitor Center. Like I said, the trails are well maintained. I noticed there were no trash cans, but at the same time I didn't see any litter either. I guess trash cans are hard to maintain, and may attract small animals. Also, it seems hikers are presumed to be responsible enough to keep their trash with them until they get back to the village.

That's Mount Ruapehu

The easy hike provided us with great views of both Mount Ruapehu and Mount Ngauruhoe. Have I mentioned that both volcanoes were film locations of Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies?

We have lots of falls like this in my province of Ilocos Norte.

After an hour of hiking, we reached Taranaki Falls. Nothing really special with this falls as there are lots of them in the Philippines, but still nice to see. Anyway, if we had more time (and better dressed for outdoors), we could continue hiking around Mount Ngauruhoe, which would take the whole day. But we were in jeans and sneakers. From Taranaki Falls it was another hour to get back where we started.

If you take a trip to Mount Ruapehu to ski, and want to do something else while there, I suggest to take this short 2-hour hike of the Tongariro Northern Circuit at Whakapapa Village, just a 10-minute drive from Whakapapa Ski Area. It's another great way to enjoy the Kiwi outdoors.

Hobbiton in Matamata

You cannot leave New Zealand without visiting Hobbiton at Matamata--the movie set of "The Shire" in the Lord of the Rings series.

My friends and I visited Matamata back in March. It is 3 hours by car, south of Auckland. You can take the bus if you don't drive (either Inter-City or Naked Bus). Once you get to Matamata, you can park your car next to the iSite Visitor Center. You cannot miss it because it looks like an LOTR cabin.

You buy your ticket at the iSite (it costs NZ$75 for adults) and then you wait for the bus  that will take you to Hobbiton.

When you get to Hobbiton, your group will be led by a tour guide around the movie set. We're lucky that we visited at a time that they recently concluded shooting the Hobbit prequels as the "The Shire" was in good shape. I heard that a few years back, just after the first LOTR movies, the set was not well taken cared of. I guess Peter Jackson and the farm's owners (yes, the set is actually in the middle of an active sheep farm) soon realized the tourism potential of the area.

It's a really nice place. The Hobbit holes are well maintained. You can take as much pictures as you want (just respect the cordon). As much as you can, do try to plan your trip. It looks much better if the sky is clear and the sun is out. Makes it look bright and colorful.

After the tour, the tour guide will lead you to the Green Dragon Pub where you can enjoy a pint of beer on the house (well, it's part of the NZ$75, hehe).

From there you return to the Shires Rest Cafe, where LOTR fans can shop for souvenirs. Then you board another bus that will take you back to iSite in Matamata. 

Total tour time is 2 and 1/2 hours. Better check the Hobbiton Tours website for tour schedules. I think the last bus leaves Matamata at 3:30pm.

Where to Shop in Auckland - Daiso / Japanese Discount Stores

Just like in the Philippines they have Japanese Discount Stores here in Auckland. And they're very helpful when it comes to small household items like washing machine clothing bags, kitchen utensils, bathroom cleaners and even school supplies. Yun nga lang, hindi pa rin kasing mura tulad sa atin (PhP 88). They cost NZ$3.50 each, or about PhP 120. Still, mas mura pa rin compared sa regular shops dito.

So before you buy that item at the supermarket, pass by the Daiso shop first. Malay mo, mas mura.

Happy shopping!