The Suitcase Backpacker

A week of life admin, chasing waterfalls, and exploring the Bay of Islands

. . .

Aotearoa New Zealand

5 min read

The first day of orientation week with BUNAC was more of an arrival and settling in kind of day. The hostel (or should I say hotel) I would be staying at for the next four nights exceeded my expectations. It hadn’t officially opened to the public yet so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Unfortunately the pod dorm rooms were flooded the previous week, so we were all upgraded to ensuite twin or queen rooms – welcome to New Zealand ay! Absolute luxury for a bunch of backpackers. I met my roommate Aileen later on, she was from Germany and fresh out of high school (really felt my age.)

The group was quite a mix of mainly Europeans, with a large majority from Germany, a few from the UK and a Canadian. The next couple of days with the BUNAC team were full of tips, advice and what to expect on a working holiday in NZ. I found the sessions helpful, and started to feel more at ease being surrounded by other people that were doing this too. Everything was starting to feel a little less daunting.

The evening of day four was spent having dinner and drinks (paid for by BUNAC waheyy) in the cosy seaside town of Devonport, which was a quick ferry ride away. Aileen and I had arrived quite early so we spent some time exploring and wandering around the shops, before I suggested heading to Takarunga/Mount Victoria, a dormant volcano. Not realising that we were about to embark on an unexpected hike just before dinner. The sun was beating down as we trekked up the mount, and it was a sweaty, tiring walk that seemed to go on forever…but it was so worth it. The views were immense. Safe to say I devoured my fish taco dinner shortly after that surprise workout! It was a really nice evening, and I got the chance to meet and talk with more people from the group. The ferry trip back was stunning. The Auckland city lights dazzled the horizon, it was beautiful.

Later on in the week I visited Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. During my walk there it started plummeting with rain, I was fully drenched before I’d even arrived at the gallery and ended up buying an umbrella on the way. Not that it made much difference!! To be honest this was not the sort of spring/summer I was expecting in NZ. The gallery exhibitions were intriguing, especially the Maori portrait gallery. I felt that the artist, Gottfried Lindauer, really captured the identities and unique personalities of each individual Maori.

Towards the end of the week it was time to say goodbye to some of the group and head off to Paihia and the lovely Bay of Islands. The coach journey was nauseating to say the least. I definitely was not going to be sitting at the back again on the return trip. We stopped off at Whangarei Falls halfway and explored the scenic reserve before heading off again. By mid-afternoon we had arrived in Paihia and set off exploring shortly after we’d settled into our rooms. The highlight of the day for me was the cultural experience at Waitangi Treaty Grounds – a historical place also known as ‘The Birthplace of our Nation’. It is considered to be the founding site of NZ, on which documents were signed between the British Crown and Maori people (the first settlers of Aotearoa). Although, it was arguably an enforced treaty in which Maori were forced to assimilate into Western society and culture.

During the cultural experience I had the privilege of seeing my first Haka up close, and it was incredible. It’s a ceremonial Maori war dance that the All Blacks Rugby team have made famous, and it’s the most powerful performance you’ll ever see. I had been quite keen to experience and learn more about Maori culture, and now I finally started to feel like I was in Aotearoa New Zealand. Maori have a unique connection with the environment and this really stood out to me. Maori believe that we do not own the land, rather it is the land that owns us. We need it more than it needs us. Unfortunately greed and expansion was primarily at the forefront of British colonial powers’ interests in the 19th century, and I think that the Crown/West could have learned a great deal from Maori society had history taken a different turn.

The following day Alison and I hopped on the ferry to Russell Island (Kororareka). What a beautiful place. We meandered along the seafront admiring the picturesque views and pristine white houses, before embarking on an accidental hike to the next bay down. What was only supposed to be a quick ‘just follow the road around’ walk, as directed by a passing friendly stranger, turned into a 45 minute muddy trek around what felt like half of Russell. What a morning. Alison ended up wearing my spare pair of flip-flops halfway because her lovely cream sandals were not made for muddy treks! It was an absolute nightmare, but we had a laugh! We also thought we had come across the famous kiwi bird, but it turned out to be a New Zealand hen – let down.

Once we had finally reached the other bay we didn’t stay for long because the tide was starting to come in. This time we clambered over the cove rocks to get back because absolutely no way were we going back up the trail! For lunch we wandered into the least expensive looking seaside restaurant and devoured the tastiest fish and chips ever – was seriously good – even better than UK fish and chips..dare I say! We spent the latter part of the afternoon wandering along the windy seafront towards the opposite side of the island, and I managed to find a few glossy seashells to add to my growing collection.

Later in the evening back in Paihia and our last evening, we all went to a pizza place for dinner and drinks. The evening continued at our fave nearby bar, and I’m pretty sure the bartenders were starting to get used to seeing us! This time we made sure to bring our passports for ID since non-New Zealand driving licences aren’t valid here. I enjoyed my one fruity cocktail which went straight to my head, as per-usual. The rest of the group were trying out the new whisky cocktail that the bar was trialling, and safe to say it’ll now be on their drinks menu because our table ordered so many! Def did them a favour haha. I had the best evening, I laughed so much, and Lachlan and Alison’s funny accent impressions were brilliant. I was sad that the week with BUNAC and my new friends was now coming to an end.