Traveling New Zealand felt like being transported into an imaginative children’s storybook. There are places that feel magical, and the scenery is ridiculously stunning.

Not to mention: you can actually visit sites that have been used as imaginative film sets!

We spent three weeks driving around the North Island – from the very top to mostly to the bottom.

After eight months of traveling, we had our first companions join us abroad!

Our lovely niece, Karah, spent eight days with us. We stayed in a nice Airbnb in Auckland which we used as a base to explore all around.

Karah was a great navigator and excellent restaurant-picker. It was fun being a trio and I hope she joins us again sometime!

After she went home, we spent a few nights by ourselves in the Bay of Islands.

Then we drove back down to Auckland, picked up Corey’s parents, continued touring around the North Island, and then joined a cruise.

So, here’s all the sights and places we got to check out around Aotearoa, the Land of the Long White Cloud.

Auckland

I think this is an underrated city. Auckland is compact but has a nice skyline and hundreds of delicious restaurants.

We really enjoyed walking around, popping into shops, and checking out the views.

One of the best ways to spend your time in the city is to visit Auckland Museum, aka the Auckland War Memorial Museum. It is so dense you can actually spend several days exploring each floor. The two biggest highlights for me was the Maori cultural performance (an additional cost), and a volcanic eruption simulator.

There were so many other amazing and eclectic exhibits from natural history, exhibits on New Zealand’s military, and information on New Zealand’s population, both Maori and Kiwi. There is a full-size Maori meeting house, and two full-size planes from World War II! If you visit Auckland you must plan a visit to the Auckland Museum.

Tiritiri Matangi

Our friend, Brian, highly recommended that we start our New Zealand adventure by visiting Tiritiri Matangi.

This island was farmed up through 1971, but since that time, it has been an unpopulated nature reserve, with replantings of native forest, eradication of introduced pests, and restoration of native wildlife, particularly birds. Here is a photo of all the birds one can see while visiting. They even have overnight trips to look for kiwi birds, which are nocturnal and a bit shy.

It’s about a 90 minute ferry from Auckland with amazing views of the east coast of the North Island along the way.

We joined a guided tour and walked around the island for a few hours, looking at all the cool birds and insects.

It was well worth the trip and I’m so glad we did it. Thanks again Brian for helping us put our itinerary together and for sharing this place with us.

Hobbiton

We aren’t Lord of the Rings super fans, but we really enjoyed the tour through Hobbiton!! This was one of the first tours we scheduled since it was high on our priority list, and slots fill up in advance.

We actually started out the day with a stop at the Blue Spring for a short hike and stunning views.

The Blue Spring is only about 30 minutes from Hobbiton so it is easy to fit in a walk on the same day. Our time was pressed, through, and it would have been nice to allow a longer time to continue down the trail (Te Waihou Walkway). But the views start immediately, of the crystal-clear spring that supplies a significant amount of the North Island’s drinking water. After a quick filter, we refreshed ourselves with the cool, clean spring water.

The creation of Hobbiton was a well-organized partnership between the owner of the farm property, and the producers of the films, including Sir Peter Jackson. You start at a meeting point (parking and picnic grounds), then board a bus and drive through the farm to the filming location. The bus plays a short snippet of the movie and the guide shares interesting tidbits about the filming.

The grass and sky is like technicolor and the views were outstanding even from a bus window.

We had about a two-hour guided walk around the village with lots of opportunities for photos. Here are some of my favorite photos:

After Hobbiton we stopped by the nearby Opal Hot Springs, which has been a resort for more than 100 years. The staff were super friendly, and set us up for a soak in a private pool surrounded by bamboo. I love a good swim, and this was a great way to relax.

After that we grabbed dinner in Mata Mata and headed back up to Auckland for some sleep.

Waiheke Island

I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this heavily-touristed island that is a 45 minute ferry from Auckland, but I’m so glad we went!

We booked a zip line tour for me and Karah, while Corey explored the “village” and the beach.

We zipped high above the vineyards and had incredible views of the surrounding area. We were extremely lucky to have fantastic weather on this day. As you can see from the photos, New Zealand weather can be totally bipolar, and we experienced all different weather conditions in our trip.

After the adrenaline-pumping zips, the zipline company’s bus dropped us to a nearby restaurant (that also houses a brewery and distillery). Corey took the public bus, which surprisingly is an extension of the Auckland bus system, and coordinates perfectly with the ferry schedule. The restaurant had a large outdoor space overlooking the hills. We had worked up an appetite and the meal was good.

We then took another public bus to a nearby winery. Waiheke is known for their wine tourism and it was fun to do some wine tasting.

Hamilton

Did you know that Hamilton is the fourth largest city in New Zealand? It’s about an hour drive south of Auckland and is a cute town tucked right next to the river.

I had heard a lot about Hamilton Gardens from a Facebook travel group and it seemed like a fun leisurely activity. The gardens were incredible! We spent most of the day touring gardens with different themes, including themes from various foreign locales: Japan, China, Egypt, Italy, and even California Modernist! And there are so many more.

The gardens are free, but we bought a map and made a donation to help support their upkeep. The gardens were a definite highlight of the trip for me, and they continue to expand and will be continuing to add new gardens.

After the gardens we cruised around the small downtown area, did some shopping, ate Mexican dinner, and drove back to Auckland to rest.

Coromandel Peninsula

The Coromandel Peninsula is a small piece of land that juts out from the east coast, about three hours driving distance from Auckland. It’s very popular with tourists.

Heading out to the beaches around Coromandel meant we had to get up very early because it’s a long drive that we had to time perfectly with the tide.

Why the tide?

The first place we stopped was Hot Water Beach. (One of the things I love about New Zealand and Australia is how straight-forward the naming of landmarks is). Hot Water Beach has thermal hot spring activity right under the sand. When the tide is out, all you have to do is dig to make your own hot tub right on the beach.

So we arrived at Hot Water Beach to find a mostly empty beach and a beautiful view. We got to work right away using the shovel we had bought in advance. Thankfully Karah spotted another shovel nearby. We dug around the beach in several different spots before finally feeling hot water.

Oh boy that water was hot! We eventually dug a hole wide enough to fit a few humans. The hole was so big that the hot water mixed with the cold to create a comfortable beach soak. Or at least, as comfortable a sandy beach hole can be.

After a few hours we gave up our spot to a latecomer and headed up the coast to visit another top-rated beach.

The next beach was a different kind of adventure. It is only accessible by a 30-minute hike, and that means far less people. See what I mean?

Corey and Karah opted to do the additional scramble up to a gorgeous viewpoint on the way to the beach. I went half way up and decided to sit it out. Having short legs made the climb up tree roots difficult. More time to relax on the beach! Check out this video on how we got here.

After chilling out for a while, we trekked back to the car and drove the twisty roads into Coromandel town for dinner.

For the drive home, Corey had picked out Highway 25, which hugs the coastline on the west side of the peninsula. This drive featured about 40 minutes of me white-knuckling the steering wheel and shouting. The road narrows quite a bit and is barely two lanes. Meanwhile locals were zooming past in the opposite direction as well as passing us. I am not sure how everyone squeezes through on such a narrow street, especially at high rates of speed. This was the scariest section of road that I drove in all of New Zealand. On the plus side, it was a gorgeous drive! We made it home safely (and slowly).

Piha

The beaches on the west and east coasts of New Zealand are very different from each other. In fact, two oceans actually collide at the northern tip of the North Island. More on that later!!

Even though the beaches on the west coast can be dangerous for swimming, they are scenic and worth checking out.

It was a grey, drizzly day when we planned a trip to Piha – about a 40 minute drive from Auckland.

The road snakes through a green mountain pass and drops you out at a long stretch of black sand.

Before we got to the beach, we stopped at Karekare Falls to stretch our legs and enjoy some fresh air.

The detour down to the waterfall was the second scariest road I drove. It was a very steep grade with hairpin turns. The drive was worth it though! We parked in a well-signed parking lot and walked for about 10 minutes to reach the waterfall. I wish I had packed my water shoes as it would have been fun for wading.

After taking in the beauty and snapping photos, we piled back in the car, climbed out of the valley and arrived at Piha Beach a few minutes later.

The tide was out and we enjoyed a stroll along the beach, watching the surfers catch waves.

Waipu Caves

I tried booking a glow worm experience provided by an Auckland local, but twice they cancelled it day-of, due to illness and then due to weather. This was our first attempt at booking through Airbnb Experiences, and it was a bust. If you have booked before, let us know in the comments how it worked out.

So at the last minute, we threw together our own glow worm experience. Thankfully there were others who have done the same thing and posted online about it.

We woke up at 4 AM to get out of Auckland for a long drive north. Waipu Caves are on public land, have no admission charge, and they are filled with glow worms!

It was raining but the caves were not flooded. We hiked up our pants and waded through muddy water that was just above our ankles. It was a little scary walking into a dark cave but once our eyes adjusted to the light, the views were spectacular. We didn’t have to walk in far to see these insects glowing in the dark. Karah was able to grab a photo but it does not capture the actual intensity of the lights.

Standing in the dark and looking up at the glow worms was a surreal experience. The overall sensory deprivation made it feel like we were floating through space and time.

After climbing out of the muddy cave, we rinsed off a bit and drove back to Auckland. This happened to be Karah’s last day with us so we grabbed dinner at the same place we dined at on our first night in town.

We stayed an extra night before making the long drive up to Bay of Islands and the Northland.

Bay of Islands

While driving to our cute retro Airbnb rental in Kerikeri we made a few stops along the way. My favorite stop was at Whangarei Falls. There was a nice rest area with bathrooms and a beautiful waterfall only a few feet from the parking lot. I was too scared to cross the bridge (rail-less and just a few feet from the falls) but Corey was feeling brave.

We got into Kerikeri in the late afternoon. We dropped off our stuff and cruised through town to find some food. After an early dinner, we went back to our rental. I made Corey perform a thorough spider check before settling in with a glass of wine and early bed. (There were several spider incidents throughout our stay but I won’t linger on that point!) The wine in New Zealand is crisp and delicious and we will share all about food and drink in a separate post.

Cape Reinga

The next morning we hopped into the car (again!) quite early for sightseeing all the way north. It was a beautiful drive along the coast and mountains as we made our way to Cape Reinga.

This a far northerly tip of land with a lighthouse and and gorgeous views. The weather was chilly and foggy as you can see from the photos.

We parked the car and followed the path out to the lighthouse. From this point you can see the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea collide. The visual effects of this vary from day to day, but if you peer closely in the photo below, you can make out the waves in the distance smashing into each other.

On the way back we detoured to a side hike that takes you out to a cliff and down to the beach, and the trail continues to other destinations, like the most-westerly point of the North Island. The weather wasn’t great so we walked about 15 minutes down, checked out the views, then turned back.

We then drove back toward Kerikeri and made a few stops at some lovely beaches, just a few minutes ahead of the rain at each stop.

Waitangi Treaty Grounds

We booked our visit to this historical site through Klook. It has been great for saving money, plus the Facebook NZTT (New Zealand Travel Tips) group offers an additional Klook discount.

To be honest, I was pretty unfamiliar with New Zealand’s history and I was able to learn a lot between the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and the Auckland Museum.

Waitangi is the place where many chiefs of the North Island came together to sign a document establishing a British Governor of New Zealand, considering Māori ownership of their lands and other properties, and giving Māori the rights of British subjects. However the Māori and English versions of the treaty were not the same and there was much discontent stemming from different translations of key terms in the two versions, particularly relating to sovereignty and possession of lands and other properties.

While we were there we were able to take a guided tour which included seeing the largest war canoe in the world, the Treaty House (first residence for the British government), and a Maori cultural show. We also spent several hours touring the museum.

Russell

After spending a majority of our day at Waitangi, we decided to explore a little more around the Bay of Islands. We drove through Paihia and followed the coast line for a few miles and reached the small ferry boat. We drove onto the quick car ferry, then explored the cute area of Russell.

The ferry took about 10 minutes. We drove off and up the hill. Our first stop was wine tasting! We shared a flight and picked up a bottle of port and a GSM blend.

We then drove into actual town, walked the few downtown blocks before settling down for a really lovely meal right on the water.

Paihia – Sailing Adventure

One of the best ways to experience the Bay of Islands is – of course – out in the water! We booked a full day catamaran tour through Barefoot Sailing out to Moturua Island, a nature reserve. We were joined by only seven other passengers, so it was a beautiful small excursion.

The weather started off cool but by the afternoon we were fortunate to see sun rays poke through. The boat sidled up to the beach and we jumped off and walked across to Mangahawea, a beach on the other side of the island, known for being one of the earliest spots of Polynesian settlement in New Zealand.

Once back on land, we ate dinner at a popular local spot and then rushed home to limit our nighttime driving time.

Heading South

Our time in Kerikeri zoomed by quickly. We packed up the car in the morning and had several quick stops to make on our drive back down to Auckland.

Before leaving the area we visited Rainbow Falls, bought Macadamia Butter Toffee Crunch from Makana Confections, bought some fresh fruit at Keri Berries, and admired the woodwork at the Kauri Workshop. A short drive led us to Mahoe Farmhouse Cheese, who provided samples in a small shed.

With Bay of Islands in the rear view mirror, we stopped for lunch at Whangarei, and paused to stretch our legs and admire the scenery at Ruakaka Beach and Orewa. They were all beautiful places.

We arrived in Auckland right on time to pick up Corey’s parents, Dale and Linda, who had spent the day at the Auckland Museum. We packed the car to the brim with all of our luggage pieces and jetted down to Hamilton for an early dinner. We circled the CBD several times and could not get lucky with a parking spot. Since the car was filled with so many bags it was important to keep an eye on it.

We finally decided to stop at Gothenburg since they had a lovely patio by the river, and provided blankets! The car was in a private lot but was out of our eyesight so we checked on it a few times and all went well. The drive continued down to Waitomo after that. I hate driving country roads at night and the last 30 minutes were on a small two-lane road with no roadside lights. A few monster big rigs drove past but the roads were fairly quiet. We spotted a kiwi at one point and even though I was driving slow I didn’t have time to stop or swerve. There were no thumps so we all believe that little guy survived.

We stayed at the Waitomo Bungalow which was perfect for our two night visit to the area.

Waitomo

We spent the morning at the Otorohanga Kiwi House, which has kiwi birds to observe, as well as a number of other New Zealand birds in outdoor areas. We stopped for lunch in Otorohanga town, and walked around the main street. Just off the street is an outdoor mini-museum, displaying panels with a ton of New Zealand history. If you’re in the area it’s worth checking out.

In the afternoon we drove out to the west coast, stopping at Marokopa Falls. It was a short relatively easy hike and we were rewarded with beautiful views.

We drove the windy road down into the canyon until eventually finding the coast at the small village of Marokopa. The black sand beaches were dark and shiny. So cool! We walked around the water edge for a few minutes and then piled back into the car.

We topped off the day at a hip restaurant that was a short walk from the bungalow. We got burgers but the bowl of chowder stole the show.

The next day was a bit busier! It was check-out day and we all had Waitomo cave tours. This is a rad place to see glow worms! Corey and I signed up for “black water” rafting, a multi-hour experience walking, crawling, swimming, and floating through the cave complex. No phones allowed so here are some pics from that tour. I’m glad we did it but I’m not sure I’d do it again. 😂

Dale and Linda opted for something more mellow – a short walk and boat ride through the caves. We all had the opportunity to see glow worms!

After coming back up into daylight, we loaded the car again and drove to Rotorua. It was a rainy day and the storms continued throughout the entire drive.

The sulfur smell greeted us as we approached the city and the lake. Thankfully, our next rental was outside of the town. While still being lakeside, it was out of the sulphur zone!

Rotorua

We shared a comfortable three bedroom house at the Ramada Resort. After unpacking, we drove into downtown for a fun Friday night at Eat Streat, a fully-covered and activated space for outdoor dining. Unfortunately, the Friday night market was cancelled due to the rain, but there were at least a dozen restaurants, each with their own patio scene.

We attempted to graze through happy hour but only stopped at two places. The food at Atticus Finch was great and the tapas we shared ended up filling us up.

We then drove through the small downtown area and went back to our new “home”.

The next day we toured the nearby geothermal wonderland called Wai-O-Tapu. It’s actually about 45 minutes south of Rotorua town, and you can spend all day walking the trails around the various geothermal areas.

My favorite was the champagne pool and the lime green pool. They also induce a geyser eruption each morning, which puts on a good show.

Agrodome Sheep Show

To round out our experience, we headed to the Agrodome for their long-running sheep show. Our friend Brian had given us several amazing New Zealand recommendations and the sheep show was one of them!

We saw a large funny man sheer a sheep in under 90 seconds.

After the show, we boarded the tractor tram for a farm tour. It was a lot of fun to feed the animals. We stopped first to feed the sheep. Our second stop was near the llamas and alpacas. It was a little intimidating to feed animals that can rest their heads on your shoulder but also a little fun!

After the farm we checked out the Government Gardens, a large tract of land with historic buildings and beautiful gardens, including a lovely rose garden that was blooming. We also visited Kuirau Park, which has thermal pools and a foot-soaking area. Both of these are completely free and great opportunities to explore the thermal activity that Rotorua is known for!

With a little bit of down time in the evening we sat at home with Turkish take out and made some plans for January and February. One of our favorite things to watch for travel inspiration is Mark Weins videos. If you haven’t checked out his YouTube videos, please stop reading this right now and do so. He’s such a positive and curious human being (who loves really spicy food!) and he’s travelled all over the world to eat amazing food.

Two nights flew by quickly and we checked out the following morning. Before heading to the east coast, we drove to a fantastic geothermal spa called Waikite Valley Thermal Pools. We started the day in a private tub overlooking the natural hot springs area, and then spent a few hours soaking in the various pools. A lot of pools in the area use geothermal heat to heat their pools, but we wanted a facility that was actually using the hot spring water. Waikite uses a steaming-hot river as their source of hot water, with the drainage going back into the river channel for a naturally-clean and well-maintained facility. It could be batched together with a trip to Wai-O-Tapu since they are both south of Rotorua town.

After rinsing the hot sulfur water off our bodies and eating a picnic, we drove to our final “on land” NZ destination, Mount Manganui. This is an area right on the coast with a memorable volcano cone at the end of a long thin isthmus.

Mount Manganui

We rented a townhouse just a block from the beach. We were right in the heart of town and could easily walk to the beach, shops, and restaurants.

We stayed in the Mount for 3 nights and the weather was hit and miss. We all enjoyed sitting and walking on the soft powdery sand when it was not raining.

One morning Corey and I hiked to the top of the Mount. It was a steep and grueling hike but it’s also fairly short. At the top, climbers are rewarded with stunning views.

Funny enough, from the mountain we saw the MS Westerdam sailing into port. This is the cruise ship that we would be joining in Auckland the following day!

I really enjoyed the vibe in the Mount. There were so many great restaurants and pubs with outdoor patios and gardens.

Our final day on the overland journey was driving back to Auckland, dropping off the rental car, and joining Westerdam – our new home for 30 days. We rented through Ezi and they provided us a great new SUV and made the pick up/drop off easy. I ended up driving 3000 kilometers. The only bummer thing was an email we received a few weeks later informing us of an infraction. I’m guessing it’s a parking ticket but just not sure!

We loved all the amazing places we got to experience on the North Island. Our amazing journey continued on the MS Westerdam, which would take us to the South Island and beyond!