During my time out in New Zealand, my mum and dad came out to visit. So naturally, they planned a jam packed itinerary to see as much of the country as possible and I tagged along for the ride!
Starting at Auckland airport, take a train which changes over at Onehunga. The train system can be slightly hit and miss I’ve found, with a lot of cancellations and closed tracks, so rely a lot more on the buses. However, the bus routes do take a lot longer to reach the CBD, so it depends on how quickly you want to reach the centre. Taxis or car rentals are also an option from the airport but of course, the pricier option.
I met my parents when they reached Auckland, we picked up a car rental from the Apex Rental site in the CBD and that same day, we started our road trip up North to Whangarei.
DAY 1 – WHANGAREI, BAY OF ISLANDS – RUSSELL, PAIHIA
Whangarei is a fairly large city, hustling and bustling. We stopped there mainly to visit the Hundertwasser Building and Maori Art Centre and we were not disappointed. The art centre was built to celebrate the life of the legendary artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser and his work. He is most well known for his nature awareness, his anti-pollution campaigns and his lack of corners and straight lines in his artwork. The gallery costs $25pp to enter, and gives you access to view all of his artwork, learn about his life, and get inspired by his campaigns for saving the whales.
After finishing our visit to the art centre, we took a walk around the town, popping into the odd coffee shop for a drink. Our lunch of focaccia and dip was bought in the supermarket Pak n Save and we found a picnic bench looking over the Hatea river in the Whangarei town basin to eat. Our bed for the night was a small motel called Motel Sierra in Whangarei. It was basic, but had everything we needed including a bathroom, a kettle and a few resident cats!
We then started our drive further North to the Bay of Islands. We chose to do the scenic drive via Helena Bay which was highly recommended to us, and I can now highly recommend it to everyone I know! It did take an extra 30 minutes to reach Russell than the quicker and easier route along the main road but the views were unmissable. We made regular stop off points along the way, with my personal favourites of Whangaruru, Helena Bay and Rhawiti taking in the views and admiring the sandy beaches. There are multiple photo ops en route so keep your camera ready!
We only had a day when reaching Russell, and after visiting the Flagstaff, we had a small stroll around the town. It was very small, with only the essentials – a laundromat, a supermarket and a booze shop! It was lovely along the seafront though, with many small bars and cafes right by the water. To finish off our day, we made our way to Okiato for a ferry crossing. It cost us $16 (for a car) to cross from Okiato to Opua, and once in Opua, we drove to Paihia, the main town in the Bay of Islands.
Paihia was a bigger than Russell, although still quite small. There is a high street with shops, cafes and restaurants and a long beach called Horotutu beach which was lush and extended for a way into the distance. Many of the bars and restaurants were seafront, so much pricier than anywhere else we had eaten. We found a buffet Chinese Restaurant closer to the centre of town which was slightly cheaper ($40 each), but just as yummy. I only managed one plate but the food was delicious! Back to the motel, and we spent the rest of the evening relaxing, playing card games, and skimming stones at Horotutu beach.
To put an end to our first day, we paid a visit to Haruru Falls in the evening, and just in time to catch the sky turning pretty shades of pink. The waterfalls are about a 5km drive from Paihia, and well worth a stop off if you’ve got the time. ‘Haruru’ means ‘big noise’ – we went in March, there hadn’t been much rainfall and we could still hear the waterfalls before seeing them so I can only imagine the noise after heavy rainfall! The Haruru Falls car park is the start of the Waitangi Walking Track, which follows the Waitangi River down towards the Treaty Grounds and out into the Bay. We walked along the path for a bit before turning around and heading back towards the car.
DAY 2 – WAITANGI TREATY GROUNDS, CAPE REINGA, RARAWA BEACH
The next day, we made the trip to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. This is a very important place as it was where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1835, and also the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. The entrance fee is $60 for adults and free for children, with a subsidised fee of $30 for New Zealand residents. This ticket allows you access to the Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi and the Te Rau Aroha Museum of the Price of Citizenship – both museums offering information and displaying items of importance from the signing of these documents, the Te Whare Rūnanga(a Māori meeting house), the Treaty House, the Flagstaff and the Waka. The Waka, named Ngātokimatawhaorua, is the world’s largest ceremonial Waka which was built to mark the signing of the Treaty. It is 35.7m long, can carry a crew of 88, and has room for another 40 passengers. It is launched every year in February as part of celebrations for the signing of the Treaty. The Treaty Grounds also offer stunning views over the Bay of Islands, with benches dotted around the grounds and makes a peaceful break stop with time to reflect over the history of New Zealand.
After the Treaty Grounds, we started the drive to the Northern tip of the New Zealand, Cape Reinga. This was just under 3 hours drive away from Waitangi, so we made 2 stop off points to stretch our legs. The first stop was at Kerikeri, the largest town in the Northland, and we visited the Rainbow Falls whilst there. We parked up, made our way to the viewpoint at the top, and finally a short walk down to the bottom of the falls. We found out once there that Rainbow Falls is a very popular wild swimming spot – it was a very hot day so it resulted in a refreshing spontaneous dip!
Our second stop was further North again at Coopers Beach. This was just a ‘stretch of the legs’ kind of stop but lovely just the same. The beach ran along the whole coastal road that we were driving on so we pulled into a lay-by for a short stop. The sands were a gorgeous golden colour and there were quite a few dog walkers.
The drive up to Cape Reinga was a single road either way, and only one way in and out. It was a quiet drive when we went, not many cars passing or catching up with us but we could only imagine the queues and traffic during the summer holidays.
There are 2 mains things to see in the Cape – the Lighthouse marking the Northernmost point of New Zealand, and the Te Paki sand dunes. We made the trip up, stopping at the sand dunes first. We hired a couple of boards from a stall at the entrance, Ahikaa Adventures, to the beach, paying $15 per board for day access. The dunes were so impressive, much bigger than any I have seen before (Merthyr Mawr, South Wales is nothing compared to these!). Another thing which stunned me was the stark contrast between the dunes and the neighbouring forest – it was like there was a line drawn between the 2. We managed 4 rides down the dunes on the boards each, purely because the walk back up to the top knackered us out! They were a lot steeper than they looked, the sand was incredibly hard to walk in and once at the top you needed a 5 minute sit down to catch your breath! But sand boarding down the dunes was GREAT fun, so worth it, and definitely something which I need to experience again.
We returned the boards, jumped back in the car and drove a bit further to the car park for the lighthouse. It was roughly a 20/25 minute walk from the car park to the Lighthouse, also known as the Northernmost point of New Zealand. Māori believe that Cape Reinga is the most spiritually significant place in New Zealand, as it is here after death that all Māori spirits travel along the coast to the ancient Pohutukawa tree found on the headland of the Te Rerenga Wairua before departing for the afterlife. You can see this tree on the walk down to the Lighthouse, a stand alone tree on the side of the cliff. There were information boards about the wildlife found, the ancient Pohutukawa tree, the point where 2 oceans meet – the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean and the difference in colours between the two, the Lighthouse itself, and the photo-worthy signpost showing distances to other capital cities around the world. We took our time here, snapping some photos and taking in the views whilst the sun started setting – magical.
The drive back down south along the Cape was even quieter than the journey up, and and on the way I spotted signs for a beach called Rarawa Beach. After some ultra quick googling, I discovered that it was one of New Zealand’s best white sand beaches, and often compared to beaches found in Fiji. It was a super quick pit stop as the sun had nearly set, but we got there just in time to see the colour of the sand, and appreciate the beauty of this beach. The sand was a similar colour to flour, with some black speckled pebbles dotted throughout, and the water was a stunning turquoise colour – a lush contrast to the sand.
DAY 3 – WAIRERE BOULDERS, OPONOI, TANE MAHUTA
As we continued further South along the West Coast, we made several stop offs for a stretch of the legs. One of which was Wairere Boulders. This was found at the end of a gravel road, and also had a place where you are also able to park up and camp. It cost $15 for an adult and $5 for a child to enter the park, once in then you’re free to roam along the paths. Payment is made by an honesty box or by bank transfer at the entrance. There are a few different tracks that you can do, we decided to do the Boulder Loop which is an hour long walking track which takes you over bridges, boardwalks and stairs, and under and over the boulders. You can find leaflets at the entrance to the park which explains the formation of the rocks which is interesting to read as you walk the paths.
Oponoi was the next stop off for some lunch. It was a small town with incredible views! The town celebrates the legendary life of a dolphin named Opo – a wild, friendly dolphin who lived in the harbour in the 1950’s and let children ride on his back. We popped into the towns chip shop – unfortunately we timed it wrong as a coach trip had just arrived also, and got some chips with a side of a long wait! There are however, great views of sand dunes and the Tasman Sea.
Pukenui was our stop for the night at an Airbnb called Bach Cottage. I wished we could have spent more time in Pukenui, as the drive through was stunning but unfortunately our schedule meant that we had to keep on moving. The following morning, we continued further South, reaching the Waiapi forest to see the mighty Tāne Mahuta. Tāne Mahuta, also known as the ‘God of the Forest’ is an enormous Kauri tree, estimated to be between 1250 and 2500 years old. It also the largest of its kind, reaching more than 50m tall. Kauri trees are in danger and threatened, and have been since the 1970’s. They’re prone to disease, so great care is taken when entering Kauri forests, especially the Waiapi forest where Tāne Mahuta is located, with stations entering and leaving the forests to clean your shoes. There’s plenty of parking outside the entrance to Tāne Mahuta and the walk to it only takes 5 minutes. A boardwalk trail runs through the forest, with information signs as you go. An incredible stop off, and a must do as you’re passing through.
DAY 4 – HAMILTON, WAITOMO CAVES, OTOROHANGA
We finally reached Kumeū to sleep, another AirBnb but this time it was a private room in a house. We went to a local restaurant called the Hive for food and they had a lot of veggie options so a win for me. An early night was needed ready for a long drive the following morning.
A start was made on the 3.5 hour drive down south from Kumeū to Hamilton. The Botanical Gardens had been recommended to us so we made a beeline for them. Entry is free but donations are accepted for maintenance of the park. There are 28 different gardens and I think there are currently 3 more being built. I must say that my favourite three have got to be the Concept Garden, the Italian Renaissance Garden and the Indian Char Bagh Garden. All of them were stunning and well maintained. It does get quite busy, during our visit there were a coach buses full of people being dropped off and picked up but the car park is fairly big too.
An hour further down south and we eventually reached the Waitomo Glowworm Caves. Tickets were expensive, at $75 an adult and $34 a child but the experience is one that you cannot miss. The tour starts at the main centre, plenty of car parking is available and you head down with the tour guide to the entrance of the caves. You get a short safety talk and then make a start on the walking tour. The tour lasts approximately 45 minutes, with the guide telling you about the history and formation of the caves whilst pointing out the odd blue dot (glowworm!) here and there. We stopped in a large chamber called the Cathedral, the largest chamber in the cave before descending even further down to the river to start our boat ride. Getting on the boat meant all lights off so that we could see the glowworms best. Once your eyes had adjusted, it was absolutely incredible – thousands and thousands of tiny blue dots all over the cave walls, and the tour guide took us close so we could see them in even more detail! The boat passed through the cave slowly, and turned around a few times so that we could see as much as possible before we reached the exit of the cave and disembarked. There was a short but steep walk uphill to get us back to the centre where we grabbed a bite to eat before making our way to our accommodation for the night.
Driving to our accommodation didn’t take too long, only only a short distance from the Caves to Waitomo town – we were staying at the Big Bird B&B for the night. Staying overnight there also meant playing with cute puppies, having a guided tour around the farm seeing animals like donkeys, mini highland cows, emus and ostriches, and a breakfast complete with ostrich eggs in the morning!
Just before nodding off to sleep though, we went for a drive to the neighbouring town, Otorohanga. Otorohanga is a small town very well known for housing live Kiwi birds before releasing them into the wild. We didn’t have a huge amount of time, so unfortunately gave this a miss (however I did come back a few months later, blog post yet to come!) this time round and went for a walk around instead. We settled down at the Thirsty Weta restaurant for some good food before driving back to the B&B and getting some rest.
DAY 5 – TAUPO, HUKA FALLS, ROTORUA, REDWOODS FOREST
The next day was absolutely gorgeous and started off with a drive to Taupo. We had booked onto a boat tour with Chris Jolly to cruise across Lake Taupo and see the Maori rock carvings. It cost $49 per adult to go on the 90 minute cruise and did include drinks and snacks which was a nice surprise. The rock carving stands at 14m high and was sculpted by artist Matahi Brightwell. The cruise took us close to the rock so we could get a good view before turning around and heading back to Taupo town. Before leaving Taupo, we had a gander around the town and visited the famous Taupo sign and the McDonalds in an airplane, supposedly one of the top 10 coolest McDonalds’ in the world.
Our next pit stop was Huka Falls, a fantastically coloured waterfall shooting into the Waikato River below. You’ll hear it before seeing it, probably the loudest feature for miles around! It’s only a short drive from Taupo and the car park is fairly large, however it fills up quickly. It’s only a short walk from the car park to the first viewing point of the falls, but there are multiple walks and mountain bike tracks overlooking the falls and the mighty Waikato River. There is also an option to take the HukaJet which takes you close to the bottom of the crystal clear waterfall, but was a squeeze if we wanted to fit that in too. The water is a stunning blue colour, caused by the mineral content of the surrounding volcanic soil in Lake Taupo. A must visit!
We finally reached Rotorua and immediately you could notice the smell! The smell is something like rotten eggs – my advice is to definitely keep those windows done up and the air con turned off! The smell is caused by the geothermal activity in this town, the steam produced from the geothermal pools is sulphur which omits a nasty smell. I do have to say however, the longer we spent in Rotorua, the more we got used to the smell…
That afternoon, we got the Gondola up the side of Mount Ngongotaha. This allowed us views over most of Rotorua as well as the ginormous Lake Rotorua which spanned into the distance! Once at the top, there was plenty to do. You could wander around and take in the breathtaking views, have a sit down at the restaurant or have a go at the longest luge ride in the world! Tickets can be sold in combos, we picked the gondola and 3 luge rides however I definitely could have done the luge a lot more times if money was no object! You are able to add on extra luge rides once at the top. It was insanely fun! Once you reached the bottom of the luge, there is a chairlift waiting to take you back up for the fun to start all over again! The gondola finally took us back to ground level as we took in the last of the crazy good views we had the privilege of seeing.
We’d booked to stay at the Ramada Resort in Rotorua, a series of apartments in a gorgeous location, right at the very edge of Lake Rotorua. We checked in and dumped our bags in our apartment, and before heading out for the evening we went for a wander and a dip in the lake! The sun was setting and was the perfect backdrop for a cold swim.
Our final destination for the day was the Redwoods Tree Forest, we’d booked on to do the night light walk. It cost $39 entry for an adult but the price was well worth it. The boardwalk is 700m long and takes about 30-40 minutes to complete. Along the way you’ll pass redwood trees which are 120 years old and up to 75m high! Accentuated by lanterns to capture the beauty of this forest in Rotorua. There are 34 lanterns, designed by the famous artist David Trubridge, and add a lovely touch when floating 20m high. The night light walk starts as soon as the sun sets, later in summer and earlier in winter. Our walk finished just after 9pm, and headed back to the apartment afterwards.
DAY 6 – BURIED VILLAGE OF TARAWERA, LAKE TIKITAPU, HELLS GATE
Before continuing our way back up North, there were a few more checkpoints we wanted to tick off. The first being the Buried Village of Tarawera. This archeological museum gave us an insight as to what happened the night that Mt Tarawera erupted and destroyed a whole town in 1866. We could wander around the remains of the buildings left behind and also access the trails leading to Wairere Falls. There are many steps you need to take to reach these waterfalls, but once there, you are immediately exhilarated by the water plunging 30 metres over the Waitoharuru Cliffs. And finally to round off your visit, a viewpoint across the Waitoharuru Valley. Amazing on a clear day.
Our second checkpoint was one of the smaller lakes surrounding Rotorua, We settled on Lake Tikitapu (blue lake) as it was on the way to our final checkpoint. We stopped, had a break and felt completely at ease surrounded by the lush green forests. I did go for a dip, the water was freezing and I did get a few funny looks but I wouldn’t change a thing.
The final destination we wanted to visit was Hells Gate Geothermal Park. There are 3 different options when you book, we decided to go out with a bang and booked the Hells Gate Experience for $115 per adult. This included entry to the reserve, Māori wood carving followed by a relax in the mud baths, sulphur spas and plunge pools. The reserve is huge, many different geothermal pools to see. A map is given during entry which gives you information about each of the pools as you walk around. Be warned of the smell! The reserve was formed about 10,000 years ago after a lake drained. The removal of the weight of the water and the geothermal pressure caused the pools and geothermal activity you will spot when walking around the reserve. The name ‘Hells Gate’ came about because a dude named George discovered the reserve in the 1900’s and thought it was the entry to Hell! After we walked round for what felt like forever, we made it to the carving workshop and got taught how to carve wood using tools. There were a few designs to choose from, all Māori traditional symbols – I picked the Hei Matau (fish hook) which represented strength. Finally, it was time for the mud baths. You are only allowed 20mins per day in the mud bath for safety reasons but it was more than enough. Coupled with the plunge pools (which my parents were too chicken to go in) it was a perfect and relaxing combination amidst the jam packed road trip.
DAY 7 – HOBBITON, HOT WATER BEACH, THAMES
You cannot explore New Zealand and not pay a visit to Hobbiton. Hobbiton is located near Matamata and is home to original sets from the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films. There are tours which run fairly regularly and start with a short bus ride from the Hobbiton visitor centre. During the bus ride however, there is a video with actors from the films talking about the locations you’ll be visiting which just makes the build up more exciting! The bus to the filming set also drives through these lush green mountains with stunning views, so the bus journey itself is worth it and you will not get bored. The tour itself is a walking tour with a tour guide who stops at different points throughout the village and gives you a bit of information before allowing you to go for a look around and take some pictures. And just before your tour of Hobbiton comes to an end, you arrive at the Green Dragon Inn for a drink at the pub in iconic LotR style cups.
Visiting Whitianga Beach and Hot Water Beach were on our to-do list and the weather wasn’t forecast to be brill but we decided to take a risk and drive along the winding, painfully long Coromandel roads to visit. It took us just under an hour to arrive from Hobbiton, and the weather was equally as poor on the Coromandel as it was back in Matamata. We still parked the car, plenty of parking space (although I think that’s due to the weather), and we went for a walk on the beach. We gave a very poor attempt at digging underneath the sand for some hot water and unsurprisingly didn’t find any, maybe on a warmer, less rainy day then I would have tried a bit harder. And then the painful drive to Thames started, just as winding and long. We’d booked an AirBnb in Thornton Bay, just above Thames, to stay in once again, and fortunately they had cups of tea waiting for us to warm us up! Just before settling in for the night however, we ventured out into Thames – essentially one extremely long street – for some dinner. An Indian restaurant was picked for some yummy food before heading to bed and to sleep.
DAY 8 – AUCKLAND, WETA WORKSHOP & SKYTOWER
Reaching Auckland meant dumping our bags in the Copthorne Hotel and then dropping the car back to the rental depot. We were late for our booking at the Weta Workshop, so we RAN through the CBD to reach the workshop (situated in the SkyCity). The Weta Workshop is a prop company, responsible for the props and special effects in films such as Lord of the Rings, Blade Runner and Avatar! The tour took us through 3 different sections – the horror, the fantasy, and finally the sci-fi. No spoilers, but bring a spare change of pants for the horror section!
We then went up to the Sky Tower as part of our bundle with the Weta Workshop, and even though it was my second time going up, the views still blew me away. It offers 360 degree views around the whole of Auckland and at 328m tall, the views are pretty special! The tickets are usually $37pp for the SkyTower and $59 for the Weta Workshop but as we booked a package deal for the both, we paid $96pp. We finished the day with a wander around Auckland CBD, nosing around the shops on Queen Street, and ending up in Lulu’s Restaurant down Queens Wharf for dinner before heading back to the hotel to sleep.
DAY 9 – RANGITOTO ISLAND, MOTUTAPU ISLAND
The final leg of our trip was a visit to Rangitoto Island, the island adjacent to the one that I had been working on the for last 6 months (Motutapu Island). The ferry left from the Fullers Ferry Terminal in Auckland CBD at 9.15am and it took us roughly about 45 minutes on the ferry before reaching the island. The boat docked, and the gruelling climb up the volcano started. We spent exactly one hour hiking from the ferry port to the summit of Rangitoto (230m), and then another 2.5hours from the summit to the Motutapu Outdoor Education Centre on Motutapu Island.
The hike up Rangitoto follows a main track all the way to the summit and is pretty well signposted. About two thirds of the way up before reaching the summit is a smaller trail which leads off of the main path towards some lava caves. Its a flat(ish!) walk which takes about 30minutes return. Following this path allows you to see the cooled lava from previous eruptions, and you can actually walk all the way through a huge lava cave! I recommend taking this detour, as it is so worth it and doesn’t take much time at all! At the summit, you can then choose which way along the path you want to go. There is a circular walk around the crater at the top, with 360 views around the volcano, and there is also a viewing platform with Auckland and the mainland as the backdrop.
Reaching the centre on Motutapu Island was a huge relief – there was no shade during the hike and we had some pretty big bags with us! We chucked our luggage down and went for a paddle in the sea which cooled us down pretty quick. The evening was spent showing my family around my workplace and chilling out in the sun with ice cream and a pack of cards before they headed home the next day.
The perfect end to the perfect roadtrip.
