Friday November 11th, Auckland
As always, the last day is a bit weird. Everything is packed away and we still had the whole day before catching our flight. At breakfast we met a Belgian couple who arrived during the night and were about to …
Category: North Island
Thursday November 10th, Auckland
A full day to visit the city. As we knew $6-9 /hour parking fee is normal in Auckland we just walked 200m and took the bus to the CBD. Aotea Square and Town Hall were the starting point of our …
Wednesday November 9th, Ahipara – Auckland
We had a long drive ahead of us as Auckland was 360 Km away taking the scenic route. After about an hour we arrived at the Rawene ferry for a 10 minute crossing. We took a short stroll around the …
Tuesday November 8th, Cape Reinga
The sun was out at 7 when we woke up, we had to prepare our own breakfast and be ready by 9 when Gary would pick us up in his 4×4 for a drive on 90 mile beach and Cape …
Monday November 7th, Paihia – Ahipara
Before leaving Paihia we drove 2 Km to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds where Maori and English signed the founding of New Zealand. We continued North to the Rainbow Warrior monument close to the place where French secret service sank the …
Sunday November 6th, Hamilton – Paihia
Because we could only go on the 13:30 boat around the Bay of Islands and to Hole in the Rock we had to get to Paihia by 1 o’clock. That meant an early start and making no stops. The time …
Saturday November 5th, Rotorua – Hamilton
A hefty 326 Km was our target today. By evening we had to be in Hamilton. The direct route is short but we made a large detour to see some extra attractions. We stopped in Tirau where most shops have …
Friday November 4th, Rotorua
We kept a close eye on the weather report today as we had booked a helicopter tour to White Island. On the way to the lakefront heliport we visited the Maori village and church first before “checking in” for our …
Thursday November 3rd, Taupo – Rotorua
Another short drive today because of the stops we’ve planned. After just 52 Km we arrived at Wai-O-Tapu, one of the many geothermal parks in the area. A stroll along the walking paths brought us along the red and blue …
Wednesday November 2nd, Tongariro – Taupo
It was only a short drive today to Taupo but we had a few things to see before arriving at our B&B in the evening. First stop was Orakei Korako where a small boat took us across the river to …