North Island, New Zealand🇳🇿

This blog will focus on the North Island and the different places we stopped at and the things we did here. These recommendations will be a mixture of stops I did with the Kiwi Experience and my trip with Ned.

Auckland

For a quick trip, there aren’t a lot of things to do in Auckland as a whole, however, if you are planning to go for four days or more, there are plenty of things to do outside of Auckland. Ned and I didn’t spend a lot of time here, we only had one full day, and in hindsight, we wished we had more. So, if you have the time, we would recommend spending maybe two to three days here to make the most of Auckland.

Waiheke Island
The full day we had in Auckland we decided to do a day trip to Waiheke Island, which is something we were recommended to do. We went with a couple of our friends and made a day of it! 

The ferry for both of us cost $128 NZD, you can take your own car if you have one, but it is a lot more expensive to bring it over. It is easier to have a car so you can drive round quicker, and there are hire cars on the island, however, we chose to get the bus. It was pretty straightforward and cost us both $15 NDZ for the day. 

There is a lot to do on the island, so you can definitely spend a weekend here if you have the time. We got the ferry at 7:30am and returned at 4:30pm, but you can go earlier and leave later if you want. We first grabbed a coffee, walked around the main town, before walking two hours up the coast from Oneroa Beach to Palm Beach. We made the most of the good weather, spending an hour here where the boys did a cold sea dip, before getting the bus to one of the wineries. There are lots of gorgeous wineries to choose from, but we went to Wild Estate, which was beautiful and very lively. All in all, a perfect day trip for us!

Auckland Tower
With the Kiwi Experience, we had one evening in Auckland before starting our bus pass so we decided to go up Auckland Tower. The Sky Tower is 328m tall and gives you a great 360 degree view of the city, which was pretty cool. It currently costs $47 NZD for an adult, but the tickets were cheaper five years ago. This can be seen as quite expensive but the tower offers many activities and experiences and has a variety of bars and restaurants at the top. If you’re an adrenaline junkie, you can either do the Sky Walk around the top of the tower or a Sky Jump off, both of which are 192 meters high. If you want to check it out, their website is here for more info.

Coromandel Peninsular

Cathedral Cove & Hot Water Beach
These two stops were included in the Kiwi Experience and if you are road tripping and have extra time on the North Island, I would recommend stopping here if you can. 

Cathedral Cove, was a pitstop where we spent the afternoon doing the scenic 2.5km walk down to the famous Cathedral Cove Beach, which you may recognise from the movie Narnia, Price Caspian. This moderate walk is in the Coromandel Peninsular, and takes around 1.5 hours to complete, involves uphill and downhill sections and ends with steep steps to the beach. This beach is gorgeous and the perfect place to spend the day at, with other popular scenic spots being Stingray Bay.

We then stayed the night at Hot Water Beach. The name comes from the underground hot springs, which filter up through the sand during high and low tide. This beach is a popular spot because it is a unique and fun experience, where you can hire spades and dig in the sand until the water becomes hot. If you dig deep enough you can build your own hot pool in the sand. The best time to visit the beach is during summer, between December and February.

Hobbiton

The Hobbiton experience was one of our favourite days and a highlight of the North Island. So much so, that it got its own blog, which you can read here.

Waitomo

Black Water Rafting: $193 NZD | 3 hours
Caves Tour: $80 NZD | 45 minutes

I did this with the Kiwi Experience and told Ned he should do it as well. I did accidentally get the tours mixed up so I did the Black Water Rafting and Ned only did the tour of the caves, however, Ned didn’t mind as he still got to see the glowworms.

The tour I did lasted three hours, which involved getting into wetsuits, floating down an underground river on rubber rings, jumping off water falls and taking in the glow worms of Ruakuri Cave. It is a very cool experience, but if you don’t like dark or small spaces, whilst floating in the cave, then this activity isn’t for you and the Caves Tour will be better. Either way you get to see the glowworms.

Rotorua

Māori Village Experience
The Māori Village experience is another highlight of the North Island. I did this experience with the Kiwi Experience, and because it was that good, I made sure Ned did it too.

With the Kiwi Experience, I did the overnight Māori stay, with Tamaki Māori Village, where we spent the night in a twenty man dorm tent. For Ned and I’s experience we went with Mitai Māori Village and this cost us roughly $293 NZD. We did the lunch experience, as all the evening spots were fully booked for the next two months, so make sure to book in advance!

Both tours are very similar, the only difference was the overnight stay. We learnt about the Māori Village and its history, learnt about their culture, watched different dance performances, witnessed the Haka, and had a huge buffet (Hangi) for lunch and dinner. 

Hells Gate, Geothermal Baths
We spent the afternoon at Hells Gate Thermal & Mud Pools. We got the combined ticket, which cost $240 NZD for the both of us and included the walk around the smelly sulphur pools, mud baths and thermal pools. There are a few different places to go to, we just went here as it ticked off all three, whereas the others focused on just the mud or thermal pools. Make sure to not wear any jewellery in the pools, as it will 100% tarnish.

Redwoods (Whakarewarewa) Forest
Stop off at Redwood Forest either during the day or in the evening for the light show experience. You can walk across eco-suspended bridges and platforms surrounded by the gorgeous 75-metre-tall redwood trees.

White Water Rafting
With the Kiwi Experience, we booked to go White Water Rafting. There was a huge group of us and we were split into four groups. We then spent the morning rafting down Kaituna River, which has rapids of the 7-metre Tutea Falls, the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world. 

Taupo

Skydive, Taupo
I knew I really wanted to do a skydive and there are so many different places to choose from, both in Australia and New Zealand. A friend recommended that he did it in Taupo, so we looked into doing it here too. The company we did it with was called Skydive Taupo and we did the 12,000 ft Tandem Skydive, but you can do higher jumps. We also booked the 360 video and photos at an additional cost, instead of just the GoPro photos. If you want to do a skydive, you definitely should! It is one of the best experiences and we got to see stunning views over Taupo, both of the surrounding mountains and beaches.

Tongariro Alpine Crossing
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing hike is a must do when you are in New Zealand. It is one of the most popular hikes and is 20.2km over an active volcano. I did it twice and sadly had different weather conditions which impacted our views. A more detailed explanation of the hike will be in my hiking blog here.

Waikato River & Lake Taupo
If you have time, two other activities that you should consider are floating down Waikato River on inflatables and a sunset boat trip on Lake Taupo, both of which I did with the Kiwi Experience.

For Waikato River, we bought different inflatables from the shop, some drinks and then floated down the river until we reached the Hot Pools. We spent a few hours doing this, stopping off along the way at different rope swings. It was really fun to do, especially in a big group.

That evening we booked a sunset cruise on Lake Taupo. You can see the amazing, clear waters and the stunning surroundings of mountains and hidden bays. You can have a complimentary drink, buy snacks on board and socialise with other travellers before learning about the history of the Māori Rock Carvings and their cultural significance. You can also go for an evening swim during sunset in the fresh waters before getting cosy and star gazing on the way back.

Hukka Falls & Dam
Another stop off is Hukka Falls, which is one the most visited, natural waterfalls in New Zealand. It is so huge and loud, that you will hear the water before you see it, as there is constantly nearly a quarter of a million litres of water per second erupting from it’s natural gorge into the Waikato River. The dam is opened at specific times every day for tourists to watch the water level rises. You can take a jet boat or a river cruise up the river for the full experience.

Wellington

We had to visit the capital of New Zealand, so we spent one full day here going up the Cable Car, walking round the Botanical Gardens and hiking around Zealandia seeing so many different birds and creatures. We also went to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa history, which has been one of our favourite museums so far. They have over two million different objects across art, natural history, New Zealand history and Māori and Pacific cultures. It was a lovely jam packed day for us!