It was time to visit the undiscovered path of our adventures in New Zealand; the North Island. It’s a no-brainer that New Zealand and road trips go hand-in-hand, so we hired a campervan for our 7 days travel in the north. On later review, 7 days was no-where near enough time to see and enjoy everything the land of the long white cloud had to offer, especially as the long white cloud decided to stay grey and rain for most of it – but seven days of travel is better than none.
With the short break ahead, I had pin-pointed the main destinations we wanted to explore whilst allowing time for those hidden gems that were yet to be recommended to us by the locals (I’m looking at you Raglan & Piha!).
Coromandel Peninsular
Distance: 2 hr 26 min – from Auckland via state highway 1 & 25
As we had limited time, we chose to swap the Bay of Islands for the Bay of Plenty, but this wasn’t a bad thing at all! With the sun shining, we head east from Auckland to the Coromandel Peninsular and down to Mount Maunganui. We drove through winding valleys and mountain ranges surrounded by an abundance of rainbows before reaching the beautiful gem of a coastline. and did I mention the sights are free?
Cathedral Cove will take you on a windy track down the valley, through both farm land and rainforest-feel terrain. Passing turn offs to Gemstone & Stingray Bay, you’ll continue on the easy but roughly 2.5 km return walk to a staircase that will lead you to the cathedral-like cove and rock formation. Another great way to explore this region would be via kayak.
Above: Cathedral Cove
Head next to Hot Water Beach – 2 hours either side of the low tide, hire a shovel or spade from the local shop or jump in a hole already dug out and enjoy a natural hot water bath right on the beaches edge.
Looking for the perfect free campervan overnight parking spot? we made the 1 hour drive south to Island View Reserve and awoke to the beautiful sun rising on the beach.
Continuing on down to Mount Maunganui, the furthest point we would reach on the Bay of Plenty, this cute town holds great views of it’s beautiful coastline including Moturiki and Motuotau islands. For those keen, you can climb the track up the Mount.
Rotorua
Distance: 3h 23min – from Island View Reserve via Mount Maunganui
Rotorua should be high on your ‘must-see’ list, if it isn’t already your first. Even if you only have one day to explore, you won’t be disappointed with the great mix of geothermal wonderlands and the traditional Moari culture this city has to offer. The smell of Rotorua will hit you in the face as you reach the outskirts of town, but it’s not rotten eggs. This sulphur-scented city sits within a volcanic crater, surrounded by bubbling mud pools and torrents of steam expelling from random holes around the city, including the drains.
Whakarewarewa is a living Maori Village filled with bubbling mud pools, steam and geysers. It’s most popular for it’s Maori cultural performances which are held twice daily including the Maori Haka and beautiful harmonious songs that tell of Maori stories and legends. Depending on which ticket you purchase, you can also enjoy a traditional Maori Hangi meal. Entry starts from $35pp. The village also holds good views across to Te Puia and the Pohutu geyser, if you want to avoid the high Te Puia entry price.
Whilst Te Puia was a great experience, the high entry fee of $90+ pp did make this natural wonderland feel like a bit of a tourist trap. Entry does include a free walking tour around the park filled with Geyers, mud pools and even includes a show at a traditional village. Our guide provided excellent knowledge of the park and the up-close view of Pohutu geyser did make the visit worth it. Pohutu erupts to a height of 30 metres up to 20 times a day and is the largest geyser in the southern hemisphere.
Government Gardens sits right on the shore of Lake Rotorua and is home to a number of must-see attractions including Rotorua Museum, Tamaki Maori Village and Polynesian Spa. Drive or bike ride along the path to Sulphur Point where you’ll pass more natural bubbling mud pools and views across Lake Rotorua. Not too far from Government Gardens you’ll find Kuirau Park, a public park where you can take a stroll and feel just how alive and vigorous the geothermal activity in this area is.
Further north along Lake Rotorua you’ll find Rotorua Skyline and Luge.
We stayed at the Cosy Cottage Thermal Holiday Park and I can’t recommend this spot enough! Especially if you are in a campervan! Enjoy the parks natural hot mineral spa and pools, it’s own thermal Hangi steam oven (with delicious recipes to try out) and even walk a few steps to it’s own sandy beach on the shores of Lake Rotorua and dig your own hot pool (watch out, it’s not lying when it says hot!). All these activities are free to those who stay, only requiring a small refundable deposit for use of the shovel or Hangi pots.
Above: Cosy Cottage Thermal Holiday Park hangi steam ovens
The Thermal Explorer Highway
Distance: 1h 2min – from Rotorua to Taupo
One of the highlights of our trip was the Thermal Explorer Highway. Think geothermal wonderlands without the tourist-trap feeling. With minimal crowds (maybe it was the time of year?) it allowed us to explore the many parks that were situated along the highway at our own pace.
Waimangu Volcanic Valley will leave you speechless. You almost wouldn’t be surprised if a dinosaur were to run past you. Waimangu was created on 10 June 1886 by the volcanic eruption of Mount Tarawera. The valley holds a fantastic loop walk exploring some amazing sights including Echo Crater, Frying Pan Lake, Cathedral Rocks, Inferno Crater and many others. A shuttle bus will take you back to the visitor centre if you chose and entry to the park is $37pp or $79pp including the boat cruise on the lake at the end of the track.
Along old Walotapu Road lies a natural hot pool Keroscene Creek, a secret spot known by locals although we didn’t find it on our trip.
You should make your next stop the Mud Pools, located on the side of the road towards Wai-O-Tapu and a short free walk from the carpark.
Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland is the last park you’ll explore on the highway, but it definitely isn’t the least. It would have to be the most colourful of all of New Zealand’s geothermal parks, and the path that leads you around the park is an easy walk giving you perfect views of it’s quirkiness including Champagne Pool, Devils home and Devils bath.
Lady Knox Geyser lies near the park, and erupts at 10:15am each day. We missed the show so never found out if this Geyser was man-made or natural.
Lake Taupo
Unfortunately the rain had settled in for our stay in Lake Taupo, so we did miss out on a lot of the sights including the Maori Rock Carvings. The rain did make for a good day at Huka Falls, which is a must-see. The free overnight campervan spot right on the lakes shore is a great spot to stay.
Tongariro National Park
Distance: 1h 10min – From Taupo via State Highway 1 & 47
Tongariro National Park is the oldest National Park in New Zealand. The drive through the park is unreal as you realise 3 active volcanic mountains; Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro are sitting peacefully on your side. In the winter, the park turns into a skiing and snowboarding wonderland.
We had planned on doing the Tongariro Alpine crossing, one of New Zealands best day hikes but unfortunately the weather wasn’t cooperating here either but it still made for a great scenic drive – hopefully next time!
Waitomo Glowworm Caves
Distance: 1h 50min from Tongariro NP via State Highway 4
A lot of rain had drenched this part of the country but the sun did finally decide to shine as we reached the cute town of Waitomo. When we reached the ticket desk for the black water rafting, big signs of warning read ‘closed due to flooding’ which sent shivers down my spine. It gave me a flashback to a story I heard back in Switzerland of a group who went white-water rafting and were washed away from freak flood waters. I’m still not sure to this day if the story is true. The rafting tours did end up going ahead in the afternoon, but the above was enough to scare me from signing up.
Waitomo Glowworm Caves is a great short tour underground to see the amazing rock formations and glowworms. The trip also includes a boat trip, however as the area had a lot of rain our boat trip was restricted to inside the cave.
Other cave tours include Ruakuri & Aranui Caves which are also enjoyable and can be bundled into the one price!
Raglan
Distance: 1h 17min from Waitomo via State Highway 39 & 23
Raglan was a suggestion from a friendly local, which he compared to Byron Bay on the New South Wales North Coast. This laid-back surf town gave off the hippy vibe everyone knows and loves. A good place to enjoy the great coffee and watch the surfers along the coastline.
Hidden Gem! On your way out of Raglan, keep an eye out for a sign for Bridal Veil Falls. It’s a bit of a drive but the waterfall that will greet you after a short walk will be sure to amaze you!
Auckland
Distance: 2h 12min from Raglan via State Highway 1
We hit peak hour traffic as we rolled into Auckland, roads were gridlocked and reminders of Sydney kicked in, which made us drive right pass the city as we could always leave Auckland for another trip.
Instead, we decided to keep our holiday calm and stress free by heading north of Auckland to explore some vineyards for free wine tasting and to indulge in some amazing food (a break from the campervan night dinners)
Piha
Distance: 50min from Auckland via the West Coast Road
Could this be me leaving the best until last? omg Piha! My favourite stop of the whole trip, or maybe it was the shining sun that got me in a good mood! Piha is a must-see! The scenic drive into Piha provided amazing views down to the black sand beach and Lion Rock. A great spot for lunch is the Piha cafe for fresh wood fire pizza.
I think I’ll let the photos say the rest.
ONLY HAPPY WHEN I TRAVEL 