NZ North Island Highlights

Liz Penn on 18 February 2020
Great friends of mine have emigrated to New Zealand and so I couldn’t wait to go and visit. I primarily planned the trip around spending time with them, so focused on the North Island. I’m very much looking forward to returning to see for myself what the South Island has to offer. Here are my impressions of the North Island.

I’ve heard people giving Auckland a hard time but I really liked it – waterfront setting, great museum (check out the pufferfish helmet, that is ingenious) and wineries within easy reach – what’s not to love? We spent our first three days here, mainly eating, drinking and catching up with our friends. If you do get a rainy day then I thoroughly recommend the museum; it was fascinating and gave us a great insight into Maori culture, more of which later. If it’s a sunny day then get out on a boat and visit Devonport or Waiheke – the latter is home to a ridiculous number of wineries, so join a tour or use the bus to get the most out of your day.

Next up, our friends headed home and we set off on a short tour. The drive from Auckland to Hobbiton was relatively straightforward, although I noticed a distinct lack of sheep – they seem to have been replaced by cows! If you’re a fan of Lord of the Rings or particularly The Hobbit, then Hobbiton is likely to be on your radar. The canny farmer who owns the land smelled a profit when Peter Jackson returned to film the Hobbit series and suggested they built a permanent set. It is very well-organised and the tour is full of interesting facts but if you’re not a big fan it’s a lot of money to part with. It is just about close enough to Auckland for companies to offer tours out if you don’t have your own wheels.

We visited on our way to Lake Taupo, having chosen to base ourselves here over the more ‘touristy’ Rotorua. I’d found us some lake-side accommodation and it was fabulous watching the sun set over the lake from our balcony. Taupo makes a great base for visiting some of the geothermal centres between here and Rotorua such as Orakei Karako – it’s the photo of the bubbling lake in case you weren’t sure! We also popped to Rotorua to visit some clients of mine that I’d never met in the UK who also happened to be over visiting friends – it was lovely to finally meet Doug and Angela even if it did take us travelling halfway round the world to do it!

Whilst staying in Taupo we caught a bus up to Huka Falls, created by forcing NZ’s longest river, the Waikato through a narrow gap. We walked back to Taupo following the river – there’s a stop-off en route where you can take a dip in the thermally-heated waters. That afternoon we drove up to Aratiatia Rapids, which got considerably slowed down when the government built a dam over it but, to give you a sense of what it used to be like, they obligingly open the floodgates a few times a day. This is also the launch site for one of two jetboats plying their trade on the river – being a wuss I opted for the more scenic (and longer lasting!) river cruise which still took us right up to the edges of Huka Falls – nature at its wildest.

Our other reason for choosing Taupo over Rotorua was its proximity to our next stop; aptly named National Park. Located in Tongariro National Park (no, really?!), in the winter it’s a popular ski area but in the summer this is the prime jumping-off point for one of New Zealand’s greatest day ‘tramps’; the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. I had insanely decided that I would be fine walking the 19.4km distance and was at least accepting of the fact that I would be towards the upper end of the 5-8 hours’ walking time. It was tough, but it was worth it. Towards the top you have views back across Mount Ngauruhoe (aka Mount Doom, LOTR fans) and in front are three sparkling lakes. As you start your descent the landscape opens up in front of you and you have far-reaching views – I’m saying that as someone who fluked a day of great weather – I can’t imagine it would be anywhere near as pleasant in rain or even just cloud.

The next day we were heading up to the Bay of Islands to stay with our friends but there was just one more thing to do. Having recommended Waitomo Caves to all of my clients visiting North Island it would have been remiss of me to avoid it even though I get claustrophobic and don’t really like the dark! Renowned for its glow-worms (please don’t ask me what they really are, you won’t like the answer) you can take a sedate walk through the caves or ramp it up a bit and go blackwater tubing. Hence the beautiful picture of the two of us in wetsuits and white wellies clinging onto rubber rings for dear life…There is a moment of pure bliss as you float in a chain under a high ceiling lit by glow-worms; that made it worth my mild trauma.

Things slowed down a little once we were in the Bay of Islands; we had a few lovely walks, including a solid all-dayer (about 15kms) from Paihia to Russell – once lovingly known as the ‘hellhole of the Pacific’ from its days as the first European settlement. It’s a bit more genteel now and we enjoyed a satisfying beverage at the Duke of Marlborough, which has been ‘refreshing rascals and reprobates since 1827’. We also returned to Paihia to visit Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where the Europeans and Maori came together to agree terms governing New Zealand. Visits here include an in-depth tour providing the background to the treaty, a cultural performance including the haka (ours seemed to go slightly off script but that made it even more interesting!), as well as entry to two museums. I would say this is unmissable if you find yourself in the Bay of Islands.

One thing I had yet to tick off my list was to see a Kiwi. This is easier said than done, although tireless conservation work is paying off in some areas. Having done some research, we found a place on the west coast offering a guided walk with a 50% chance of seeing a Kiwi. I also found a Kiwi nursery in case that failed! We took the coastal route through Kauri forests, visiting some of the most ancient trees on the planet. It’s hard to get across the sheer scale of the trees in photos – one of them is nearly 14 metres wide and over 50 metres tall. That’s roughly the height of Nelson’s Column if that helps. You say ‘wow’ a lot, trust me. Get on with it, I hear you chunter, did you see a Kiwi?…call me and I’ll tell you.