We saved the Northland and Auckland regions of the north island for the end of our New Zealand adventure since our flight back home was out of Auckland Airport. Highlights of Northland include: Karekare falls, Piha beach’s “Lion Rock”, Waipoua Kauri Forest (the towering Kauri trees are a sight to behold), Koutu boulders (everyone flocks…Continue reading New Zealand – Northland & Auckland
Tag: New Zealand
New Zealand – Waikato (Coromandel, Hamilton, Waitomo, Waikato, Lake Taupo)
This portion of our north island travels brought us to the Waikato region. First up was Lake Taupo, the caldera of the Taupo volcano and New Zealand’s largest lake. Despite the inclement weather, we signed up for a cruise across the lake to visit the Māori carvings, which was a lot of fun with Sail…Continue reading New Zealand – Waikato (Coromandel, Hamilton, Waitomo, Waikato, Lake Taupo)
New Zealand – Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne, Bay of Plenty (Napier, Opotiki, Rotorua)
New Zealand has numerous microclimates within its regions. We quickly learned that the weather between the eastern and western sections is remarkably different, with the western side suffering from stronger winds, more rain, and a prevailing wind. The east coast boasts milder weather, more sunshine and lower rainfall. We found these generalizations to be on…Continue reading New Zealand – Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne, Bay of Plenty (Napier, Opotiki, Rotorua)
New Zealand – Wellington, Manawatu-Wanganui, Taranaki
Our Interislander ferry crossing was originally scheduled for 13 July but a few days prior to our departure, we received an ominous warning that all ferry crossings would be cancelled due to a massive winter storm. Since making Interislander ferry changes was free, so we decided to err on the side of caution and depart…Continue reading New Zealand – Wellington, Manawatu-Wanganui, Taranaki
New Zealand – Tasman, Nelson & Marlborough (St Arnaud, Lake Rotoiti, Abel Tasman, Nelson, French Pass, Picton)
We saved the northern section of the south island for last because we were scheduled to meet the ferry in Picton for the short ride across the Cook Strait to Wellington. This section of New Zealand did not disappoint with some spectacular sights for our last 2 weeks. First up was pretty Nelson Lakes National…Continue reading New Zealand – Tasman, Nelson & Marlborough (St Arnaud, Lake Rotoiti, Abel Tasman, Nelson, French Pass, Picton)