New Zealand is our favorite place in the world. New visitors to the country may grapple with whether to travel to the North Island or the South Island, and while the South Island is admittedly our preferred destination of the two, the North Island also makes for a once-in-a-lifetime vacation.
On our recent two-week trip to New Zealand, we spent seven days in the North Island and eight days in the South Island. This post details our itinerary in the North Island and the main sites we recommend visiting there; our post about the South Island will be coming soon!
If you’re coming from the United States, you’re going to be exhausted when you get to Auckland. There’s no way around it – 24+ hours of travel will do that to you. As a result, we recommend a low-key first day that let’s you relax, get your bearings, and head to bed early if needed.
That said, fighting off jet lag is a must, so you can’t go to bed too early. To help us stay awake until a reasonable-ish time, we decided to explore Auckland on foot. First though, we had to make a pit stop at our hotel to drop off our bags and freshen up. We stayed at the Four Points in the city center and highly recommend it for anyone with Marriott status. Getting to check-in early after the long flight was a huge perk, and the breakfast we had included each day was solid too.
From the hotel, we set off towards the harbor. On our way we picked up coffee from Remedy Coffee, which was a really cute, delicious spot. Within a few more minutes, we were at the water. We didn’t have a set agenda for this day, so we took a leisurely stroll around the coastline and enjoyed the maritime views. After making it to Silo Park and taking a few minutes to look at the fixtures, we decided to turn around and head back towards some of the breweries and restaurants we had passed on our walk.
Our first stop here was Good George – an open-air brewery right off the water with nice harbor views. The flights we got were solid, but the main draw here was definitely the atmosphere, friendly service, and great location. After finishing our drinks, we stopped by Hello Beasty to put our name down for an early dinner; then, we went to Dr Rudi’s Rooftop Brewing Co. to pass the 45-minute wait time. While rooftops by the water are always nice, the beer here was just fine.
Still, Dr Rudi’s served its purpose. By the time we each finished our beer, Hello Beasty was ready to seat us. The wait was well worth it too, as Hello Beasty may have been our favorite meal in New Zealand. Everything we had was fantastic. This Asian-fusion restaurant specializes in shared plates, so we had an opportunity to sample many dishes, but our favorites had to be the slow-cooked coastal lamb shoulder, the prawn + crab toast, and the charred broccolini. The service was great too, making it an all-around terrific experience.
After dinner, we walked to Twofold Brewery in the Parnell neighborhood for another drink. While a bit outside the city center, we really liked the vibe at this brewery, and it was nice exploring a new area.
Finally, though, our lack of sleep caught up to us. We went back to the Four Points and called it a night, as we had an early start and full itinerary planned for the next day.
The main attractions in New Zealand are away from the major cities, and this day was our first exposure to the natural beauty that the North Island has to offer. After breakfast at the hotel, our first stop was Hunua Falls, which was just under an hour drive. The waterfall itself is very pretty, but what we found most interesting was the lengths that the government goes to in order to protect the local environment. Before we could set foot on the short trail from the parking lot to the falls, we had to spray and scrub the bottoms of our shoes (using a pretty ingenious mechanism) to avoid tracking dirt from other parts of the country.
After spending maybe 30 minutes enjoying the falls and walking around the area, we got back in the car and drove two hours to Waitomo Cave – perhaps the premier glow worm site in the world. The tour through the caves was both informational and beautiful. First, our guide walked us through the cave system and explained how the formations, terrain, and natural acoustics came to be. Then, he shut off the lights and introduced us to the glow worms. There were so many! Without a doubt, the highlight of the tour was the silent, pitch-black boat journey through the cave’s river system with all the glow worms hanging overhead. Photos aren’t allowed (and wouldn’t do it justice), so you’ll have to take our word for it that the glow worms gave the illusion of a night sky filled with a million stars.
With our next tour not starting until later in the afternoon, we made our way to Otorohanga (15 minutes from Waitomo) to grab a quick bite and kill some time. For lunch, we had kebabs from Turko Kebab. They weren’t anything special, but they were exactly what we needed at that point – solid, quick, affordable, and well-portioned. Next, since we still had just over an hour of free time, we decided to make an impromptu visit to the Otorohanga Kiwi House. This nature conservatory had a ton to see and easily could have filled more time. Still, we were glad we decided to stop by, as we were able to see kiwi birds feeding in their moonlight habitats as well as several other local birds and reptiles.
We grabbed a quick pick-me-up from Origin Coffee in Otorohanga, and then we drove another hour to The Shire’s Rest, where we set off for our tour of Hobbiton. If you’re a fan of The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings, this site is 1000% a must-see. The movie set is incredibly well-preserved, and you’ll have the opportunity to explore the interior of a hobbit dwelling. It’s also just really beautiful scenery. Seeing it in person, it’s obvious why Peter Jackson chose the lush landscape and rolling hills to bring Tolkien’s vision to life. The tour guides are also all very passionate and share several stories about the filming and how Hobbiton came to be. Considering we also got to enjoy a beer at the Green Dragon Inn at the conclusion of our tour, this visit really couldn’t have been any better. Make sure to buy your tickets in advance, as tours do sell out somewhat quickly.
After wrapping up at Hobbiton, we made the quick drive to our Airbnb in the nearby town of Matamata. While a small town, Matamata does have a decent amount to offer, as it attracts a lot of visitors given its proximity to Hobbiton. For dinner, we decided to walk from our Airbnb to Osteria Matamata, a nice Italian restaurant in the town center (reservation recommended). The margherita pizza, fettuccini pollo, and capesante – paired with a bottle of wine – were all tasty and a great way to end the day.
Another early start! After grabbing coffee and toasties from Wilson’s Drive Through Coffee on our way out of Matamata, we drove an hour to the Kaituna River just northeast of Rotorua. There, we got ready for our whitewater rafting experience. We did quite a bit of research before our trip to figure out which river we wanted to raft, and we ultimately settled on the Kaituna because it includes the highest commercially-rafted waterfall in the world – Tutea Falls, standing 7-meters tall. It did not disappoint! On our bus ride from the rafting base to the embarkation point, our rafting guides gave us the normal spiel about the dangers of the river and the possibility of capsizing. Turns out, one in three rafts flip when going over Tutea Falls, and we were one of the lucky (or unlucky?) ones to get the full experience.
It was definitely a bit scary, but the adrenaline made for a really fun trip. Apart from the one flip, everything was smooth-enough sailing, and we would definitely recommend this trip for any thrill-seekers or rafting enthusiasts.
Luckily, the rafting base had an outdoor shower and changing rooms, because we got soaked with river water (obviously). After getting cleaned up, we made the short drive to Wakarewarewa – a Redwood forest right next to the town of Rotorua. After the heart-pumping start to the day, doing the flat Memorial Grove walk through the forest was a nice come-down. While this park also gives you the option of paying to do an elevated tree walk across a series of rope bridges, we enjoyed the free walk on the ground that let us fully appreciate the height of these California Redwoods.
After finishing our short hike (if you can call it that), we ventured into the town of Rotorua for lunch. There are a ton of options, as Rotorua is a big tourist area, but we decided to go to Citron Café and Bar. It’s an unassuming place, but it honestly rocked. The lamb burger was one of the best we’ve ever had. For dessert, we stopped at the nearby Lady Janes Ice Cream Parlour, which was a perfect way to cap off the meal.
With our bellies full, we decided to make a quick stop at Kuirau Park. While not the most impressive geothermal area, it is right in the heart of Rotorua and free, so we couldn’t not go. We spent a half or so walking around the steaming pools and wondering how ducks were calmly swimming on them, and then we were on the road again.
Next up was Waimangu Volcanic Valley, another geothermal site that promised more natural, rugged terrain. The entire length of the park is about five miles, so we decided to do the walking path / hiking trail combo from the visitor center to the end point, then take the shuttle back to the start. There is a lot to see in this valley, but our favorite site had to be the Inferno Crater, which has a striking milky blue color. Apart from that, we really enjoyed the vast landscape speckled with birds at the end of the trail. It’s undoubtedly a pretty area, but New Zealand has so many of those. Maybe we just aren’t the biggest fans of geothermal sites, but we wouldn’t consider this a must-do if you’re pressed for time.
After Waimangu, we drove 45 minutes to the impressive Huka Falls for a quick photo, as it is only a short walk from the parking lot. Then, we went to the town of Taupo for an early dinner. While it doesn’t have as many dining options as Rotorua, we really enjoyed our meal at Malabar Nepalese and Indian Kitchen. The Nepalese Himalayan Chicken Curry and the Lamb Junglee were delicious.
Full once again, we drove another hour to our Airbnb (with a hot tub!) in Turangi – conveniently located a short drive from Tongariro National Park for our morning hike. And yes, we know this day included a lot of time in the car, but driving through the countryside was one of our favorite parts of this trip. There is so much beautiful scenery that you don’t get to see at more popular stops, so we wouldn’t have this itinerary any other way.
Our original plan for Day 4 was to hike the famous Tongariro Alpine Crossing. The mountain weather, though, had other plans. A dense fog set in and completely shrouded the mountain, reducing visibility on the unmarked trail to less than 10 meters. The silver lining here is that the trail operators knew this weather was coming, so we found out a day in advance that the trail would be closed. That gave us time to research some alternative activities that wouldn’t be as impacted by the weather.
After grabbing drinks at Delta Coffee on our way out of Turangi, we drove a half hour to Tawhai Falls – otherwise known as Gollum’s Pool. If you’ve seen the Lord of the Rings films, you may think this waterfall looks a bit different than the one you saw on the big screen; that’s because the movie combines two different waterfall settings from Turangi to create the famous scene. Still, Tawhai Falls is an easy 10 minute walk from the parking area, so it is well worth a quick visit rain or shine.
Next, we made a brief stop at the national park’s visitor center to solicit some expert advice on trail conditions and rainy day activities. The ranger on site directed us towards a couple lower altitude trails that wouldn’t be as impacted by the cloud cover, so we decided to make those our focus for the day.
Our first hike was the Taranaki Falls loop. This relatively easy trail took about 1.5 hours to complete (stops included), with the highlight being the beautiful waterfall surrounded by jagged cliffs. The rainy weather was a boon here, as the increased water flow created an even more dramatic site. We were the only people at the waterfall for some time (again probably due to the rain), so we took advantage and walked right down to the bottom of the falls to feel the mist ricocheting off the stone base.
After finishing the Taranaki Falls loop, we still had some juice in our legs. We decided to first make a quick stop at Mangawhero Falls (the other, more recognizable half of Gollum’s Pool), which required only a short walk from the parking lot. Then, we set off on the out-and-back Waitonga Falls Track. In total this trail took just over an hour, and while it was too foggy to see the mountain in the distance, it was still nice getting to see the waterfall. We opted to hop across a shallow creek at the base of the falls to get a better vantage point. This did result in a slightly better view, but if you aren’t comfortable traversing the slick stones, then you honestly aren’t missing much.
At this point we had had enough of the rain and cold, so we decided to leave the park and grab some lunch. It was surprisingly difficult to find an open restaurant with decent reviews in this area. Eventually, we settled on going to Utopia Cafe in the nearby town of Ohakune, and once again we were pleasantly surprised. The lamb burger here (though not as good as the one at Citron) was great! The service was really friendly too, as one of the restaurant’s owners gave us all sorts of background info and tips about the different towns in that region of the North Island. Once we finished our lunch, we set off on our long drive south to Wellington – our home base for the next three nights.
On our way down, we made a quick stop at Queen Elizabeth Park to see another Lord of the Rings filming location and some pretty coastal scenery. After that, we finished our drive to Wellington, grabbed dinner and a drink in town, and enjoyed a relaxing evening.
We made Wellington our home base for the next three days, and it is a truly beautiful city. We enjoyed our time in and around Wellington so much that we dedicated a separate post to it, which you can read here.
Happy traveling!
Kitrina & Jordan
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