NZ North Island - what to see?

Question

My wife and I will be touring NZ North Island in a few weeks time - any suggestions as to what to go and see? We're hiring a car, but we'll only have about a week to do as much as we can.

Answer 1

Here are the top things to do in the North Island of New Zealand

North Island

Cape Reinga and 90 Mile Beach

Swim with the dolphins in Paihia, Bay of Islands

Vertigo Climb, Auckland Skytower - beyond the observation decks, and wear an orange suit to do it.

Take a ferry or kayak from Mission Bay, Auckland to Rangitoto Island & climb to the top.

Waiheke Island - only 35 mins by ferry from Auckland, for some great wineries, maybe spend the night.

Raglan- & catch some wild surf.

Waitomo Haggas Honking Holes and tubing the glow-worm caves

Kayak from Whitianga to Cathedral Cove - then go to Hot Water beach and dig your hole in the sand

Drive from Opotiki to Gisborne then around the East Cape and back to Opotiki

Hawkes Bay- wineries, East Coast, North Island

Rotorua - to see the geysers, thermal activity and smell, visit Te Whakawerwera for your Maori cultural experience.

Drive out to Lake Tarawera near Rotorua- check out the Blue and Green lakes on the way

Taupo- Tandem Skydive 12,000ft

Craters of the moon outside of Taupo

Tongariro Crossing- one of the best one-day walks in the world, stunning scenery with volcanoes

Walk up Mount Taranaki- West Coast, North Island

Watch the sun rise at Te Araroa - the eastern most place in NZ

Martinborough- wineries- bottom East Coast, North Island

Te Papa Museum in Wellington- you could spend all day here learning about NZ / Maori -culture

Answer 2

Northland:

Beautiful beaches tucked away along all the coasts.  Don't be afraid to explore them!  Matauri Bay is an impressive beach, and the Rainbow Warrior was buried off the coast from it.

Cape Reinga/90 Mile Beach.....lots of fun.

Kerikeri

Auckland:

Auckland is tough because the traffic is so bad, and it's frustrating to get around town.

The islands off the coast of Auckland are wonderful.  Try taking a boat (Fullers has ferry rides all over) to Tiritiri Matangi Island, which is a sanctuary with many incredible native NZ birds.  Full of hiking trails, a great day trip.

The Sky Tower, a fun place to stay a couple nights.

Just north of Auckland is the Gannet Colony, pretty impressive.

Coromandel:

A great drive.  Must see coastline.

Rotorua: Cant miss the mud!  This town is touristy but fun!  I found that Wai-o-Tapu thermal park just outside Rotorua is the best geothermal park.  So is Whakapapa.  h**l's Gate was boring.  Also there are many small lakes that are really nice you can hike around nearby town.

Lake Taupo

Raglan

Kapiti Coast

Wellington:  My favorite city!  I love it!!!!  Go to Cuba Street for shopping and don't miss Te Papa Museum!

Going by car on your own is the best!  You will be in heaven!  Have fun and be safe!  (Oh, be careful if you park on the side of the road at a trail head, they have had problems with break-ins at these locations).

Answer 3

Hot mud, volcanoes, hot springs, Kiwis, Maoris, geysers, nice lakes.

Answer 4

I have been to New Zealand many times! In fact I use to live there, and let me tell you, for a small country, there are so many things to do!

Let's begin from the top and work our way to the bottom of the island.

Up in Northland there is this beautiful area called the Bay of Islands.

http://www.bay-of-islands.co.nz/

There are lots of nice beaches up there if the weather is still warm, and heaps of outdoor things to do like bush walking, boating etc.

Auckland, being New Zealand's largest city, naturally has heaps to do! There are many great restaurants in Auckland and make sure you check out the Sky Tower and do a jump off it! Then there is MOTAT, if your a museum type person.

http://www.aucklandnz.com/

Auckland is built on many volcanos which you can go and have a look at. The islands around Auckland are also fantastic! Mission Bay is a very nice spot in Auckland too.

Parallel to Auckland is the Coramandel. I went to this when when the weather was bad, so It didn't seem too good but people say it is beautiful when it is sunny! There is hot water beach there!

http://mercurybay.co.nz/activities/hotwa...

Then south of Hamilton, there are the Waitomo caves! There pretty cool too.

http://www.waitomo.com/waitomo-glowworm-...

If your into beaches then try Mount Manganui in Tauranga! It is very nice there and there is a little mountain walk you can do.

http://www.mountmaunganui.co.nz/

If your not into the touristy areas, then try Whakatane which is a peaceful little town with nice beaches and a holiday feel. It is located in the eastern Bay of Plenty.

http://www.whakatane.com/

Rotorua is a must do! Heaps of stinking mud! Lots to learn there about volcanic activity!

Taupo is my personal favourtie! The largest Lake in New Zealand! Really good fishing there and the beautiful Mountains are located just south of the lake. They have a jet boat at Taupo too!

New Plymouth is another nice city if you fancy a drive to the other side of the island. From there, you can see Mount Taranaki!

http://www.newplymouthnz.com/

Hawkes Bay is another nice place to visit. Heaps of wine tasting! The best cities there are Napier and Havelock North.

If you like Rugby, then there is a rugby museum in the city of Palmerston North, although the city itself doesn't have much to see haha!

The Kapiti Coast is alright, and there is Kapiti Island off the Coast.

Finally we reach Wellington! One of the best cities in the world!

Wellington has heaps of great cafe's and restaurants, particulary in Oriental Bay! Te papa museum is also worth a look! Well, that's my experiances from New Zealand.

Try and do some of these things! There are heaps of other things to do on the North Island, I just can't think of them all!

Have a great holiday and thanks for the question :)

OH yeah! And with regaurds to safety in New Zealand, the country is very safe. I think it was voted the 2nd safest country in the world! However, for a small country there are a large amount of petty crimes so just be careful at night and don't talk to randoms who look strange.

Don't mean to scare you, just be careful!

Enjoy :)

Answer 5

GO TO WANGANUI. i live there, its pretty

Answer 6

Definitely Waitomo..that was one of my favorite places in New Zealand..we went tubing in the glow worm caves which was awesome!  Also I have to recommend Wellington which is the capital city..do the cable car and botanical gardens there..red rocks if you have time.  Rotorua is a must..the bubbling mud and horrible smell is pretty cool.  Lake Taupo..so beautiful!  The Tongariro crossing is really cool but if you don't want to do a 7 hour hike then Lake taupo is still really great and beautiful..it is the biggest freshwater lake in the southern hemisphere!  No matter where you go I promise you will love it..I studied abroad in New Zealand for 5 months from Feb 07 to July 07 and I miss it so much!

Answer 7

Rotorua is  a popular tourist destination, it has lots of cool activites, like boiling mud, thermals, sheep shearing, bungee jumping, adventure thrills, and Maori culture.

http://www.rotorua.nz.com/activities.asp...

A beautiful place to visit is also Waitomo glow worm caves - it's a truly magical experience.

http://www.waitomo.com/waitomo-glowworm-...

Also try looking at 101 must do weekends, it will give you some ideas:

http://www.aatravel.co.nz/101/101-galler...

Hope you have an enjoyable trip. :)

Answer 8

There are many good things to do as everyone has listed above so I won't repeat them. Just a message to keep yourselves and your belongings safe. NZ is generally a safe country but still take the same precautions as you do at home. Don't mean to scare you just some advice. Have a good trip and enjoy Aotearoa.