We are about to start our long-awaited road trip through New Zealand! The first place we are going to visit is the north island. We set the start for the middle of October, so it’s just about to start! It’s time for a new post – New Zealand North Island – Travel Plan! We have quite a detailed list of what we want to see. I hope that we will be able to do everything.

The starting point of our journey will be the town of Putaruru. The list of points is presented in chronological order. At the beginning of November and December we have to be around Tongariro National Park for a while, so we have planned the route so that we are always passing through. The whole North Island is going to take about 7 weeks. If we add the south island the whole road trip will take about 3.5 months.

NEW ZEALAND TRAVEL PLAN – NORTH ISLAND 

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1. Hobbiton – that is where they shot the Lord of the Rings
2. Auckland – the largest city in the NZ – we will go to the Rainbow’s End (amusement park) and other such
3. Kitekite Falls – a nice waterfall where you can bathe (both at the bottom and on top of the waterfall)
4. Lion Rock w Piha – the name speaks for itself, we are going to see a rock that looks like a lion!
5. Mangawhai – we will go to see the horseshoe-shaped bay and walk on the cliffs
6. Waipu Caves – in the caves we want to see glowing worms – glowworms
7. Whangarei – we will look at Abbey Caves and Whangarei Falls
8. Mount Manaia – the mountain looks pretty cool, so we’ll climb it!
9. Paihia – the city where they signed the Treaty of Waitangi (1840), an agreement between the representatives of the British Crown and the Maori. Eventually the pact was broken, but the place is still significant!
10. Kerikeri – we want to look at Rainbow Falls
11. Doubtless Bay – a beautiful bay and it’s on the way, so we will visit it!
12. Cape Reinga – the northernmost point, which is not the northernmost point at all
13. Giant Sand Dunes – New Zealand dunes
14. 90 Mile Beach – we want to drive a car on the beach!
15. Waipoua Forest Walk – we will look at the Kauri trees, including the 2 largest ones specifically
16. Marokopa Falls – supposedly the most beautiful waterfall in NZ
17. Omaru Falls – another waterfall, because we don’y have enough of them on the list .
18. Three Sisters and Elephant Rock – rock formations on the beach, one resembling an elephant, which unfortunately some time ago collapsed so now the trumpet is missing.
19. New Plymouth – he city! Nearby there is a nice bridge that resembles a fish skeleton
20. Wulkan Mount Taranaki/Park Egmont – a beautiful volcano around which there is a perfectly rounded Egmont Park (check with Uncle Google). And then we go for a week to Tongariro National Park, for a while to work.
21. Waipunga Falls – like a waterfall, we go!
22. Napier – city with a particular Art déco style
23. Te Matea Peak – they recommended on the pages that it supposedly has cool-looking peaks, so we’ll go judge for ourselves
24. Onepoto Caves – caves again…
25. Waikaremoana Lou’s Lookout – a view of the lake
26. Hinerau Track– again waterfalls, and even 3!
27. Tauwhare Falls – haven’t mentioned something like this yet… A waterfall!
28. Rotorua – a city stinking of rotten eggs, we will go to the Maori district of Te Papaiouru Marae and visit the geothermal park
29. Karangahake Gorge – gold mines and other such things
30. Pinnacles Track – we will climb to the top on ladders, stairs and other…
31. Hot Water Beach – we will take a shovel and dig a hole on the beach, and then we will heat our asses in the water, which can reach up to 64 degrees!
32. Cathedral Cove – a sea reserve with a huge cave-ish thing (?) on the beach
33. Whangamata -a seaside town, we want to go paddleboarding there
34. Waihi – Quarry – A quarry, haven’t seen one, so we will go see one
35. Omanawa Falls and then again for a week to work
36. Kaitoke Regional – they shot scenes from Rivendell (Lord of the Rings) here.
37. Putangirua Pinnacles – another location where they were turning the Lord (the path followed by Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli to the Dead from Dunharrow)
38. Wellington -the capital of New Zealand! We’ll take a look at the city, look for more places where LOTR was shot (and there are a few of them!), visit Weta Workshop, a place where film accessories are made (such as swords and other props used in the LOTR and the Hobbit), and we’ll also take a look at the supposedly cool museum Te Papa. From Wellington we will also take a ferry to the south island… .

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So this is our list entitled New Zealand North Island – travel plan. If the weather is favorable, we should get along with everything calmly, because we have a lot of time spare.

If you want to visit New Zealand and you use this list to plan your trip, I will add a few more points that we have already visited before, so I did not add them to the list above.

Hamilton Gardens – although Hamilton itself is a hole (colloquially known as a shit hole, aka Hamilhole), they have park area full of beautiful gardens that you can see for free. I recommend it, even if you are not a fan of such places (I am not, and I liked it).

Bridal Veil Falls – a beautiful waterfall located west of Hamilton. The place is located on route to the seaside town – Raglan, where there is a black sand beach!

Tongariro Alpine Crossing – this place, I do not need to introduce! Nearby there is also a nice route – The Ohakune Old Coach Road, which leads through old railroad viaducts. Overall, the whole Tongariro National Park is a cool area with a few interesting places!

Huka Falls – waterfalls near Taupo. If you like to warm up, I also recommend the free hot springs – Otumuheke SPA Park, which is located nearby. Another popular place nearby is the Mine Bay Māori Rock Carvings.

Blue Springs – probably the clearest water in NZ!

Mount Maunganui  – I am not a fan of New Zealand cities, but the view from Mount Maunganui over the city of Mount Maunganui and the ocean is beautiful!

Wairere Falls – if you’re going to Hobbiton, go on a trek to the top of the waterfall!

And that’s probably it! I will describe our whole trip on my blog and record v-logs, but you know, it takes a bit of time, so if you want to be in the loooooop, then stick with me on Insta!

Tags: New ZealandNew Zealand Road Trip