must does in New Zealand North island

[ken c]

We want to go back to New Zealand and do self drive tour from Wellington to Auckland taking about 10 days with about 2 day stops at a time.dont want extreme sports or hiking as we are getting on a bit now, but want to see as much of this lovely country as we can without being rushed. Our coach trip of the south island was lovely but a bit too quick. So any MUST DOES please, many thanks also any good homesteds or B & B's

[Epiphany74]

When I toured North Island I really enjoyed visiting the Hukka Fals and Craters of the Moon, though you maybe did that on a coach trip. Or what about Rotarua, and take the time to have a real relaxing session in the hot springs. And I loved the wine tours available from Marlborough. Oh, and if you liked the movie, the set of Hobbiton is a great tour - what you see is interesting but the story the guides tell is superb. But if you have time, go further up to 90 Mile Beach - even the drive from Auckland up there is worth it.

[jno]

Bay of Islands, north of Auckland, is very pretty and (from a local point of view) very historic. Napier has a lot of handsome art deco buildings - it was rebuilt after a severe earthquake in the 1930s. Rotorua and the thermal areas are fascinating, though full of tourists; and the scenery around the volcanic plateau in the middle of the island is striking. Mt Taranaki (Egmont on some maps) looks like Mt Fuji, a near-perfect cone, but often covered in cloud. And I'm a great fan of Wellington itself, less so of Auckland, though Auckland has better weather. For wine, west Auckland, Hawkes Bay and Martinborough (outside Wellington) are good.

[Gowergirl]

Hi,Ken,
Just got back from a 6 week holiday in NZ.
From Wellington you could either go up the West coast or East coast.
Personally,I prefer the East Coast.From Wellington you could go to Hastings,Napier & Gisborne.Lots of wineries in that region.Napier has the Art-Deco buildings.
You could drive around the East Cape,very remote,but beautiful.
Whakatane is worth a visit & from there you could go to Rotorua, Lake Taupo& then on to Auckland.
You could drive to Rotorua straight from Hastings/Napier if you want to have a shorter drive.
Whatever you do,you'll have a great time.We've just had out 5th visit & can't wait till we go again next year.

[ken c]

thanks all for your replies I think we had better go for longer
than planned to do all these things.
one more question, are B & B's or homesteads easy to find
or should I book ahead?
thanks again for your input

[Snowy Owl]

Motels are brilliant in NZ, and depending on when you are going, you can just book a night or two ahead. We went Feb/Mar and had no problems on either island.

If you are interested in the volcanic features, Rotorua is the famous area and can be quite busy. For off the beaten track, and therefore less crowded, try Orakei Korako. It's between Rotorua and Taupo and is definitely worth the detour if thermal areas are your thing.

Drive the Desert Road from Taupo south and see the volcanoes of Ruapehu , Ngauruhoe and Tongariro. Lake Taupo itself is worth a visit, as is the town of Taupo.

I hesitiate to recommend any particular motel as it's 3 years since we were there and things change. When you pick up your car you should get info from the NZ version of the AA...very helpful in every way.

Go and enjoy!

[jno]

the long school holidays are mid December to the start of February, and motels tend to fill up quicker then. In fact the weather tends to be better Feb-April (though always a big unpredictable) and flights from the UK are often cheaper. You can do it in 10 days if you wish - Auckland to Wellington is only 400 miles, though not on M1-standard roads. It's also very common to hire camper vans; there are plenty of campsites.

[jno]

sorry... weather is a BIT unpredictable...