Auckland Travel Forum

Hello everybody,

My lady friend and I will visit NZ(For the first time) in early Jan.

We want to restrict our visit (For this time) to the north of the North Island: Auckland, the very north and not more south than Napier.

We read many books already but any information about what to do, what to see, where to go will be welcome.

Any information about what we should not do ( To avoid to hurt local culture, place not safe...) welcome as well.

For a 2 or 3* hotel, which location would you advise us to look.

Should we rent a car, ASAp from here or wait to be in Auckland?

Chantal and Maurice we are French (By the way sorry for the Rugby quarter final, ou still have the best team in the worl, and I mean it) open minded and young at heart ;-)))) and like walking around, Day and early evening, in town and in the open, and around nice spots and local interesting places, asian and pacific food...

Thank you for your help

Reece

you can hire a car easily when you're there (I don't know how the prices compare I didn't check online)

go to the Bay of Islands in the far north

stunning scenery

also go to Rotarua to see the geysers

and try to get a good map

the tourist map isn't very good for navigating from

and radio reception goes from poor to none existent so if you need music when you drive...

have a great trip

Some interesting spots in the northern part of the NORTH ISLAND:

White Island: my absolute number one spot in NZ, an active volcano near Whakatane (Bay of Plenty) 50 km’s off shore;

Tauranga/Mount Maunganui/Papamoa Beach

Rotorua: with lots of interesting volcanic sights (we did like most of all: Wai-o-Tapu, Mt. Tarawera and a little bit further away Orakei Korako);

Tongariro National Park with the famous Tongariro Crossing and lots of other tracks, for instance to the Tama Lakes (drive also along the so called ‘ desert road’);

Napier: with its art deco buildings and Cape Kidnappers with a large gannet colony, but also the splendid views from Te Mata Peak;

Mahia Peninsula: with sandy and lovely rock beaches; a very remote part of NZ;

Gisborne: with wineries and perhaps a visit to the village of Whangara, where the movie "Whale Rider" was filmed;

East Cape: attention it is a long drive !!

Coromandel: with Cathedral Cove the most lovely beach of NZ, Hot Water Beach and the remote Kauaeranga Valley near Thames; (the peninsula is more or less ‘little New Zealand’);

Auckland Region; with lots of unexpected spots like Waitakere Ranges with the wild coast near Piha and the gannet colony at Muriwai Beach; Waiheke Island and Rangitoto (both accessible from Auckland city by ferry); Goat Island on your way to the north;

Bay of Islands: Waitangi, where modern New Zealand was born, Russell (‘swim with the dolphins’ or another cruise) and Kerikeri;

Cape Reinga: with wonderful views over beaches, Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean. With a side trip: near the parking lot is a trail that goes off to the West, about two miles long down to a large mostly empty beach. The beach itself is amazing.
On the way to or from Cape Reinga there is a walk (or drive) through a little stream with huge dunes - Te Paki Sand Dunes - to “ninety mile beach” (be aware of the dangers when driving the beach, mostly it is not allowed with a rental car);

Waipoua Forest on the west coast of Northland: with large impressive kauri's

Hokianga Harbour: with huge sand dunes and further away Mitimiti, a very remote Maori-village on the wild coast of the Tasman Sea (use the ferry near Rawene).

I would recommend to rent a car ASAP. Early January will be (very) HIGH season. Our last rental was from McDonalds Rent a Car, a smaller family owned company with very good services and friendly staff.

I can not help you with information about hotels. Mostly we stayed in B&B's. If you are interested take a look at thewebsites.

Road maps online:
www.newzealand.com/travel/home
www.aatravel.co.nz (travel planner, map, and driving routes and times)
www.wises.co.nz (maps of New Zealand)

Info
www.aatravel.co.nz
www.newzealand.com (NZ Tourism's official site)

Bed and breakfast:
www.bnb.co.nz
www.aatravel.co.nz/accommodation-newzealand/new-zealand-bed-breakfast.php

More info and pics on my New Zealand page.
happy travels
Jaap

Early Jan is the height of our season, it would be wise to organise your rental car now, it will be well booked already.
I highly recommend Coromandel Peninsular, lots of small beaches to snoop around. Whangamata is a good "service centre" to base yourself in that area.
No cities on the Coromandel.
Look out for the Hundertwasser Toilets in Kawakawa on the way to Paihia.