Outside of Auckland, North Island
Rotorua
Rotorua’s gorgeous Polynesian Spa is second to none, and ridiculously cheap for the luxury it affords. The scenery, the heated pools, one as hot as 41C for you to sit in, almost all out in the open air on the lake, is all a dream come true.
There are also private rooms for you and a guest, where you can bathe, have massages and other spa treatments, and generally relax and get away from it all, at very reasonable prices. Some even have their own private showers, but the public showers are impressively clean, as is the whole facility, and it is open from 7 in the morning til 11 at night.
The terraced pools and the central pool are covered over—beware of sunburn if you are in any of the other open-air pools. The terraced pools give you a great view of the lake, as does the lowest and hottest pool, which is right next to a colony of rather raucous nesting birds.
There is one indoor pool which is quite deep and reminiscent of the spa at Bath, England. It is actually small swimming pool size, but you won’t want to be too active due to the hear about about 35C.
One reminder—never ever put your whole face or ears or nose into a hot spring pool, you can pick up microbial creatures that thrive in the hot temperatures.
If you get hungry, you can pop out of the pool to get get exellent food here at the spa cafe. Everything to eat or drink at the spa is heathful, and you can also get the most amazing beauty products and soap, both made from the mud, and from natural New Zealand botanicals.
There are also the blue swimming baths for the more athletic right in the garden complex.
The Museum of Rotorua is a wonderful step back in time, both regarding New Zealand, and history of the spa that has helped the town become the prosperous tourist one it is today. It is often compared to Las Vegas, but its essential Englishness combined with Maori pride, makes it completely unique and very unspoiled despite the many tourist attractions.
Also in the gardens is a lovely huge lawn for bowls, all in a peaceful garden setting, with everything pretty much a short walk from one another and from the tourist center, spa, museum, lake path you can walk, and the welcome center for one of the hangi, Maori feasts and celebrations, which we will be talking about later.
The town is laid out in an easy enough grid pattern, so it is simple enough to walk everywhere. I stayed at a great clean backpackers, the Microtel, with a terrific kitchen, and loaded up on food from the local supermarket.
But no vacation would be complete without a couple of good dinners, and Rotorua’s dining experiences are one with a difference, for you haven’t experienced New Zealand until you’ve been to a hangi.
As I said, if you want to book a hangi, go to the tourist center to make the arrangements. They are in the know about all the ones on offer, and will recommend the best one/s. a minivan will pick you up at your hotel, and bring you to either the interpretive center first, so you can meet the other guests and your hosts, and see films or hear stories about Maori culture and how New Zealand first came to be settled, or you will head out to the site of the hangi to begin your cultural experience with the warrior’s welcome….

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Outside of Auckland, North Island
I flew over to Auckland from San Francisco on Air New Zealand for only $650 round trip, and both the flights were fantastic. The time just flew by even though it was 14 hours each way.
I got even better value by purchasing an air pass that allowed me to travel to other cities in a circle, all for only $100 extra.
Never bother to take a taxi from the airport, when the shuttle buses are so good and inexpensive by comparison. The tourist board people are friendly and helpful everywhere you go. In fact, it is the best place to find out what’s on and make bookings in advance.
Rotorua
After a week in magnificent Auckland and Paihia/Russell/the Bay of Islands, I headed for the “Great South Sea Spa” of Rotorua, made famous in Victorian times for its bubbling hot springs, thought to be good for the health.
George Bernard Shaw visited here, amongst others, and named some of the pools at Hell’s Gate volcanic area after friends and family. It is an awesome, vast park like a lunar landscape, and there you can soak your feet in the absolutely wonderful mud for free, and also learn how to do a traditional Maori carving.
The airport code for this quaint Victorian town now booming is ROT, and you can tell from the smell as soon as you arrive at the adorable little airport. The sulphurous odor is not to everyone’s liking, it is true, but you stop noticing it after a time, as you throw yourself into all this region has to offer.
I had the most fabulous 4 days in Rotorua, and have to admit I was sad to leave, and thought Welllington was a huge letdown compared to everything I had done the previous week.

Outside of Auckland, North Island
The Bay of Islands
I spent four fantastic days in Paihia and Russell, there, touring the area and taking a quick 10 minute ferry trip over to Russell every day. Russell is a charming Victorian town once known as the ‘hellhole of the Pacific” due to all the whaling ships coming in and availing themselves of the native women and some rowdy shore leave.
A great Maori uprising as a result of this treatment threatened the British settlement here, but eventually peace reign and the British and Scottish settlers began to thrive in their New World.
The maritime museum in Russell is superb, as is the walking around the area, an unspoilt peninsula cut off from the mainland for the most part except by one very circuitous road. You can talk a good brisk walk to the beach, and around to the whaling station still standing at Whangamumu-the whales were once so plentiful in this part of the world, they could hunt for them off the coast.
There are restaurants, entertainments, and a variety of accommodations and tours from Paihia suited to every budget, and it is the central transit hub for buses heading north, south, and west.
Also just over the bridge to the north of Paihia are the Waitangi treaty grounds, which marks the beginning of New Zealand as a nation under British rule. You can see a copy of the treaty and explore local Maori culture and carvings, and a magnificent traditional house, the whare (wh is the f sound in Maori)
Heading further north and west, you can see the largest and the oldest native trees in New Zealand in this region. Tane Mahuta is a magnificent tree over 50 feet in circumference. The forest is gorgeous, and you can even do a night tour in the hopes of seeing the elusive native Kiwi in the wild. (I did see them, and they are incredible) Kia Ora!
You can also go to see the famous Hole in the Rock, and will find all manner of water sports here. 9 Mile Beach is a wonderful paradise in the north, that takes about another 2 hours to get to fro Paihia, so that gives you an idea of just how long the northern peninsula is from Auckland as you travel the North Island.
Make sure you try the fish and chips, with local fishes that are unlike anything you have ever eaten, and at incredible prices even with the US dollar quite low when I went (and getting lower as I write this).

Outside of Auckland
There was a ton to do in the city, and I certainly wished I had had more time, but the rest of the North Island beckoned, as did my historical research.
The public transportation and bus networks in the cities in the North and on the North Island where I spent most of my time were terrific.
You need to book ahead for long coach journeys and ferry trips, but this is easy to do on line or by phone, and I highly recommend one of the passes they offer to help stretch your budget.
These passes are great because you can always add on to them if your plans change, and often they will include tours, or even the Interislander ferry from the North Island to the South and back again as part of the available facilities.
Paihia and Russell
If you want to get out of the city, you can head north to various smaller towns where sun and surf are an essential part of life, like Paihia. This quaint if touristy town is about 3 hours north of Auckland, and is one of the gateways to the north. It is small but well provided town full of history, from which a great number of tours leave so you can explore this glorious region, known as the Bay of Islands.

A small ferry will take you over from Paihia to Russell, for fantastic photos if nothing else.

Auckland continued
The wonderful suburb and little port town of Devonport is a short and very lovely ferry ride away. In fact, there is a whole network of ferries offering fast and cheap transportation to the suburbs and islands in the harbor. They all leave from the ferry terminal on the docks on a regular schedule 7 days a week. Grab an ice cream or hot chocolate from one of the super little eateries in the ferry building, and hop aboard.
Don’t miss the Maritime museum, with videos, hands-on exhibits, and even a world class model maker you can watch as he creates his wonderous ships.
Accommodation is cheap and fairly plentiful all over New Zealand, and ranges from 5 star to backpacker hostels. Lest you think you are too old to be a backpacker, rest assured that they are cheap, fairly clean even in the large cities, and cater to people of all ages, and are a great way to meet people.
In the 2 weeks I was there, I spent $10 NZ in most of them, except for in the cities, where I paid about $16-30 per night in the spring season (November 2007) and in most cases had a private room with en suite bathroom. I booked them online through the internet very quickly and easily.

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