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
In Auckland itself, well, you have everything you might expect from a great city, museums, public parks, fine dining, lively bars. The one thing you will notice is how uncrowded and unspoilt much of the country is.
There is a wonderful Victorian Village that has been preserved since colonial times at Howick, a short bus or car ride outside Auckland, where you can easily spend a day imagining what it was like to have lived in those times. They have an excellent gift shop and restaurant, and it is situated in the most wonderful expanse of parkland. There is even a nearby pub.
If you take the public bus out there, and ride to the end of the line and then come back around, you will also see some of the most spectacular seaside views, gazing out at miles and miles of golden sandy beaches without a soul on them.
There are a number of islands, like Waiheke, which are situated in Auckland’s magnificent, harbor and great for day trips for hiking, nature walking, and even wine tasting. If you love wine, New Zealand is rapidly becoming a food and wine paradise, offering great value and really top class wines.

A vacation in New Zealand will introduce you to an awe-inspiring country, very unspoiled, with a population of only about 4 million people and 40 million sheep!
Although home to several lively cities, such as Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin, New Zealand is best known for its spectacular landscapes. The coastlines of the two islands that make up the country, the North and the South Islands, are edged with pristine sandy beaches, cliffs and glaciers. Their interiors feature mountains, lakes, rivers, geysers, forests, hot springs, and much more!
Your vacation in New Zealand will be one of discovery, a whole new world, similar to England in many respects, but with a unique Maori flair thanks to the thriving indigenous culture, and some of the most amazing wildlife and land and seascapes you will ever see.
Most visitors to New Zealand arrive in the northernmost large city, Auckland, also known as the City of Sails due to one of the ighest per- capita boat owning populations in the world. It is a remarkable city built on a narrow peninsula, with views of the Tasman Sea on one side and the Pacific on the other.
The city is likened to Sydney due to its coastal setting with a breathtaking harbor and bridge (which you can bungee from), and it is an ideal base for discovering the picturesque neighboring regions of the Haurali Plains and the Coromandel Peninsula.