Author: Jim Carter

Arrived on our final Cook island on Sunday, a short 45 minute plane journey. First impression of Rarotonga is that it’s much busier and bigger than Aitutaki, and a lot more holiday resorts, accommodation etc. Our airbnb is lovely, nice to get a good well equipped property for our last stay before heading home. Wow…

So we left Auckland and New Zealand on the 7th April and arrived in Rarotonga, Cook islands on the 6th April, no that’s not a mis type. We crossed the maritime line during the journey which means you literally go back in time. If you have a job that involves commuting to and fro between…

We headed off to Auckland from Pukenui in pouring rain, thankful that the weather held for our time in the northlands of the North island. Rained all the way down to Opinoni where we stayed the night in a very nice little hotel called The Sands. It had a pool and a great beach literally…

Drove up to our furthest location in the Northlands today. Stopped on the way to have a look at Rainbow Falls near Kerikeri, which were very nice, and then stopped for a good couple of hours at a beach along the massive Doubtless Bay called Coopers beach, another fantastic spot. Before getting to our airbnb…

Quite a long journey up to Paihia today, so stopped a few times to break up the drive. The best stop was in a place called Warkworth to have a walk around the Parry Karui Park. A beautiful tranquil little walk packed with native trees, plenty of bird life too, and of course as the…

Arrived at our beautiful little airbnb around lunchtime. Very friendly host who gave us a few tips of the area. Then headed out to nearby Thames to get some provisions from a very good NZ supermarket, Pak n Save. Weather wasn’t great after that so just relaxed at the property. Day 2 we drove to…

Arrived Tauranga on 14th March, nice compact little airbnb in a unit below the owners house. Went out and got some provisions and then visited one of the beaches nearby called Papamoa, a lovely long expanse of sandy beach. Enjoyed a couple of hours chilling out there. On day 2 weather was perfect again so…

Arrived in Taupo today, a town on the banks of the massive Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand. It’s a big, busy place, very popular tourist area for obvious reasons. Not just the lake itself but it’s renowned for its geothermal attractions, so looking forward to exploring over the next few days. Very…

We had a long drive up to Napier today, most of it was quite enjoyable, especially Route 52 which winded it’s way over fabulous countryside for about 3 hours. Got stuck behind a flock of sheep (see video below), stopped at a little pub in a place called Pongoroa and had a rather unusual hot…

Before we arrived in Wellington we had to drive to Blenheim to catch our short flight, see picture in the post headline image, and what a drive it was. We detoured via Picton and stopped there for lunch. This is where the ferry port is for the ferry crossings between the two islands. We decided…