Category: New Zealand
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Auckland
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…
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Ngataki, Cape Reinga
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…
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Paihia
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…
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Kopu, Coromandel
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…
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Tauranga
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…
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Taupo
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…
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Napier
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…
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Wellington
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…
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Nelson
Day 1 we explored the city. It’s a nicely laid out city centre, but surprisingly quiet for a city, but then the population is only 55,000 compared to 624,000 for Brighton. We climbed up along step hill to find the spot that signifies the central point of New Zealand. The views at the top were…
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Nelson (the journey there)
The drive from Greymouth to Nelson was absolutely spectacular. We thought the Great Ocean Road was brilliant in Australia, which it was, but this drive equalled it for sure. You must drive the west coast road on the South island if you come to New Zealand. Before doing that we stopped at Runanga Falls just…