Far distances away, a journey most won’t trek, you’ll find the untouched beauty of New Zealand…at least that’s what it feels like anyway. There, you’ll find endless fields of green. If you’re lucky, you’ll stumble upon sheep, which honestly shouldn’t be too hard. Why you ask? Well, there are more sheep than there are people in New Zealand and this country has less people than the state of Maryland. If that’s not insane, then I don’t know what is.
The journey took two days to get here from LA; one because of the physical distance and two due the time difference.
Being that this would be my first time visiting New Zealand, I really wanted to visit South Island because I heard it was the most beautiful. Due to time constraint, I was convinced to visit North island instead. When you have someone who’s willing to drive the entire time, can you really dispute that?
11 days sounds like sufficient time to explore one island but the reality of the situation is that it wasn’t nearly enough. There’s so much that I missed out on but for all that I was able to catch, it outweighed that feeling to the point that I’m 100% satisfied with my routing.
Here’s how I spent my time:
Day 1:
Piha Beach — Miranda Hot Springs — Thames
Day 2:
Hot Water Beach — Cathedral Cove — Williamson Park, Whangamata — Te Anga/Waitomo
Day 3:
Glow Worm Cave — Tararua Tramping Tracks — The National Bridge — Piripiri Cave — Marokopa Falls
Day 4:
Tongariro National Park — Taranaki Falls — Wellington
Day 5:
Mt. Victoria — Oriental Bay — Cuba Street
Day 6:
Napier — Clearview Winery — Te Mata Peak — Lake Taupo
