Saddle Lookout, Coromandel Peninsula, North Island, New Zealand

Photo’s are here or you can see each regions photos using the links in the relevant sections below.

1. Wellington and Martinborough Vineyards region:

The Wellington area and Martinborough Vineyards photos are here.

It was a very quick 30 minute flight from Blenheim airport at the northern end of the South Island to the most southerly point on the North Island, Wellington, New Zealand’s capital. No ID required at the airport … no security checks whatsoever … it is flying just as it used to be in the good ol’ days back in the USA before we all had to start removing parts of our clothing, tiptoeing across filthy airport floors in bare feet and squeezing our toiletries into inconveniently tiny 3 ounce containers.

By contrast, in New Zealand you can fly with a case of wine in your hand luggage and so long as you have a valid ticket nobody cares who you are or bothers to check!

We are not the biggest fans of New Zealand’s towns and cities, if I’m absolutely honest, so a few hours in Wellington itself was enough for us – we wandered along the waterfront passing the fabulous rusty brown Solace in the Wind sculpture – a naked man leaning out over the water. We visited the Mount Victoria Lookout which has a great view over the city and the harbor (it is only a 10 minute drive from town); overall it had a rather neglected, grubby appearance once you veer away from the waterfront. The Vietnamese restaurant The Old Quarter was very good for lunch – but the area around it was less than salubrious – filled with bars and distinctly grimy. Like so many other cities and towns in New Zealand, the architecture can’t really compete with England, Europe or indeed, many towns and cities in the USA. Our ambivalence towards New Zealand’s towns and cities stems from the fact that there is a distinctly homogenous look to many of them – brash and gaudy advertising signs seem entirely out of place with somewhat historic architecture and very often they look distinctly grungy and in need of some TLC.

New Zealand has jaw-dropping natural landscapes and wildernesses but it just doesn’t “do” towns very well … apart from a few notable exceptions (such as Auckland, Greytown, Arrowtown, Kerikeri, Wanaka, Queenstown, Russell & Napier). We were definitely more at home outside of the towns and cities and away from the crowds – and were far happier in the fresh air of the beaches or hills with only a herd of sheep for company 😉

Our intentionally flying visit to Wellington coincided with the busy celebrations of Waitangi Day on February 6th. It is a national holiday marking the anniversary of the initial signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on 6 February 1840 in the then capital, Russell (way up north in the Bay of Islands). Representatives of the British Crown and over 500 Māori Chiefs throughout the country signed New Zealand’s founding document. In 2025 there are signs of discontent hinted at during the celebrations that the treaty still remained to be honored (graffiti chalked onto the sidewalk and t-shirt motifs). It seems that there is still much scope left to improve Crown–Māori relations by putting Treaty of Waitangi settlements into law. In the city, celebrations were taking place along the waterfront with buskers and trapeze artists and teenagers hurling themselves into the harbor waters from a great height with the intention of making the biggest splash possible – their antics drew quite a crowd. There was live music in the stadium at Waitangi Park with stalls and demonstrations of Māori dances and opportunities for small children to learn a few native moves!

Highlights of the region for us were:

a. The Martinborough vineyard region of Wairarapa. The drive over Remutaka Hill is a narrow, winding mountain pass which takes about an hour from Wellington. Our day trip started in the small town of Carterton for one reason only – Aunt Ginger’s Kitchen – very popular with locals and those in the know! The town is at the extremity of being interesting or worth a stop but we can highly recommend Aunt Ginger’s! The best homemade cakes of the trip, great coffee and amazing lunches.

I only wish we could have sampled more but we had a long-awaited late lunch booked at one of the top wineries in Martinborough – The Runholder – which was absolutely amazing from start to finish. The dining room is modern, trendy and breezy with huge sliding panels of glass open to views over the vineyard. At the back of the building you can sample wine on the patio overlooking the hills. Loved it! Fabulous place!

Before lunch we stopped at the very beautiful village of Greytown with its fabulously well-preserved Victorian buildings housing upmarket shops and boutiques. It was one of the loveliest towns we saw in New Zealand and definitely worth a couple of hours. Martinborough itself is absolutely tiny – a few restaurants and hotels but equally well-heeled and supremely tidy. The wineries are dotted along Puruatanga Road (which joins Martins Road where The Runholder is located). This entire area caters to the well-heeled and to upmarket hen parties alike. Driving is not encouraged obviously but you can rent bicycles (which didn’t seem a particularly good idea either judging by how many had toppled over and been abandoned in the car park by their tipsy riders 😉) … Somewhat safer (perhaps) were the Croc bikes (AKA Indi Bikes) pedaled by gaggles of giggling hens in party dresses and treacherously high heels. It was all very well-natured but you do have to keep an eye out for them since they’re barely able to maintain a straight path!

b. Makara Walkway Track in Karori – walking for miles on a coastal loop track up a cliffside, down a steep paved hill and then clambering through half a billion bleached driftwood logs and over pebbles and rocks. We didn’t see another hiker for 3 hours … it was like being an 8 year old again exploring a barely touched wilderness 😊

c. Te Ara Ramaroa Loop Track near Paekakariki 30 minutes north of our rental (in Upper Hutt) on the Kapiti coast. It is a 4 mile hike with over 305 meters/1,000 foot elevation gain. We walked counterclockwise as our AllTrails app suggested – it was an easy start through fields with summer flowers, hopping across narrow stony streams and sidling past sheep grazing on the grassy slopes. At the summit of a steep uphill climb there were spectacular views over the forested hillsides and valley towards the blue waters of the Cook Strait in the distance. It was all downhill thereafter and we stopped for a picnic overlooking the skinny finger-shaped Kapiti Island whilst surveying the expansive surrounding landscape of green hills, golden fields and emerald green forests.

2. Napier and Hawke’s Bay:

The Napier & Hawke’s Bay photos are here.

We left Wellington and headed on a scenic route north to Marton (for the sole purpose of stopping for lunch at MOOMA Cafe and Design Store – for the record I’m not entirely sure it was worth the additional 50 minutes on the road – lunch was excellent, the coffee was also excellent but their pastry chef definitely needs some baking lessons). We drove through Feilding – New Zealand’s 15 time award winning “Most Beautiful Town” – it has an Edwardian feel to the architecture with hanging baskets, flower beds and red brick paving. I’m not sure why it continually wins because we saw a handful of more beautiful towns during our travels – but it was immaculately well-maintained.

We continued northeast and stopped for a night at Cobden Garden Bed and Breakfast in Napier – the house is a cute historical villa with flower gardens and fruit trees. Canapés and wine were served on the terrace at 6pm and home-cooked breakfast was served in the Victorian dining room – homemade jams and marmalades and freshly baked bread … it was all terribly civilized!

Napier itself is a small city on the east coast of the island in the Hawke’s Bay region. It is famous for its Art Deco architecture and surrounding vineyards. The original city was substantially damaged following an earthquake in 1931 and was rebuilt in the Art Deco style of the era. It has been very well preserved with the highest number of historically significant Art Deco buildings in the world making it the “Art Deco Capital of the world” which is pretty impressive! It was worth the overnight stop en route north from Wellington to Taupo to see the pastel colored buildings, check out a few of the water-themed street art paintings and for Geoff to test one or two of the locally produced specialist gins at The Gintrap Bar. The Gintrap is one of many bars on West Quay in Ahuriri, a coastal suburb overlooking fishing boats in the harbor a few minutes from the centre of Napier.

Upon recommendation we booked dinner at one of New Zealand’s top vineyards – the country’s oldest winery and the birthplace of wine in the country, no less – Mission Estate Vineyard in Hawke’s Bay. You’d be mistaken in thinking the food would match its reputation for its booze. The historic building is beautiful and the restaurant is set in a lovely environment with tables on the covered terrace under intertwining vines but their vino is far, far, far better than their food. Overall, it was the most overpriced and disappointing food of our entire 4 ½ month trip. We should probably have turned around at the gate when we saw the tour bus parked up outside but we didn’t … at least half of the diners were tagged with their name badges and the Gate 1 tour bus logo … an unmistakable sign that it wouldn’t be our kind of place 😉 It was awful.

3. Rotorua and Taupo:

The Rotorua and Taupo photos are here.

It is less than a 2 hour drive from Napier to the thermal heart of the country – a wonderland of geysers, volcanoes, bubbling mud, colorful geothermal landscapes and hot mineral springs. The two lakefront towns of Rotorua and Taupō lie in the centre of the Thermal Explorer Highway and we were based in Taupō.

Highlights of the Rotorua area were:

a. Without a doubt white water rafting on the famous Kaituna River with Kaituna River Rafting was the adrenalin rush of the trip! It should be immediately obvious that I didn’t take any of the photos attached. Firstly, you aren’t permitted to take cameras on the raft and secondly you will spend the afternoon desperately trying not to drown, clinging onto the ropes inside the raft for dear life, learning to breathe under water and (when you’re not doing any of the above) you’ll be paddling like crazy. There will be absolutely no time to focus a camera. There were brief moments of respite in between all of the above when we leapt out for a swim or glided more gently over shallow rapids but there weren’t many of them. We’ve done some pretty intense white water rafting in our time (also in New Zealand) but nothing quite as high octane as rafting on the grade 5 Kaituna/Okere River in Rotorua. Grade 5 is the extreme for commercial operations (6 is almost guaranteed death for non-experts 😉 and, in any event, illegal for commercial trips). The waterfalls on the Kaituna River have large, powerful, chaotic and unpredictable waves with huge boulders and obstacles in which to get easily tangled up. There are 11 rapids and 3 waterfalls passing through the rain-forested canyon with the highlight being the world famous Tutea Falls – a 7 meter/23 foot vertical drop into the abyss. Tutea itself is the highest commercially navigable waterfall in the world … and it was absolutely awesome fun!

That’s not to say that we didn’t have our challenges … we landed at the bottom of the 7 meter/23 foot drop to discover that our 2 millennial teammates (last seen wedged into the front of the raft) had completely disappeared. This considerably offset the stability of our raft in that we no longer had enough weight in the front to propel us from the churning waters since we were, by that stage the only people in the raft (together with our guide at the rear). To cut a long near-death story short we were stuck behind (but mainly directly under) a deluge of water with roughly 211,000 to 220,000 liters of water per second chucking down on our heads. The photos may go some way towards demonstrating what was happening to our raft and our battered heads … we drifted in and out of the torrent repeatedly, and side to side – one minute Geoff was being drowned and the next he was sucking in lungfuls of air before being deluged again – and the same for me until thankfully we were ejected into the calm waters of the surrounding pool.

There were many moments during which I was trying not to drown and gasping for occasional lungfuls of air that I wished (not for the first time during this extended trip around New Zealand) that I am not such an aging adrenalin junkie, and even more so I wished that I were not quite so effective at talking Geoff into such treacherous activities so frequently …

… if only we prefer activities more suitable for our advancing years … like knitting or bowls … 😉

b. Hell’s Gate Geothermal Reserve and Mud Spa … 20 minutes of smearing ourselves in warm grey mud, drying in the sun and re-smearing. I could have stayed there for hours but the staff kick you out after 20 minutes because it’s very popular and there are always lines of other mud worshippers waiting for their turn. You can spend as long as you like floating in the hot mineral spring waters or plunging into the icy river waters fed in by waterfall. Unmissable in Rotorua! Yup it’s pretty stinky and it will probably take you months to wash the smell out of your bathing costume (if ever) but it should definitely be on the to-do list. Top tip … when the staff suggest that you don’t smear mud around your eyes then take their advice … do what they say and not what Geoff did … it stings 😂

c. Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland is sculpted from thousands of years of volcanic activity – it is a window into the hot and steamy world beneath the earth’s crust. Honestly, there are dozens of geothermal places you can visit between Rotorua and Taupō but with limited time available we chose the one with the most colorful pools. Wai-O-Tapu boasts a variety of equally whiffy highlights, the most famous of which is Champagne Pool with its blue/green bubbling water and ring of incandescent bright orange. There are 3 walking routes you can take through the park crossing boardwalks and through forested areas. We did all 3. There are steaming inferno craters, bubbling mud Devils Ink Pots, the Artist’s Palette in yellows, orange, blues and greens, the Champagne Pool (which is 62 meters/204 feet deep with a surface temperature of 74°C/165°F!), the pale green Oyster Pool, the bright green Ngakoro lake with waterfall, and Geoff’s favorite which was the fluorescent daffodil yellow Devil’s Bath. A couple of hours well-spent, even if it does get a tad warm and sticky with the heat radiating from deep below.

Highlights of the Taupō area (where we were based in a lakefront rental) include:

a. Huka Falls Jet just a few minutes north of town. Obviously, we weren’t going to pass up the opportunity of another jet boat ride – more 365° spins than either jet boat ride down on the South Island with a brief stop under the spray of the bright blue Huka Falls which dumps 160,000 liters of water per second into the Waikato River. This final stop ensures that if you weren’t drenched before on the ride along the river then you definitely will be after the falls. 30 minutes of head-spinning and being hurled from one side of the river to the other (avoiding trees, islands and other miscellaneous obstacles) and we were soaked through to our underwear. Since we’re no longer novices at jet-boating we went prepared with towels and an entire change of clothing 😉

b. Kayaking on the lake – we had access to complimentary kayaks at our rental which was very peaceful in the late afternoon.

We had planned to hike the 12 mile Tongariro Alpine Crossing but it was rained off and it isn’t a hike to do in less than optimal conditions. You can also take a boat or kayak trip to the Māori Rock Carving amongst a myriad of other geothermal exploratory options in the region but we ran out of time!

4. Coromandel Peninsula:

The Coromandel Peninsula photos are here.

With the benefit of hindsight we should have stayed longer in Taupō, not because we liked the town terribly much, but because we were about to head into a huge almost 4 day storm on the Coromandel Peninsula which we wouldn’t have had to endure if we’d stayed in sunny Taupō! This was unfortunate because the region is one we hadn’t had time for 15 years ago and I was desperate to hike the coastline and explore the myriad of bays and inlets on both west and east coast. However, that was not to be. In between grim, grey, gloomy weather (with some occasional rays of sun bursting through the cloud) we managed to see something of the peninsula during our 6 night stay. It must be quite spectacular in the sunshine!

Coromandel Town (where we were based) on the west coast perhaps wasn’t the best choice of location – it is slightly more rustic than we’re used to. With some insider knowledge we would have based ourselves closer to Whitianga on the east coast or even better at the relatively more upmarket enclave of Matarangi.

As somewhat of an aside trash disposal between regions and towns in New Zealand is complicated beyond belief – glass colors must be separated, paper is separate to card, plastics kinda depend on the type of plastic, and everything is separate to tin… it’s a minefield every time you head out to the recycling bins. Checking the house instructions when we arrived in Coromandel we were intrigued to discover the following additional trash disposal method which should have set the scene for how rustic our stay would be:

“Fish heads and general food scraps can be fed to the eels down at the creek”

… that was a definite first! 😂

Our immediate neighbor (bless her) was an aging hippie who appears to spend her days on her deck high as a kite singing happily away to herself and waving energetically as you walk past 😉

Highlights of the Peninsula:

a. Driving the Pacific Coast Highway heading east via the volcanic mountainous Coromandel Range. There were switchbacks and mountain views for 30 minutes before you pop out by the ocean. We followed route 25 past the small settlement of Kūaotunu to Otama Beach where we could have spent hours walking along the soft cream sand between the rocky headlands and idling away our time swinging on the beach swing at the far end of the bay … but we had only 2 hours before the rain was due to reach the region so we continued on to the farthest point east – Opito Bay – another beautiful swathe of golden sand and deep turquoise waters backed by grassy headlands. The rain clouds were gathering so we headed back for lunch at Luke’s Kitchen in Kūaotunu (great pizzas and wraps). Next door is a very cute coffee shop – Kua Kawhe Coffee Shop – with excellent homemade cakes. Both are great places to hang out and watch the world go by in this extraordinarily tranquil and unpopulated part of the world. Before the relentless days of dreary deluge began we had time for a walk from the east end of Kūaotunu beach to the rugged black, rocky outcrops at Kūaotunu Clif which was very pretty.

b. Close to Coromandel Town we did the Kauri Walk through a kauri tree forest to a viewpoint overlooking the town and mountains in one direction and Whanganui Island, the mussel farm in McGregor Bay and Long Bay in the other direction. It is a short 30 minute walk uphill and downhill but we extended it down to Harbour View Road and walked back to town along Long Bay Road passing the oyster factory and Coromandel Wharf with fishing boats moored at the docks.

c. The Long Bay Kauri Walk to Tucks Bay is a loop passing the”Big Kauri Tree” which is far prettier than the town Kauri Walk above as it weaves along a coastal path before popping out at the beach which might have been good for a morning swim if it had stopped raining during our time there! The “Big Kauri Tree” was impressively huge. What is even more impressive is that it is 1,200 years old and somehow it escaped being cut down for logging during the 19th and 20th centuries. By the early 20th century most of the kauri forests in the country had been destroyed. They are now protected by law.

5. Whangarei Heads:

The Whangarei Heads photos are here.

This turned out to be one of our favorite areas on the North Island. We only stayed for 4 nights but I could have hung out at our fabulous cliff house for weeks! We stayed at Te Whara – a villa owned by Ara Roa Villa and Boutique Lodgings – not a particularly wallet-friendly property to rent but the solitude, peace and quiet and the quality of the villa itself more than made up for that. Te Whara shares a private gated peninsula with The Glasshouse and has incredible views over the Pacific, access to private rock pools for swimming, a cove for snorkeling, 2 sun beds on the headland overlooking the crashing waves and stunning sunsets. It was exactly what we needed for a mental reset after so long away and missing our home luxuries which were so hard to find in New Zealand.

Highlights :

a. Whangarei Heads has fabulous rugged headlands and a number of well-known tracks to hike. We hiked Smugglers Bay Loop Track – which crossed grassy embankments, wound around the rocky headland and passed views towards the mainland as far as Uretiti Beach. The track ended at a beautiful beach good for swimming and chillin’ before returning full circle to the car park.

b. Our two favorite beaches were only 15 minutes drive from our house: Ocean Beach and Kauri Mountain Beach. We parked at the Kauri Mountain Beach end of the 2 beaches at a small car park on the headland which is accessed through farm gates and passes grazing fields. The view from the top of the wooden steps on the headland as you descend to the beach is breathtaking – a sweeping bay stretching for miles to the far end of Ocean Beach. We walked 8½ miles return from one end to the other with barely another human in sight until we were back at the Kauri Mountain Beach end where a few surfers were taking advantage of the waves. The beach walk crosses a stream at the start which we successfully navigated tiptoeing in our hiking boots across it … we weren’t so lucky on our return when Geoff mis-stepped and filled his boots with sea water and sand 😉 Kauri Mountain Beach was one of our favorite beaches of the entire trip – perfect clear water with just enough incoming rolling waves to make swimming interesting – and close enough to home to visit for a swim a couple of times.

c. Horse riding on the beach with one of Geoff’s old school friends who runs a horse riding business on Uretiti Beach which is surely one of the most beautiful stretches of beach you could imagine to gallop off into the sunset. However, I was more terrified of my horse Stella trotting off against my wishes down the sand due to my total lack of riding skills than plunging headfirst out of a plane without a parachute. Geoff’s horse-riding skills were very impressive. Mine were not – I’m definitely no horse whisperer 😉

6. Paihia and Bay of Islands:

The Paihia and Bay of Islands photos are here.

En route to Paihia from Whangarei Heads we detoured to visit Helena Bay Cafe and Art Gallery. Whilst the art gallery was worth a stop and the view from the terrace at the back of the cafe is quite spectacular, we weren’t impressed with the coffee or food selections so it was a very brief stop!

We weren’t crazy about the town of Paihia. It should be better kempt given its fame and its proximity to the water and the famous Bay of Islands. It is a haven for watery wildlife and the gateway to exploring the individual islands by ferry, kayak or on foot. The town was typically grungy with a grubby mall but its one highlight was the waterfront restaurant Charlotte’s Kitchen (great fresh fish, good cocktails and excellent pizza – we went twice). We could also walk from our apartment and in 2 minutes be at the ferry terminal for ferries to far prettier places – like Russell!

Highlights:

a. Skydiving at Kerikeri (with Skydive Bay of Islands) … Holy Guacamole! Usually it’s my fault for booking us onto reckless, irresponsible and life-threatening adventures but this one was entirely down to Geoff (despite my half-hearted protestations). I was probably right having reservations but then again I’m also (possibly) glad I did it. It barely seems worth mentioning that I was even happier once we had both made contact with the ground in a timely manner, in one piece and without broken bones. I’ll not lie and say I wasn’t filled with considerable apprehension once we’d been kitted up and boarded the plane – squashed in cheek to jowl with 4 other willing (and some not so willing) victims and their instructors as the plane soared into the sky. The flight was roughly 15 minutes – mainly endured in a state of semi-panic. For most of the plane ride I silently asked myself WTF am I actually doing up here?! How did I get talked into this? We bought the upgraded Gold package (photos and video) for me but Geoff went the whole hog and bought the Platinum package which effectively doubled the price because he was paying for a personal photographer to fly down with him alongside his own instructor … literally every angle covered. To be fair his photos and video are absolutely brilliant … if you’re only going to do this once you might as well catch it all for posterity!

By their own advertising, tandem sky-diving is described as an extraordinary experience … and it was! Geoff and his instructor were first off the plane once we reached 3,700 meters/12,000 feet. I was last off … this wasn’t the best position to be in because I had witnessed 5 apprehensive (one or two terrified) faces grimacing for the camera before disappearing out of a hole in the side of the plane. It all happens very fast once the first flyer has de-planed … soon it was my turn to shuffle along the narrow bench seat, plop down onto the yellow jump mat, dangle my legs over the side of the plane as they buffeted uncontrollably in the wind, drop my head onto my instructor’s shoulder, one final smile for the camera and then we were plummeting face first in a free fall towards the earth for 40/45 seconds at 193kph/120mph. Rest assured it felt like 40 minutes. Once the (literally) lifesaving parachute had finally deployed I could relax. I absolutely love paragliding and hang-gliding but it’s quite different running off the side of a mountain and leaving terra firma in the certain knowledge that the wings are already safely in place before the thermals whisk you 2,500 meters/8,000 feet into the sky.

With skydiving there is a considerably greater – actually massive sensory overload. You’re immediately upside down facing the ground, disoriented, the wind is whistling through your ears and your brain is trying to catch up with what’s happening to your body. It’s difficult to focus even with goggles, your face is flapping around the back of your neck and it’s pretty hard to breathe at terminal velocity. My ears wouldn’t equalize due to the intense air pressure – the same air pressure which had the interesting effect of completely re-modelling my face until I was all but unrecognizable 😉

There were moments (yet again on this 3 month trip through the land of extreme sports!) when I questioned our sanity and, as I sat at the edge of the plane ratcheted to my instructor staring out into the abyss, I decided I was absolutely definitely taking up crocheting and baking from that time onwards 😂 … obviously that’s not going to happen but I certainly gave it more than a passing second’s thought.

… Geoff absolutely loved it – as you can see from his video and photos. It was an awesome experience in many ways but the jury is out as to whether I’d do it again 😉 Whilst I’m undeniably a bit of an adrenalin junkie it took 18 hours to come down to earth metaphorically speaking and specifically for my adrenaline levels to readjust to normal acceptable levels.

b. Back on terra firma, it’s a 15 minute ferry ride from Paihia to Russell … the bay was calmer than a millpond and sunlight was glittering on the water. Russell is an utterly tranquil place (if you avoid cruise ship days!). A swathe of warm chestnut brown sand greets you as you disembark the ferry and deep emerald green water laps gently along the shore. Historic houses line the waterfront along The Strand – some are restaurants, others are boutique stores or homes. Everything is well-maintained and immaculate. It was New Zealand’s first capital (for a period of 9 months after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi which took place close by) and it is one of the first European settlements. Originally known as the “Hell-Hole of the Pacific”, it became home to ship-deserters and ex-convicts from Australia but it emerged as a predominant power in the industries of whaling and sealing and by 1840 it was a strategic port with hundreds of ships docking every year at the wharf for mercantile supplies. It is far from a hell-hole now! Our day trip was unchallenging, peaceful and sedate meandering along the beachfront alongside all of the other elderly retirees in town (except perhaps for the beach swings at the northern end of the bay which we couldn’t resist)! We sat on the terrace at The French Coffee House sipping excellent coffee and sampling (several) positively divine homemade cakes 😊. It is about a 20 minute walk from the village uphill and through a trail in the woods before descending to Oneroa Bay Beach (AKA Long Bay) which is a great beach for swimming and beach-walking.

For the record we should have based ourselves in a villa in Russell – it is so much more beautiful than Paihia. Many well-heeled retirees already knew this … we live and learn!

c. On our final day in the region we caught the 8:30am ferry with Explore/Fullers Ferry from Paihia Wharf to beautiful Urupukapuka Island to hike, swim and grab lunch at Otehei Bay Cafe – far more respectable than hanging upside down with your cheeks billowing at the back of your ears 😉 It takes about half an hour to reach Otehei Bay on Urupukapuka Island which is the starting point to a number of hikes – all of them either with steep clambers up grassy hills with expansive views or uphill through shady forests. We followed the 5½ mile Urupukapuka Island Loop Walk but lost the will half way around as it was too warm and humid to hike. We decided to head to the beach and passed Paradise Bay with yachts and small boats moored just offshore. By that stage of the steamy hike the beach was looking very much paradisiacal but, despite my protestations we continued around the headland to Otiao Bay which was much rockier and not as pretty. So we retraced our steps back to Paradise Bay where we hung our hiking clothes, boots and rucksack in the shade under one of the giant Pōhutukawa trees, its huge gnarled roots clinging precariously to the sandy cliffs at the back of the beach, and we leapt into the chilly clear water of the bay. Perfect! As is so often the case with New Zealand beaches – a busy day is one where you might see 4 or 5 other people sunbathing or swimming. People are quiet and respectful – no loud beach ball games or shrieking kids – It’s a world away from a busy day on a beach in Florida! Lunch at the cafe back at Otehei Bay was surprisingly good given they have a captive audience of day trippers waiting for their scheduled ferries to take them back to Paihia. Urupukapuka is a beautiful island with fabulous views over headlands, blue waters, coves and native forest – it is definitely worth a day trip from the mainland.

d. If you’re passing Kerikeri (one of the North Island’s prettier but modern small towns and home to Skydive Bay of Islands if you fancy killing two birds with one stone), don’t miss The Old Packhouse Market and Cafe for lunch. The home baking was so good we stopped in 3 times (in other words, every time we passed it 😉).

7. Karikari Peninsula:

The Karikari Peninsula photos are here.

Heading north an hour from Paihia to Cable Bay Beach in Doubtless Bay we had some time to kill en route to our villa. We detoured to the Whangaroa Peninsula and stopped at the spectacular sweep of sand and blue waters of Matauri Beach at Matauri Bay. We continued around the rocky coastline to Te Ngaere Bay with its huge rocks and crashing waves at the northern end of the beach and sat on the rocks for lunch with a picnic from the aforementioned The Old Packhorse Market in Kerikeri. It’s a beautiful winding drive through the hills with glimpses of the coastline and headlands.

Highlights:

a. The Karikari Peninsula is home to some of New Zealand’s most beautiful, spectacular and renowned beaches. It was a 30 minute drive to the end of the peninsula which we could see from the elevated position of our villa in Doubtless Bay. It is a very skinny peninsula and if you keep driving towards the end you will find Karikari Beach on the western shore which would give any Caribbean beach a run for its money – the water is iridescent blue, the sand is blindingly white and the bay sweeps in a huge arc in either direction. It is a short walk through scrub and up and over a steep white sand dune. It was the most breathtaking beach we saw in our entire trip through the country. On the opposite side of the headland on the east coast, a few minutes drive away is the far more popular Maitai Bay beach (there were 2 other people on Karikari Beach – and a sum total of 8 on Maitai). This is one of New Zealand’s most famous beaches – excellent for swimming due to the calm waters and for a beach walk to the far end where Geoff found (yet another!) beach swing where he could relive his childhood years 😉 Is there a beach in this country which doesn’t have a beach swing strung up under the Pōhutukawa trees?!

b. Doubtless Bay Villas is in a frontline position overlooking the golden sands of Little Cable Bay which was perfect for a late afternoon stroll. The waves were strong for swimming but it’s very pretty and the views are amazing.

c. Cooper Beach, a 10 minute drive from Cable Bay, is much larger with a huge sweep of golden sand, native bush, homes and holiday accommodations dotted in between the Pōhutukawa trees at the back of the beach. Another great place for a long beach stroll and an energetic bounce in the waves!

d. Snapper and chips at the famous Mangonui Fish Shop (kinda like being back home in Florida in a Gulf Coast fish shack)!

8. Auckland:

The Auckland area and Waiheke Island photos are here.

Highlights:

a. Auckland is considerably more attractive than the capital city, Wellington. We stayed in the trendy Wynyard Quarter, a stone’s throw from Viaduct Harbour and close to touristy Auckland Fish Market – although we didn’t eat there. It is a city which is easy to navigate and easy to walk with beautiful views along the harbor of the skyline and more super yachts than we’ve ever seen in one place. One of the best restaurants of our 3 months in New Zealand was popular Odettes Eatery in the repurposed City Works Depot – it was excellent. The renowned Giapo ice-cream store is tiny with only a few options to choose from but all were great!

b. A chilly, foggy, damp trip to the west coast black sand beaches of Piha and Karekare famous for surfing, rugged outcrops and atmospheric sea fog! Piha’s iconic centerpiece is Lion Rock which looms huge and dark. Both black sand beaches are backed by the sub tropical temperate rainforest of the Waitakere Range. A visit to Karekare beach should also include the short detour to Karekare waterfall, a few minutes walk from the car park.

c. We spent our final day on beautiful Waiheke Island ruminating on our amazing trip through New Zealand. It’s only a 40 minute passenger ferry ride from the ferry terminal in Auckland and with the benefit of hindsight we would have preferred to spend our last few days on the island itself rather than in Auckland. Waiheke Island is understatedly posh and very quiet despite the tour bus day trippers getting slowly blotto as they wine taste their way through the famous vineyards … at least they weren’t driving themselves

We picked up our rental car for the day from Waiheke Car Rentals inside the ferry building and went in search of coffee and cake. I had read about the bijou (by that I mean there are 4 chairs inside the tiny store and 4 outside in the car park) but extremely popular Island Coffee shop in Ostend which was definitely worth the detour before continuing our exploration of the island, The most scenic route on the island is Orapiu Road towards Omaru Bay and Cowes Bay Road. We drove aimlessly for a while enjoying the fabulous scenery before turning around and heading back towards the western side of the island for lunch at Cable Bay Vineyard overlooking the ocean. We had tested a few glasses of vino ourselves before discovering that we had a completely flat rear tire as we pulled out of the car park! The car rental company jumped on it as quickly as you might expect for people living on island time and within 30 minutes or so, we had been picked up, shuttled back to the office at the ferry and given a replacement vehicle for the remaining few hours of the day. It was the only vehicle which they had left – the AC was broken but it had 4 fully inflated tires which is all that mattered by that stage! We drove to the cute tourist village of Oneroa in search of an emergency bikini, swimsuit and a sarong (all of which we had forgotten to pack) and continued on to Little Palm Beach to take a final dip in the Pacific. The emergency purchases were utterly pointless. It turned out that Little Palm Beach is a nudist beach so we could have saved our time and NZ$ and spent more time bobbing about in the water than shopping for unnecessary bathing attire in town

We have learnt a huge amount during our extended 4+ month “vacation” not least of which includes:

1. how to tackle the fear of rock-climbing and crossing single-plank swing bridges and a trapeze wire 305 meters/1,000 feet above ground whilst scrambling up the side of a waterfall;
2. how to ice-hike on a glacier without falling into a crevice never to be seen again;
3. how to breathe under water when a grade 5 waterfall is dropping on your head for far longer than it should have been;
4. how to freefall out of a plane at 3,700 meters/12,000 feet and hurtle face first towards earth at 195kph/120mph without screaming like a baby until the parachute deploys;
5. … and finally the basics of how to horse-ride (to be precise that’s an achievement for Geoff rather than for me since I was utterly terrified and pathetic and didn’t learn anything at all 😂)

We also discovered that it’s hard to be away from home for much longer than 3 months or so – during the final month on the North Island we were feeling the effects of travel weariness despite the incredible opportunity we had to travel for so long and explore this beautiful country. We missed the quality of food we have access to here in Sarasota, Florida and we missed the luxuries of home. Having said that New Zealand is a fabulously beautiful country with an incredible diversity of scenery, terrain and climates and it really should be on any travelers bucket list! We loved it 15 years ago and we still love it now ♥️