7-Day North Island Adventure: Wine, Wonders, and Wilderness in New Zealand

Welcome to Auckland. Upon landing, you’ll go through customers. Remember that New Zealand has a strict customs policy and visa process, so ensure you plan and are prepared for your trip. After clearing customs, it’s an easy taxi ride to Auckland to check in to your hotel and explore.

I recommend staying in the City Center or near Queens Wharf as these are easy central spots for you to walk and explore the city's sites, shops and restaurants

Things to do

• Sky Tower: The Sky Tower has great views of Auckland, although there is not a lot to do once you are up there. We enjoyed grabbing a drink at the casino on the main floor before heading up into the tower. If you’re an adventure-seeker, you can also do skyjump — where you can bungee jump off the tower — or skywalk — which is a walk around the top of the tower in a full-body harness.

• Wētā Workshop Unleashed: Wētā Workshop is best known for their creative contributions to The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. On this tour, you are fully immersed in the sets and special effects for three new creative projects the Wētā team is working on. It was a very well-done, interactive experience that gave us a greater appreciation for film special effects. The tour is across the street from Sky Tower, and you can purchase combo tickets for both. Prop Tip: They also have a large gift shop with a better selection of Lord of the Rings and Hobbit souvenirs than you will find at Hobbiton.

Take a day trip for wine tasting on Waiheke Island, which is an easy ferry ride away from Auckland. We opted to take the ferry to Waiheke one hour early but found there was not much to do around the ferry terminal. The town was about a 20-minute walk away, so there was not much time to do much exploring before our tour meeting time.

Wineries to visit

• Kennedy Point: An organic grower offering exceptional wines paired with fresh oysters and artisanal cheeses.

• Batch: Situated on a hill, this winery provides stunning views alongside beautifully paired light bites. Their bubbles and roses were my favorite wines of the day.

• Casita Miro: Experience Spanish-influenced reds and whites in a charming casita setting, complemented by delicious tapas.

• Stony Ridge: Enjoy delicious red wines alongside a farmer's lunch platter featuring a variety of cheeses, meats, seafood and dips.

If time allows, after your tour, explore Waiheke’s quaint shops and grab a coffee or gelato. We enjoyed wandering through several cute boutiques before an easy walk back to the ferry terminal for our return to Auckland.

After two days in Auckland, it’s time to pick up your rental car to start exploring the rest of the North Island. We made a reservation at the National Rental Car right downtown Auckland, which was a quick walk from the hotel. The attendant was incredibly helpful, giving us tips on how to drive on the right side of the road. It was about a 15-minute spiel that prepared us for the rest of the trip.

On the way to Lake Taupo, take a detour to the Waitomo Glowworm Caves, about 2.5 hours from Auckland. I recommend booking tickets in advance as this experience does sell out. With the tour, you will explore underground caves and then take a dark, silent boat ride where you will see thousands of glow worms light up the cave roof like stars in the night sky. Cameras are not allowed to preserve the natural beauty, so I do not have pictures, but this was a truly magical experience that left us in awe.

After the tour, drive another hour to Taupo, a smaller town on Lake Taupo, where you’ll spend the night. There are plenty of dinner options downtown. We enjoyed Dixie Browns for burgers and milk share and Indian Affair for quality Indian curry and Naan. We also heard good things about Jolly Good Fellows, an Irish Bar with views of the lake.

Today, you will hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, one of New Zealand's most iconic hikes. This stunning 20-km day hike takes you through different landscapes, including volcanic terrain, emerald lakes and dramatic peaks. Notably, parts of the trail were used as the filming location for Mount Doom in The Lord of the Rings movies.

This is ideal to visit during New Zealand's summer months (December to March) and you’ll want to be prepared for steep, uneven terrain on the hike. There is great information on how to prepare for this hike. From what to bring, how to dress and arranging transportation from Taupo on the New Zealand website.

The hike takes a solid eight hours to go one way. You'll get back to Taupo in the early afternoon. We opted for an early dinner and then went to bed. If you want to explore more of what Taupo has to offer, consider visiting the natural hot springs at the nearby Spa Thermal Park.

You’ll leave Taupo and drive 1 hour to Rotorua with a few stops along the way.

• Wai-o-Tapu Thermal Wonderland: An easy pit stop on the way to Rotorua, Wai-o-Tapu Thermal Wonderland is a unique experience to see the geothermal activity around New Zealand with colorful bodies of water, geysers and mud pools. There is a short loop and a long loop path for self-guided tours with signs along the way. I highly recommend the long loop as it’s still a fairly easy walk and you will escape the crowds and see even more thermal activity. We surprised ourselves and spent about two hours here enjoying learning the geology.

• Hells Gate Mud Spa: Another fun stop is the Hells Gate Mud Spa. You can take a mud bath and soak in sulfur mineral water, following an ancient Māori tradition. This was a unique, relaxing experience. The mud baths are coed, and you want to ensure you bring proper bathing suits that you do not mind getting a little muddy. They also offer geothermal walks around the property and Māori carvings if you want a deeper cultural experience.

• Redwoods Tree Walk: Our last stop on our drive to Rotorua was the Redwoods Tree Walk, where you can walk across 28 suspension bridges that take you 20 meters high among the Redwoods. This attraction gets very busy at night for the Nightlights tour, which features 34 lanterns that light up the Redwoods. We opted for an afternoon tour to avoid the crowds, which was also a very nice experience.

• Evening in Rotorua: We arrived in Rotorua and checked in at the hotel. We then went to Lady Jane's Ice Cream Parlour for Hokey Pokey ice cream — a local flavor — and then walked around the lake. Afterward, we headed to Eat Street, a block of restaurants in Rotorua, which all featured outdoor dining and happy hour specials.

• Hobbiton Tour: Drive 90 minutes from Rotorua to Hinuera for the enchanting Hobbiton Tour. This tour takes you through the meticulously maintained sets used in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, making you feel like you’ve stepped into Middle Earth. New as of 2023, they opened two new hobbit holes that you can go inside during the tour, from lying on a hobbit bed to exploring hobbit treats in the kitchen and pantry. End the tour with a free beer, cider or tea at The Green Dragon Inn. It has the unique distinction of being the busiest bar in all of New Zealand due to all the visitors to Hobbiton each year.

• You will need to book tickets well in advance to secure your specific tour time.

• Zorbs: On the way back to Rotorua, stop by Zorb Rotorua to roll down hills in a large inflatable ball called a “ZORB.” It was invented in New Zealand and is still produced in Rotorua. They have four tracks you can roll down in what feels like a giant rolling water slide. The experience is more kid-friendly but is also fun for adults that are kids at heart.

Spend your last two days in New Zealand on the Coromandel Peninsula, where you can enjoy beach time to end your trip. It’s about a 3-hour drive from Rotorua along some winding roads — be prepared for breathtaking views and occasional tight turns.

Things to do

• Whenuakura Island (Donut Island) Kayak Tour: A nice detour on your drive is a stop by the lovely beach for a kayak or stand-up paddle board tour. It takes you into a blue lagoon in the center collapsed volcanic hole.

• Hot Water Beach: Bring (or rent) a shovel and dig your own hot tub on the beach next to the ocean. The water is surprisingly warm and it’s a really unique experience.

• Cathedral Cove: Currently closed due to storm damage (and set to reopen in December 2024). This naturally formed cathedral-like archway is a must-visit, with options to approach by land along the walking trail or by sea in a local boat or kayak tour.

• Shakespeare Cliff Scenic Walk: Enjoy this short walk to stretch your legs and see great views of the peninsula.

• Mercury Bay Estate: Enjoy lunch with a view at Mercury Bay Estate, which has delicious wood-fired pizza, house-made tiramisu and a nice selection of red, white and rose wine. We thought this was some of the best food on our trip.

• (Honorable Mention) Shortest ferry ride: We stayed by Cook's Beach and took the ferry to Whitianga, a quaint seaside town. Although driving between the two towns takes an hour along the peninsula, Whitianga is a stone's throw away by water or a short, amusing 5-minute ferry ride.