James and I have returned from another amazing trip to New Zealand’s north island. We are definitely feeling the jet leg this week, so I thought I’d put my feet up and recap our north island trip! We went the last week of February, and stayed through the first week of March, which meant it was nice and hot pretty much the whole time. This time of year, we had cooler mornings and evenings but full sunny days! It rained only on our first and last day – lucky us! Read on to see what we got up to cruising around New Zealand’s north island with family.
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Day One: Arrive in Auckland
After 24 hours of traveling down to New Zealand (which I flew for FREE thanks to my United Travel Rewards – click the link to learn more), we arrived in Auckland. James’ mum picked us up at the airport and we took off towards Lake Rotoiti! Even though we were quite exhausted, it’s better not to nap on your first day but get into the time zone ASAP. We played giant jenga with friends.
Related: FAQ New Zealand
Day Two: Lake Rotoiti – Hot Pools
This was our only chilly day, which we were fine with because we were still quite out of it from our travels. We weren’t quite ready for water sports just yet! That international travel can make you feel pretty weak. So we relaxed by the lake and in the hot pools with family instead.
Day Three: Lake Rotoiti – Lake Life
James sister and our sweet niece arrived for the week! James managed to wakeboard, and I managed to watch, ha. We spent some time relaxing in a beautiful cove with crystal clear water.
Related: 7 Adventures Not to Miss in Rotorua
Day Four: Lake Rotoiti – Okere Falls Beer Garden
After spending the day on the lake, we went to the beer Garden for brats and beer (and cider!)
Day Five: Lake Rotoiti – Natural Hot Springs
More time exploring Lake Rotoiti and some natural hot springs in the bush.
Day Six: Lake Rotoiti
As you can tell, we definitely spent the first solid week of our vacation relaxing! We love this area of New Zealand, yes, but it was more special to be able to spend a full seven days relaxing and enjoying the lake with James’ family!
NOTE: If you were actually visiting New Zealand to SEE and EXPLORE New Zealand, I would not recommend staying a full week in Rotorua! This post is more to share our trip and what we did during our holiday rather than a recommended trip itinerary for the adventurous soul.
Day Seven: Lake Rotoiti
More walks, runs, skis, swims, hot pools, quads…. you get the point. Read more about our favorite Rotorua adventures here!
Day Eight: Taupo and Mt Ruapehu
Okay! After a week of lake time, it was time to get some adventure into us! So, we left Rotorua bright and early (but not first without grabbing a meat pie for breakfast, our favorite must-eat kiwi food) and headed for Mt Ruapehu! James and I climbed up Mt Ruaephu, maybe about half way up.
The terrain was rocky and beautiful, I kind of felt like we were on Mars! The hike was steep, with no clear path. I was definitely glad that I was with James, who knows this mountain really well, in order to stay away from drop offs and cliffs. I kind of felt like I was rock climbing half the day, and walking on moving rocks the other half. It was challenging, and exciting and just what we needed!
We thought about going all the way to the top but decided we weren’t quite equipped with food or water to make that journey. Instead, we just wandered without a real destination but a plan to find a stream or waterfall. And we did! I noticed a large section of snow that was slowly melting, dripping into a crystal clear stream that cascaded down the smooth rocks and settled into pools at some places. I could tell by the contrast between the rough and smooth rocks that during the spring and early summer this stream would have been much higher. Either way, the pools of water were just big enough for James to get in a polar plunge! Though it was hot on the mountain, it wasn’t THAT hot. I opted to only go knee-deep.
We lounged around the stream and wandered barefoot on the smooth rocks for awhile; we saw only 6 or so other hikers. I felt like we had our own private oasis!
PS – like these photos! Many of them were taken on our Go Pro! I love it so much, I don’t know how I travelled without it!! Read about the Go Pro here.
After coming off the mountain, hot, dusty, and sweaty, we were desperate for a swim. We drove back to Taupo and dove into Lake Taupo! Lake Taupo was just as beautiful and crystal clear as I remember it! We grabbed Burgerfuel for lunch (one of our must-eat favorite kiwi restaurants) and drove back to Rotorua. It was SUCH a good day!
You can read more about our other favorite adventures in the Taupo region here.
Day Nine: Road trip to Auckland, via Mount Maunganui
After a wonderful week in the central North Island, it was time to head back north to Auckland. We first stopped at Hamarama Springs, outside of Lake Rotorua for a quick plunge. I talk more about Hamarama Springs here. New Zealand hadn’t had decent rain in a few weeks, the level of the turquoise stream was much lower than we had seen it and consequently not quite as clear or blue as we had seen it in the past! Still, James went for a swim and I went for a plunge (its freeeeezing).
If you want to see Hamarama Springs in full force last year, check out this post. You won’t believe the colors!
Then, we headed for Mount Maunganui near Tauranga. We grabbed lunch at the beach and went for a swim in the ocean. It felt so good to get the salty ocean in my hair! After some body surfing, we made the final slog towards Auckland.
Day Ten: Matakana and Tawharanui
After our little taste of the ocean at Mount Maunganui, we were super keen to get to our favorite East Coast spot – Tawharanui. So we packed up the truck with surfboards and loads of towels, and took off. We spent the day sunbathing, chasing waves and a little bit of climbing over rocks in low tide. I wrote more about why we loveTawharanui here if you are interested!
Related: 7 of New Zealand’s Hidden Gems
Day Eleven: Hike and Swim at Piha
No matter how many times I go, Piha always takes my breath away. Its more stunning than I remember. Unfortunately, the drive out to Piha is always worse than I remember! Tight, narrow, winding roads the WHOLE way. The truck wasn’t built for roads like that.
Anyway, we finally arrived at the black sand beach and hiked up the coastline. And let me tell you, the view was definitely worth the climb. The colors were so bright, it felt like I walked into a postcard. Ahhh-mazing. The climb was steep and narrow, and I wouldn’t recommend this hike unless you know a bit about hiking, cliffs and tides. Thankfully, I have my trusty-mountain main James with me.
Related: 3 of our Favorite Hiking Trails in the Auckland Region
After finishing our hike, we dove into the ocean. Piha swimming is known to be a bit more dangerous with sudden drop offs on the ocean floor and strong tides. Surprisingly, the water was SO much colder than the east coast from the day before.
Day Twelve: Fishing in the Hauraki Gulf and Waiheke Island
Thanks to our awesome brother in law, Jason, we got up nice and early to go fishing on the Hauraki Golf! We caught heaps of snapper, then jetted over to Waiheke Island for lunch! We anchored the boat, swam to the beach, grabbed some pizza, had a picnic, then swam back! It was such a great day.
Related: Mishaps & Misadventures on Waiheke Island
Day Thirteen: Swimming and Depart Auckland Airport
Last day. We swam in the local pool with our family, showered off and headed to the airport. This was the 13th day in a row that we swam in some sort of body of water! What a dream!
We had such a great 13-days in New Zealand with family! We are already missing it and planning our next trip. Like I mentioned before, this is not an itinerary that what I would recommend to someone traveling to New Zealand for two weeks! I would definitely pack WAY more adventure into this time period! This post is more to capture a sweet 13-days with family in some of our favorite places. But, hopefully it gave you a bit of inspiration! Also, before you go, here is our 15-day trip from last year if you are keen to read on.
Adventure On,
*This post contains affiliate links. That means, I may receive a commission for some of the links in this post- at no cost to you. See our Disclaimer page for details*
You have such a fun life! I love your posts! The water everywhere looks incredible! And it sounds like an ideal vacation to me. I love to relax! Do you ever pick up an accent when you’re there? I’m the worst at that! When I was in Italy and Germany I did it all the time!
Aw thank you so much!! Lol I don’t know about an accent but definitely the words and intonation!!