Before leaving New Zealand for our next adventure, we spent time reflecting on our favorite parts of an incredible road trip through both the South Island and North Island. For a relatively small country from a population and land mass perspective, the list of memorable experiences is disproportionately large. When we were planning our trip, it seemed that most people spend the majority of their time in the nature of the South Island. There were many highlights for us there such as Milford Sound, Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park, Queenstown, and the Marlborough Wine Region. The South Island nature alone makes a trip to New Zealand worthwhile. However, we are glad that we spent an equivalent amount of time on the North Island as well.
The North Island does have wonderful natural areas, but the climate is much warmer and prominently displays geothermal features that are truly unique. Our favorite hike on the North Island was the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, a full day adventure through a volcanic mountain area. Hiking up through the barren landscape felt like we were on another planet, and upon reaching the highest point of the journey the views of the multi-colored geothermal pools below were unforgettable. Prior to making our way down the mountain, we took moment to look back and see the unbelievable volcanic cone we had walked through. There are also numerous geothermal parks on the North Island that have board walks to admire the unique features. The Rotorua area in particular had three that stood out, but if forced to pick only one, we would recommend the Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland. In spite of the much larger crowds, it had the best introductory overview of geothermal features.
Another big differentiator of the North Island is that the majority of the population lives there. The North Island has the capital city of Wellington and the largest city in the country, Auckland. While we always love visiting urban cities, what truly stood out during our visit of the North Island was experiencing the Māori culture. While Rotorua is the most popular place for visitors to learn about the Māori culture, our favorite was in the far north at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. This area is the most important historical site of New Zealand because it is the location of the first signature of the treaty that laid out the relationship between the British Crown and Māori Chiefs. The museums here explain the nuances of the relationship and the complicated aspects of its interpretation today. Additionally, during our guided tour we learned about the largest waka (Māori war canoe) and participated in a cultural display at the Māori meeting house.
Overall, we loved our time on both the South Island and North Island. Since we drove all around the country, it meant we needed to find ways to break up the drive. One of our favorites was stopping at different Lord of the Rings filming locations in-between our primary destinations. Aided by the official Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook, we stopped at numerous places all over the country. Since so many people asked us about them, we compiled our favorites in a write-up which is linked in this email. Overall our favorite Lord of the Rings experiences were visiting the Hobbiton Movie Set in Matamata and the Weta Workshop in Wellington but the casual stops throughout the country were an added bonus to our time in Middle Earth!
