New Zealand, North Island Road Trip: Travel Guide
3 Reasons WHY I Love New Zealand:
My heart goes out to the Kiwi’s for being the sweetest and most hospitable people I’ve met so far.
Four words: Minced and Cheese Pies
There are more sheep than people. BAHHH!
Last August, Chris, Caleb, and I struck it to New Zealand to find perfect, empty waves along the west coast of the North Island of NZ. We rented a twenty-eight foot RV and hit the road. When we got off the plane in Auckland, everyone looked at us like we were crazy. I even felt crazy. The air was cold and brisk. It felt like we had just landed in Aspen, Colorado in the midst of winter, except we had surfboard bags and kites… not skis. I looked at Chris and said, “How is this going to be a surf trip?!” But as always, we ended up thriving and were completely comfortable and warm in our 5m wetsuits, hoods, and booties. The entire trip was one big adventure! To be honest, while we were there, the weather was not the best. It was rainy, stormy, and the swell direction was finicky, but we made the best of it because that is life! Our entire trip was 17 days. I recommend if you are trying to do both the North and the South Island to give yourself at least one whole month. There is just too much beauty to see!
Below are our North Island Road Trip Itinerary, Tips, and What You Can’t Miss!
Stop 0: Flying into Auckland and Picking up the RV!
Beautiful outlook right outside of Auckland!
Auckand is a beautiful city! It is known for its young culture, hip bars and nice restaurants. Our friend, Logan Dodds, picked us up from the airport, brought us to his home to have a shower, and was the best tour guide for the day. I like to think that Auckland is similar to San Francisco in California; beautiful, busy, and thriving. After picking up my surfboard from Surf Industries, we headed to Wilderness Motorhomes to pick up our new home for the next three weeks; a gorgeous and prestine twenty-eight foot motorhome ! The best part about renting an RV in the wintertime is that they are half the price and available on short notice. If you plan to do this trip in the summer make sure to book your RV months in advance. It is the thing to do in NZ and everyone knows it!
Stop 1: Auckland to Raglan
Because this was a surf trip, of course our first stop was Raglan. Raglan is both a surfing mecca destination and an insanely beautiful beach town. It was featured in the 1966 surf movie, Endless Summer. Manu Bay, my favorite surf spot in Ragland, has one of the longest lefts that is just... perfect. Unfortunately, we didn't quite hit it on a big swell, but there were still some fun little waves to be had! Even if you are not a surfer, I recommend going to Raglan. It is a perfectly cute little beach town with awesome art and delicious cafe's! It reminds me of Santa Cruz. I recommend planning to spend a few days in Raglan.
Other things to do in Raglan:
- Bridal Veil Falls
- This is one of the islands most beautiful waterfalls. It is a very short hike/ walk, about 10 minutes from the carpark!
- Grab a bite at Black Sand Cafe!
Getting ready for our first surf session at Manu Bay in Raglan.
View from the Ruakuri Caves! Loving on Christopher!
Stop 2: Raglan to Waitomo (Glow Worm Caves)
The weather was extremely rainy and cold for a few days after Raglan so we set out to do something indoors. We read that the glow worm caves were a must-see so we decided to give it a chance. The Waitomo Glow Worm Caves blew us away! It was so cool to learn about the history of the caves and even more incredible to realize how many decades it took to build the infrastructure for us to easily enjoy exploring them. We did both the boat ride and the Ruakuri Caves Tour. I recommend just doing the Ruakuri Caves Tour. You see the Glow Worms on both tours, however, the cave tour is longer and provides more background and history. It also allows you to get up close, but not too close! If you are a photographer, keep in mind that you cannot bring cameras on the boat ride. I highly recommend checking this out!
Stop 3: Waitomo to Taranaki
After Waitomo, we made our way down to Taranaki to find more surf, kiting, and hiking! Some of my favorite memories of our trip include just being on the road with the boys, adventuring, sight-seeing, and laughing while trying to figure out how to drive a huge RV on the opposite side of the road while driving stick with our left hand. I also loved looking out to rolling hills with little white and black dots: tons of sheep and cows. It is so beautiful.
A great hike to do in Taranaki is the Paritutu Rock Hike! Paritutu Rock is New Plymouth's iconic landmark. The rock and its surrounding Sugarloaf islands are definitely worth the dramatic features of the entire Taranaki coastline. The view from the top is breathtaking! The hike up is quite rigorous. You will need all 4 limbs and it takes about 45 minutes to reach the top!
Hiking Paritutu Rock!
Stop 4: Taranaki to Oakura
After a pretty intense and big surf session, where I had a minor panic attack because I was feeling like shark bait, we decided to take a break from RV life and got a super cute Airbnb in Oakura (which is about 20 minutes from Taranaki!)! The beaches in Oakura are huge, long, and beautiful. We caught an incredible sunset here before we set out to our next location!
Stop 5: Oakura to Lake Taupo
And here you will see a cold chipmunk stoked on this view of Lake Taupo! Thank you Skydive Taupo!
After Oakura, we were ready to set out for more adventure and what better place in the world to go to for adventure than lake Taupo! Secondarily to Raglan, Lake Taupo is another one of my favorite places on the North Island of New Zealand. I call it the town of adrenaline! My good friend and native Kiwi, Kyle Mulinder, set us up with the Lake Taupo Tourism Board and they put together a full itinerary for us which included: skydiving in the morning, jet boats after lunch, and we finished the day bungy jumping! The bungy jumping was my absolute favorite. If you are an adrenaline junky, you have to send it!
Where we did each activity:
- Skydive Taupo
- Jet Boat
- Taupo Bungy NZ - These guys were my favorite. As we were heading to the bungy activity, I said to the boys, "I really hope they are playing trap music or something to pump me up at the top!" Leave it to the Kiwi's to blow my expectations out of the water, yet again. When we arrived, we could hear the trap music all the way from the parking lot. YES.
View from the top of Lion's Rock in Piha!
Stop 6: Lake Taupo to Raglan to Piha
From Lake Taupo we went back to Raglan, yes we loved it there that much. We had one more night before we had to take Caleb back to the airport in Auckland so we decided to check out Piha! Piha was absolutely beautiful. Our mission for the day was to climb Piha's rock at sunset.
It was here that I felt the ancestry and history of New Zealand in my soul. At the end of the short, steep climb, there is a pou to a Te Kawerau a Maki ancestress, Ngati Tangiaro Taua, who loved this spot. There is a stone seat, so it is a good stop off place for a rest, meditate, and enjoy the views.
Stop 7: Piha - Coromandel
Chris and I had two more days after dropping Caleb off at the airport so we decided to check out the eastern part of the North Island, The Coromandel. My friend Brando Yelavich aka Wildboy Adventures kindly, as Kiwi's do, took us under his wing; invited us into his home, made us the most delicious porridge at 5:30 in the morning, and took us on an eight hour day of coasteering along the Coromandel coast, Wildboy style! Our adventure started with suiting up in thermals and layering our 5mm wetsuits and booties on top. Then we did a 20 minute hike and arrived at this famous 400 ft deep blow hole. NO JOKE! Brando set up an ascending rope from the top and casually said, "You're up!" I had honestly never been so scared before, not even as scared as I was bungee jumping. I didn't think I would be able to repel down a 400 ft vertical wall, but I just closed my eyes and trusted that Brando knew what he was doing. And he sure did! I slowly repelled myself down, kicking off the wall and loving it. When I got to the bottom, I couldn't even stand I was shaking and giggling from all of the adrenaline running through my body!
We spent the rest of the adventure climbing along the rigid coast line, cliff jumping, swimming and crawling in caves, free diving, and eating sea urchins! The best thing about this adventure was being able to share it with Chris and Brando. It was truly one of those soul fulfilling adventures because it was something that no one has ever done nor something I would have ever done without Brando's knowledge about the NZ Coastline. A true adventure.
Stop 8: Coromandel - Auckland
Our 17 day trip came to an end quickly. I honestly could have stayed for much longer. We didn't get a chance to cover and explore north of Auckland or the Coromandel, however, I am extremely grateful for our trip and what we were able to see. I will definitely go back in the future, maybe this time during the summer! If you plan to go to New Zealand, be sure to carve out plenty of time, especially if you plan to do a road trip. It may seem like a small country but there is a lot of ground to cover!
Check out my NZ Road Trip Packing Guide Below!
ERIN's NZ Road Trip Packing Guide
I won't share everything I packed but just the things that I felt were necessary on this RV + Surf Road Trip through New Zealand!
Guide Books:
- New Zealand Surfing Guide - This book has every surf break along the North and South Island Coast! We lived by this guide everyday.
- NZ Frenzy 3rd Edition - This guide is a lifesaver for hikes and must-see attractions in each area on the map! We used this book everyday as well when we weren't looking for surf!
Clothing:
Spirit Hood Jacket - I was debating bringing it on this trip but I ended up wearing it everyday!
Brixton Tiller Hat - My go-to travel hat and it's on sale now!
Leggings on Leggings from Lulu Lemon and Alo Yoga!
I specifically loved my Alo High Rise Moto Leggings.
Ahnu Hiking Boots -I wore these just about everyday. I LOVE THEM!
Free People Boyfriend Overalls - these are my favorite overalls: comfy, cute, and functional!
Gear:
7'6" Surfboard from Surf Industries
6m and 8m kite
Kite surboard + twin tip from Naish
Douchebag Little Bastard Luggage - LOVE this!
Douchebag Hugger 30L Backpack - Best travel backpack I've ever had!
I hope you enjoy!
Xx, Erin