We spent our last week in New Zealand exploring the region north of Auckland. We based ourselves in Waipu and Whangarei. There are some nice beaches, beautiful coastlines and cliffs, subtropical forests, waterfalls and exciting caves. We went to see Abbey Caves in Whangarei, but these were not as easily accessible as the ones in Waipu. Going in would have included some serious climbing, and we weren’t really prepared for that, so we didn’t enter this time. Henry still…
If you like driving narrows serpentines with stunning views in the mountains, cruising around cows that stand in the middle of the road, one-lane bridges and -tunnels (!), ghost towns, gravel roads, and always wanted to become a citizen of the world`s tiniest republic – then you should definitely drive the Forgotten World Highway between Taumarunui and Stratford. If you go in a campervan like ours, you shouldn`t get easily seasick. We’ve made our phone take a picture every…
We spent the next two nights in Taupo. Mainly because of the free camp site we found: Reid’s Farm, beautifully located directly at the shore of the Waikato River. We spent the days walking around the town, hiking along the river and to the famous Huka Falls. Apparently, McDonald’s is an attraction in Taupo, too. They’ve built a dining room inside an old airplane.
