New Zealand Trip - north island

While on this side of the world, we wanted to see New Zealand. So we talked to a few people and although the south island is gorgeous and spectacular, it is best for hiking and camping. So with three little ones in tow, we decided to tour the north island instead.

We flew from Canberra to Wellington on Singapore Airlines who had a fantastic deal on at that time. Hurrah!

We planned to have some driving days and some rest days with an activity at that location. We tried to keep the driving days to half a day or less (i.e. less than 4 hours if possible). And we booked places that had access to a pool or beach for our "water babies." Laundry was also planned for, especially nearing the end of the trip.


Here's a snapshot of our itinerary:
April 17 - Fly from Canberra to Wellington
April 18 - Wellington: visit the Te papa Museum
April 19 - Drive to Waitomo
April 20 - Waitomo: Caves and Glow worms
              - Drive to Matamo
April 21- Hobbiton Tour
             - Drive to Rotura
April 22 - Rotura: Hotsprings
April 23 - Drive to Napier: Agrodome Farm Tour
April 24 - Napier: relax
April 25 - Drive to Wellington: Pukaha Mount Bruce
April 26 - Wellington: Visit with Sarah and Hunter's family
April 27 - Wellington: Weta Workshop Tour
April 28 - Fly from Wellington to Canberra

The rest days were greatly appreciated by the end of the trip. It was nice to spend several days in one place. The roads were windy, especially on the east side. We ran out of Children's Gravol about halfway through the trip since we needed it much more than we had planned.

There were magnificent views over every hill. Most of the land has been cultivated on the north island. Even up the steep sides are trees planted for harvesting. Amazing! And there were sheep, sheep and more sheep. We sang "I just want to be a sheep, Bah, bah, bah bah" almost every day. Whenever there was a group of sheep that had just been shorn (very noticeable!) I would shout, "Look! Naked sheep!"

It was a fun, exciting, memorable trip with tons to see and do. Amazing sights, and interesting facts about the world. The kids adjusted to the drives pretty quickly, especially since we did the longest day first.



We had date scones most mornings and they were delicious! So I've started making them at home. Lucy loved the kiwi juice. Allison loved the Manuka honey. And we tried feijoa fruit for the first time both right off the tree (actually under it - you don't pick them!) and served as dessert at Sarah's house.  And we learned kiwi grows on vines like grapes. And that there are over 18 different kinds of sheep in New Zealand.

The North Island was great to travel around with the family. I am looking forward to going back to the South Island for some hiking and camping when the girls are older, with or maybe without them (it'd be fun for just James and I too). Wanna come?