After my lovely Wellington break, it was time to see more of the North Island. Whenever possible, I don’t drive the same route twice.. only when I fuck up the navigation.

ROUTE 52

I have this thing with gas stations. One of the most essential apps when driving in New Zealand is Gaspy. It shows the up-to-date fuel costs, and thanks to the community mindset (drivers confirm or update the prices constantly), this is an irreplaceable tool for finding the cheapest stations. From Wellington, I pinned a gas station in Martinborough, but before arriving, I reached the ‘car will stop in every minute in the middle of nowhere’ tank level again.. so I had an unpleasant $5 pitstop on the way. By the way, Martinborough is one of the main wine regions; the town is really photogenic and well-organized – obviously, the grapes bring in a lot of money.

Instead of speeding on the highway (there are a few cameras, too), I took the winding, empty, extremely windy (no joke, I’ve never experienced such strong wind) scenic road to my most important destination on the island:

The longest place name in the world roughly means The place where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, who slid, climbed and swallowed mountains, known as ‘landeater’, played his flute to his loved one. Some people hike mountains, some people sit in the spa with a glass bottle of wine, and I drive extra miles just for nonsense bucket list fun.

HAWKE’S BAY

I arrived at Hawke’s Bay at golden hour, and the sunset on the Ocean Beach (what a name) was a delightful end to my long driving day.

I didn’t book accommodation for the night because I was planning the Te Mata sunrise trekking. So after getting some food supply in Hastings, I had to find a free camping ground. I ended up at Clifton Road Reserve, which is very peaceful, right on the beach, with small shops and bars within walking distance.

Unfortunately, the rain washed my morning plans away, so after a slow morning, I went straight to Napier. The city surprised me with its size and murals – such coolness made up for the clouds.

TAUPO

My destination for the day was Rotorua, but I had a few pins on my map before that. The first was the Desert Road. Again, for no special reason, I just wanted to check if reality matches Instagram.. and this is where I missed a turn and ended up driving twice on the same road. Going south on the desert road is less picturesque than in the opposite direction, so if you want to save some fuel, plan your drive from the southern end. Sadly, Mount Ruapehu was mainly in clouds, and there was also some traffic due to roadworks, but ultimately, I think there are more epic routes than this.

My next stop was Taupo. I think this is the local holiday town; it’s easily accessible for weekend getaways and offers everything you wish for perfect relaxation – including a pretty nice lake temperature, which feels so good after the freezing cold ocean.

From here, I headed to the Aratiatia Rapids. Check for the release times of the dam, and marvel at the rushing water below – it’s very impressive.

ROTORUA

I spent two nights in Rotorua, where I recommend visiting the Government Gardens, Kuirau Park (walking over the boiling sulfate lakes is quite an otherworldly sight), the Thursday night market (great and cheap food), and the Redwoods (if you don’t want to pay for an expensive ticket and walk in crowds, then stay on the ground and wander among these tall and majestic trees for free – at night it feels and looks like a fairy hunt.

The lakes around Rotorua offer many activities and leisure spots. I naively drove to Okere Falls just to figure it was for rafting only, so I went to find some warm water instead. Everyone comes to Sulphur City for its geothermal water, but besides the mainstream pools, you can find free ones, too. I skipped Wai-O-Tapu but visited Kerosene Creek and the Hot ‘n’ Cold Collide. The latter is really fun: if you sit in the middle, where the hot thermal and the cold fresh water meet, the temperature is just perfect.

My main mission, however, was not to spa but to find kiwis. I listened to them every night in the Far North but never saw any, and I couldn’t leave the country without seeing one. I wasn’t up for a midnight forest walk, instead, I chose the lazy way and visited Rainbow Springs (cheap tickets on Bookme). The park is charming, but most importantly, it is home to the National Kiwi Hatchery. Kiwis are one of the cutest, silliest, and fluffiest feather balls. I was just standing and smiling for a while while watching them run around.

So interesting how the different parts of the island give you a different vibe while every region is charming on its way and leaves you with nice memories.

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