Lets face it, for us Brits travelling to New Zealand is a mammoth task requiring stamina and endurance (much like Sir Edmund Hillary himself), so when we decided it was time for us to explore Australasia we wanted to make sure we were able to cover as much ground as possible. Whilst we did consider arranging our own self drive exploration of both North and South Island, we actually discovered that Riviera Travel had an organised escorted tour taking in all of the places we thought we should probably visit (and some we didn’t know we should) which would take us from the far north of North island to the Deep South and fjordlands of South Island without us having to spend a minute making any plans - perfect.  

The 19 day tour started at Heathrow airport with flights on Singapore Airlines and included an overnight stop and tour in Singapore before reboarding the plane to fly to Auckland. We joined the rest of our group in Auckland, having spent the previous two weeks on a cruise from Sydney to Auckland. We met the group at the Grand Millennium Hotel, arriving the morning after them, a day allocated for free exploration of Auckland. After checking into the hotel we spent the day climbing up Mount Eden, one of 50 dormant volcanoes in Auckland and exploring Queens street, one of the main shopping streets in the city before making our way back to the hotel to meet up with our tour leader Trisha who gave us some info about the upcoming couple of weeks on our land tour. 

Whilst this was an escorted tour only one evening meals was included meaning we had the chance to try out whichever of the local eateries took our fancy. With Google maps and Tripadvisor quickly becoming our best friends and fancying an Indian we walked the short distance from the hotel to the Sky Tower and the nearby Indian restaurant, 1947 Eatery which proved to be a fantastic choice. 

The next morning was our first experience of the ‘bags outside’ scenario that we would soon become so familiar with, having 12 different hotels on our 16 night itinerary. And not wanting to make a bad impression on our 43 other fellow travellers we made sure we were down at the coach in plenty of time for the long drive up to the Bay of Islands and a two night stop in the seaside town of Paihia. 

Trisha introduced us to our fellow travellers and showed us to our seats on the coach which happened to be right on the back row. However, she had a very good plan for coach allocation, with us all moving forwards or backwards two rows in an anti-clockwise direction meaning that over the course of our voyage we all sat in every part of the coach ending up back where we started.

On our way up to the far north of North Island we had three stops, the first of which was the Parry Kauri Park near Warkworth where we had half an hour to wander among the ancient kauri trees before stopping in the quaint town for a coffee break. From Warkworth we continued northwards up to the largest town north of Auckland, Whangarei, where we had enough time to enjoy a leisurely lunch and stroll along the river front at the Town Basin. 

Although it was a long drive the scenery and countryside along the way made the journey go quickly, with the volcanic topography unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. Before checking into the hotel where we would be spending the next two nights we had a planned excursion to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds where we learnt about the history surrounding the early agreements made between the Crown and the Māori tribes, as well as a bit about Māori culture. 

Our hotel in Paihia was the four star Scenic Bay of Islands, just a short stroll from the town along the vibrant beachfront lined with cafes and restaurants. We found the lovely Charlotte’s Kitchen on the pier where we enjoyed a delicious pizza dinner looking out to sea. 

Waking up in Paihia we had an early start to get to the pier for a scenic cruise around the Bay of Islands on the ironically named Dolphin Seeker - ironic because although they say they see dolphins most days of the week, we didn’t spot any seal life at all on our two hour cruise. Stopping to pick up a few more passengers across the bay in Russel, a tiny town known for once being the capital of New Zealand, we then headed out through the islands to Motukokako at the end of the Cape Brett peninsula. 

Motukokako is reknowned for having a hole through the rock that Māori legend has it that if as you sail through the hole you get dripped on by the water from above you will have good luck. When we arrived at the hole the sea was quite choppy and we really didn’t think our Captain would be mad enough to take us through, but he did and Helen got dripped on. It really was an incredible experience, coming through the other side of the hole to see the island form a different perspective, with a clearly distinguishable rock formation of a ladies face looking directly due north that is revered in Māori culture.  

Heading back to Paihia we had time to stop for an hour or so at one of the larger islands in the bay, Urupukapuka. Whilst our time was our own to do with as we wished on the island, most of us decided to climb to the top of the hill for a spectacular view over the bay and all of the islands within it. Back at Paihia in time for lunch we had a free afternoon to spend however we wanted. But with torrential rain showers persisting throughout the afternoon we spent most of the afternoon sheltering in our hotel room waiting for it to eventually clear so we could head back into town to try the other restaurant on the pier, a fish restaurant called Zane Grey’s, named after the famous novelist and fisherman who loved the Bay of Islands and was instrumental in promoting fishing in the area. 

Leaving the Scenic hotel early the next morning we started out on the long drive from Paihia to our next hotel in Hamilton, over 470km in total. With food and toilet breaks at a beautiful little cafe in Matakohe and the kart race course at Hampton Downs we headed through Auckland again and onto Hamilton where we had an hour ton wander around the pretty Hamilton gardens before checking in to our next hotel the wonderful Novotel Hamilton Tainui, perfectly situated between the wide, colourful high street and the river. Though we didn’t have long to explore Hamilton we were very impressed with this lovely little city with its laid back vibe, colourful cafes and numerous enticing looking eateries. With so many options for dinner we opted for the easiest and closest to our hotel, a wonderful little restaurant called Palate where we enjoyed a pleasant al fresco riverside dinner. 

Sad to be leaving Hamilton already we set off the following day for a much shorter drive, just a couple of hours, to reach Rotorua. Half way along our journey we stopped at the fabulous Red Barn, a working dairy farm with time to meet the farmers and learn about the significance of dairy farming in New Zealand with milk and milk products being one of their biggest exports. Before leaving the farm we had time for morning coffee and a delicious afternoon tea (even though it was still the morning) offering of finger sandwiches, bite size nibbles and delicious cakes. 

Arriving in Rotorua at lunchtime we were dropped in the heart of the city to have a wander around while we waited for the hotel to allow us to check in. The heart of the city was located between the magnificent lake and the government gardens with plenty of cafes and restaurants as well as some nice shop. There was even a rather lovely covered street called Eat Streat which is lined with every type of cuisine you could ask for. With the whole city sitting on a melting pot of geo thermic activity there are sulphur fields all around the city and if the wind is blowing in the right (or should we say wrong) direction its impossible to ignore this fact, the strong smell of sulphur pervading everywhere and everything. 

Thankfully our hotel let us check in a little early as we had a date at at Te Puia, a traditional Māori village and home to the New Zealand Māori Arts and Culture Institute, incorporating a college for Māori students to learn the ancient arts of wood, stone and bone carving, as well as weaving. We arrived at Te Puia late afternoon and started our visit there with a tour around the college and art gallery of works before a quick visit to the Kiwi conservation centre where Rich fulfilled his dream of seeing a real life kiwi (although we couldn’t get a picture because of their nocturnal enclosures). The obvious highlight of the village is the historic Te Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley, with its incredible mud pools, silicone rock formations and amazing geysers and following our visit to the Kiwi centre we had time to have a wander around the valley taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the mud fields, geysers and rock formations - incredible. 

Back at the main centre it was time for a delicious Hangi buffet, featuring a delicious seafood salad bar, traditionally Hangi cooked meats and accompaniments and desserts. Hangi is the traditional Maori cooking method using the natural heat in the geothermic to cook food in an underground oven using rocks buried in a pit called an umu. With everyone full from the huge buffet our night was not over yet with us all being ushered off to the Māori meeting house for a enchanting performance including a Pōhiri (Traditional Māori Welcome), Waiata (Song), Mōteatea (traditional chant), Poi and Haka. 

After the show and once all of the other visitors to the centre had left our group headed back down to the geyser for a hot chocolate and to watch the sun set. When we arrived the geysers were all inactive and we had to wait almost an hour for them to decide to wake up again, but when they did we were treated to a spectacularly high geyser spurt lit up from the coloured lights against the nights sky, a very special moment indeed. All in all the Māori experience was really insightful, entertaining and fun. Our hosts were incredible, telling us stories and information about Māori culture. They have been welcoming tourists here since the late 19th century and genuinely seem to love having tourists come along to find out more about Māori culture, recognising the contribution it has made to keeping the language and culture alive.

In normal circumstances, the next day our tour would have moved on to Napier, but since we were there just a couple of weeks after a devastating cyclone had ripped through Hawkes bay we had another day in Rotorua. Our day started with the most gorgeous sunrise over the lake situated right next door top our hotel. Following breakfast we set off for a visit to the fascinating Buried Village of Te Wairoa, the archaeological site recovered following the 1886 eruption of nearby Mount Tarawera. What remains of the village has been dug out from the volcanic ash that covered it following Mount Tarawera’s eruption by the Smith family who purchased the 12 acre site in 1931. The village is still run by the family now and as well as the fascinating village also has an incredible waterfall and scrumptious cafe on site - well worth a visit. 

From the buried village we headed down to Lake Tarawera to just marvel at another of the amazing  calderas (lakes that form in the crater of a collapsed or erupted volcano) in this region. Heading back into Rotorua we stopped at the the Redwood Forest Treewalk with the chance to get up close and personal to these magnificent and enormous trees by doing the treetop high walk, which really wasn’t as scary as we thought it would be. 

With a much needed free afternoon to have a bit of down time we headed back out to Eat Streat in the early evening for a delicious Mexican dinner. Walking back to our hotel through the town we stumbled upon an evening street food market. Lots of locals were out enjoying the nice summers evening, the street food stalls and the live music going on at either end of the long street. A nice way to end our time in Rotorua. 

With only one more night on the North Island we set off from Rotorura for the very long drive down to Wellington where we would be spending our last evening. Heading south towards Taupo we had a stop at the Huka Falls, an incredible white water section of the Waikato river where almost a quarter of a million litres of water per burst through the 15 metre wide natural gorge from the 100 metre river above before tumbling down an 11 metre fall back into the river. The sight and sound of the phenomenal amount of power created from the water in this section of the river is one of the most amazing things we’ve ever witnessed. 

But with a long drive ahead we set off again stopping at the lakeside for a coffee break and a roadside cfae for lunch, arriving into Wellington later that afternoon. With only one evening there we immediately headed out of our hotel to the nearby cable car up to the botanical gardens before taking a wander along the waterfront, finding an Italian to stop and have some dinner. With only a brief stop in Wellington we left the north island on the Interislander ferry the next morning to make our way over to Picton on the South Island. See you there. 

Hotels along the way, with a rating out of 10 based on our overall experience there (these are not necessarily about the quality of the hotel, rather the expectations versus the outcome). 

Grand Millineum Auckland (1 night) - a nicely appointed hotel situated close to the Sky Tower, the CBD and trendy Ponsonbury Road. Disappointing breakfast and a little walk to the waterfront - 8/10 although upon our return we booked a flu room which we would give 9/10.

Scenic Bay of Islands in Paihui (2 nights) - a large room which though clean was a little dated and had the loudest ever bathroom extractor fan we’ve ever heard! About a 15 minute walk to the main area of Paihui - 6/10

Novotel Hamilton Tainui (1 night) - a very well appointed hotel with one of the nicest rooms we stayed in on the whole journey. Very centrally located with the high street on one side and the river front on the other - 10/10

Sudima Hotel lake Rotorua (2 nights) - a last minute substitution so not up to the standards of the other hotel on the trip. Although the public areas of the hotel were nice the room itself was in need of some much needed care and attention. Our most disappointing too of the journey - 4/10

James Cook Grand Chancellor Hotel, Wellington (1 night) a large hotel located in the centre of wellington, useful for both the cable car and the waterfront. A dated but large room but service lacking with the staff being quite rude to us at breakfast time - 5/10

Thank you to Riviera Travel who hosted us on this incredible 16 night ‘The Land of the Long White Cloud’ New Zealand escorted tour and paid our fare, excluding flight out and home from New Zealand which we paid for ourselves. The tour included all of the hotels, including breakfasts, and most of the excursions shown. All other meals, excpet for the Te Paui Hangi meal were covered by ourselves. Riviera Travel had no editorial control over any of our content, either before, during our after our voyage and all views are our own.

If you enjoyed this blog why not take a look at our Lake Como Riviera Escorted Tour blog or our Cosmos Stay and Explore Jersey blog.

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