Driving the North Island of New Zealand: Our First Week as Full-Time Travelers
From sunrise hikes to volcanic treks, alpaca farms to art galleries—our first week on the road had it all.
Hello from Auckland Airport!
We’re currently camped out at the airport, waiting for our flight to Christchurch, which is delayed due to fog. The North Island leg of our trip has officially wrapped, and we’re gearing up for the South Island—which will have even more stunning landscapes, more hikes, and far fewer showers. Van life should be… fun. Before we dive into what’s next, we wanted to recap the incredible six-day road trip that took us all around the North Island.
Day 1: Auckland to the Coromandel Peninsula
We kicked things off with a drive from Auckland to the Coromandel Peninsula, where we spent the evening at Hot Water Beach in Hahei. Thanks to natural geothermal activity, you can literally dig your own hot tub in the sand. Some people got full-on steaming pools; ours was more of a lukewarm puddle. Still, one of the most unique beach experiences either of us has ever had.
Day 2: Exploring Coromandel
The day started early with a sunrise hike to Te Pare Point in Hahei, followed by a trek to the famous Cathedral Cove. The views were unreal, and the 7:30 a.m. crowd was nonexistent. Our friend Louis commented on our last post that Cathedral Cove is one of the pre-loaded scenes on his treadmill, if that’s any indication of its beauty. From there, we circled the Coromandel Peninsula, visiting the enormous kauri trees (New Zealand’s largest and oldest trees), riding a quirky man-made railway through the mountains at Driving Creek Railway, and hiking up to the New Chum Beach Lookout.
I also wanted to highlight a funny (and bizarre?) story we came across during this drive. I spotted “Stuart and the pigs” on Google Maps and, after reading reviews, thought it would be cool to visit this guy who had lots of pigs that he loved dearly and enjoyed sharing this love with passersby. When we arrived at his address, the area was deserted, with graffiti at the entrance reading “Free Stu.” A quick search later, we realized Stu had recently murdered someone for killing one of his pigs, and many locals seem to be on Stu’s side. Sounds familiar.
Day 3: The Big Drive South
This was our biggest road trip day—covering 400 kilometers as we made our way from Whitianga to Tongariro National Park. A key highlight? A detour to Kerosene Creek, a completely natural hot spring in Rotorua, where we got to soak in the steaming water surrounded by lush forest. Coming from New York where a few hours at a spa would run you $100+, this was a treat.
Day 4: The Tongariro Alpine Crossing
This was the big one—20 kilometers through a wild mix of volcanic terrain, geothermal steam vents, and lush jungle (watch Claire’s Reel!). It’s consistently ranked as one of the world’s best day hikes, and it 100% lived up to the hype. We’ll be doing a deep dive into this hike in our next post, so stay tuned for that!
Day 5: The Alpacas & Tea Day
After conquering Tongariro, we needed a lower-key day. Enter: Nevalea Alpacas, New Zealand’s largest alpaca farm. The farm started with just four pet alpacas and has since grown to over 1,000. If you’ve never seen a baby alpaca hopping around a grassy field, let me just say it will make you forget about all of the bad in the world. We’ll be sharing an Instagram reel soon so you can witness the insane joy of feeding alpacas firsthand. Afterward, we stopped at Zealong Tea Estate, the only tea estate in New Zealand, for some locally grown oolong and a pistachio tart that was chef’s kiss.
Day 6: Wrapping Up in Auckland
We started the morning with a short drive to Auckland, stopping at Mount Mangawhau for panoramic views of the city. Back in Auckland’s Central Business District (CBD), I got my first-ever international haircut and we explored the Auckland Art Gallery. We capped off the day with a 5K run along Tamaki Drive before celebrating a major milestone of long-term travel: our first laundromat visit. There’s something about doing laundry on the road that makes the whole trip feel real—it’s the moment you shift from “vacation mode” to “this is our life now” mode.
Random Musings
New Zealand is not the best place for lizard sightings. Herpetologist David is devastated and hopes that improves soon.
Meat pies are consistently delicious and reliable — whether from New World Grocery, or a roadside cafe, they don’t miss. We love the mince & cheese pies.
We thought tomato sauce was ketchup… but it wasn’t. Where do we get ketchup?
In Tongariro we experienced our first accommodation with a shared kitchen (& bathrooms). Apparently, cooking fish in a communal kitchen is a no-no. We get why, but throwing away fresh salmon was heartbreaking.
New Zealand is the perfect introduction to left-side driving. Kiwis are some of the friendliest, and most lenient drivers we’ve ever encountered. Given the inverted controls, we’ve repeatedly turned on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal, making every turn a bit harmlessly chaotic.
What’s Next?
Christchurch and the South Island! We can’t wait to share more soon. And don’t forget—our full Tongariro Alpine Crossing breakdown is coming next.
Until then, thanks for following along!
Kerosene Creek wow what a place, didn't get to visit last time but will definitely put it on my list all the best with South Island !
Where do you get ketchup!!!??