PUTUJUĆI blog

We just got back from our seven day road trip around North Island. Oh man I enjoyed it so much! Starting point was Auckland and we got all the way to Wellington. This trip was pretty different from our other trips and here is the story about the first three days on the way down south. Maybe this could be a part of your great itinerary for a future trips around New Zealand.

From Auckland we went to Coromandel peninsula. We watched many videos about it and just needed to experience this magnificent place on our own. First stop was Hot Water Beach on the east side. Some volcanoes develop underground reservoirs full of the superheated water which sometimes just escape to the surface. People from all over the world come here to enjoy private thermal hot pools. How to do it? You need to arrive here at the time of the low tide, dig up a whole in the sand (if you don’t want to dig with the hands you can rent a shovel) and the hot water with a temperature of 64 degrees will come up. Pretty simple, isn’t it?!

Other place on this peninsula, not far away from the Hot water beach, is Cathedral Cove, THE place with a naturally formed archway. I don’t know if you ever had the chance to see it but I’m impressed with it! We have definitely found the spot where we would like to spend hot summer days. You can get there by foot, boat or with a kayak – it’s impressive!

City we were very excited to finally visit was Rotorua in the Bay of Plenty region. This small town is mostly known for its geothermal activity, geysers and hot mud pools. The steam was following us all the time! It was a real experience to walk around the Kuirau Park while on every step something evaporates. It is definitely a special place, we never saw anything like it. If you would like to take a bath in one of the thermal pools you can find a few in Waiotapu and in Kerosene Creek which are about 30 km south of Rotorua. Just be careful and don’t dip your head in the water, it is not really healthy.

Clear beautiful night greeted us in Taupo, small town located on the shore of Lake Taupo. The scenery here is magnificent, you can just sit on the coast and enjoy the atmosphere! Spots like this one are definitely one of the reasons why we came to New Zealand and we are happy because in this country stunning places are on every corner. While you are here don’t forget to stop at Huka Falls, choose a trail for a walk or bike alongside the falls. It is a perfect place for a picnic, so take something delicious to eat!

TIP: New Zealand is campers’ heaven. Here you can find a lot of areas where you can pull over, park your car or set up your tent and it is mostly for free! Here are my suggestions for this part of the North Island: Railway Reserve south of Coromandel Peninsula, Reid’s Farm near the Lake Taupo (this place is perfect) and ANZAC park which you can find just off the State Highway 2, right before Norsewood.

Road trippin’ continues!

Happy travels!