Yesssss! We were both able to get 7 consecutive weeks leave from work! That can only mean one thing in our family: travel! We chose a destination you don’t see completely in 2-3 weeks but one that you need at least a month to see and that’s so far away you don’t fly there again very easily. New Zealand has been on our “to-do list” and we think this is the ultimate chance to go there. Not much later, our coffee table is littered with Lonely Planets, maps and all kinds of travel books. Google is working overtime for us in searches for campers and things to do here and there. In short, the anticipation has begun! A few weeks later we get one the plane and travel through New Zealand for 7 weeks, let the adventure begin!
Travelling through New Zealand for 7 weeks
The start of our trip through New Zealand: Auckland
We start our trip in Auckland and book a hotel room for 3 days to acclimatize. It’s a long trip, especially for our daughter so we take it easy and explore the city. We don’t find Auckland very exciting but there a few fun things to, even for kids. Roadtrips with kids can be challenging, be sure to check these roadtrip hacks to be fully prepared.
There are a couple of fun parcs to stroll through, good for kids that need to blow off some steam after a long flight. The Albert Park is good fun and if you want to walk a little further you can do the Coast to Coast walkway, taking you along all kinds of beautiful parcs that are laid on extinguished volcano’s. What you need to see too is the Sky Tower. Kids love to take the fast lift all the way up the tower to see the beautiful view over Auckland.
The Northland
After acclimatizing for three days we pick up our camper and the adventure is truly beginning. We’ve got a huge camper which we call “Fat Berta”. North of Auckland there is a piece of New Zealand that is called the Northland and that’s were we’re heading! A lot of fun stuff to see and do over there!
Along the Kauri Coast there are really fat trees and I mean really fat! Very impressive. After that we come along the 90 miles beach where you can go for a nice walk and go for a nice picknick of course. We spend the night in a place called Opononi, where we find a nice camp site with goats that roam freely in between the campers.
Then we head on more North. Up all the way North there is Cape Reinga, the most northern point of New Zealand. We love the place, with large rocks and a wild sea that smashes against them and a stretch of land with a lighthouse and a sign showing all the mayor capitals of the world and how far away they are. It also says how far it is to the most southern part of New Zealand, a place were we expect to be in a few weeks. Funny to think.
We stay the night near Cape Reinga and stay at a beautiful camp site at sea. Sleeping with the lovely sounds of the sea ushering in the background and take an early morning stroll on the beach where we build a sand castle. Life is good!
We head on down South and come across Bay of Islands. Time for an excursion by boat! We sail along the beautiful islands and the weather gods are kind to us so we can take in the “hole in the rock”. This means we sail through a hole in formation of rocks which is only done in good weather. The end of the boat tour we see dolphins in the wild. Incredible!
Next we go on to see a beautiful waterfall, the Wangarei Falls, and this part of Northland is done. We are thoroughly impressed by this beautiful island already and we’ve only seen a tiny part of it. This promises a lot, traveling through New Zealand for 7 weeks!
Coromandel
East of Auckland there is a peninsula named Coromandel. We head that way because there is lots to do and see there! What’s a lot of fun to do with kids is the “Driving Creek Railway”. This is a small rail road taking you though the forested mountains in a small train. Our daughter let out sounds of excitement along the way, she loved it! Mom and dad enjoyed it too because we got treated to beautiful views now and then.
After this we park “Fat Berta” at camp site Hahei, next to a beautiful beach. Ideal to have a nice “shovel and bucket day”. From the camp site in Hahei it’s a nice walk to Cathedral Cove. It’s a pithy hike with a toddler of 12 kilos in the carrier but when you arrive there you are rewarded with a beautiful beach, rock formations and Cathedral Cove of course, which you can walk across when it’s ebb.
Glowworms en Lord of the Rings
We’re still on the Northern Island and after our lovely stop at Hahei we pay Waitomo a visit. This place is known for its glowworm caves so lets take a look. Waitomo is the perfect place to go for beautiful walks. It’s not buggy proof so be sure to take a carrier with you. If you’re kids are old enough to walk themselves, there are adventurous trails to take so success is guaranteed!
We decide we would like to see the little worms up close and book a tour through the glowworm caves. This takes you through the cave in a boat where the guide turns off the lights and all of a sudden, thousands of small points of light are scattered across the ceiling of the cave. It looks like a starry nights sky but these are glowworms. An absolute beauty to see! Kids will love this excursion too.
Our route takes us along an absolute Lord of the Rings heaven. My significant other isn’t particularly fazed by it but I adore Lord of the Rings. When we arrive at a place called Matama we have to take the Hobbiton tour we put down in our travel agenda. This so cool! You walk across the filmset and recognize the little hobbit houses from the movie. Even for kids that are not familiar with the movie, this is an incredibly fun tour to take. The colorful houses which you can enter too are lots of fun of course. We end the tour with a good pint and some apple juice for the little one in the “Green Dragon Inn” and after that we’re off to the Maoris!
Maories and geysers
We take “Fat Berta” further on South towards Roturua and here we get acquainted with the original and true New Zealanders, the Maoris. We take a tour through… wait for it… Whakarewarewa. This may sound like a carnival village after drinking 12 beers but in reality this is an authentic New Zealand village inhabited by real Maoris. We get acquainted with the village, their customs and rituals and end the tour with thé ritual Maori dance; the haka dance. This is a little intimidating for our daughter with all the long tongues, wide eyes and tones of voice. But this tour too, is liked a lot by the little ones.
Further on there is National Park Wai-o-tapu where it bubbles and hisses and where large sulfur vapors hang around. A beautiful area to stroll through with the highlight “Champagne Pool”. Here too, you’re best off with a carrier!
Taupo and Tongariro
Further down South you enter the pleasant little town called Taupo which lies at the beautiful lake Taupo. Travelling through New Zealand for 7 weeks with a toddler is quite the undertaking and we are a little tired, but luckily Taupo is a nice and easy going town to relax in and unwind. Playground, terrace, throwing stones in the water, that kind of stuff. A nice change for once!
After 2 days in relax modus we decide to go for another piece of Lord of the Rings! We drive on to Tongariro National Park, better known as Mordor. The place where the bad guy lives. This is also home to Mount Doom, a lot of fun to see in real life.
In this park you can take one of the most beautiful day walks in the world; the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. I do need to stress that this hike is not done with kids. It’s so tough you really can’t have the extra weight of a carrier on you. And for a child (of let’s say younger than 10 years old) this is too hard of a walk. To walk this walk is on my bucket list though so we decide that I take the walk and husband and daughter go and play for a day in the snow.
Mount Ruapehu is located in the National Park too. This is the highest mountain of the Northern island. Here, a chairlift goes up so while mommy is plowing her way up Mount Doom, the other half of the family goes up Mount Ruapehu by chairlift, drink there hot coco and play in the snow. Lovely! So there is enough to do for kids in Tongariro too.
What’s a lot of fun to do in the area too is visiting a coast town called Wanganui. This village is off the beaten track and we were the only tourists there but oh boy did we have fun! Lots and lots of playgrounds, a fun beach to play at and locals that picknick here with their families so lots of friends for our daughter. A nice change after out Mordor adventure.
Part to of travelling through New Zealand for 7 weeks: from North to South island
And then it’s time to make the big cross over. From Wellington, the ferry leaves to the Southern island. Before we get onto the ferry though, we visit the Te Papa Museum in Wellington. A fun museum for old and young. You get to learn lots about New Zealand in a fun and interactive way. How the country was founded and how it was formed into the country it is today. The next morning we drive “Fat Berta” onto the Ferry and we will discover a new piece of New Zealand. On to the South island!
Click here if you want to read part II of this amazing New Zealand roadtrip.
Kim is one of Kids Love Travel’ regular guest bloggers. Kim has turned her passion into her profession and works as a pilot for Transavia. Together with her husband and 3 daughters she plans to see as much as possible of the world!
