3 Days North Island , NZ Road Trip!

Kia Ora!

Yeah , i'm back !! Here's my itinerary for my 3 days road trip in North Island , New Zealand!

isn't it short? Yes, it was! for 3 days...

Anyway, still a great and amazing 3 days road trip in New Zealand , North Island!

Before I went to New Zealand, there is this question always on my mind...

North Island or South Island?

Till ... i do some little bit of research with my best mate - Google

and my best pal Google connect me with this couple in the world wide web -

The Backpacker Guide in NZ

https://www.backpackerguide.nz/

Voila , they got tons of video guides for you and me!

And i found this video of them introducing about South Island and North Island in NZ!

There isn't a solid conclusion for which island is the best in NZ , be it North island or South island, because of the beauty in New Zealand.

But North Island does stand in a little bit more in the video, well,

it is still depending on your interest!

So here is my conclusion about ...

South Island or North Island in New Zealand.

North Island

- Famous of it beautiful white sands beaches, black sands beaches, surfing, fishing, beautiful falls, natural geo-thermal, kayak, jet ski, wild life and many adventurous activities to explore!

- best to visit during Summer for all the beaches activities.

- more to beaches , beach boy / beach girl sort of itinerary

South Island

- star gazing, beautiful skyline, landscape, skiing, southern lights, beautiful fiords, stunning waterfalls, kayak, jet ski, wild life and many adventurous activities to explore!

- best to visit all 4 seasons! LoL...

- more to scenery , sight seeing sort of itinerary

So, basically I would think South Island is more suitable to people like me who has been living in

a country where Summer all year round!

But again, I've been to NZ for 4 times before this road trip of mine

and

i've also experienced the Spring, Autumn, Winter seasons in NZ.

Though i've been living in a country where Summer all year round,

i still love the Summer / Spring in NZ the most!

Especially Summer ,where you get a longer day time,

and you can have more itinerary in a day for your trip! (Sunset at 8.30 p.m. averagely)

Okay, here is my road trip in 3 days. Where I get to explore Blue Spring, Lake Rotorua, Blue Lake , Green Lake, Huka Falls, Lake Taupo, Piha Beach &etc.

1st Day

(Traveled 250 km)

Pick up rental vehicle from Auckland Airport (11 a.m.), do note that Ezi Car Rental has no booth in Auckland Airport, you will need to give them a call and walking towards McDonald's direction, they will pick you up from the pick up location and drive you to pick up your vehicle.

Matamata I-Site & Tirau I-Site
We stopped by here for a cup of coffee and also a short break after the long hour drive from Auckland. Remember to take rest and enjoy the lookout point along the way, mate!

LET ME IN PLEASE!

Putaruru Blue Spring

This attractions required a little bit of walking , about 10-15 minutes of walking, no worries, it is not up to the standard of mountain hiking yet, anyone can do the little hiking/walking here. If you look at the world map, there is this beautiful place named Jiu Zhai Valley (九寨沟) which is very famous attractions in China. Here let's look at the South Hemisphere, there is this beautiful blue spring named Putaruru Blue Spring in New Zealand!

Polynesian Spa

North Island famous of it GeoThermal Activities where you get to enjoy the mud bath, hot spring water bath, minerals bath & etc! So you should not give this place a SKIP! Book the Deluxe Spa package where you get to have your own space.

Lake Rotorua

Nothing beats the sunlight at a tranquil lake!

2nd Day

(Traveled 150 km)

Day two start as early as at 9 a.m. Heading towards Skyline Rotorua from the homestay,
and gonna to have the fun luge ride before the sunshine greet us Kia Ora!
Hey ya, it's summer now!
Whether you like to get sunburn or not , do remember to apply sunscreen! Protect your skin!

Skyline Rotorua

We bought the Gondola + 3 luge Rides package, strongly recommend you to go for this 3 luge rides package, as there are 3 route here in Skyline Rotorua, they are Scenic Route, Intermediate Route and Advanced Route.

We went to the Scenic Route first, it's a bit disappointing as it doesn't really scenic at all, got conned by the name... DUH~ then we go for the Intermediate Route next. Alright , cool enough , this is the best and also the scenic route! I took this Intermediate Route for twice as i dare not to go for Advanced Route, if you are not really some kind of active or adventurous person, please do not try Advanced, Advanced does required certain level of skills. According to my husband, a lot of steep road, slope road, where you hardly slow down your luge as if you going to slow it down, you will stop at the middle of the slope blah blah blah ... okay, hard to explain since i didn't went for this route.

Landing Cafe, Lake Terawera

This lake was peaceful and beautiful, dining at the cafe and watching the locals drive their car to the lake with their hobbies, the boat, the jet ski, the kayak ... Oh no , i really envy them! You get to observe people here, what they carried at the back of their car basically represent their hobbies in life! How i wish that i'm a local too! Then, probably i have to think about the sports that i would like to pick up here in NZ! lol...

Blue Lake (Lake Tikitapu) & Green Lake (Lake Rotokakahi)

This lookout point is really beautiful! A must stop-by destination if you ever travel down to Landing Cafe. Oh ya, you get to see blue lake and green lake when you stand at the middle of it. So that's the unique part of this place! I turn to my right, I see blue lake, turn to my left, I see green lake... I turn left, turn right, turn left, turn right.... see the paranoma below to believe it!

Facing Lake Tikitapu

Huka Falls

The Huka Falls are a set of waterfalls on the Waikato River that drains Lake Taupo in New Zealand. A few hundred metres upstream from the Huka Falls narrows across into a canyon.It is at 220,000 litres per second or to fill one Olympic sized swimming pool within 11 seconds! 😱

Spa Park Hot Pools

The water is so clear and warm! Wow ... love it ! Furthermore, it is a free activity at Taupo!

Lake Taupo

The largest lake by surface in New Zealand! Well how big it is, it is a lake bigger than the size of Singapore! A lake that larger than a country! You basically cannot see the end of the lake and you may probably think it is a sea rather than a lake. Well, it is a lake where the only Lake's HOLE IN ONE found in the world! And the coolest McDonald's in the World! not bad right, so many world's records! hehe

The coolest McDonald's in the world!

3rd Day

(Traveled 309 km)

We left Taupo around 7.15 a.m. as we were suppose heading back to Auckland for our
Auckland Whales Watching at 1.30 p.m.

Alright, we received a message at 9.30 a.m. informed us that the boat trip got cancelled due to rough sea...

So , everything happen for a reason right and we changed our plan immediately!

We quickly called Ezi Car Rental to extend our rental car period and set the GPS for our

New Destination - Piha Beach!

A beach where you get to surf! We missed the Whale Watching trip and we get to see

the huge waves (higher than 6ft) in New Zealand!
According to the locals, Piha Beach is sort of dangerous and famous of it's huge wave.

Total Damage for a 3 days Road Trip for 2 pax

(appx. NZD 650 / pax or equivalent to a Skydive experience 😉)

Petrol - Total 709km @ NZD 105
Rental Car - Harris + Insurance x 3 days @ NZD 220
Tickets & Rides @NZD 150

Accommodation - 2 nights appx.~@NZD 580

Strongly recommend the homestay at Rotorua to any of you if ever visit!

Well , not so recommend to the one we stayed at Lake Taupo due to it's cleanliness and facilities, but the lake view was great and fantastic!

Accommodation in Auckland was good , strategically located at Queen Street, nearby to eateries and shop!

the heated salt water pool was the best and my favourite!!

Link - Homestay / Hotel Reviews by me

Foods ~NZD 250 for 3 days

we don't really save much on foods. We went to quite a few decent cafe or recommended restaurant to enjoy coffee and the steak. I was truly enjoy the coffee in New Zealand as a coffee lover. We also went for fish n chips takeaways two days in a row and had it at the lakefront carpark! Fish n chips are fresh and delicious. Reviews please refer to my link below at the end of the blog.

Cheers~

Cheers to those readers reading this post and going to have a road trip soon in NZ.

Do remember to check out the driving tips in NZ.

And please buffered more time for yourself when you do your planning
and promise me it is not a "touch n go" or "snap and check-in Insta" trip.

Alright,
Have a safe trip and wonderful holidays!