Near to Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, Piha is a beautiful beach escape popular for it's beautiful black sandy beaches, wonderful surf-friendly waves and laid back vibe. We hiked up to Kitekite Falls and then hit the beach for a…
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Piha is a beautiful beach community to the west of Auckland, New Zealand's biggest city and the start of most international arrivals' adventures. Piha is best known for its beautiful black sand beaches. Nearby, a lovely half hour walk up…
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Northland is the northenmost region in New Zealand, encompassing the long, skinny tip of the North Island north of Auckland, home to the mildest weather in the country. We spent a week exploring the area, taking our time, camping at…
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Cape Reinga is the northenmost tip of New Zealand, a tiny little dot on the tip of the North Island, 100km away from the closest town and really far from literally everything. It is at Cape Reinga that the Pacific…
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The Tutukaka Lighthouse Walkway is an easy walk with beautiful coastal views of Northland, north of Auckland. We enjoyed this little walk, especially since we had just camped in our van in one of the bays that you can see…
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The Coromandel is a beautiful peninsula near to Auckland and thus popular with city-livers keen to escape into the countryside. There's plenty to do and explore here. We spent a week taking it slowly around the beautiful area. Named for…
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Unfortunately, the Coromandel Coastal Walkway was a disappointment. I'd even go so far as to say that it was my least favourite hike in all New Zealand, bumping the Abel Tasman Coast Track up to second last place. The drive to…
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On our quest to see as much as possible in The Coromandel, a nature-full peninsula just east of Auckland, we came across the Otama Beach swing. Otama Beach itself is a beautiful beach - wide and expansive providing plenty of…
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The Coromandel Peninsula, just a short drive from Auckland, is a haven of natural beauty. When planning our roadtrip here, I had plenty of beautiful places pinned to Google Maps! Cathedral Cove is perhaps the most famous place in The…
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When a clear night fell upon us while camping in our little van, Bongo, in a tiny beach town in The Coromandel, we knew we had to finally give astrophotography a go. There was no wind, the skies were clear,…
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On a mission to see as much as we possibly could on our roadtrip around The Coromandel peninsula, the most popular place to escape to from Auckland city nearby, we planned to drive state highway 25 all around the perimeter,…
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Karangahake Gorge was our first introduction to The Coromandel, a beautiful peninsula near to Auckland and thus popular with city-livers keen to escape into the countryside. There's plenty to do and explore here. Karangahake Gorge is an abandoned gold mine,…
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We had heard only good things from other travelers about trekking up to the summit of Mount Maunganui. We can see why! Not a lot of effort is required for this 30-40 minute trek up the summit via one of…
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Rotorua is well-known as the stinkiest city in New Zealand! This is thanks to the bubbling geothermal activities that call Rotorua home. The city is built around a number of extra-hot mud pools, erupting geysers and sulphuric deposits that all…
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