Chasing summer on New Zealand’s North Island

We spent our first week in New Zealand on the North Island, first north of Aukland, then exploring a national park surrounded by volcanoes. Everyone told us to prioritize the South Island and that’s where we’re headed. So far we’ve been absolutely blown away by how beautiful this country is. If the best is yet to come, I’m not sure what to expect because we are already completely in love.

We settled in and got over our jet lag in a rural area north of Aukland called Dairy Flat. We stayed at a modern farmhouse on a large property, surrounded by cows and rolling green hills. There was a pond with ducklings, and lots of space to spread out.

The kids worked on school projects and we relaxed, noting how lush, green and comfortable it is here. It reminds us a lot of home. The first few days were quite warm, in the mid 20s, and the days are long. It’s late spring and it’s lovely.

We went on a few excursions, getting used to driving on the “other” side of the road and exploring the area.

We walked along Orewa Beach, just 20 minutes away, where the water was much cooler than Indonesia, but warmer than back home.

We went strawberry picking, then baked up a storm. In fact, Ella was so happy to finally be in a kitchen with an actual oven, she made cookies on our first day. We also made biscuits for shortcake and a crisp. We had to do something with 4kg of berries!

We rented a “Candian canoe” and paddled down the Puhoi River for a couple of hours.

After five days we packed up our belongings in the spacious house and moved to our compact home for the next three weeks — a seven metre-long motor home.

We left Aukland and headed to Tongariro National Park, about three hours south. We drove through green hills passing tons of herds of sheep, cows and so many interesting birds.

As we headed into the mountains, the scenery changed quite dramatically and suddenly we were driving along fields of bright yellow wildflowers, growing all along the road. We could see volcanoes in the distance, including Mount Ngauruhoe, also known as Mount Doom in The Lord of the Rings series (or so I’m told — I have not seen the movies and all the iconic references are a bit lost on me).

We camped right in the park, in Whakapapa Village, and got used to living in the tight quarters of the RV. It was much cooler there, around 14-17 C. I know we can’t complain compared to the weather back home right now, but it was a bit of a shock to our systems, especially since we didn’t exactly pack for cold weather.

We hiked to the Taranaki Falls, along a trail below Mount Ruabehu, a snow-capped volcano that is a ski hill in winter. You couldn’t see its peak in the clouds but the kids were excited to see snow.

We did a shorter hike to Waitonga Falls, which run along a rock formed by lava.

We also did a day trip to Lake Taupō, where we went on a boat ride to see modern Māori carvings in the side of the rock, only accessible by water. They were done by two brothers in the 1970s and represent their ancient ancestors.

We swam in the lake, which was only about 17 C, but very refreshing and a reminder of what lake swimming really is.

Our tour boat guide was super smiley and friendly — as most Kiwis have been — and even let the kids take turns driving the boat.

We left the park and drove as far south as Wellington to take the ferry to the South Island, and the day before we caught the ferry, we spent a rainy afternoon at the movies and watched Zootopia 2 on opening day (a day before it opened at home! Such a novelty!). The theatre was adorable and had a lovely café. We ordered small pizzas that they delivered to us in our seats!

This morning we boarded the ferry under cloudy, rainy skies and headed south. The sun came out and we were treated to more beautiful views during the 3-hour crossing to the South Island.

We’re back on board and ready to hit the road again. It’s 26 C and sunny 😎

I will have more on life in a motorhome soon!