New Zealand: Auckland and Northland Regions

Hello and welcome to the beginning chapter of the New Zealand adventure! In this article I’ll be walking you step by step through Jay and I’s first week in New Zealand, which takes place in the Auckland and Northland Regions. If you haven’t already, go back one article using the arrows on the bottom of the page to the “Arriving in New Zealand” article. It just goes over the conception of the trip and the arrival. Now lets dive in to the first week!

In the last article we ended with just having picked up our car rental for the next three months: a Toyota Yaris with five seats and a tiny trunk but that only cost about $30/day! The size definitely was worth it since we had it for three months because otherwise with a camper van we probably would have been paying at least $100/day. We arrived in Auckland in the morning so we had the whole day to settle into our Airbnb and explore a little. Sara and Jeroen welcomed us into their home, although Sara was the only one home at the time. They have a sweet and quaint two bedroom home with one of the bedrooms in its only little area with a bathroom. It was perfect for the first two days while we gathered up gear to outfit the Yaris for the next three months of travel. After we dropped off our bags that held our clothing, a few camping knick-knacks, and our backpacking backpacks we headed off to explore some of the natural areas of Auckland. We stumbled upon a nicely kept park called One Tree Hill, or known in Maori as Maungakiekie, where there were nice trails, a ton of sheep, and beautiful views of the city of Auckland.

Once we got to the natural area we parked and started exploring. Sheep were roaming around in designated areas. There was a flock- yes that’s right, flock, big group would be called mob…- of baby sheep prancing around on a hillside that captured us for a good amount of time. Thankfully Jay had his phone on him and caught them on camera, and yes I go back to that video from time to time because it makes me giggle, I’m a softy. Unfortunately I need a premium plan to show you this adorable video so I may be adding it later on. After watching the baby lambs for awhile we wandered around the natural area exploring the hills and statues. We made our way home and slept in New Zealand for the first time ever. The next day we went shopping at a popular all category store for camping gear that included a cheap and large 4 person tent, blow up mattress, fleece blanket, stove, pots and pans, utensils and knives, cooler, and chairs. We had brought our own sleeping bags with us that nicely zip together for a cozy sleep. After that we grabbed some crackers, cheese, cucumbers, pickled jam, and chutney. This became a staple for us and chutney is still one of my favorite things for crackers, though it is not as popular in the states and harder to fine. *If you know good places to find Chutney in Flagstaff, AZ please comment below! After we ate we hiked around Mount Eden that had amazing craters throughout it and even more beautiful views of Auckland.

The next morning we woke up, organized the car, and packed it to head north to a campsite that seemed nice that we found on the DOC (Department of Conservation) website where we’d camp for the next two nights. Uretiti is a small campground right on the east coast outside of the city of Whangarei. We met the campground owners and spoke with them about cool areas to explore in the area. First was a small beach right outside the campground and the next were some glowworm caves a little ways out.

They also gave us a little history on the name of the campground, which funny enough, means small penis. The glowworm caves were so neat and such a nice cool area to explore while it was hot and muggy outdoors that day.

The next day we packed up camp and headed to our next campground that the Uretiti owners had suggested. It is called Puriri Bay Campground and was technically closed at the time since we were there during the end of their winter but was a place that was easy enough to access and drive in to still. The views were amazing and we didn’t leave the campground much and just explored the little area and the beach right there at the campsite; we definitely recommend it.

After two nights there we packed up again and headed more North to the towns of Kerikeri and Russell that is historically known as a booming sea faring bay where whalers and merchants would trade. We walked around the town of Russell and stopped at a few overlooks…and even got our heads chopped off!

Then we made our way over to Kerikeri and walked around a few gardens and culturally filled historic sites. We even got to visit the oldest pear tree that is estimated to now be over 190 years.

After moseying around those towns we made our way west over to another DOC campground that unfortunately was one of the muddiest campgrounds we stayed at in New Zealand. It was no surprise though because we were traveling during a wet time of the year. Nevertheless, we stayed there two nights and during the one-day of no travel we ventured out and found a sweet little geothermal pool spot where we paid $5 NZ dollars to sit in different mineral makeup pools at different temperatures; it was one of the highlights of our trip in my opinion. After staying at the muddy campground we made our way back South and decided that the next time we visit New Zealand we’d make our way to the top most point of the country called Cape Reinga. We pulled into a Holiday Park (very popular there) mud stained and smelly and melted in the shower and treated ourselves to a grilled dinner, some Fixer Upper on HGTV, screen time, and a restful sleep. That about wraps up the Auckland and Northland Regions of our trip. Next you’ll read about our adventures through the Waikato and Bay of Plenty Regions of New Zealand. See you there!