No 3 The Waterfront   You can visit the next destinations on the ‘expolorer tourist bus’, other public transport or a taxi. Auckland has a magnificent waterfront, your first stop should be Bastion Point Lookout – an iconic lookout point over the Waitemata Harbour with magnificent views. It is also  a significant area for its Maori protests in the 1970’s against forced land alienation by non-Maori New Zealanders. Further along is Kelly Tarltons with its penguin Antarctic Adventure and Underwater World, a short walk to sandy beaches, coffee shops and lots of eating choices. No 4 – A ferry trip  No one should leave Auckland without getting on a ferry and going to either Devonport (10 minutes) for lunch and shopping, Rangitoto (20 minutes) for an adventure walk up an extinct volcano or to Waiheke ( 40 minutes) to lunch at a vineyard and walk along a surf beach and admire the coastal views.  No 5 – Adventure   For those keen to take stories home try either the America’s Cup experience, Bridgeclimb (a walk over the Auckland Harbour Bridge), a bungee off the Sky Tower, a walk around the Sky Tower or for those not into adrenalin rushes just have lunch or dinner at the top of the Sky Tower and admire the 360 views of Auckland.  

If you head North there are some stunning beaches and views. It’s Down Under’s equivalent of the Amalfi Coast, except the roads are wider. But the views will have your mouth gaping. There is a coastal road if you have got time to meander. If not head straight to the Bay of Islands, see Paihia, Kerikeri and Doubtless Bay. These three places have lots of history, activities and places to stay.

Our 5 top tips for the Upper North Island are:

1. A trip to Paihia – jump on the boat that goes backwards and forwards to Russell and see an old settlement.

2 Do the Fullers Cream trip and see the beauty of the islands.

3. In Kerikeri enjoy the steam ship up the inlet. See the old Stone House, enjoy the lushness of this area before heading half an hour north to

4. Doubtless Bay. On the way drive through Mangonui – famous for its fish and chip shop! This is a quaint historical village doted with coffee shops. Around the bend is the long and beautiful Doubtless Bay and Cooper’s Beach. Further north the Carrington Golf Course is in a splendid setting where you can enjoy a glass of wine from their winery.

5. The finale of your trip up north is to get on a bus and go to the tip of the North Island, along 90 Mile Beach and up to Cape Reinga, where the Maori believe the spirits of the dead leave. See the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea meet sometimes producing waves 10 metres high.

If you head North there are some stunning beaches and views. It’s Down Under’s equivalent of the Amalfi Coast, except the roads are wider. But the views will have your mouth gaping. There is a coastal road if you have got time to meander. If not head straight to the Bay of Islands, see Paihia, Kerikeri and Doubtless Bay. These three places have lots of history, activities and places to stay.

If you have a question about your trip feel free to ask us and we’ll do our best to get back to you within a day or so.

Above is the Sarjeant Gallery in Wanganui. 

Northland has the Whangarei Art Musuem

Housed in an Arts ansd Crafts Building in Cafler Park is the Whanagrei Art Musuem. It has an extensive collection of major NZ contemporary artists and heritage Northland related material. Artists include C. F. Goldie, Ralph Hotere, Pat Hanly, a very substantial Adele Younghusband bequest collection plus eight paintings by T. L. Drummond.  The Musuem has regular touring exhibitions.

• Cafler Park Rose Gardens, Walter Street, Whangarei
• ph: 09 430 4240
• Open Tues-Fri 10-4, weekends 12-4
• Admission: Free
• Permanent collection: Selwyn Wilson, Selwyn Muru, Ralph Hotere, Para Matchitt, Buck Nin, C. F. Goldie, Pat Hanly

Waikato Musuem 

The museum is organised into four sections, one of which is Visual Arts. The collection has around 2500 artworks, dating from early colonial New Zealand with a focus on images and artists of the region. Arts Post has three exhibition spaces showing local and new artists.

Rotorua Museum of Art & History

In Rotorua’s historic Bath House building,  set in a large garden that links to the Lake, is Rotorua’s art collection. Among its permanent collection are taonga of the Arawa people, the original inhabitants of the region, a collection of 70,000 photographs of Rotorua’s history and historic souvenir pieces.

Taranaki New Plymouth

Govett Brewster Gallery

Taranaki is the home of many artists. The streets are full of interesting galleries. Govett Brewster is one of the country’s more interesting galleries,  it has a wonderful contemporary collection of NZ art, housing the archives and studio collection of the Len Lye Foundation, which looks after the works of the film-maker, kinetic sculptor, poet and painter. The Gallery holds regular exhibitions of local, national and international contemporary art.

Manawatu/ Wanganui

Sarjeant Gallery

This building set on a hill was built in 1919 from Oamaru Stone; majestic and built in the shape of a cross – worth looking at even if you don’t see the art inside! But while you are there you may as well – the interior is pretty stunning with a central dome that lets lots of natural light in. 

Inside you will find an excellent permanent collection of 19th and early 20th century British and European art. After 1940 the gallery began to focus on New Zealand art, with a strong photographic emphasis. A major feature of the gallery’s collecting policy is to acquire the work of selected important individual artists, including  Philip Trusttum, Gretchen Albrecht, Anne Noble, Laurence Aberhart, Ans Westra and Peter Peryer. 

Wellington  The art gallery is closed for refurbishing. But there are other artistic treats like the Portrait Gallery. The New Zealand Portrait Gallery, is a national organisation promoting the display of New Zealanders through the perceptive eyes of painters, sculptors, caricaturists and photographers.

Don’t miss out on  seeing the Norrie Collection, the art displayed in Government House in Wellington is the home of a remarkable collection of portraits. While Government House is being restored the art has been enjoyed by many.

1. Visit Cornwall Park. At the weekend, we went for a walk in Cornwall Park, one of the big parks in Auckland City. There were lots of people enjoying the first signs of spring. The cherry trees were starting to blossom, the daffodils sprinfing up along Twin Oak Drive and the magnolia brilliant white blooms are appearing. Cornwall park has loads of places for picnicing, walking, exploring, playing and eating. The view from the top of the Summit  is pretty impressive of the City too.

2. Go for a walk along our magnificent waterfront. Walk for as long or as short as you can. Plenty of places to stop for an ice cream or coffee. Watch the boats, enjoy the scenery.

3. Go and sit at the Viaduct and people watch. There’s also lots of restaurants!

4. Visit the Waitakere Ranges – the Arataki centre has the most stunning views of the West Coast; see the airport and  the jets coming and going; learn a little more about the NZ bush.

5. Then there is the beautiful Domain -where the Auckland War Memorial Museum is.  it is very close to

Aspen House Hotel . There are the fabulous Wintergardens with their wonderful of array of plants and wildlife.  Check out the huge lily pads. The Domain is actually an old volcano! Keep an eye on the blog for other things to do in Auckland and New Zealand.

Stay overnight in Auckland at Aspen House Hotel, affordable and economical as well as centrally located but easy to hit motorway to leave! Get your rental car from JUCY and head north. If you leave early enough consider having lunch at Leigh (1 ¼ hours from Auckland and north of Warkworth – well signposted). Great fish and chip shop, or restaurant at the Leigh Saw Mill, or two wineries on the way , Ascension or Heron’s Flight (great views and superb food). Saturdays is the Matakana market (10 minutes on from Warkworth and on the road to Leigh) – loads of delicious local produce to make a great picnic.

The views of the sea and Little Barrier from Leigh are stunning. If you like snorkelling then drive 10 minutes further on to Goat Island Bay, a marine reserve. Gear can be hired. This is what the sea looked like before the Europeans settled – absolutely teaming with fish. 

If time is short leave Auckland and head  straight for Whangarei. At Whangarei take the turn off for the Tutukaka Coast. Aim for  Tutukaka where you will see some wonderful island and sea views. Accommodation ranges from small  B & B’s to luxurious accommodation. We can recommend Pacific Rendevoux – two bedroom self-contained apartments perched on a hilltop – absolutely stunning views and only 5 minutes from restaurants.

Why Tututkaka?  Because here you will find Dive Tututkaka. Don’t worry you don’t have to be a diver to have a great time. Their Perfect Day outing is incredible. Travel in comfort for around an hour out to the Poor Knights (described by Jacques Cousteau as one of the Top 10 dive spots in the world). This relaxing ocean cruise shows you the islands up close; you’ll go through a giant sea arch and enter the world’s largest sea cave (a Japanese submarine stayed here for a while during the war!!). The well-informed crew ( we had Ben, a great guy from Aussie and Dawn a local) will tell you the Maori oral history of the Island and how the whiteman, Captain Cook later named them! (lots of stories on this). If you want to snorkel (and we did even though it was a bit cold) try it. Dive Tutukaka provide incredibly snug wetsuits and all the gear you could need.

 I’ve snorkelled in Fiji and the Great Barrier Reef but this was completely different. It’s a Marine Reserve so there are plenty of fish to see, but seeing schools of fish familiar to you is amazing as well as the biggest snapper I’m ever likely to see. This was a spectacular day and I can’t recommend it highly enough for the active or the inactive. The trip caters for all.

It’s only an hour and a half to then head further north to another spectacular area -  Kerikeri or further north, Coopers Beach in the Doubtless Bay area.

Lots of accommodation choices depending on your budget. From Backpackers, camping grounds (eg. Whatawhiwhi on the Karikari Peninsula). We chose By the Bay – it’s literally right on Coopers Beach – you can’t get any closer.  With 3 spacious apartments (and a self contained studio – perfect for families with teenagers so parents can get a rest!)  it can sleep 2 to 10. Each apartment has decks with fabulous sea views.  

This is a great spot to either do the drive up to Cape Reinga (allow a half day) or to play golf at the nearby Carrington Resort or Kauri Cliffs.

Carrington Golf Course is quite a special golf course if you’re an aficionado. It has elements that reminded one of the golfers on our trip of playing Cyprus Point! (For those who know – it is described as being rather like an Alistair McKenzie golf course – it’s carved out of nature and the fairways are surrounded by nature). Kauri Cliffs, at Matauri Bay is another well known and expensive but impressive course set up high looking out over some of the exquisite islands in the ocean. 

By the Bay apartments is an excellent base for seeing the tip of the North Island and having an explore of the Bay of Islands. (only 30 minutes away) It is only  5 minutes to Mangonui and it’s famous fish and chip shop with its restaurant out over the water. There are other restaurants too.

We did this same trip over 3 days – we played Carrington after driving up from Leigh. Had an exquisite evening meal at their 5 star restaurant washed down with some of the local wine from the estate vineyard. 

The next day we drove to Cape Reinga. You can’t take your rental car up the beach but there are plenty of tourist buses that do this wonderful ride up Ninety Mile Beach and then hair raising drive up Te Paki Stream (believe it – you drive up through a sandy river!) before you arrive at giant sand dunes. You must if you are adventurous have a go surfing the sand dunes. You can rent boards at Te Paki stream. ($15 for 2 hours) 

Then we drove to Tutukaka, stayed the night and by 8.30 were on the boat ready to head off to the Poor Knights.  We arrived back around 4 pm and had an easy 2 ½ hour drive  back to Auckland.

 Staying for more than 5 days

If you have more time – you can easily drive to the Bay of Islands from your base at Coopers Beach or stay a night at Paihia. The Waitangi golf course is a great course (the back 9 are coastal – superb views and a lot cheaper than Kauri Cliffs!). Catch the Cream trip out to see the islands or do a cruise to the Hole in the rock.  This area has lots of history.  keep reading other blogs for more info…. to come…