The best ever New Zealand North Island self drive itinerary - Part one
Right, if you've been following along you'll know we've already dragged you the length of the South Island (twice, because apparently one blog post wasn't enough chaos for us to cram in). Ferries have been boarded, fjords have been ogled, and I have shamelessly cried at scenery on more than one occasion.
But now we're onto the North Island, and honestly? It's a completely different beast. If the South Island was all jaw-dropping mountains and "how is this real life" lakes, the North Island said "hold my beer" and gave us volcanoes, Middle-earth at every turn, and a hike that nearly took me out via my own right butt cheek. More on that later.
For your recap, you can find our South Island Part 1 Itinerary here, and the South Island Part 2 Itinerary here.
Buckle up, this leg has everything: a borderline unhealthy amount of Wētā Workshop enthusiasm from yours truly, an ungodly 4:20am wake-up call, a summit finish that shocked absolutely everyone including us, and a swim-up pool bar that we will not be apologising for booking at the last minute. Grab a brew, this one's a long one.
Day 10 – Wellington to Paekākāriki Beach
Date: Wednesday 5th February
Distance: 50.3km
Drive Time: 45 minutes
Camping: Paekākāriki Holiday Park
As you'll have seen from South Island part two, we hopped on the ferry to Wellington on the North Island. We had a few very important places to visit here that may or may not have something to do with my favourite films!
First up, of course, was Wētā Workshop and the Wētā Cave. Utterly fascinating, and I'd encourage anyone who loves films to go. This isn't just a Lord of the Rings prop tour (although there's plenty of that), it's a run through of every touchpoint this incredible company has had in film and TV. So many films I had no idea Wētā worked on.
You get to look into their own forge, and at the back on the wall are all the OG metal weapons made for Lord of the Rings, the ones used in the promo shots. There's also a huge amount of costumes, props and armour on show, plus a fair few pieces from the Narnia films too.
Please, please, please go to Wētā Workshop.
Next was a quick drive to Mount Victoria, used for some of the most iconic shots in The Fellowship of the Ring, including "The Way of the Nazgûl" and the Hobbits' hideaway, as you can see, I attempted to recreate it myself. Looks great, doesn't it. HA!
The hobbits hiding ... ... a hobbit hiding
Then on to Kaitoke Regional Park, used for the wide exterior shots of Rivendell. Oof, beautiful, calm, and peaceful for a walk.
Finally, we headed up to Paekākāriki to our Holiday Park campsite, pitched up, took a lovely stroll along the beach, and settled in for dinner.
Day 11 – Paekākāriki to Tongariro National Park
Date: Thursday 6th February
Distance: 336km
Drive Time: 4 hrs 6 mins
Camping: Discovery Camping
We drove straight up to Tongariro which was quite the trek. First stop was Mangawhero Falls, used for The Forbidden Pool and Ithilien in The Two Towers, then on to Tawhai Falls, also used for bits of The Forbidden Pool. A lovely walk down, made even better by watching locals jumping into the pool.
We then headed to our campsite, Discovery Camping, chosen mainly because they run a shuttle to and from the start/end of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. I'm no fitness fanatic, but I get by, and the crossing was non-negotiable for us both. We love a challenge, and we love a hike.
The campsite runs three drop-offs for the hike: 5:30am, 6:45am and 8:00am. We opted for the 5:30am one. Important info incoming regarding the crossing!
Since October 2023, you can no longer just rock up and walk the crossing, you need a valid DOC booking first, only available through the Department of Conservation website. You'll choose your day and get a confirmation email, hang onto it, as you'll need to show it when booking your car park and shuttle, so sort your DOC booking first.
From late 2027, there will also be a fee for overseas visitors (likely $20–$40 NZD, though DOC hasn't confirmed the exact amount or start date), remaining free for New Zealanders, full detail here.
Why the change? Some days have seen over 2,500 people on the crossing, so DOC needs to manage numbers better. There's currently no cap on daily bookings, so you shouldn't miss out, though I suspect a limit is likely down the line, so don't leave it too late. Silver lining: if bad weather stops you hiking, you'll get a refund on your car park and shuttle.
We went to bed early, having made our food for the hike, and packed what we could, ready for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing the next day.
Day 12 – The Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Date: Friday 7th February
Distance Walked: 20.2km
Hike Time: 4 hrs 54 mins
I'd be lying if I said we had a wonderful night's sleep. Somewhere in the witching hour we woke to the most god-awful noise. A cross between someone being murdered and a cow experiencing the worst labour possible. I honestly cannot begin to describe how horrific this sounded, and it's a rare occasion when even Sam wakes up in the middle of the night saying "what the f**k is that?". Naturally, my brain conjured up images of creatures with the body of a human and the head of a stag. It was horrifying, and we had no idea what it was. We later did find out exactly what it was, tune in to part two next week to find out! Anyway, moving on.
We got up at 4:20am, finished packing, grabbed water, and made teas and coffees for the road. The shuttle got us to the start at 5:30am, as I mentioned, this was exactly why we chose our campsite, and I'd recommend the 5:30am start to anyone.
You'll begin in the dark and need a head torch, but watching the sunrise spill over this alien landscape was incredible.
Sam is fit. I am less fit. Yet somehow we reached the summit first, ahead of every other hiker that morning. The guides all say the hike takes 6 to 8 hours; we did it in 4 hours 54, then waited an hour and a half for the first shuttle back. It was cloudy on the climb and rained on the descent, but as we stood at the top, the clouds cleared and the sun came out. Beautiful.
It's a funny hike. The first bit was a walk in the park, quite literally. After some climbing, you were then treated to this flat expanse of (what looks like) Mars before a very challenging last part of the ascent. The descent started out hard thanks to a steep gradient and loose gravel, then became easier the further from the peak you were, but the sense of achievement afterwards was immense.
A few words of warning, sorry to be a bore:
1. This is a volcanic area with occasional activity, so stick to the path and stay alert. We spotted a tiny wisp of smoke from Mount Ngauruhoe, the volcano used as Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings, which was pretty cool. She is also your classic volcano cone shape and is quite the beauty.
2. Do not climb Mount Ngauruhoe. It is Tapu, sacred to Māori culture and ancestors. The Department Of Conservation removed the trail markers back in 2017 to discourage people from summiting. So just don't do it. Be respectful, and look at it from the trail.
3. The final stretch of the ascent and the start of the descent are bloody steep, with fine gravel that gives way easily. You will slip. I slipped, landed hard on my right butt cheek, and the bruises two days later were enormous. I'm not posting a photo, so you'll have to take my word for it. Be careful, take your time.
On the descent of the Tongaririo Alpine crossing On the descent of the Tongaririo Alpine crossing
Back at the campsite we showered, changed, and drove to Turangi for a wander before heading back through the most biblical rain yet. We parked back up at the campsite, enjoyed the storm, and Sam cooked us a BBQ under an umbrella.
We spent the evening watching Jurassic Park in the camper (RIP Sam Neil, a truely amazing Kiwi), followed by some YouTube, with me dozing off multiple times. It had been a long day with some serious exercise, but boy, was it worth it.
Day 13 – Tongariro National Park to Lake Taupo
Date: Saturday 8th February
Distance: 93.6km
Drive Time: 1 hr 15 mins
Camping: Lake Taupo Holiday Resort
A relatively short driving day up to Lake Taupo.
First call was Huka Falls, and watching people kayak off of them which was insane but pretty cool! We then went to the funkiest McDonalds ever, where you can eat inside the old DC-3.
This weekend was Waitangi Day, an important national holiday for New Zealand to celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. We had not realised this and so two or three days before, we decided we should probably book a campsite. Some campsites we had booked in advance, others we hadn't and we just rocked up to.
Everywhere was exceptionally expensive, therefore we opted for the “ah well, you only live once” mentality and booked Lake Taupo Holiday Resort, complete with amazing swimming pool (thermally heated) with swim up bar. It was expensive, it was busy, but it was great.
Day 14 – Lake Taupo
Date: Sunday 9th February
Camping: Lake Taupo Holiday Resort
We headed into Taupo again today, with the first port of call being a 90 minute lake cruise which visited the famous Ngātoroirangi Mine Bay Māori Rock Carvings. There are so many ways you can see this from kayaking, to a sail boat, to an engined boat.
Then it was on to another boat experience, this time it was the Huka Falls Jet which was similar to the Shotover Jet in Queenstown but you got a bit wetter. Sam and I have definitely found a love for ridiculously fast speedboats now.
We also went and looked at the Aratiatia Dam and Aratiatia Rapids which were used in the Hobbit films for when the Dwarves and Bilbo escape Mirkwood. It was pretty cool.
We then headed back to the campsite, which had massively cleared out over the course of the day. We spent the evening in the pool watching Ratatouille as there was screen by the pool which was hilariously fun.
Our New Zealand North Island self drive itinerary part one
Well, that is part one done of our New Zealand North Island self drive itinerary. Part two will be coming next week for the final installation of our adventure.
Helena
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