13. Whitianga – Auckland
After breakfast, we had a last look at the town and started the final leg of our drive to Auckland. We drove north along the coast to Kuaotunu and then west to Coromandel. Our first stop was the great kauri block track. Kauri are trees, which can grow up to 50 m tall. They can have a […]
12 Tauranga
12. Tauranga We arrived around midday, ate a sandwich on the beach, strolled around the town and enjoyed an ice cream. We went up Mount Maunganui. It is not a high mountain (230m) and is at the end of the town. It dominates the scenery. We decided to hike to the top. The path is short […]
11. Rotorua
The town, Rotorua has the same name as the lake. It is 85 km northeast of Taupo and there is also geothermal activity in this area. The region is also home to 17 lakes. It is the volcanic heart of the North Island. The landscape was sculptured over millions of years by water and geothermic activities. […]
10. Lake Taupo
We left Turangi and drove along Lake Taupo. It was formed out of an eruption of a supervolcano some 26.500 years ago. The eruption was given a name: Oruani. The lake has a surface of 616 km² and a depth of 186 m. The circumference of the lake is 193km, making it the biggest lake in New […]
9. Mount Bruce to Turangi
The next morning, we left Wellington and headed north. Our destination was Turangi, some 400 km away. The first part of the journey was along the coast, then we reached the countryside around Mount Bruce. It is about 2 hours or 140 km north of Wellington. Mount Bruce is a part of the Tararua range which […]