My impression of the parts we saw....
Auckland is very nice, green, lush, and clean. We drove east after that to the Coromandel Peninsula which is still quite far north. The drive was all windy roads up and down hills and the coast was stunning! Every view was more amazing than the one before.
We stayed in the town of Whitianga (pronounced Vitianga) for 2 nights, hosts Debbie (pronounced Dibby) and Steve (Stiyve). On the road, we are doing fine driving on the left. A Give Way sign means Yield and they have roundabouts everywhere! Those are tricky.
One day we went to 3 different beaches and walked trails to get to them. Hilly, lush, amazing vegetation and large flowers. Cathedral Cove beach was fabulous but Shakespeare Beach at Lonely Bay was a gem. We stumbled on the trail as we walked up a small river that emptied into the ocean - few people and spectacular cliffs and rock formations. The tide was out so we got to walk out and see coral and other shellfish on the rocks.
From there we drove south and inland where it got drier with fewer palm trees. they plant pine forests and do a lot of logging. We saw so many cows, but few sheep.
The interior going south past Rotorua (thermals and hot springs there) was not amazing but flatter, drier, and nice.
Today we are at the southern tip, in Wellington and will take the ferry, with our car, to the South Island...3 hours I think.
More notes: Grocery stores are large and there are many. Gluten free food at grocery and restaurants is easy to find.
Their NZ wine is good!
Everything is clean.
People are helpful and talk funny, but I can mostly understand them.
I put a lot of time into finding good but affordable B&Bs and so far they have been so great!
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