My travel so far

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My first solo trip into the world. Starting this already about a month and a half into my trip so just going to review the things I've done so far then try and make longer entries later on.

North Island

Flew in to Auckland at the beginning of February. Nice place, very touristy, lots of old wasps traveling on cruise ships there. A good places to do tours out from. I went to Hobbiton and Waitomo Caves from here, the caves were a bit lame honestly. Hobbit was awesome, it was something like 30-40 hobbit holes. The hobbit holes didn't have anything behind the doors but it really did feel like the shire. If you like LoTR and find yourself in NZ go to Hobbiton. I would recommend going to Coromandel and Whangarei North of Auckland, two places I missed but heard were fantastic.

From Auckland I went to Hamilton (nothing there).

Gisborne was next and I stayed in a Hostel that used to be a convent, it was called the Flying Nun. There were a lot of spanish speakers there. Everyone was either there to surf or was working somewhere nearby. Definitely recommend this area for a day or if you like to surf I would recommend staying longer.

Napier following that. Napier was packed, I went right before some sort of festival, no hostels had space, so had to stay at a motel. You will definitely need a couple days here. The only problem was the beach was rocky and you couldn't swim in the water. The whole town had a Mediterranean coastal town sort of vibe. Was hot here even in February.

Rotorua was stinky, but you get used to it. A good place to go rafting from. Lots of hot springs to see. They have a nice museum here. I got up early and had tea on a boat there, was nice. Definitely a place to spend a couple days. For a two day itinerary I would recommend going on a hot spring tour and then spending your other day getting tea on the Roturua Queen Boat (or something like that). Then walking around the town and seeing the museum there.

Wellington was next. This place is dope, and felt like a real city. There were plenty of museums to see. I went on a tour to see film locations of LoTR which was sort of interesting. If you have a car it's worth seeing where Rivendale was filmed. Also saw Wheta Studios, the place partially behind LoTR, and where a lot of cool film/tv/video game stuff is happening. Definitely check this portion of the trip out and pay the extra cash to go into the workshop and see how they make everything, PAY IT.

The bus system in New Zealand is absolutely fantastic and is how I got around everywhere. You could rent or even buy a car here. Used cars here go for nothing. You could buy one at the beginning of your trip and then sell it at the end should you be so inclined. Definitely something to look into.

Things I missed on the North Island:

Taupo, a watersports haven and one of the biggest lakes in NZ.

Tongarriro Crossing, supposedly one of the prettiest hikes in the world. You start this hike in the morning and finish on the other side at night. Look into scheduling pickup and dropoff here.

Coromandel and the Bay of Islands, beautiful beaches and warm weather.

Whangarei National Park, awesome forest, with some of the biggest native trees left in NZ.

Transalpine train, if your short on time but want to see some pretty scenery take the train from Auckland to Wellington.

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