You’ve heard of Journey to the West. How about Journey to the Land of the Long White Cloud? It might be a mouthful, but we promise it’ll be worth it. As mystical as its name sounds, New Zealand, or Aoteatroa in Maori, is home to a vast array of landscapes on its North and South Islands. Hemmed in by the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean, take a New Zealand road trip for a once in a lifetime experience filled with nature, adventure and more.
Want to do something unexpected, exhilarating and completely kiwi? Go Zorbing. Located in Rotarua, North Island, this made-in-NZ activity consists of rolling down a hill in a giant plastic ball but not just any hill – steep corners, zig zags and a drop track. If this doesn’t scream adrenaline junkie, we don’t know what will. But if you prefer both feet on the ground, take a car rental down to New Zealand’s famous bubbling mud pools. Folklore has it that immersing yourself in a boiling pit of mud does wonders for one’s body and best of all it’s free! Oh and be sure to keep your cameras at the ready because these pools and creeks are a surreal blue due to geothermal activity. New Zealand travel just got so beautiful.
Hungry? Kiwis are very passionate about good food, desserts to be specific. It was ruled by the Oxford Dictionary in 2010 that New Zealanders are the official inventors of pavlova, a meringue-based treat with fruit and cream. A permanent fixture in most dessert parlours, head on down in your rental car to Auckland on New Zealand’s South Island, where a few of the best pavolva places reside. We recommend kicking it back by Viaduct Harbour, gorging yourself silly. Or pop by La Cigalle, a French-inspired farmers’ market, to sample fresh produce, wines and all the cheeses at fantastic prices.
Take a drive in your rental car along New Zealand’s scenic Highway 33 that hugs the Bay of Plenty snugly. Aside from the breathtaking backdrop, Maketu is one of the places where the Maori first landed seven hundred years ago, and their descendants continue to reside there. Learn all about their history and culture at the Elms Historic House museum. Human bones, possibly pre-European, continue to be washed up at the beaches. Really, how much more historical can a town get?
Prefer both hands on the wheel? Well, grip it tightly as you take a road trip up New Zealand’s Great Alpine Highway. Pull over frequently to marvel at the dramatically changing landscapes, from the vast farmlands of Canterbury Plains to the steep gorges of Waimakariri River, before ascending into the majestic Southern Alps. Truly a journey like no other, this ride encompasses the essence of New Zealand travel and is not to be missed.
End your trip off on a hot note in Bannockburn, only 40 minutes from Queenstown. A literal slice of the American Mid-West, gape over giant clay monoliths that hold the haunting remains of 19th-century mining trade. With your imaginary horse and best Clint Eastwood impression, trek over to the 100-year old orchards of Stewart Town and sample the juiciest plums ever to exist, making this road trip through the New Zealand Wild West all the more sweeter.
New Zealand travel in a nutshell is a journey through mud pits, rainforests, glaciers and deserts, jam-packed in one beautiful country, along with all the desserts your stomach could possibly hold. Already planning your next road trip to New Zealand? Yeah we thought so.
