New Zealand - North Island

We went to New Zealand for just over 2 weeks and had a great time. This country has stunning views and is quite different from Australia. Nonetheless, it is fair to say that both countries have awesome natural scenery. It was a lot of driving (mostly for Shawn - thanks brave soldier!) but well worth it. We covered both main islands pretty well, but there's definitely no way we could have possibly seen everything!
This post features North Island and will be followed by a post featuring South Island.

In Auckland:
Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand boasting about 1.3 million people. It appeared to be a quiet little city.








On the Coromandel Peninsula:
Unfortunately, it was pretty rainy when we drove the peninsula that day, but we still enjoyed the sights.










In Rotorua:
We went white water rafting which was a lot of fun and attended a Moari cultural show and dinner. FYI - Moaris are the indigenous people of New Zealand. We learned a bit about their culture and ate a nice dinner. Oh yeah, and Rotorua is where there are lots of thermal springs so the town stunk like the worst rotten eggs imaginable!





The Maoris like to stick their tongues out to their enemies - Shawn is sticking his tongue out at me ;)










Lake Taupo:
We ate dinner along Lake Taupo which was beautiful.






National Park in Tongariro:
We hiked almost 20 kilometers within a day which was very rewarding minus our badly sunburned legs - ouch. We hiked up a couple of summits and saw a volcano and emerald lakes. Some of the summits still had snow on top in the summer!








































That was unique and beautiful, right?

Wellington:
This was our favorite city in the North Island. It reminded us of San Francisco being small in square mileage with steep streets and nice views of the bay. We also toured the New Zealand national museum which was very informative.










Maori canoe at the museum: