I've been in Fiji and Samoa since leaving New Zealand. It's taken me about 4.5 weeks to parse everything I saw in New Zealand. The country is remarkably beautiful. It has inspired to me to want to visit the national parks of the U.S. This post is an homage to the beautiful landscapes of the North Island. I did not make it to the South Island. I was about two weeks too late for the end of summer weather. Alas, I now have a good excuse to return!
Here is my route in New Zealand. I landed in Auckland, coming in from Kuala Lumpur via Guangzhou, China on China Southern Airlines. You can see that from Auckland, I went a few hours north to Paihia, the capital of The Bay of Islands. I then returned to Auckland and started heading south around the Coromandel coast, through the Tongariro National Park and finally to Wellington.
Go to http://www.jongraf.nyc/places for an interactive map
Each photo below will have a caption below to describe what you are looking at. In the coming days, I'll publish more detailed posts on each of the places I stayed on the North Island. Enjoy!
Waiheke Island, 40 minutes outside of Auckland by ferry.
Waiheke also has beaches. Vineyards and beaches and hiking. It's perfect.
Hole In The Rock, Bay of Islands.
A little taste of the Coromandel. An Instagrammer in silouhette.
Wai-Tap-O, near Rotorua
On the way to the Coromandel. The bus driver stopped just to let us take photos. Go Intercity!
Taupo has a beautiful lake on one side and amazing rivers and falls on the other.
Taupo, on the way to Huka Falls
The splendor of Taupo.
View of Mt. Doom on the Tongariro Crossing.
Sulfur lakes on the Tongariro Crossing. Looking at the photos now, it's hard to believe I was there. You can see the tiny people in the distance to get a sense of the size.
Zealandia in Wellington. It's an attempt to recreate the landscape before settlement of humans. Remarkable project.
Botanical garden in Wellington.