I'm just going to say it. New Zealand is awesome. Awesomer than Australia, in fact. Its just a little more sophisticated, a little less blowhard, more tasteful all around. And the Lord of the Rings scenery just keeps giving.
Most everyone we spoke to pooped all over the North island and encouraged us to head our heinies south and as quickly as possible. But I'm going to go ahead and stand up for the North Island. Auckland is a beautiful city with cool neighborhoods, every kind of Asian food solidly executed, a gorgeous harbor, and friendly people. Waiheke island, about a ½ hour ferry ride from Auckland is bougie paradise. Having a gorgeous day, we hiked all over it and ate at a fancy resto in our hikies. People happily chatted to us about the local brew, the weather, their dogs, and which beaches to hit up. From where I'm standing, the rep for snottiness was unfounded.
And then there's the northern tip. We went up to Paihia expecting to spend a couple of nights and ended up staying for 5. The lady at the Sunseeker Cottages was endlessly obliging when, each morning, I waddled up to the main house clutching my CapitalOne card to play with her German shepherd and extend our stay for another night.
Besides our awesome day in Russell and sailing in the Bay of Islands, we did a fair amount of driving. We drove to Manganui to eat famous fish and chips (worth the hype) and visited the largest living Kauri tree. We hiked by the coast and wandered the adorable shops in Paihia. We visited the grounds where the treaty between the Maori and the colonists was signed and saw the ancient war canoes the Maori used to attack the whities.
World famous, says so right on the sign.
bigasstreeandme
attaque.
The South island is amazing, but when we go back to NZ (and we will), I would be hesitant to skip the north. It has ever so much to offer. NZ is at the top of our list of places we want to visit again, and for longer next time. The smaller, hipper, thinner version of Australia, the Kiwis got it going on.
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