A little Slice of Home

House With No Nails had the pleasure of hosting Tom and Will as they take on New Zealand with an action-packed itinerary.

“Your house is wonderful and you both made our stays there feel like a little slice of home!” – Tom

 

Day 1 – Arrival

Location: Auckland > Matatmata

  • Arrived in Auckland
  • Drove to Matamata
  • Checked in at House With No Nails!
  • Visited Wairere Falls and the Seat of Peace

 

Day 2 – Hobbiton!

Location: Matamata > Waitomo

 

Day 3 – Into the abyss

Location: Waitomo > Rotorua

 

Day 4 – Choppy waters

Location: Rotorua

 

Day 5 – Leap of faith

Location: Rotorua > Taupo

  • Drove to Taupo and did the Taupo Bungy – a 47m water touch bungy over the Waikato river
  • Drove back up to Rotorua to go mountain biking at Whakarewarewa Redwood Forest and hired a bike from Planet Bike
  • Drove down to Taupo and checked in at the hostel

 

Day 6 – Geothermal

Location: Taupo

 

Day 7 – Sky’s the limit

Location: Taupo – Ohakune

 

Day 8 – Hit the slopes

Location: Ohakune

  • Drove to Whakapapa ski field and spent the whole day snowboarding

 

Day 9 – Hit the slopes part 2

 

Location: Ohakune

  • Drove to Turoa ski field and spent the whole day snowboarding

 

Day 10 – See the sights

Location: Ohakune

  • Visited Tawhai Falls a.k.a. Gollum’s Pool from Lord of the Rings
  • Drove to the start of the Tongariro Crossing to get a good view of Mount Ngauruhoe a.k.a. Mount Doom (also from Lord of the Rings)
  • Visited the Makatoe Viaduct
  • Visited the “Last Spike” near the viaduct which was where the main trunk railway lines joined up and were completed

 

Day 11 – Weta

Location: Ohakune > Wellington

 

Day 12 – Long drive back

Location: Wellington > Raglan

  • Left Wellington to do the 7 hour drive back up to raglan on the west coast
  • Checked in to hostel
  • Explored Raglan

 

Day 13 – Surf’s up

Location: Raglan

  • Hired surf boards and spent the day surfing at Ngarunui Beach

 

Day 14 – Surf’s up part 2

Location: Raglan > Matamata

  • Spent the day surfing again
  • Drove back to Matamata for another lovely night’s stay at the House With No Nails!

 

Day 15 – Last day

Location Matamata > Piha > Auckland

  • Drove up to Piha and had a walk along the beach and up Lion Rock
  • Visited Kitekite Falls
  • Drove back to Auckland to catch the plane in the evening

Posted by on December 18, 2019