Going to NZ this June. We plan to take about 4-5 days tour of the Central North Island after touring Auckland for a few days. Currently we intend to use Rotorua as our base and will likely stay 3 nights there.

Here is the initial plan:


Day 1: Drive from Auckland to Rotorua(making slight detour to Turanga) Stay in Rotorua
Day 2: Rotorua Area
Day 3 Rotorua/Lake Taupo Area.
Day 4 Waitomo Caves(stay in this area)
Day 5 Drive back to Auckland


I just wanted some feedback on this and also i was wondering what the driving conditions are around this time since it's the beginning of winter. Any mountain passes i should worry about? or is this drive relatively flat?...so my question is what is the terrain like for driving.

Thanks.