Originally Posted by
calbear2005
So for the North Island, I plan on doing a loop starting and ending in AKL (after which I'll fly AKL-ZQN). The cities I have in mind are Hamilton, Rotorua, Tauranga, and Taupo. Basically, I need help narrowing it down or omitting them completely. I'm for sure leaving AKL on 5/10 for the mentioned cities to do a loop or I will fly directly to ZQN to spend 2 weeks in the South Island. I leave from the South Island for Cairns on 5/24.
How many days for all this? 3 days/2 nights? You will have several hours drive from/to AKL airport
I would forget about stopping Hamilton (lived their for a short time)
Tauranga/Mt Maunganui, Rotorua and Taupo (maybe) is more than enough for a few days
Go to Taupo only if you have time. I suspect you will not have time
Take the turnoff to Paeroa(Thames) and on to Waihi.
I used to often drive AKL to the Mount and used to go via Morrinsville/Matamata, but was after a fast trip and not scenery.
The road from Hamilton to AKL can be slow going as it has a LOT of trucks
https://www.aa.co.nz/travel/time-and...ce-calculator/