Auckland - Northland, New Zealand - March 2026

Great first 2 weeks in New Zealand, exploring Auckland and the beautiful coastlines of Northland. We first spent several days in Auckland to acclimate to the new timezone, being 17 hours different from our time in Chile. We rented a car and headed north to Tutukaka. Driving on New Zealand's curvy roads is exciting, even more so as we get used to driving on the opposite side of the road. When changing lanes, we kept turning on the windshield wipers instead of the directional. We went scuba diving with Dive Now out to Poor Knights Island, which was a great boat tour in addition to the nice scuba diving. We had a nice couple of dives, with sightings of stringrays, scorpion fish, eels and many nudibranchs. The water was a bit chilly for us at 18 - 19 c, but the local guides reassured us that the water was warm. We enjoyed nice hiking in the area, or as they say in New Zealand - Trekking. The following trails were beautiful and well maintained: Tutukaka Lighthouse Walkway Trail Head Ngunguru Estuary to Wellingtons Bay Walk Whale Bay Headland Walkway We made our way further north to the Bay of Islands area, staying for several nights. We stayed in the city of KeriKeri and enjoyed a nice trek along the river on the Kerikeri River walking track. The best way to explore the bay of islands is via a boat cruise. We chose one that stopped at 2 islands for trecking, Motuarohia (Roberton) Island and Moturua Island (Army Bay). Some guests went snorkeling, but we good not swimming in the 19c water. The highlight was passing the Cape Brett Lighthouse on our way to see the infamous Hole in the Rock on Piercy Island. We made our way back to Auckland, stopping at Wenderholm Regional Park for a small hike. Once again, the trail was well maintained and views were amazing. In Auckland, we enjoyed the views of the city skyland from Mount Eden, a popular hiking trail in the city. Our 🧭 compass now points South to Christchurch in New Zealand where we'll spend the next 2 months exploring the South Island. #NewZealand #Northland #Auckland #PoorKnightsIsland #BayOfIslands #Scuba #ScubaDiving #TravelDreams #AlwaysAnAdventure #LoveLovingYou #ZachMan #MissingYouSoMuch #ThisIsLife #BeKind #Repurposed #ExperiencesNotStuff #NoMistakesOnlyLessons #coddiwomple #hodophile #TravelerLife #nomads #RovingRetirement #SlowTravel #SlowLiving #ForeverOnVacation Chapters 0:00 Intro 0:10 Poor Knights Island 0:26 Scuba with Dive Now 2:49 Poor Knights Island 4:03 Tutukaka Lighthouse Walkway Trail Head 4:51 Ngunguru Estuary to Wellingtons Bay Walk 5:29 Whangaumu Bay Lookout 5:51 Whale Bay Headland Walkway 6:57 Kerikeri River walking track 9:19 Bay of Islands Tour 9:48 Motuarohia (Roberton) Island Track 10:13 Cape Brett Lighthouse 11:05 Moturua Island (Army Bay) - WWII Bunker 11:31 Wenderholm Regional Park 11:53 Auckland - Mount Eden YouTube Copyright codes: UKGCHPFXRSBLZMRK CWOEC7RS3L0LV0HB 2K4VBRAJJF4XMROT 7HUYTVMYN0PL2CKY HUYUGNEOTIM2QVAX 0NDPXXJVBKTLLZGP