North Island

Beach life is central to a North Island summer, from December to March. The warmest and calmest water is in the north and east. The Bay of Islands and the Northland coast have sheltered coves and islands with clear water, and the Coromandel Peninsula has the white sand of Hahei and Cathedral Cove and the long sweep of Whangamata. In the Bay of Plenty, the main beach at Mount Maunganui sits right beside town. In late summer the sea reaches about 20-22°C. It is pleasant, though it never feels tropical.

The west coast is different: black-sand surf beaches such as Piha and Muriwai, west of Auckland, are dramatic, but rips are strong, so swim only between the lifeguard flags. Auckland itself has calm harbour beaches, and Waiheke Island is a short ferry ride away. Outside summer the water is too cool for most swimmers.

The best eating is in the two main cities. In Auckland, the large Asian and Pacific communities shape the food: dumpling and noodle houses along Dominion Road, Pacific Island markets in the south and polished seafood dining around the waterfront and Ponsonby. Wellington is a coffee city, with a café on every corner of the compact centre and a deep craft-beer scene around Cuba Street.

The local food to look for is the produce. There are Northland rock oysters, snapper and tarakihi from the northern coasts, pipi and tuatua dug from the beaches, lamb, and kūmara from the Northland fields. In Rotorua, a hangi meal is cooked in an earth oven. The wine is a real draw. Hawke's Bay makes Syrah and Bordeaux-style reds around Napier, Martinborough makes Pinot Noir, and Waiheke Island has vineyard restaurants. In small towns the choice is limited, often fish and chips and a pub.

The heritage here is Maori and colonial, and young by world standards. The two great museums are Te Papa in Wellington and the Auckland War Memorial Museum, which stands on a volcanic cone above the Domain. Both have outstanding Maori and Pacific collections. In the Bay of Islands, the Waitangi Treaty Grounds is where the founding treaty of the country was signed in 1840. Nearby Russell and Kerikeri have some of the oldest European buildings in the country.

In Rotorua, the Whakarewarewa geothermal village and the carving school show Maori arts as a living practice. The half-timbered Bath House presides over Government Gardens. Napier was rebuilt in Art Deco style after the 1931 earthquake and has one of the most complete Art Deco town centres anywhere. The sights are good but far apart, and old buildings are few.

Going out happens in two places. In Auckland, Karangahape Road is the late, alternative strip with its bars and small clubs. Ponsonby and the waterfront around the Viaduct are smarter places for cocktails. Wellington is smaller but often livelier for its size. Cuba Street has bars of every kind, and Courtenay Place fills up at weekends with students and office crowds.

Neither city runs very late compared with the big world capitals, and the club scene is small. Outside the cities, nights out usually mean a pub or a brewery bar. Tourist towns like Taupo and Rotorua are quiet after dinner, and the summer beach towns are lively over the Christmas and New Year break.

The island is volcanic, and the landscape shows it. At its centre, Tongariro National Park has three active volcanoes. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is a long day walk past steaming vents and emerald crater lakes, and in winter Ruapehu has skiing. Nearby, Lake Taupo fills an enormous caldera and is good for kayaking and trout fishing. Around Rotorua, the geothermal valleys have boiling mud and geysers, with mountain-bike trails through the redwood forest at Whakarewarewa.

The conical Taranaki rises alone above the western farmland. Underground at Waitomo, glowworms light the limestone caves. In the north, the Bay of Islands is for sailing and kayaking among the islands, and boats watch the dolphins from a respectful distance. Divers head from Tutukaka to the marine reserve around the Poor Knights Islands. Waipoua Forest has giant kauri trees, and the Coromandel has bush walks and sea kayaking. The weather changes fast, and the alpine walks need proper gear in any season.

Outings here mostly mean wine country and small towns. From Auckland, Waiheke Island is about forty minutes by ferry and has vineyards, beaches and village cafés. Devonport is a Victorian harbour suburb just across the water, and the Hobbiton film set near Matamata is about two hours south. From Rotorua, Tauranga and Mount Maunganui are an easy drive, and so is the lakeside town of Taupo.

In Hawke's Bay, Napier's Art Deco streets combine with Hastings and the wineries for a full day. From Wellington, the trip over the Rimutaka hills leads to Martinborough's vineyards and the antique-shop main street of Greytown. In the Bay of Islands, a short ferry links Paihia with the old whaling town of Russell. These are pleasant towns, but few of them are major sights.

The island is easy and relaxed with children. It is safe, English-speaking and outdoorsy, and motels and campgrounds with cabins and shared kitchens suit families. Auckland has the zoo, an underwater aquarium on the waterfront, volcanic cones to climb and calm harbour beaches. Te Papa in Wellington has the best hands-on museum spaces for children in the country, and Zealandia, a fenced wildlife valley, is close to the city centre.

Rotorua is the family base. It has luge rides and a gondola, geysers and bubbling mud, and kiwi enclosures. The glowworm caves at Waitomo and the Hobbiton set are within reach. There is only a small amusement park and no major theme park. The real limits are the long drives between highlights and the surf beaches, where children should swim between the flags.

Most visitors hire a car or a campervan, and outside the cities that is the only practical way to travel. The roads are well kept and quiet. But most highways are two-lane and winding, and journeys take longer than the map suggests: Auckland to Rotorua is about three hours, and Auckland to Wellington takes a long day. Driving is on the left.

Long-distance coaches link the main towns, and a scenic train runs the length of the island between Auckland and Wellington. Neither reaches trailheads, beaches or wineries well. Auckland is sprawling, with heavy traffic and limited public transport, though harbour ferries are useful. Wellington is the exception, a compact and easy city to walk.

Shopping is mostly a city activity, and modest. In Auckland, Britomart and Newmarket have local designer labels, and Ponsonby Road has boutiques and homeware shops. In Wellington, Lambton Quay and Cuba Street mix chain stores with vintage and independent shops. Weekend farmers' and craft markets run in many towns.

The things worth bringing home are local: carved pounamu (greenstone) and bone pendants, Maori weaving and wood carving, merino and possum-wool knitwear, and wine from the regions. In Rotorua and around the cultural centres, look for work by recognised carvers, not mass-produced souvenirs. Luxury shopping is thin, and nobody comes here to shop.

This is an expensive place to travel, above all in the summer peak from Christmas to the end of January, when beach towns fill with domestic visitors. Eating out costs a lot, and so does car hire. Many of the headline experiences are paid attractions, among them the caves, the film set, the geothermal parks and the cultural evenings.

Costs come down for travellers willing to self-cater. Motels and campgrounds with cabins and kitchens are everywhere, supermarkets are well stocked, and many of the best things are free: the national parks, the walking tracks, the beaches and the big museums. Auckland and the Bay of Islands cost the most, and the provincial towns cost less.

The performing arts are concentrated in Auckland and Wellington. Wellington is the cultural capital, home to the national symphony orchestra and the national ballet, with small theatres around the city centre and a respected biennial arts festival. Auckland has its own philharmonia, the national opera company and the restored Civic Theatre, with its painted night-sky ceiling.

The tradition that belongs here is kapa haka, Maori song and dance with the haka at its centre. Visitors usually see it at cultural evenings in Rotorua and at Waitangi. Kapa haka is also performed competitively. Live music runs to touring acts, pub gigs and summer festivals. Small towns have little formal programme.

Hot water is part of the island's character. Rotorua has been a spa town since the nineteenth century, and its half-timbered Bath House is a reminder of that. Mineral pools look over the lake, mud baths and sulphur pools fill the geothermal valleys outside town, and in the forest, warm streams still have natural bathing spots. Around Taupo, hot pools and thermal streams such as Otumuheke are free to use, and Waikite Valley's spring-fed pools are out in the open countryside.

On the Coromandel, at Hot Water Beach, people dig their own hot pools in the sand at low tide. Many smaller springs are scattered across the island, from Northland to the Hauraki Plains. Outside Auckland the pace is slow, with quiet lakeside towns and lodges where little is expected of the day.