Some travellers enjoy luxury. For them, being pampered in a 5 (or better) star resort hotel with full spa-treatment and world-class dining is without par. For others, it is the wind in their face, the horizon in front of them, and the firmness of the dirt beneath their hiking boots, their pack resting comfortably against their shoulders as they trek through wilderness destinations. It is the quite peacefulness that comes with a rustic train ride through locations both wondrous and diverse. But for those of you who enjoy the simple thrill of driving and enjoying the landscape from the comfort of your car, then there is no better destination than the Pacific Coast Highway of the North Island in New Zealand.
You can fly in from either Auckland or Wellington, and if you do so your main centre for travel will be Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty. From here you can spend a day or two enjoying the resort town, complete with plentiful beaches and surrounding woodlands, or take a helicopter ride over the steams rising from White Island. Much like the rest of New Zealand, the amount of places and things to see and do while headquartered here is impossible to categorize. Any vacation here will result in satisfaction.
The actual Pacific Coast Highway is an amazing scenic route that takes you from Auckland to Hawke’s Bay, through the long curve of the Bay of Plenty, alongside lush kiwi orchards, golden beaches, and the forests of the Coromandel Peninsula, and through the wild mountains of East Cape. On the eastern coast as you descend to Eastland and Hawke’s bay, revel in the beauty of the vineyards and the magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean stretching across the horizon in front of you.