New Zealand North Island | 4-Day 3-Night Self-Drive Itinerary

✨Day 1: Landed in Auckland at 4:30 AM – early and crowd-free. Went through manual customs and smoothly got my entry stamp without being turned away. ✨DAY-1: Morning at Hobbiton, afternoon at Blue Spring and Hamurana Spring Nature Park, overnight in Rotorua. If you have two drivers, consider driving straight to Lake Taupō for accommodation. Rotorua's geothermal areas emit strong sulfur (rotten egg) smells at night. ✨DAY-2: Morning at Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland – arrive early! The artificially induced geyser eruption happens at 10:15 AM. Latecomers pay the same ticket price but miss the show (though the park itself is stunning). Afternoon at Huka Falls and scenic stops along the way to Lake Taupō – every angle is photogenic. Stay overnight at Lake Taupō. ✨Day-3: Egmont National Park, overnight in New Plymouth. The first three photos we took were on the drive from Taupō to Egmont – absolutely breathtaking. ✨Day-4: Three Sisters and Elephant Rock. For that "Windows desktop" shot, bring sandals for muddy paths. If angles aren’t a priority, skip the official lookout (with the logo) and head to the opposite side (marked by a parking spot on Google Maps). We ended up scrubbing our shoes with alcohol wipes to remove mud (flying back to Australia – didn’t want soiled shoes causing entry issues). Drove back to Auckland in the afternoon for city exploration, originally scheduled to fly out at 5 PM but delayed until 8:40 PM. ✨Missed the town with the longest name this time – next trip starts with Wellington before flying to the South Island. New Zealand is unreal – totally worth it!