In the Coromandel Peninsula we stayed in the Whitianga area and explored some of the coastal areas by hiking Shakespeare Cliff Lookout and the well known Cathedral Cove.
We had traveled a bit faster than we expected through the North Island so we decided to head north of Auckland for a few days. Stopping along the way to taste Hokey Pokey ice-cream (yum! Made with local honey) and take in the beautiful views. 
After enjoying this beautiful sunset the holiday park owner told us to keep our ears out for the nocturnal kiwi birds that live in the area. We were so excited when we heard them that night, we haven’t seen any in the wild but hearing them right outside our campervan was pretty cool!
We made campervan focaccia twice! It came out more like pizza, but we both kneaded (har har) some pizza anyways!
The coastal areas of Tutukaka and Whangarei really reminded us of parts of the South Island. The scenery was gorgeous! We stopped at several places for short hikes. The Tutukaka Lighthouse hike had amazing views of the coast, bays and inlets with boats, and houses perched on cliffs with farmland stretching behind them.
We arrived at one beach cove at low tide so hunted around in the tide pools and found these colorful creatures! 
We also really enjoyed the Smugglers Bay hike with WWII history and more beaches and views of the coast.
This is the WWII spotting bunker. They had a mural of the bay with targeting degrees to relay to the gun outpost. Both buildings were disguised as farmhouses on a hillside.
After dropping off the campervan in Auckland we went through some campervan withdrawal 🙁 Fortunately, Auckland is a beautiful coastal city with lots of green space which we enjoyed exploring (despite many New Zealander’s telling us how much they disliked the ‘big city’). The city is built on volcanic field with at least 48 volcanoes! Here is one of the volcanic cones, in one of the cities big parks, with the downtown skyline behind it. 
We spent about a week in Auckland walking around the city, visiting city parks, neighborhoods, various Asian eateries (yum!), some city breweries and cafes. One morning, after waking to watch a 6am world cup game (Portugal v. Spain) at a bar downtown, we decided to walk the Coast to Coast trail that goes 16 kilometers from one end of the city to the other. Whew! We also spent a good amount of time planning our upcoming travels. Unfortunately, we eventually had to leave New Zealand…we can’t wait to come back! 
Highlights of Coromandel, Northland and Auckland:
- The lighthouse walk in Tutukaka was short, but one of our favorite NZ hikes
- All of Northland’s coastline was stunning
- As far as cities go, Auckland is one of our favorites. Cute neighborhoods, local commercial districts, pedestrian friendly, and lots of green spaces
looks like the rain let up a bit so you could enjoy the Northlands. Sounds like a truly awesome country…..with epic scenery and rainbows everywhere! I’m trying to imagine a kiwi sound…..do they just rustle on the leaves or actually make a call?
The kiwis actually call out to each other at night. The male and female have different sounding calls!
Awesome sea stars!
🤩