House With No Nails had the pleasure of hosting Tom and Will as they take on New Zealand with an action-packed itinerary.
“Your house is wonderful and you both made our stays there feel like a little slice of home!” – Tom
Day 1 – Arrival
Location: Auckland > Matatmata
- Arrived in Auckland
- Drove to Matamata
- Checked in at House With No Nails!
- Visited Wairere Falls and the Seat of Peace
Day 2 – Hobbiton!
Location: Matamata > Waitomo
- Visited Hobbiton and did the daytime tour and lunch combo
- Drove to Waitomo and checked in at Hostel
- Visited Marokopa Falls and Mangapohue Natural Bridge
Day 3 – Into the abyss
Location: Waitomo > Rotorua
- Did Hagga’s Honking Holes – a caving experience that involves abseiling down waterfalls into glowworm caves 80m below ground – not for the faint of heart!
- Drove to Rotorua and checked in at Hostel
Day 4 – Choppy waters
Location: Rotorua
- Did the Skyline Luge
- Visited the geothermal pools
- Went whitewater rafting down the highest commercially raftable waterfall in the world!
Day 5 – Leap of faith
Location: Rotorua > Taupo
- Drove to Taupo and did the Taupo Bungy – a 47m water touch bungy over the Waikato river
- Drove back up to Rotorua to go mountain biking at Whakarewarewa Redwood Forest and hired a bike from Planet Bike
- Drove down to Taupo and checked in at the hostel
Day 6 – Geothermal
Location: Taupo
- Drove to Kerosene Creek and swam in the geothermal river
- Visited Wai-o-Tapu Thermal Wonderland
- Visited Huka Falls
Day 7 – Sky’s the limit
Location: Taupo – Ohakune
- Did a 15000ft tandem skydive over the beautiful Lake Taupo!
- Drove to Ohakune and checked into hostel
- Hired snowboard gear ready for the morning…
Day 8 – Hit the slopes
Location: Ohakune
- Drove to Whakapapa ski field and spent the whole day snowboarding
Day 9 – Hit the slopes part 2
Location: Ohakune
- Drove to Turoa ski field and spent the whole day snowboarding
Day 10 – See the sights
Location: Ohakune
- Visited Tawhai Falls a.k.a. Gollum’s Pool from Lord of the Rings
- Drove to the start of the Tongariro Crossing to get a good view of Mount Ngauruhoe a.k.a. Mount Doom (also from Lord of the Rings)
- Visited the Makatoe Viaduct
- Visited the “Last Spike” near the viaduct which was where the main trunk railway lines joined up and were completed
Day 11 – Weta
Location: Ohakune > Wellington
- Drove down to Wellington from Ohakune
- Checked in at hostel
- Visited the Te Papa museum and saw the incredible Gallipolli exhibition
- Visited Weta Workshop (makers of the props for Lord of the Rings) and had a tour round their studio including a tour of their miniature sets for the Thunderbirds TV show
Day 12 – Long drive back
Location: Wellington > Raglan
- Left Wellington to do the 7 hour drive back up to raglan on the west coast
- Checked in to hostel
- Explored Raglan
Day 13 – Surf’s up
Location: Raglan
- Hired surf boards and spent the day surfing at Ngarunui Beach
Day 14 – Surf’s up part 2
Location: Raglan > Matamata
- Spent the day surfing again
- Drove back to Matamata for another lovely night’s stay at the House With No Nails!
Day 15 – Last day
Location Matamata > Piha > Auckland
- Drove up to Piha and had a walk along the beach and up Lion Rock
- Visited Kitekite Falls
- Drove back to Auckland to catch the plane in the evening