Oceania : New Zealand : North Island

North Island

Table of Contents:
Regions / Cities / Other Destinations / Culture and History / Talk / Travel to North Island, visa requirements / Get around / North Island attractions and sightseeing / City tours / Good restaurants and cheap meals / North Island nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs. / Stay safe / Get out

More from New Zealand:
Chatham Islands, Fiordland National Park, North Island, South Island, Stewart Island

More from Oceania:
Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Midway Islands, New Zealand, Polynesia

The North Island of New Zealand is warm, with scenery ranging from sandy beaches, through rolling farmland to active volcanic peaks. Although it is smaller than the South Island, it is more populous, with half of the New Zealand population living north of Lake Taupo, in the middle of the island.

Regions

Northland
Auckland Region (also Auckland metro)
Hauraki Gulf Islands
Waikato-King Country
Coromandel
Bay of Plenty
Central North Island
East Coast
Hawkes Bay
Wairarapa
Taranaki
Manawatu Wanganui
Wellington Region (also Wellington metro)

Cities

Whangarei - The central and only city in Northland
Auckland - The largest and most populated NZ city and the largest city in Polynesia.
Hamilton -
Tauranga - In the Bay of Plenty.
Rotorua - Famous for geysers and hot pools... and that funny sulphuric smell! (smells like eggs!)
Hastings and Napier - Art Deco and wine in the sunny Hawkes Bay.
New Plymouth -
Wanganui - Once a port town, now gateway to the Wanganui river
Palmerston North - Knowledge capital of New Zealand, has over 70 educational institutes, that roughly one per 1000 population
Wellington - The national capital - home of the Parliament and the Beehive. The Windy city (and its not hot air).

Other Destinations

Hokianga
Bay of Islands
Lake Taupo - and its trout
Tongariro National Park and the Mount Ruapehu skifields.
Elsthorpe Quintessentially rural North Island
Havelock North Trendy shopping near Hastings

Culture and History

Talk

Travel to North Island, visa requirements

Auckland - Is the primary arrival point for most people in New Zealand a large majority of those coming in through the Auckland International Airport (IATA: AKL, ICAO: NZAA) which handles 70% of all tourist air travel and is serviced by most major Airlines. A significant number of people also arrive in Auckland by cruise ship.

Get around

The North Island is adequately serviced by many national bus companies.

North Island attractions and sightseeing

Koutu Boulders — biggest concretions in the world in Koutu Hokianga
Mangungu Mission House (Historic Site) — site of the biggest signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in Horeke Hokianga
Mt Bruce National Wildlife Center. This DOC center is a good place to see Kiwis and Kaka (kind of "bush perrot"), and also plenty of other native birds. 20 min drive from Masterton on the way of Palmerston North.
Wairere Boulders (Nature Park) — an enormous basalt flow just south of Horeke Hokianga