I'd been in Auckland for precisely two weeks when my friends insisted one hot hungover Sunday that…read morethey were going to drive me to Tawharanui beach for a day of sunbathing. Sit in a car for over an hour? On a boiling hot day? With a hangover? I still can't believe they managed to talk me into it...But I'm oh so glad they did. Tawharanui is without a doubt my favourite out of Auckland day trip. The beach is just gorgeous with perfect white sand, big crashing waves and lots of caves at the side you can explore. It literally makes the inner city beaches pale in comparison. Stop in Matakana for ice-cream or a meal on the way there or back. Load up a cool box with beer and sit and take in the amazing view. Tip: it gets really packed on sunny days so head there early to secure a good spot. Also, not drinking the night before will help to uphold your enthusiasm for the journey.

If you find yourself in Hawkes Bay this is an excellent tour. We went off-season so we had the bus…read moreand guide to ourselves. He took us to the local farmers market which is on of the largest in NZ. Everyone else there was a local. The rest of the tour was great, we went to several wineries and had good food along the way. Our guide Callum was very knowledgeable. We booked the tour very last minute and they were able to accommodate.

Orewa Campground is a good option if you have little kids. Firstly you don't have to spend 17 hours…read morebattling traffic in a hot stuffy car; you can take the Northern Motorway for less than 30min pretty much to the front gate. The campground itself is very family friendly and has a playgroud, basketball hoop and great games room. Of course the biggest draw card it that its right next to Orewa Beach. I'm not the hugest fan of Orewa Beach, it's shallow and flat; but this I guess is what makes it popular with young families. Orewa is a nice place to holiday, they've recently renovated the boulevard and it's open and paved. There are good food options along the front stretch if you get sick of baked beans on the camp cooker. And there's a perfectly positioned ice cream shop across the road from the campground.

Rural bus station! This place is on the outskirts of…read moreAuckland in Albany. No, this isn't New York. It's their version of the capital of New York, I guess. This transit park n ride terminal is nice, but that's about it. The buses run on time, so I didn't spend too much time here. The bus tickets are automated via kiosk, which are available in the Maori language. There are helpful signs to let you know which bus stops where. They could've used some public art up in here. It's kinda plain looking. There was an inside area where you could get out of the wind or rain, but not much to this place. The bus drivers were friendly, and I managed to get where I wanted to go.

Since moving out to Torbay, this Park and Ride has been so good! It's saved me so much money on…read moreparking and is such a good idea from the city council. It's always packed with cars so you do have to get there early if you want a park. Otherwise you might find yourself walking a bit up the hill to the bus. There are constantly buses arriving so no matter what time you turn up there will usually be a bus not too far off. There's also a great place to wait if you do need it. It's fully covered so is great in the winter months or those rainy summer days that too often frequent our city. Because the bus just hops on the bus lane on the motorway and skips all the traffic. And because you don't need to drive you can read, listen to music, or play games while you're driven there. Brilliant.

We were driving to Tawharanui Regional Park and noticed the sculptures peeking out from inside a…read moregarden and decided we must stop in. We are so glad that we did. We found a lovely art gallery that even includes pieces from Chihuly that led to a couple of beautiful gardens adjacent to the gallery. Beyond this there is yet another larger sculpture garden with meandering paths that sometimes led to aviaries as well as other small animal areas (such as rabbits). They will be having a couple of "native" pigs join the property soon as they just arrived today. We met the owners, Anthony and Sandra Grant as she arrived on property with their new pets. Between our visit to the gallery and the larger sculpture garden, we stopped by for a wine tasting and met Tina who was generous and informative sharing about the wines grown on their estate. The Gallery Syrah and Bordeaux Blend were our favorites. Much appreciation is extended to Tina for her kindness and hospitality! After the sculpture garden, we ventured over to their restaurant, Rothko. Unfortunately for us, the restaurant was fully booked with reservations. Fortunately for us, they had seating at the picnic tables outside and they served wine and small bites. Overall, we had a very pleasant experience and will definitely be back!

Fabulous collection if (mostly) modern art sculptures set in beautifully manicured gardens and chic…read moreindoor galleries. One hour from auckland cbd... we were tourists, renting a city hop car (very reasonable and convenient)... 1 hour to get there and 3 hours in the setting, well worth the time and expense!

When one thinks about New Zealand one immediately think of sheep. Thus, our first stop when…read morevisiting Auckland was Sheep World. We arrived at Sheep World after a beautiful drive up the coast, just in time for the 2pm Sheep & Dog Show. For 1 1/2 hours we were regaled with stories of sheep shearing and herding and demonstrations of shearing and herding. Our guide was amazing. He held the audiences' attention, mostly children, for the whole time and kept everyone engaged (hard when the kids are young and mostly don't speak English). We started with a bit of the history of sheep in New Zealand then moved into the training of the dogs, them a demo of herding. Each dog, a huntaway and a Border collie, got a turn with the sheep. My friend and I got to help with drafting the sheep into separate pens. Next we watched a sheep get sheared. Three of the children even got a go with the shears. Lastly, we bottle fed lambs. HOW CUTE! As if the tour wasn't enough there is a whole farm full of petting animals like goats and pigs and a small forest area to walk through. We loved this park. Can't recommend it enough for your itinerary.

This is a beautiful and well looked after Holiday Park, in an amazing location, literally right…read morebeside the beach. It is only a short walk and you can find yourself on Pakiri Beach, which is a pretty stunning beach in itself. I've been here a few times for swimming and snorkelling, and the water is usually really clear. We also tried a bit of surfcasting off the beach, but only managed to catch a few small kahawai. You can't ask for a much better location really, and the staff/owners are friendly and accommodating. They have a whole range of cabins to choose from, and plenty of space for tents. One downside is that this place is very expensive, even just for camping. Be prepared to pay a bit extra, especially in peak season when prices skyrocket.

We have been coming here for what seems like forever. Some of my first memories are waking up in…read morethe tent, running down to the water and swimming all day long at Sullivans (Otarawao) Bay. It's an Auckland Regional Council camping ground so it's super cheap to stay in paradise. But this means that the sites book up seriously fast. They open booking six months before you want them and they can sell out in a matter of hour over the summer holiday. It is rather primitive with drop toilets and only a hose tap. But this is part of the fun for us. There is hardly any reception so even though you are not even an hour from Auckland, you feel like you're way out in the whaps. We usually take up kayaks, fishing gear, loads of board games and of course our togs. It's the most amazing way to spend your summers and I am so thankful for my parents for taking me here so many years.