May 31 - June 4, 2026. Stay at the JW Marriott and prepare to re-enter the Norther Hemisphere. This is the longest stretch of time (just under 3 months) either of us have not been on a plane for 10+ years. Auckland is New Zealand's largest and most populous city, home to over 1.6 million residents. Nicknamed the "City of Sails", it boasts the highest boat ownership per capita in the world and sits on a volcanic field featuring more than 50 dormant volcanic cones. Auckland

May 28 - 31, 2026 - Paihia. Paihia is a town in the Bay of Islands with a population of 1623 (as of 2023). It is close to Russell (see below) and the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. The Bay of Islands is an "enclave" with more than 140 subtropical islands next to the North Island. May 28, 2026- The drive from Hamilton to Paihia was about 5 hours. There weren't any road closures and all the road was paved, so we didn't really have any issues. We made several stops along the way

May 27, 2026 - Arrive in Hamilton for the night. Not much to report for this blog, other than our journey to the West Coast to Hamilton. We stayed here one night to break up the longer journey to Auckland. Because I insisted we see the Natural Bridge, we missed out on the Hamilton formal gardens - the main thing to see there. I'm not sure it is important enough a landmark to make a trip for next time, but we'll see. Stop 1: Elephant Rock and Three Sisters. You can only a

May 20-27, 2026 we plan to stay in New Plymouth. New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki region on New Zealand's west coast and home to over 60,000 residents, it is famous for its striking contrast between the ocean and the perfectly symmetrical peak of Mount Taranaki. There is really not much to do there. May 20, 2026 - Drive from Taupo to New Plymouth. This was a long drive because Route 3 was closed, forcing us to go via back roads, some of which were unpaved. We

May 13 - 20, 2026 we stayed in an AirBnB at Taupo (pronounced Toepaw), North Island in New Zealand. Taupō, population ~44,000, is home to Lake Taupo, New Zealand’s largest lake (and the larges lake in Asia), a 622-sq-km body of water filling the caldera of an active super volcano. The lake is the size of Singapore. Depending on which website you read, the super volcano here is the second largest in the world - second only to the one in Yellowstone. The region is renowned