Rental Car Itinerary - Four days in the Central North Island

Day One:

Auckland  to Waitomo Caves;
 
Features:

Otorohanga Kiwi house,

Waitomo 
Waitomo is located 3 hours south of Auckland. Waitomo has long been a jewel in New Zealand's crown of tourism icons. Waitomo sits above a labyrinth of caves totalling several thousand kilometres.  There are several ways you can visit the caves. The options come in blue rinse, cruisey, crickey and B#**^% me!!
 
There are a number of cave trip operators in Waitomo. Waitomo Adventures are located in the heart of Waitomo Village (if that's what you call a gathering on half a dozen buildings). They offer Blackwater rafting trips and some stunning abseil caving trips. Black water rafting consists of floating down an under ground stream on an inflated car tube and is a fairly passive adventure. If you are looking for some thing a little more adventurous then the Haggas Honking holes provides a thrilling experience abseiling down three levels including an underground water fall, before crawling climbing and squeezing your way back out again. They operate a trip through St Benedict's cave which is regarded as being the most stunning cave in New Zealand. Their pis de resistance is the Lost World. The lost world starts with a 100m abseil into through the ceiling of a collapsed cave in to the mystical world of the Taniwha. Often shrouded in a thick film of mist your only perception of height comes from the ever increasing rumble of the cave stream below you. The lost world then takes on a journey of epic proportion as it winds it's way up an underground stream, over under ground waterfalls, rock ledges and passes its through cathedral like caverns decorated by nature in a process thousands of years in the making.

Day Two

Waitomo  Caves to Rotorua
 
Features:

Waterfalls,  
If you feel like breaking your journey, about 20 km past Te Kuiti are the Hupapa and Hikurangi falls. At Whakamaru you'll cross the mighty Waikato
 
Hydro dams,  
At Whakamaru you cross the mighty Waikato River. The Waikato is the life line to the upper and central north island. At 425km it's New Zealand's longest river. It plays host to no less than 8 hydro power stations as well as the thermal station of Wairakei and the massive natural gas turbines of the imposing Huntly power station.  About 20km away you'll pass lake Atiamuri, another man made lake on the Waikato river.
 
Rotorua 
There are a multitude of the things to do in Roto-Vegas as it is affectionately referred to. Rotorua is unquestionably one of New Zealand's greatest tourism Icons and is popular with international and local tourists most times of the year.  Perhaps Rotorua is a little touristy but for very good reason, there's so much to see and do. Rotorua's two main draw cards are its geothermal activity and Maori Culture. The type of volcanism we have in New Zealand is very unique, in fact there are only there other places in the world you will find this type of activity!!
 
There are literally dozens of things to do. Rotorua will no doubt be one of the highlights of your vacation in NZ. A great advantage of cheap car rental is you get out and see more, head out towards Lake Tarawera, past the Blue and Green lakes and the Buried Village of Te Wairoa. This village was covered in mud and ash from the 1886 eruption of Mt Tarawera. It's been excavated to provide and example of a traditional village nearly 120 years ago. There are some fantastic views providing some excellent Kodak moments.
 
The drive past Lakes Rotoiti, Rotoehu and Rotoma is pretty damn cool. The road winds its way around the lakesides through bands of lush pristine native forest and road covered canopies. There are some great short walks including Hinemoa's track. If you've ventured this far, about 30 minutes from the forestry town of Kawarau up dirt loggers road are the unique Tarawera falls. 
 
The Tarawera falls are one of the world's most unique waterfalls. The Tarawera River begins its journey at Lake Tarawera before disappearing into lava tubes. It travels underground and re-emerges from the solid rock wall like a tap with the faucet knocked off. A bit of effort is require to get to the falls but certainly one that' well rewarded.
 
If you'd rather stick around town other places that are worth a visit include; The Agrodome, agricultural show and adventure rides including the world famous Zorb. Rainbow springs featuring massive wild trout, a nocturnal Kiwi house a well as other New Zealand wildlife. The Skyline Skyrides gondola features spectacular views from the slopes of Mt Ngongotaha and the world famous luge.
 
The Polynesian pools are a great place to stop for a hot soak. Many hotels and some backpackers also have free hot thermal pools on site.
 
If you are after something a little more adventurous check out some white water rafting. Rotorua is home to the Kaituna River, site of the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world. At around 21feet this grade 5+ river will definitely keep you on your toes! For more information contact the crew at Kaitiaki Adventures

Day Three

Rotorua to Taupo

Boiling mud pools, steaming cauldrons, erupting geysers, volcanic lakes, hot water streams, silica terraces
 
Whakarewarewa

Whakarewarewa is on the out skirts of Rotorua itself. It's also located next to the Maori arts and crafts institute. Whakarewarewa or Whaka for short (actually Whakarewarewa is the shortened name, its full name is style='font-size:10.0pt; font-family:'Te Whakarewarewatanga O Te Ope Taua A Wahiao' which means the uprising of the warriors of Wahiao) is the  busiest and perhaps the most touristy of the thermal areas. There are several geysers (pronounced guy - ser, a geezer as a really old guy), boiling mud pools, steaming pools and fumaroles

Waiotapu
About 30km south of Rotorua is Waiotapu. One of Waiotapu's main draw cards is the Lady Knox geyser) which erupts at 10:15 am every day. There's also plenty of boiling mud pools; they're clearly marked on the Waiotapu loop road. It's free to check out the geyser and mud pools but like all the other thermal parks there is an entry fee. Waiotapu Thermal Park contains about 6km of walking tracks and winds its way through violent fumaroles, past silica terraces, a miniature reminder of the great pink and white Terraces that one graced the shores of Lake Rotomahana prior to the devastating eruption of Tarawera in 1886.  The effervescent spring of the champagne pool spills a cocktail of volcanic minerals over its' fiery red rimmed edge across the artist palette leaving a cacophony of colours and patterns in its wake.
 
Waimangu
Waimangu is the youngest geothermal valley in the world. It was only formed in 1886 during the violent eruption of Mt Tarawera. Mt Tarawera began to erupt about 2am on the morning of 10 June, the eruptions lasted until 6am in it's wake, reports range between 108-153 people killed, 3 villages buried, explosions were heard as far south as Christchurch over 800km away, the spectacular volcanic plume rose over 9.5km into the air leaving a gaping active fissure 17km long, the world famous pink and white terraces had been blown to smithereens and the only hydrothermal valley to be formed in historic times came to life.
 
10 craters were formed in the eruption. Most are now filled with water. Several of these are located in the Waimangu valley including the Southern crater, inferno crater which is actually a large over flowing geyser and, echo crater. Waimangu is among the most active thermal valleys in the world and is an absolute must see.
 
It's best to visit Waiotapu first and then back track to Waimangu. This way you won't be pressured for time to get to the Lady Knox geyser and will have time to really enjoy this thermal wonderland
 
Jet boats,  
Located in the Wairakei park on the outskirts of Taupo is the world famous Huka jet. This exhilarating jet boat ride whips frighteningly close past trees, river bank and man made obstacle at break neck speeds. The trip features a visit to one of mother nature's most awesome displays of force, the mighty Huka Falls.
 
Huka falls,  
The Huka falls are New Zealand's most visited natural attraction, and for good reason. The falls are located on the mighty Waikato River. The river enters a narrow channel dropping 8m over a length of 230m before finally plunging 11 m to the plunge pool below. It will blow your socks off to see the force water and gravity can produce.
 
Taupo 
Lake  Taupo is actually a volcanic caldera, the remains of a spectacular volcano that last erupted around 135 AD. It was the largest volcanic explosion on the planet in the last 5000 years. There is debris from the eruption scattered on the Bombay hills south of Auckland. The eruption threw ash and rock 30 km in to the air and devastated any living thing in its path. The Chinese and the Greeks noted these events and recorded the change in the atmosphere due to the huge amounts of volcanic ash thrown in to the stratosphere. Fortunately no one inhabited New Zealand at that time, which is quite fortunate because they would have got one hell of a fright!!
 
The township of Taupo is home to around 27,000.  Taupo is the main centre for the central volcanic plateau. It thrives on a bustling tourism industry offering an array of summer activities from fishing and hunting to sailing, and swimming, Taupo is a haven for water sports enthusiasts. In the winter it transforms in to a bustling hive of activity as the après ski scene breaks into action. Taupo is often referred to as the north Islands version of Queenstown.
 
Skydiving,   
Taupo is arguably the Skydiving capital of the world. There are more tandem skydives carried out at Taupo airport than any other drop zone in the world. Jumps start at around $215 from 12,000 feet, that's about 50 seconds of screaming bloody good fun!!! Skydiving is very weather dependant and, you guessed it, it gets extremely booked up during the summer months style='font-size:10.0pt; font-family:. If you are planning on participating in any adventure activity, it's always a good idea to book at least the day before to avoid disappointment.
 
Bungy jumping,
There are plenty of other activities to keep you entertained. If the skydiving didn't scare the crap out of you, try the bungy on Spa road. The bungy's 50m above the Mighty Waikato River and guaranteed to put a good shake in to your knees!!! There are also flight-seeing, 4WD motor bikes, white water rafting, mountain biking, kayaking and some very good golf courses.
 
 Thermal baths,
There are also a number of thermal hot pools in the Taupo region for the hot pool enthusiast. My recommendation is DeBretts on the Taupo Napier highway about 10 minutes outside of Taupo. It's a large complex to keep families entertained. They also have private pools for those looking for a little more solitude. There's also a natural outdoor spa on, funnily enough, Spa Road.

Volcanoes
A clear day at Taupo will provide some of the most spectacular images you'll encounter in your holiday in New Zealand. At the southern end of the lake are the volcanic mountains of Tongariro, the conical Ngaruahoe and the imposing Ruapehu.