Northern Explorer
We took the Northern Explorer scenic train ride from Auckland to Wellington as a way to see more of the country and get from one to the other.
Auckland
Hobbiton
As a lifelong Tolkien fan, I knew we had to visit the Hobbiton film set. It was just as good as I hoped it would be.
Auckland
Auckland is a nice city and a good base for our day trip to Hobbiton. We opted to spend all 4 nights there rather than breaking the stay into Auckland and Rotorua.