We hit the road from Auckland for a quick trip down to Rotorua, and honestly, the pit stops were the highlight of the day. If you're doing this drive, here’s how to kill it:
🍵 Fancy Tea & Green Hills
First stop: Zealong Tea Estate. It’s just past Hamilton and feels way too classy for a road trip stop, but in the best way. We sat down for morning tea overlooking these massive, perfectly trimmed tea fields. The Oolong was top-tier, and it was the perfect way to caffeinate before the longer stretch of driving.
🌌 Underground Galaxies
From there, we headed to Waitomo. If you haven't done the glowworm caves yet, put it on the list. You basically float through the dark on a tiny boat, looking up at thousands of glowworms that look like a neon city on the cave ceiling. It’s dead quiet and slightly trippy—definitely the coolest thing we saw all day.
We rolled into Rotorua in time to catch that classic sulfur smell (you get used to it, I swear) and head straight out for dinner.
