This morning we travel north along the Waikato River to Auckland, otherwise known as the "city of sails" and New Zealand's largest city. Auckland is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with over 1.3 million residents, 31 percent of the country's population. Popularly known as the "City of Sails", the harbour is often dotted with hundreds of yachts and has more per capita than any other city in the world, with around 135,000 yachts and launches estimated.
Along the way, we stopped by a little township known as Matamata a.k.a Hobbiton in the Lord of The Rings Trilogy.
Even the tourist and information centre has the Hobbit-Hole as the entrance.
After a quick coffee stop in Matamata, we proceed further northwards.
We make our way to the heart of the city centre …
… to take a look from the impressive icon that is the Sky Tower.
Besides the viewing deck, the tower also houses a casino, function rooms, convention centre, theatres, bars and restaurants.
At 328 metres, the Sky Tower is the tallest tower in the Southern Hemisphere, offering breath-taking views for more than 80 kilometres in every direction.
Another interesting feature about the tower is it has several glass floors that are only 38 millimetres thick.
For the adrenaline junkies, the Sky Tower also offers the 192 metres sky jump.
Once back on the ground, we bid farewell to some friends who joined the tour from the South Island. In addition, we also meet and welcome some new friends who are joining us to go further north.
Our journey continues as we head across Auckland's scenic harbour and travel north with our first stop today is at Parry's Kauri Park to check out a magnificent Kauri tree, whose ancestors once covered the island.
Continuing north we reach the seaside town of Paihia in the beautiful Bay of Islands, home to 144 islands, secluded bays and an abundance of marine life. Located 60 km north-west of Whangarei, it is close to the northern tip of the country.
We then checked into Waitangi Motel, our accommodation for the next two nights …
… before resting after the long and tiring drive for the day. The interesting thing about the Bay of Islands was a study conducted back in 2006 found that it has the second bluest sky in the world, after Rio de Janeiro.
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