This 282-mile Road Trip in New Zealand Has Glowworm Caves, Hot Springs, and Erupting Geysers

The 282-mile Thermal Explorer Highway is filled with natural wonders and exposure to Māori culture.

With caves lit up with glow worms, mud pools bubbling, and geysers erupting up from the ground, New Zealand’s North Island is a wonderland of stunning natural phenomena. While temperatures are starting to drop in the northern hemisphere, it’s just the early days of spring Down Under, making it an ideal time for a Kiwi road trip along the Thermal Explorer Highway.

Starting in Auckland and ending in Napier, the 282-mile route makes for an efficient and exciting way to experience the island’s highlights by following a four-day itinerary curated by Tourism New Zealand.

The journey starts by diving into the Māori culture — the Indigenous people of New Zealand — by first heading south out of Auckland (Tāmaki Makaurau in the Māori language) to Raglan (Whāingaroa), a surf town known for the 180-foot waterfall Bridal Veil Falls (Wairēinga). Then continue on to Hamilton for visits to the immaculately designed Hamilton Gardens, the 62-acre Hamilton Zoo, and the Waikato Museum. The latter spotlights the Māori culture and heritage right alongside the Waikato River.

From here, a 45-minute drive to the southeast will take "Lord of the Rings" fans to Hobbiton. Alternatively, an hour’s drive south will lead to Waitomo Caves, where you can walk, swim, float, or even zipline through the caves with glow worms lighting the way.

Day two of the itinerary heads over to Rotorua, which “sits squarely on the Pacific Ring of Fire and geothermal activity breathes through every part of the region,” the tourism board said on its site of the area. The region is filled with bubbling mud pools, hot springs, and erupting geysers — like Te Puia, which can shoot up 100 feet into the sky.

With 18 lakes rooted in historical Māori significance, the area is also popular for boating, fishing, and swimming. Adventurers of all kinds flock here, whether it’s mountain biking or strolling through the Redwoods Treewalk in Whakarewarewa Forest. They can also take part in more unique — and unusual! — activities like rolling in an inflatable park at Zorb, the world’s largest park of its kind, or pedaling in a world’s only foot pedal-powered monorail trail on a Shweeb Racer at Velocity Valley.

End the day by relaxing in the geothermal waters of the Polynesian Spa or enjoying a Māori storytelling at Te Pā Tū over a four-hour feast.

Start the third day by stopping by Orakei Korako Geothermal Park and Cave on the way south to Taupō, right on Lake Taupō, which is Australasia’s largest freshwater lake. Here, sail to see the Māori rock carving at Mine Bay or enjoy all things crustaceans-related at the Huka Prawn Park. Then witness the tremendous power of the Huka Falls with more than 220,000 liters roaring over the 36-foot falls every second — yes, second!

The last major stretch is also one of the most picturesque with the road from Taupō to Napier passing through “fantastic scenery with rugged hills, beautiful valleys, gentle plains, and huge vistas” the site said. Here, it’s all about wineries and art deco stylings in Hawke’s Bay, while Cape Kidnappers just to the south is known for its golf courses and the world's biggest gannet colony.

Of course, as with any road trip, the best adventures are the most spontaneous ones on the go. But the Thermal Explorer Highway serves as an ideal throughway that connects so many of New Zealand’s highlights allowing roadtrippers to “discover another world as you journey deep into the heart of the North Island,” the site said. 

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