Auckland to Taupō Loop - Britz

Four nights in a loop from Auckland in a campervan, down to the volcanic plateau and back, planned as a family trip in a six-berth.

Hamilton comes first, then Whakapapa village on the northwestern slope of Mount Ruapehu, which is the base for the ski fields and sits inside Tongariro National Park, the oldest in New Zealand and among the oldest in the world.

Lake Taupo takes the rest of the trip. The lake fills a caldera left by an eruption around eighteen hundred years ago that was among the largest anywhere in the last few thousand, and it covers an area roughly the size of Singapore. The Huka prawn park on the Waikato farms freshwater prawns in geothermally warmed water and lets children fish for them, and the Huka Falls nearby push the entire river through a narrow channel at a rate of several hundred thousand litres a second.

Britz supply the camper and the day-by-day plan, and the hire is priced live per vehicle rather than per person; campsites, fuel, ferries, park fees and activities are all extra, with a nil-excess insurance pack available at booking. Five days and a short loop makes this a first camper trip rather than a tour, and the two or three hour legs suit travelling with young children. A six-berth handles a family of that size comfortably. Winter puts snow on Ruapehu and the ski fields in play, while summer makes the lake swimmable, so either season works for different reasons. Taupo also has the best choice of holiday parks in the central North Island, which matters when travelling six-up.