Britz Central North Island Tour - Britz

Five nights in a loop from Auckland in a campervan, down the Thermal Explorer Highway and round the volcanic plateau.

Matamata comes first for Hobbiton, the film set preserved on a working sheep farm, then Rotorua, where the ground steams and the smell of sulphur is permanent, with Lake Tarawera nearby, buried along with several villages when the mountain erupted in 1886.

Taupo follows on its caldera lake, then Tongariro National Park, where Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro stand together and the Alpine Crossing runs between them, generally rated the best day walk in the country. Ruapehu is the largest active volcano in New Zealand and has erupted several times within living memory. The Huka Falls, Te Kuiti and the Waitomo glow worm caves follow, then Hamilton before Auckland.

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. Six days for this loop is a reasonable pace and the roads are all sealed. The Alpine Crossing needs a shuttle booking and closes in bad weather, and Hobbiton and Waitomo both run guided tours that sell out in summer. Volcanic activity occasionally restricts access on the mountain, which is worth checking before relying on it. Six nights covers the three things the central North Island is known for, the geothermal ground, the volcanoes and the caves, without any long driving days, and Auckland is close enough that the first and last legs are easy.