New Zealand Bay of Islands - 10 of the Best Summer Holidays

Words by Kirk Owers

The tip of New Zealand’s North Island doesn’t really end – it kind of crumbles into the sea. The resulting string of 140 islands, known as the Bay of Islands, is one of the most beautiful parts of strikingly good looking New Zealand. Instead of the mountains, rainforests and verdant pastures which typify southern N Zed, the extreme north is all about beaches, quays and coastline. Best of all its warm. The Bay of Islands sits on an equivalent latitude to Sydney and is one of the only areas in the Land of the Long White Cloud you can expect to return with a tan. There’s excellent diving, you can swim with bottlenose dolphins, spot whales, learn about Maori culture and sail to the outer islands and roam their untouched beaches wearing nothing but a cheeky grin. All this a three-hour-drive from Auckland.