The dream is on its way

Traveling to New Zealand was a desire that tapped into my curiosity from the depths of my being. A country of mountain experiences and long highway routes with iconic landscapes, added to the shared experiences people had and the phrase that kept repeating itself: “That country will charm you”.

As the years went by, my desire grew. In 2025, I applied online for a travel and work visa (Working Holiday New Zealand) that would allow me to live the experience for a year in 2026. The dream of taking a roadtrip across the island in a camper van with good music, company, and an Uruguayan mate was undoubtedly one of my goals on my dream board.

New Zealand, a country where locals refer to themselves as the native nocturnal bird (kiwi bird) and fruit (kiwi fruit); yes, all at once. Mixture of friendly and resolute people who enjoy quietness and calmness. The truth is lovely sharing experiences with these people on the trip. For some months we traveled and lived the experience of living in a camper van, going for hikes and discovering incredible landscapes.

And for another time, work, live in a shared house in the city, make friends, have a life on the other side, in another language, in a new version of my being in constant creation. I lived 6 months in Christchurch and it felt like a second home amidst the Southern Alps. I worked at an organic market, chatted with people about their daily lives, learned more English along the way, no doubt a lovely life experience.

The trip lasted 8 months, it was an extensive adventure and mainly divided between: traveling by camper van on the island and living in the city as a Working Holiday person. Epic places, each with its own magic, that’s why this general article orders the adventure and then expands on the experience that catches your attention knowing.

Dear reader, “If you’re interested in delving deeper into a corner, all you have to do is touch or click on its underlined name to travel to its story”.

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The North Island: Travel Odyssey

Joyful and with great determination we embarked on an adventure. We achieved our dream ride in Auckland, lived a time near the beach and the iconic Mount Maunganui with our friends half locals, half Uruguayans.

We discovered the beauty of Mount Maunganui’s (Mauao) sacred zone and strolled along the incredible Coromandel Peninsula. The dense vegetation and humid, warm climate presented us with the essence of coastal life on the island in the Tauranga area.

Mount Maunganui

Many people who come to New Zealand choose this area to stay, and the truth is that it feels a little magical, the beauty of the immense mountain bordering with Pacific water, dense forests of trees around the beach. The proximity to cities and restaurants. It’s a precious place to spend a season. In summer, the movement was quite active and varied activities, we enjoyed going to the beach and hiking up the mountain with incredible views of sunset. Additionally, our friends told us local stories like the Maori legend of the mountain and about the Steel framing that is the logo of the famous All Blacks.

Holidays on the Coromandel Peninsula

A few days in paradise beaches, icy and transparent water.

Anciently known to the Maori as Hauraki —who inhabited the area for more than a millennium. The peninsula was marked by its experience during the gold rush in its encounter with Europe. Thames had an intense exploitation of its ancient kauri forests and mining activity that extended until mid-20th century, multiplying the population of the area almost to surpassing the capital, Auckland.

At the beginning of the 20th century, extracted resources (mainly gold and resin) began to run out and the area transitioned, changing its main economic activity to cattle ranching and fishing. Luckily, around 1970 people started moving there who gave strength to ecological conservation movements and sanctuary promotion. People moved to the area seeking an alternative lifestyle, artisans, potters. The area sank into calmness and today it’s also characterized as a local relaxed summer resort area, with spectacular landscapes. It’s also famous for iconic beaches like Cathedral Cove or Hot Water Beach.

The Coromandel Peninsula combines the history of its land with a relaxed, artistic local culture and the possible transition towards coexistence in respect with nature.

McLaren Falls Park

Solo 15 minutes from Mount Maunganui, this park was an incredible escape. The prevailing calmness, the humid freshness of the waterfall, ducks gliding across the water and families strolling peacefully on the weekend gifted us a profoundly positive impact to begin understanding our journey through New Zealand.

This park spans 190 hectares of pure nature and houses one of the country’s most impressive collections of trees. Here, what stands out particularly is its astonishing blend of native giants like the majestic Rimu (red pine), the revered Totara, the towering Kahikatea, and the iconic silver fern (Ponga), which coexist with exotic species that transform the landscape with spectacular colors every season.

Besides, it features several flat and very accessible trails; among them stands out the Waterfall Track, a short walk of just 20 minutes that ventures into a lush native forest to reach this small but lovely waterfall.

Another incredible place we visited was the Maunga Tautare Bird Refuge, a place carefully looked after by the conservation department, for which a thousand words are not worth more than one photo.