First-timer in New Zealand - North Island

I attended a science conference in New Zealand, and was able to spend a few days traveling around the North Island after the conference ended. In this post, I'll share with you some of the wonderful shots I took as a first-timer in New Zealand!

This black sand beach was right outside of the conference building in Napier!

True to my identity, I checked out a local vineyard to see what grape varieties were planted!

Driving around was fun! Took me a while to adjust to driving on the other side of the road.

Couldn't pass up hiking in the countryside of Hawke's Bay with the perfect weather!

After a few hours driving north, we arrived at the Cathedral Cove, Coromandel.

Quite unexpectedly, there was a mini-waterfall on the other side of the cove!

While driving on the interstate highway, we saw 3 sheep outside of the fence, trying to get back in!

We made our way to Waitomo for its famous glowworm caves!

The faint light was bioluminescence, emitted by glowworms to attract preys.

We also visited Te Puia to check out some geysers and geothermal hot pools!

Not too far away from Te Puia was Wai-O-Tapu, which was absolutely stunning!

The summary of our itinerary was:
Napier > Auckland > Coromandel > Rotorua > Waitomo > Napier

I knew there was no way we could visit the South Island during the 6-day post-conference trip, but I wish we had more time exploring the North Island to check out Te Mata Peak and Melbourne. Oh well, there's always next time!

Stay tuned for more pictures! Till then, Steem on!