I have been traveling over to New Zealand quite a few years now, but this is the first time I have finally made it up to the North Island. About time too! Way more green then I was expecting and way more tropical. It was awesome. My wife and I had the time of our life traveling around in a camper van surfing and mountain biking. I was impressed with the surfing there for sure. We rented a camper van in Raglan and extended our trip a extra week, because we knew 1 week was just not enough. We started in Raglan and scored some big waves. A bit stormy and bumpy, but all in all I was syked to surf a long left hand point break. We checked out the glow worm caves and some massive waterfalls while we were in that area. Then we headed to Rotorua where all the thermal activity is. Hit up some killer hot springs and found some amazing bike rides. They have trails all over that are built up for an extra good time. We finished in Whangamata. Good luck pronouncing that! It too me the whole trip to get it right. Found some cleaner smaller waves there. More tropical on the eastside and super clear water. Checked out crystal bay and finished the trip up with a epic surf sesh on a shallow sand bar. Picked up some gear at the RipCurl warehouse on the way to the airport and headed home. Weird coming back to the US though. Everyone is so friendly in NZ!