Northland & Bay of Islands is one of those places where the obvious plan and the good plan are two different trips.

We mapped a 3-day Northland & Bay of Islands route ourselves, kept tight enough to actually enjoy it, built to avoid the same Cape Reinga signpost photo from day one.

It's the kind of trip your group chat asks about for years, not the one that looks like everyone else's. Free to download, no catch, just don't leave it until the week before you fly.