By the time we left the volcanic heart of the North Island behind us, another long New Zealand drive had begun to feel less like an obstacle and more like part of the ritual. The road southeast to Napier took around three hours, winding steadily towards the Pacific coast through sheep country, dry hills and long empty stretches of State Highway 2.
We rolled into Napier by early evening and checked into Pebble Beach Motor Inn, a gloriously old‑fashioned motel with a kitchenette, a spa bath, and the sort of retro charm that makes you feel like you’ve stepped into a 1970s road‑trip film. After days of hiking, driving and surviving on adrenaline, it felt magnificent.
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| Art Deco Napier |
Napier itself has one of the more unusual stories of any town in New Zealand. In 1931, a catastrophic earthquake measuring 7.8 struck the Hawke’s Bay region, killing more than 250 people and devastating the town. Yet the disaster also gave Napier its identity. Much of the city was rebuilt within two years in the fashionable Art Deco style of the period, leaving it with one of the best-preserved collections of Art Deco architecture anywhere in the world outside Miami.
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| Art Deco Napier |
The following day the seafront was glowing in the morning light. Marine Parade is a sweep of palms, pastel façades and unmistakable building geometry. The pale cliffs of Cape Kidnappers loom to the south. Captain Cook named the headland in 1769 after a tense encounter with local Māori, during which several of his crew were briefly seized. Today it looks more like a chalky guardian of the bay, giving the whole place a faintly Eastbourne‑by‑the‑Pacific vibe. Unfortunately, our delayed Tongariro trek had eaten into our schedule, so by late morning we were back on the road for the long four‑hour drive to Wellington.
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| Art Deco Napier |
There are moments on every trip where glamour disappears entirely. Ours arrived somewhere around Pahiatua, eating lukewarm vegetarian pies bought in Napier while stopping for a toilet break beside a petrol station. It was, without question, one of the low points of the holiday. But we did discover a splendid Lord of the Rings mural in that small town.
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| Pahiatua mural |
North of Wellington the landscape snapped us out of our malaise as the road climbed into the Remutaka Range, a dramatic stretch of tight curves, steep gradients and lush, rolling green vistas. Historically, this was one of the most treacherous routes in the lower North Island; early travellers crossed it on foot or horseback, clinging to narrow bridle tracks. We had a rental car and air‑con, but it still felt adventurous. The tight bends, sharp elevation changes and enormous valley views demanded concentration and completely wiped away any lingering tiredness from the long drive.
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| Rivendell Gate, Kaitoke Regional Park |
Before reaching the city, we detoured into Kaitoke Regional Park to visit Rivendell, or at least the patch of forest where the home of the Elves once stood. The film set is long gone, but the Department of Conservation has thoughtfully installed signs, photos, and even a “Gate of Rivendell” for the obligatory photo opportunity. It was a lovely green, fresh place, and easy to imagine Elves drifting through the trees if you squinted. From here it was a relatively short drive to Wellington.
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| Wellington |
We were staying right on Wellington’s harbour, a lively stretch where ferries glide in and you can explore the waterfront neighbourhood by strolling along the charming boardwalk. Despite being the capital city Wellington feels smaller than Auckland. It has a compact, energetic feel quite different from sprawling Auckland. It's steep and windy streets are squeezed between steep green hills and the busy harbour. At the city’s bohemian heart is Cuba Street which is full of cafés, bars, restaurants and independent shops.
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| Cuba Street, Wellington |
To the south-east of the city centre is Miramar, known locally as the Hollywood of New Zealand. This peninsula on Wellington Harbour became synonymous with modern filmmaking thanks to Weta Workshop, the special effects studio founded by Richard Taylor and Peter Jackson. The company’s work on The Lord of the Rings trilogy helped redefine visual effects and put Wellington firmly on the global film map. The Workshop is a pilgrimage for Lord of the Rings and movie fans alike as it offers a tour of some of the facilities and props from the films it has produced.
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| Wētā Cave, Wellington |
The tour began at the Wētā Cave, where three gigantic trolls guard the entrance exactly the sort of welcome you want before diving into movie magic. Inside, room after room was packed with props, armour, weapons, prosthetics and all manner of creatures from films like Lord of the Rings and The Amazing Spider‑Man, along with the Oscars and BAFTAs the team have earned along the way. The practical movie effects demonstrations were clever and interesting, but after the sheer wonder of Hobbiton, this felt a little flatter, a tough act to follow.
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| Wētā Workshop, Wellington |
At the top of Miramar Peninsula is the small but perfectly formed Point Halswell Lighthouse. The views back across Wellington Harbour were impressive, although the skyline lacked Auckland’s dramatic scale. It was there we spotted our favourite New Zealand road sign “Little Penguins cross at night” which displaced the traffic sign “Merge like a zipper” into second place.
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| Point Halswell Lighthouse |
There was still more Tolkien tourism to complete In Wellington. In the vast green space of Mount Victoria, you can visit the spot where they filmed the iconic 'Get off the road' scene from The Fellowship of the Ring, where the hobbits hide from the terrifying Nazgul. I also convinced myself we had located Frodo’s reading tree, but there are a lot of similar looking trees in the forest!
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| 'Get off the road' Mount Victoria |
Just thirty minutes' drive from the centre of Wellington, taking a route that skirts around the the harbour is the Pencarrow Peninsula, a long, windswept finger of coastline where the city falls away and the elements take over. A gravel track hugs the edge of the harbour, with waves slapping at the rocks on one side and steep, scrub‑covered hills rising sharply on the other. It’s rugged, exposed, and strangely peaceful a place where the modern world feels very far away, even though Wellington’s skyline is still just across the water.
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| Pencarrow Sector Light |
The best way to explore is on a bike. We picked up mountain bikes from Wildfinder Cycle Hire, a friendly little outfit situated right at the start of the coastal track. The ride around the peninsula takes some getting used to with loose gravel, rocky sections and endless bumps but the scenery was spectacular. On one side sat Wellington Harbour; on the other the exposed coastline facing Cook Strait and, beyond that, the South Island. There were also lighthouses and a shipwreck thrown in for good measure.
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| Pencarrow Lighthouse, Pencarrow Peninsula, Wellington |
The first lighthouse was the small Pencarrow Sector Light sitting near the shoreline. Built in 1859, it was New Zealand’s first permanent lighthouse and was famously operated for a time by Mary Jane Bennett, the country’s only female lighthouse keeper.
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| Shipwreck, Pencarrow Peninsula, Wellington |
After inspecting the rusting remains of a shipwreck near the end of the trail, we abandoned the bikes and trudged up the final steep climb to the upper lighthouse. The dramatic Pencarrow Lighthouse is perched high above the coast directly in line with the Sector Light. It was small, isolated and fantastic. The return ride was directly into a savage headwind blowing in from the Cook Straits, but somehow that made it even more enjoyable.
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| Pencarrow Lighthouse, Pencarrow Peninsula, Wellington |
Our last night in Wellington was spent exploring Cuba Street, which was buzzing thanks to the city’s Pride celebrations earlier in the afternoon. Music drifted through packed bars, and we contemplated a great few days in the capital and saying goodbye to the North Island. Next up was the ferry across the Cook Straits to the South Island.
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