We went to New Zealand for a quick weekend while on an extended vacation to Australia – I wish I had known how much we would love New Zealand because if I had I would have made sure we spent more time there instead of a quick flight from Melbourne to Auckland… rented a car in Auckland and drove to Waitomo spent the night there – we did the glow worm caves in the morning in Waitomo then hopped in the car for a drive out to Mata mata to see Hobbiton and after visited the Kiwi House (since kiwi are nocturnal and difficult to see when not in a habitat like this) and then headed back to Auckland for the night and had breakfast and lunch in Auckland before flying out to Sydney for the last leg of our trip before returning to Los Angeles. I absolutely recommend going to Hobbiton if you are on the North Island in New Zealand – we loved it – it was gorgeous and unreal… check out our video here… and also a small sampling of photos we took in New Zealand – we seriously cannot wait to return – the people were nice, the food was amazing, the air was clean… it is such a beautiful place to visit!