North Island

Just a week to visit half of New Zealand, yes it's short. So I focused on a few specific points...first the Coromandel Peninsula (which is accesible by ferry from Auckland, so nice trip), well known for it's nice beaches...and Cathedral Cove was really amazing (just see the pics)...I had a nice stay there, doing a lot of bike on the coast.
And then the centre of the Island to see the Volcanic area of Tongariro National Park (the Mordor land in the Lord of the Rings!) and especially to walk the Alpine Crossing, a oneday 19kms walk, supposed to be one of the most impresive in the world (nothing less!). I got very lucky with the weather, since it was quite sunny and not too windy, and yes after a first disapointing part where you think that Canary Islands are really nicer, then you get to the top, and frankly it's quite unbelievable (pics...) the nice stuff is to really walk in a volcanic fields, surrounded by craters and coloured lakes...!
My last stand in the north was the capital Wellington, mandatory stop to go to the south island by ferry. Anyway it's a nice little town and was a pleasant daystop.