New Zealand North Island: Beautiful, But It Did Not Go to Plan

New Zealand is built for waterfall hunters — and this trip had over a dozen of them across 22 days on the North Island. But between the Argonne Anti-Jet Lag Diet getting me moving on day one, a closed Tongariro Alpine Crossing, 100km/h gusts, injury, and a ferry delay — the plan kept getting rewritten. From the dark green gorge of Hunua Falls to the volcanic plateau of Tongariro National Park, the gold mining tunnels of Karangahake Gorge, Gollum's Pool in Lord of the Rings country, and a black sand beach on the wild west coast where I was completely alone — this is the North Island beyond the highlight reels. Oh, and spoiler: in a few months I'm trading the rental car for a motorcycle and heading to the Philippines for an 8-month solo expedition. New Zealand was the rehearsal. 📍 Waterfalls visited: Hunua · Wairere · Owharoa · Kaiate · Okere · Marakopa · Omaru · Tawhai · Taranaki · Bridal Veil · Otokoka 🗺️ Regions covered: Auckland · Waikato · Bay of Plenty · Rotorua · Tongariro · Wellington · Egmont · Raglan · Piha 📖 Stoic philosophy references: Epictetus · Marcus Aurelius · Amor Fati 🏍️ Next up: Philippines 8-month motorcycle expedition — subscribe so you don't miss it Timeline: 00:00 – The Plan vs. Reality: Why this trip didn't go as expected. 00:18 – Crossing the International Date Line and overcoming jet lag. 00:44 – Arrival in Auckland and a visit to the Auckland Botanic Gardens. 01:08 – Hiking Hunua Falls and its rugged terrain. 01:25 – Exploring the majestic Wairere Falls. 01:46 – Testing the "Anti-Jet Lag" diet on the steep Cadman Track. 02:20 – Discovering the historic Karangahake Gorge. 02:37 – Short trek to Owharoa Falls. 02:44 – Beach views at Waihi and hiking Mount Maunganui. 03:10 – The hidden gems: Kaiate Falls and Okere Falls. 03:44 – Tongariro National Park: The "Lord of the Rings" landscape. 04:04 – Marokopa Falls and exploring the Piripiri Caves. 04:25 – Relaxing hike to Omaru Falls. 05:31 – Waterfalls and hidden pools: Taranaki Falls and Gollum’s Pool. 06:03 – Journey to the capital: Wellington. 06:34 – Final West Coast expedition: Egmont National Park and Ototoka Beach. 07:44 – The beauty of Bridal Veil Falls and reflections on the trip. 08:18 – Final thoughts: Preparing for my upcoming Philippines motorcycle adventure. #NewZealand #NorthIsland #NewZealandWaterfalls #TongariroAlpineCrossing #MountDoom #LordOfTheRings #NewZealandRoadTrip #Piha #Raglan #RotorúaNZ #WaikatoNZ #StoicPhilosophy #AmorFati #AdventureTravel #OffTheBeatenPath #WaterfallsOfInstagram #TravelVlog #SoloTraveler #MotorcycleExpedition #PhilippinesTravel