Pacific Coast Highway

During a southern hemisphere summer, the road will be illuminated by crimson pohutukawa blooms – dubbed New Zealand's Christmas tree.

At nearby Miranda, check out the Seabird Centre to spy on migrating godwits journeying all the way from Alaska or Siberia.

Kick back in the thermal pools at the Miranda Hot Springs.

Schedule a visit to The Pour House in Hahei, and partner wood-fired pizza with good craft beer brewed onsite by the Coromandel Brewing Company. Try the Belgian-style Cloud 9 wheat beer, and say g'day to Max the brewery dog. The cute Jack Russell terrier is even on Instagram @Maxfromthepourhouse.

After soaking up your fill at Hot Water Beach, jump back in the car and head south for an hour to Whangamata. 'Whanga', as it’s endearingly known, is absolutely packed with holidaying families from Auckland and Hamilton, over the Christmas & New Year period, but for most of the year it's a sleepy surf town with a pair of surprising islands just off the coast. Around 1km from Whangamata's arcing beach, Whenuakura Island and Hauturu Island are both wildlife sanctuaries – sorry, you can't land on them – but kayaking and paddle boarding around them is very popular. Check out SurfSup in Whangamata for paddle boarding and kayaking lessons and tours.

Don't leave town without trying the locals' favourite, a stonking 'Whanga' burger – combining beef, bacon and avocado - from Soulburger.

The life-changing promise of silver and gold has been mined from around Waihi since 1878 – evident in the grandiose heritage architecture lining the town's main street – and the 250m-deep Martha Mine is still turning out the good stuff. Gaze down into the mine from near the derelict remains of the century-old Cornish Pumphouse, or join a tour deep into the mine with Waihi Gold Mine Tours. The nearby Gold Discovery Centre combines whizzbang 21st-century interactive displays with poignant stories of the area's mining history. If your travel budget is looking a bit depleted, good luck in taking on a bearded holographic miner at the classic gambling game of 'Two Up'.

From late October to Easter, the Sunday morning Waihi Beach Fresh Produce Market is the choice of savvy locals looking for seasonal produce and fresh artisan baking – before swimming or walking along the 9km stretch of sand extending all the way to Matakana Island and the entrance to Tauranga Harbour.

An hours south of Waihi is one of the country's fastest-growing cities, and increasingly a bolthole for retirees moving from Auckland. Tauranga has one of the best eating and drinking scenes in regional New Zealand. Take it easy over a lazy brunch at the Elizabeth Cafe & Larder.

Head to the compact harbourside precinct along the Strand for a tasting paddle of Croucher's craft beer at Croucher's Basecamp.

Cosmopolitan Auckland and Wellington may get the regular kudos as the dining capitals of New Zealand, but surprising Tauranga punches well above its weight in the tastiest ways possible. And if you're keen to meet the locals, Monday night's pub quiz at Croucher's could be the most fun you'll ever have over a hoppy pale ale.

Then scoff the pan-Asian shared plates at Macau.

Welcome to the sunniest town in New Zealand. Just over an hours drive to the south east of the Mount, Whakatane is a laidback regional centre sitting at the mouth of the eponymous Whakatane River. Check out the wonderful carvings on the restored 1879 Maori meeting house at Te Manuka Tutahi Marae, before joining a boat trip with White Island Tours to New Zealand's most active volcano.