Days three and four:

Rotorua to Wellington

The next morning, we hightail it out of Rotorua, but we don't get very far. Tucked away deep in an 800-year-old forest just outside of town is Treetops Lodge, our first taste of luxury on a trip that will see accommodations range from campsites and hostels to ecofriendly inns and historic hotels. Everything at this boutique lodge is fashioned from the land, all without disturbing the thousands of pheasants and deer on site. But the coolest animals are the Australian brushtail possums, normally considered pests in New Zealand but more like resident mascots here.

Now, I know American possums are basically glorified rats, but these cute little buggers are more like small dog-raccoon hybrids. Every night, they turn up for a bit of masterful chef Bruce Thomas's leftover venison crepinettes or organic lamb, which they quite politely eat right out of our hands. Who can blame them? As far as high-end, all-inclusive luxury lodges go, this place has stellar food. We decide to call it a night after James gives me a snooker lesson on the lodge's old English kauri-wood snooker table, one of just 10 left in New Zealand. Let me tell you, the mechanics­ of pool might help you a bit, but snooker ain't easy (though that could be blamed on the Tohu Marlborough Pinot Noir).

By the time we reach Wellington, at the southern end of the North Island, the town is buzzing. Regarded throughout New Zealand as the arts-and-cultural hub (and throughout the world as the home of Rings and King Kong director Peter Jackson), it's sort of the country's San Francisco. We swing for the fences here by trying to get into a bar that is so trendy even Liv Tyler was reportedly given the heave-ho during the filming of Rings. Motel Bar is located in an alley, at the top of a flight of dark and dank stairs - kind of like every inconspicuous bar in Los Angeles is. I don't know what Tyler did, but we walk right in. We toast the North Island over the best Negroni I have ever had (and the most expensive, at $11).