Story by staff writer JM Merchant. Photos Copyright © Joanna Abram. 7 a.m. on a foggy morning in Paihia saw us introduced to Spike, the driver of the Awesome bus. To call him a character would be an understatement, but I can think of no one better to introduce you to the “top bit” of New Zealand....

The forest at Ball's FallsTWENTY VALLEY is a place chock-full of things to see and do—but if you do visit the Valley, please don’t miss Ball’s Falls. At first I thought the name was rather silly (made me think of balls o’ fire) until Carla, our host at Bonnybank B&B, explained...