She and her husband live in the Wellington area, my wife and I were just visiting. They love living in NZ. We had a great trip, saw more of both islands this time. The weather was pretty good for us, other than a little rain.
I think we were in that area on our first trip a couple of years ago. We stayed in Martinborough (handy tip for visitors intending to go wine tasting, wineries close for Easter ), and I think we went through Masterton on the way to Castlepoint. I recall that whole area being nice.
This trip my wife and I borrowed their car during the week while they were working and drove up to the Lake Taupo area for a couple of days. No New Zealanders were harmed, I was able to stay on the correct side of the road.