The sceneries though, one can see similar things in many parts of the world. Readily come to mind is the scenes we saw from the train this August, between England and Scotland.
New Zealand basically has this kind of places all over the country.
Golden Gun, if you haven't done a circular island drive at South Island, you probably should consider that. Personally we feel South Island is much prettier than North Island, though we also like Bays of Islands very much.