The real New Zealand places in the Breaking Free series

Did you know most of the places in my Breaking Free series are real? While Ria and her friends are not real, many of the places are actual places in New Zealand I either lived in or visited often. If you ever have a chance to travel to New Zealand, they are also great places to visit. Here are my favorites:

University of Waikato (Books 1-5)

Ria’s university is also the university I went to growing up. And, yes, it has a big beautiful campus with a lake, park, and shops right in the middle. The cafeteria Ria often visits with her friends is on the 2nd floor of the round building with windows over-looking the lake (see photo). I’m not sure if they serve pancakes now though—Lucy would be disappointed 😉

*North Island of New Zealand*
*(and the real places in Breaking Free)*

Hamilton (Books 1-5)

Ria’s university is in a small city called Hamilton. Do you remember old Bertie’s painting of the Waikato River in Book 2? This a large river that runs though the middle of Hamilton. The place where Ria and her friends watch the big rugby game in Book 5 (the name has changed from Rugby Park to FMG Stadium) is also near the middle of the city.

Lake Taupo (Book 3)

At the end of Book 3, Ria and her friends go a road trip to Lake Taupo. This is a large lake in the middle of the North Island. It’s very popular for swimming and fishing in the summer. Also, there are large snow-covered mountains behind it which are great for skiing in the winter. In Book 3, on the way to the lake, Ria and her friends stop at Cambridge and Tirau which are also real places. And, just before arriving at Lake Taupo, they also stop at Huka Falls. This is a famous waterfall near Lake Taupo (see photo). The amount of water going down this waterfall is truly impressive. It’s actually the beginning of the Waikato River.

Mount Maunganui (Book 5)

This is one of my favorite places in New Zealand. It’s basically a town next to a mountain surrounded by the ocean. It’s not an island though, so it’s easy to get to by car. If you climb the mountain (called Mauao in Māori) like Ria and Lockie did in Book 5, you can get great views of the ocean on all sides. The are also nice restaurants at the bottom, like the one where Ria and her friends had their ‘brunch’.

Raglan (Book 1)

Do you remember the beach party in Book 1? This is where Ria first talked to Lockie. Raglan is a quiet beach town on the West Coast of the North Island. It is a beautiful place surrounded by green countryside. I thought it was the perfect place for Ria to find her ‘Mr. Right’ 😉 While the ocean at Raglan can be rough and not always good for swimming, it is always a famous surfing spot in New Zealand. By the way, did you notice that Ria and her friends always travelled by bus or car in the books? There aren’t many trains in New Zealand so this is how most people travel.

Paul McAleese -author