Couple's NZ visit goes sour

American honeymooners Philip Wilson and Meghan Scranton. Photo / Supplied

Honeymooning Americans Meghan Scranton and Philip Wilson travelled all around the world without incident ... then they came to Auckland.

The couple, who got married a week ago in the US, were enjoying the view from the top of Mt Eden on Friday when thieves broke into their car and took their passports and money.

"We wanted to see the whole view of Auckland, to see how everything was laid out," Scranton said.

Their hosts, a New Zealand couple they met in Italy last year, had parked the car in the main car park.

"We went to take a couple of pictures. We were out of the car three or four minutes," she said.

But that's all it took for somebody to make off with their passports and a "considerable amount" of cash, which had been in Scranton's purse.

She'd drawn the money for the start of their trip. Other items taken were another purse, a watch and keys.

Scranton suspects the thieves opened a car door just before the lock activated from a remote, meaning the thieves were watching them closely.

"Luckily my husband's wallet was in his pocket. The biggest thing is, none of us got hurt. As important as this stuff is, it's just stuff."

She was heartened by the many people who had already offered to help and said the incident hadn't put them off New Zealand.

The couple, who own an automotive dealership in Coventry, Connecticut, planned to continue their trip and go skiing in the South Island.

They asked anyone with information on their passports to contact the police.