New Zealand itinerary help

[goldengirlz]

We booked our flights to New Zealand! Now I need some help. I tried searching this board but the last posts were from 2016 so maybe someone has newer experiences to share.

We’re flying into and out of Auckland and we have 11 full days (not counting travel days to/from AKL) to play with. Going in December.

H would be happy hiking or doing something active everyday, and is not particularly interested in cities. I definitely want wine tasting, hiking and pretty scenery (good food is a bonus!) As far as adventure activities, I’m not particularly ballsy, especially if it involves heights (probably no helicopters?) DD likes beaches and animals.

My preference, if possible, would be to base ourselves in each place for at least a couple of nights, if not 3-4, so we’re not constantly changing hotels. We want to do North and South Island but would rather do a few select highlights than try to fit in more stuff just to check it off the list.

So ... any recommendations??

[steamboat185]

We went last year with 2 kids - then 1.5 and 4.5. Our favorite locations were Tata beach and Kaikoura. The 4 year old and I did whale watching in Kaikoura and it was really nice we saw whales, seals, and hundreds of dolphins. Dh and the little one went for a hike while we were on the boat, which was apparently spectacular. Tata beach is gorgeous! We hiked to waterfalls and a seal kindergarten I could have stayed there forever. The drive from Kaikoura to Nelson/ tata beach takes you through a bunch of wineries. We visited 2-3 and they were all very kid friendly. Cape Regina on the north island was also very nice we did some sliding on sand dunes and could see where the oceans met.

We had also visited 5 years ago and loved the Dunedin peninsula we watched the penguins come in at sunset and it was just beautiful. Both times we visited a place called Cave Stream about 90 minutes west of Christchurch. It’s literally a stream inside a cave that you can travel through (you need flashlights), but it’s a pretty cool experience if the water isn’t high. We didn’t bring the kids (we took turns), but I think if they had been 8-9 I might have if the water had been lower (it was high when we did it).

[goldengirlz]

steamboat185, would you recommend that part of the island over Queenstown? H really wanted to see Milford Sound. It’s a 12-hour drive between them.

[steamboat185]

Jul 10, 2019 23:43:27 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

steamboat185, would you recommend that part of the island over Queenstown? H really wanted to see Milford Sound. It’s a 12-hour drive between them.

Milford sound was very nice too! Our first trip we drove from Christchurch to Ross then down around the bottom and back to Christchurch. We completely skipped the northern section of the southern island- so on our second visit we did another part. Plus the northern section was a bit more kid “friendly” nice beaches and warmer weather. We still hiked a good bit, but not as intense as the first time.

Our first trip felt like a bit too much driving for me everything takes as long or longer to get between, but it was beautiful! Much more impressive to drive through than the northern side of the island. I think if we had added a night or two on the south and pretty skipped the north island it would have felt less rushed.

We haven’t actually stayed in Queenstown on either visit. We stayed in Wanaka (hiked to a hanging glacier) Te Aneu (jumping off point for Milford and Doubtful sound), but skipped the city.

I’d probably go south towards Milford Sound (and if you can stop in Curio bay to see penguins). It’s much more of the traditional NZ views and experience. Good luck 11 days will go incredibly fast!

[babsbunny]

DH and I went almost a decade ago but I cannot stop myself from replying. Our flights were in/out of Sydney so I had a lot of flexibility, but we knew we wanted a stop in Queenstown (personal reasons) and we had 7 nights to work with. I came up with a few options (drawn out on google maps) but found crossing islands with a rental was more time and money than we wanted to spend, so I limited it to south only and then reduced the driving time and hotel changes. In the end, we flew into Queenstown, stayed 2 nights (did bobsled and bike rental around lake) then 2 nights in Te Aneu (glow worm caves and Milford Sound self drive), then 2 nights in Dunedin (AMAZING penguin/sheep/seal/albatross nature tour, then rest day with Cadbury factory and college tour), and we flew from Dunedin to Auckland before flights home. The best part is that I have a reason to go back and see the north island, plus I could even go back to see the glacier and Christchurch.

NZ is like the Florida panhandle to Philly so there is going to be too much to see! Pack in the most important sites that do not put too much stress on the trip then plan to go back for another visit!

[ribollita]

Agree - the southern part of the South Island is the best, and one could spend a good 10 days there.

[wise_rita]

I only know the southern island, and not all of it.

I think you could reasonably split your time between north island (Auckland area) and the southern island (Queenstown and the sounds) if you fly between the two, or at least partially. Auckland is the far north of the north island and the sounds are the far south of the south island. Driving between the two and back would take up several days*.

I recommend narrowing down your must see and dos and then piecing it together. Since Auckland is on the itinerary no matter what, see what you can do from there/en route to or from there.

To add to a few prior recs: Kaikoura was cut off after an earthquake a while ago. I'm sure it's back in action but it was out of commission for a while. It won't be whale season but the dolphins are always there for the viewing (or swimming with).

For the glaciers it's only accessible by helicopter now. I hiked up to Fox back in 2014 but when I looked into it again a year or two ago that was no longer an option and you have to chopper the whole way.

Final thought: Doubtful sound is very close to Milford sound. It might not be reasonable to do both, but it's worth considering. They're very different and awesome in their own ways.

*ETA: I remember briefly looking into the car ferry between islands and it got written off immediately due to expense.

[wise_rita]

Check out the Whirlpool Travel forum. There's got to be tons of NZ posts.

How comfortable are you with driving on the left? It'd be really tough to do any of NZ without driving!

On that note, so many people are enamoured with the idea of renting a camper van and doing it that way. We ultimately decided against it due to expense (cheap hotels or private hostel rooms were cheaper) but it stressed me out being on the road with them. The roads aren't huge, and can be incredibly winding, and they slow up traffic. I was very glad not to be in one and it was nice to stretch out at night once we were in our room.

[goldengirlz]

Jul 13, 2019 8:22:29 GMT -5 wise_rita said:

Check out the Whirlpool Travel forum. There's got to be tons of NZ posts.

How comfortable are you with driving on the left? It'd be really tough to do any of NZ without driving!

On that note, so many people are enamoured with the idea of renting a camper van and doing it that way. We ultimately decided against it due to expense (cheap hotels or private hostel rooms were cheaper) but it stressed me out being on the road with them. The roads aren't huge, and can be incredibly winding, and they slow up traffic. I was very glad not to be in one and it was nice to stretch out at night once we were in our room.

My H can drive on the left pretty well! We will definitely rent a car.

Right now we’re leaning toward:

Day 1: Auckland and environs
Day 2: Drive to Rotorua
Day 3: Explore Rotorua
Day 4: Fly to Christchurch
Day 5: Explore Akaroa
Day 6: Fly to Queenstown
Day 7: Explore Queenstown and environs
Day 8: Drive to Milford Sound (stay at Milford Sound Lodge)
Day 9: Milford Sound
Day 10: Drive to Te'Anu for a night
Day 11: Fly to Auckland
Day 12: Fly home