melissa96746

Hi! My boyfriend and I will be traveling to New Zealand this May for about 12 days into Auckland and we need to find out what to do, the best ways of doing it and to see/explore New Zealand to its fullest while we are there.
We are traveling from Hawaii and both him and I are every outdoorsy so anything goes.

Any ideas? What cities should we not miss? Should we fly down to south first? Also he is a hunter and may want to get a small hunt in while we are there? Is there a company we should look into??? Please any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Aloha!

Melnq8

Hi Melissa -

With only 12 days, I suggest you pick one island. Distances in NZ are much greater than they appear on a map, roads are generally one lane in each direction and they tend to be narrow and winding.

As you're outdoorsy, I suggest you head to the South Island - and I suggest you give the 'cities' a miss and concentrate on the island's natural scenic wonders.

One possibility is to fly into Queenstown and work your way back to Christchurch - either via the West Coast (glaciers) or the inland route (Mt Cook, Lake Tekapo). Or you could fly into Christchurch and make a loop, heading down south via the West Coast and returning via the inland route (or vice versa) - this is a popular route for first time visitors to NZ and incorporates many of the SI's 'must sees'.

I know nothing about hunting, but here's a website that might help:

http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/hunting/

I find the best way to see NZ is via rental car, but there are buses if you're uncomfortable driving.

melissa96746

Ok that's a start. Well being that we are flying into Auckland I am debating if we should spend a day in Auckland then make our way south then maybe back up to Auckland for a few days before we have to leave. It is both of our birthdays, mine 12th and his 20th so to incorporate a nice dinner or something romantic to do together, would be ideal either in the beginning or ending. Any ideas? I just ordered some books from amazon and a map so I can prepare but what does the north have to offer?

Melnq8

Someone else will have to help you with the North Island, I'm more familiar with the south.

melissa96746

Thank you Melnq8. I am trying to schedule a hunt with Clarence Vally Trophy hunting in South Island of New Zealand near Kaikoura in northern Canterbury.

Hopefully we can do some exploring after the 4 days with them in the south. Thanks for your help!

ElendilPickle

We spent 10 days on the North Island in 2004. While I'm sure some of our lodging info is outdated, all the activities we did are still available.

Here's a link to my trip report: http://www.fodors.com/community/aust...april-2004.cfm

Lee Ann