New Zealand Itinerary

Old Jan 11th, 2017, 12:49 PM
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New Zealand Itinerary

4 people in their 20's trying to plan 2 weeks in New Zealand!! We could use all the help we can get as to a great itinerary to follow. We are athletic and up for adventure. Hostels are fine too! We are flying in from Atlanta, Ga. Thanks for any help!!
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Old Jan 11th, 2017, 02:11 PM
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Saying this with a smile but we are not travel agents. The idea is for you to work out something and we will comment on it.
2 weeks is not long - fly into Auckland do the sights of Waitomo Caves and Rotorua.
Then fly to Queenstown for all the adrenaline activities you might want.
Consider the direct flight - Houston to Auckland on Air New Zealand. No, I do not work for them but this is a good flight for the Southern States to get here rather than go through LAX.
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Old Jan 11th, 2017, 02:56 PM
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What time of year do you plan to travel?

Lee Ann
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Old Jan 11th, 2017, 02:58 PM
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Your local library is likely to have a guidebook or three. Start there. Huge differences in landscapes and climates between the north of the North Island and the south of the South Island. There are mountains with glaciers, and there are Hawaii-like beach scenarios, and everything in between. Lots to learn about before you can begin to decide.
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Old Jan 14th, 2017, 05:30 PM
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We are traveling this March. We work full time and have very little time to do a lot of research but we have been looking online when we can. There is just so much information to read through and then trying to see which are good and which are just advertisements to make a sell, is frustrating. I just thought if some people our age had been and could recommend what and how to do things, we could start with that. I've seen some 12 day self drive itineraries that seem ok too. Even renting camper vans. I will look at going from Houston, thanks!
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Old Jan 14th, 2017, 05:31 PM
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We are traveling this March. We work full time and have very little time to do a lot of research but we have been looking online when we can. There is just so much information to read through and then trying to see which are good and which are just advertisements to make a sell, is frustrating. I just thought if some people our age had been and could recommend what and how to do things, we could start with that. I've seen some 12 day self drive itineraries that seem ok too. Even renting camper vans. I will look at going from Houston, thanks!
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Old Jan 14th, 2017, 11:57 PM
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Half the fun of travel is having a 'must see' place in mind and actually going there. You must have some idea of what you want to see rather than have your holiday planned by strangers in a forum.
However in 12 days you could hire a campervan in Christchurch, head to the West Coast of the South Island for a look at the glaciers and bush walks, then to Wanaka, Te Anau and Milford Sound, Queenstown and back to Christchurch through Mt Cook and Lake Tekapo. This is sort of a loop of the bottom half of the South Island.
If you are interested in Maori culture and the volcanic/thermal areas around Rotorua then start in Auckland. Visit the glow worm caves at Waitomo, head to Rotorua for a few days and then fly to Queenstown for the rest. A day trip is possible to Milford Sound from Queenstown but not to the West Coast. There's heaps to do in the Queenstown area.
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Old Jan 15th, 2017, 12:04 AM
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March 2017 is only about 6 weeks away! That does not leave much time for planning.
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Old Jan 15th, 2017, 07:52 AM
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If you are in the Queenstown/Mt Cook area of the SI, a stay in Wanaka is not to be missed. If you are adventurous (and have the budget), you should try a canyoning trip with Deep Canyon tours. We took the Big Nige tour last January and it was one of the most fun things we had done. It's a combination of repelling, jumping, and sliding your way down a narrow river canyon cut through the side of a mountain. For free fun in Wanaka, do the Rob Roy Glacier hike in Mt. Aspiring NP. It's a 3-4 hour hike with incredible views.
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Old Jan 15th, 2017, 09:39 AM
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If you go up north, look up the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. Fascinating!
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Old Jan 15th, 2017, 08:11 PM
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A lot of the 12-day itineraries don't really take driving time, stopping for photos and walks, etc. into account. If you can give us an idea of why you considered visiting New Zealand, we can give you better suggestions.

Lee Ann
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Old Jan 16th, 2017, 08:08 AM
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Asking for opinions on must-see places will get you as confused as looking for online information. It all becomes rather jumbled. It's also rather difficult to offer advice if we don't know if a domestic flight is in the budget.

Let me offer a basic 12-day itinerary of North Island covering a lot of ground, and you can tell me what you like or don't like about it:

Day 1 - Arrive Auckland

Day 2 - explore, possibly Waiheke Island / or drive to Hot Water Beach

Day 3 - drive to Rotorua

Day 4 - explore

Day 5 - drive to Napier

Day 6 - explore

Day 7 drive to Wellington

Day 8 - explore

Day 9 - drive to New Plymouth

Day 10 - explore

Day 11 - drive to Waitomo

Day 12 - drive to Auckland, fly out

For instance, perhaps you have no interest in Napier/Wellington/New Plymouth and would rather fit in Northland. If you prefer beaches and hiking, maybe you would prefer:

Day 1 - Arrive Auckland

Day 2 - drive to Bay of Islands

Day 3 - explore

Day 4 - drive to Orewa (just to break up the long drive)

Day 5 - drive to Coromandel Peninsula

Day 6 - explore (Cathedral Cove/Hot Water Beach OR shuttle to Coromandel Coastal Walkway)

Day 7 - drive to Rotorua

Day 8 - explore

Day 9 - drive to Whakapapa Village

Day 10 - Tongariro Alpine Crossing

Day 11 - drive to Waitomo

Day 12 - drive to Auckland, fly out
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Old Jan 17th, 2017, 09:20 AM
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Alright peeps! As a Kiwi raised in Chicago, we are going to NZ at the beginning of Feb, so I'm going to just give you our itinerary with the hope that this will at least get you started. This is my boyfriend's first trip to NZ and I have been going there my whole life...I was trying to give him a sample of everything
Day 1: Arrive Auckland...hang out a bit to acclimate. We are doing the America's Cup boat tour...heard it's really fun! And we plan to be to bed EARLY due to jet lag.
Day 2: (This is a LONG day) Drive to Waitomo Glow worm caves for black water rafting tour. Then we stop at the Otorohanga Kiwi park on our way to Hobbiton. The drive itself is only about 1.5 hours from Waitomo to Matamata, BUT we are definitely pushing it with our Hobbiton tour time being 4:30 pm (I mean, we have to do SOMETHING LOTR After Hobbiton we are driving to Rotorua
Day 3: Rotorua
Day 4: Rotorua spa day
Day 5: Rotorua in the am...then drive back to Auckland to fly to Queenstown. (There were no direct flights from ROT to QTN)
Day 6: Queenstown - all day bus tour to Milford Sound.
Day 7: Queenstown - 4x4 off road tour, shotover jets, bungee jumping are all options
Day 8-11: Rent car or camper and depart Queenstown for drive to Christchurch with many stops. We don't have the exact days narrowed down but we are driving along the West Coast and stops will include Wanaka, Fox/Franz Josef glaciers, Punakaiki rocks, and Arthur's Pass village. You can go the other direction and do Wanaka, Mt Cook, and Lake Tekapo...it's all personal preference.
Day 12 - Flight out of ChCh...in your case...probably to Auckland to catch a flight home.

Two things: Does this 12 days include travel time from the states? Because you will lose about 2 days there.

MAKE SURE AND STAY UP ON YOUR FIRST DAY IN NZ. We have a rule that everyone must stay up until at least 8:30pm on the first day. We have found this is the easiest and quickest way to get over the jet lag. Also, I wouldn't drive the first day...you would be surprised how out of whack you will be. Just give yourself the first day to acclimate. There is LOTS to do in Auckland
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Old Jan 17th, 2017, 05:27 PM
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ZoeRocks-another peep from Chicago here!
I am meeting my daughter in Auckland who works down in Antarctica the third week of March. This will be my third trip to NZ and will only have 12 days to travel with her. We want to concentrate on the North Island and the islands north of Auckland. Any suggestions on favorite cities in that area that are on or near the beach? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
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Old Jan 23rd, 2017, 12:12 PM
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This is great info!! Thanks so much. From this we have decided that we will flight into Auckland and then fly to Queenstown and start there. The camper van sound great to drive all the areas from Queenstown to Christchurch and then back up to Auckland to fly home. Putting the 12 day itinerary together and will post soon!! We do have 12 days... 14 total with flights.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2017, 03:32 PM
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I'm going to tell you straight-out, that 12 days (or is it 12 nights?) is not sufficient to drive a campervan from Queenstown to Auckland and be able to stop and enjoy anything.

Day 1 - Arrive Queenstown
Day 2 - pick up campervan and provisions, drive to Wanaka
Day 3 - explore
Day 4 - drive to Fox/FJG
Day 5 - drive to Punakaiki
Day 6 - drive to Nelson/Abel Tasman
Day 7 - explore
Day 8 - drive to Picton, ferry to Wellington
Day 9 - drive to National Park
Day 10 - drive to Rotorua
Day 11 - explore
Day 12 - drive to Auckland

I'm not recommending this itinerary. I've posted it to show you that you are driving almost every day and it's the most direct route you can imagine.

My earlier post assumed you weren't flying beyond Auckland. If you fly to South Island, fly to Christchurch and pick up the campervan there. Then do a loop and return the campervan to Christchurch. This also makes it easier because you can have the campervan company store your suitcases, which are hard to store on a campervan.

Day 1 - Arr CHC
Day 2 - drive to Punakaiki
Day 3 - drive to FJG/Fox
Day 4 - Explore (helihike?)
Day 5 - drive to Wanaka
Day 6 - drive to Te Anau
Day 7 - Milford Sound, return to Te Anau
Day 8 - drive to Queenstown
Day 9 - explore
Day 10 - drive to Mt Cook
Day 11 - explore
Day 12 - drive to Christchurch
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