For only two weeks - I'd limit it to one island. It's very difficult to see just the highlights of one island in that time, let alone both. And of course, I'm going to suggest the SI, which is my personal favorite. In our 10 trips to NZ, we've only visited the NI once...never felt the need to return.

However, as this is your first (not your one and only) trip to NZ, and as you're visiting in winter, it makes sense to visit the NI this time around. You'll have a chance of better weather up there and because you want to experience Maori culture and visit Wellington, spending all of your time on the NI would be a practical solution.

NZ may look small on a map, but it's long and there are only so many roads - it takes much longer to get from one place to the next than you might expect. Roads are narrow, winding and generally one lane in each direction.

I often travel to the SI in the winter months (am currently working on an itinerary for August myself) and I love it at that time of year, but you need to be flexible. Poor weather, road damage, etc can wreak havoc on a well planned itinerary; it pays to expect the unexpected. Access to areas like Milford Sound might be temporarily closed due to snow and avalanche danger, passes might close temporarily for snow and ice, that sort of thing. It's wise to stay off the roads until 9 or 10 am in the morning so the frost has a chance to melt, etc. And you'll want to have some snow chains in the trunk - just in case.

We were on the SI last June and got caught up in a snow storm that seemed to catch everyone completely off guard - it was snowing at sea level; Christchurch came to a halt for a day or so.

I suggest you decide what you absolutely don't want to miss on this trip and then come back for some specific itinerary suggestions.

Thanks for the input, Melnq8. I've read a bunch of your trip reports, and was hoping you'd respond to this one.

It's hard to make the decision to forgo the SI, but I'm beginning to think it's better to just do the NI, and then do the SI some other year in a better season. It would be one thing to hang out in the cold rain or drive all day on snowy roads with just the DW, but no reason to put the kids through it.

Will see what other folks say, and then post for more specific itinerary suggestions.

Hi, kbob88,
Just to let you know the NZ school holidays are from Friday 12 to Sunday 28 July. NZers often move around in the school holidays, especially if there is snow about!

I agree with melnq8 that the NI is best for this time of year, especially as you have relatives in Wellington. Will you be flying into Wellington or Auckland, and where do you leave NZ from? That would help in suggesting ideas / itinerary for you.

It doesn't matter which part of NZ you travel to, you will love it because the whole place is full of 'Oh, wow!' scenery.
Unlike melnq I prefer the North Island and despite many , many trips there I still always find something new to fall in love with. Your kids will love Rotorua, I take school kids (9-16yr olds) there for 2 weeks every second year and they love every minute of it. If you decide to go there let me know and I'll tell you the bits they like best!
Having said that, the SI is spectacular in the Winter and Queenstown, Wanaka ,Milford & Dunedin are wonderful dressed in white. The weather can change quite drastically though and it's easy to get stuck on one side of Arthur's or Haast Pass with very little warning.

dottyp and Kwaussie, thanks for the input! I've heard from others that we'll be fine no matter what we do, but some people definitely have a "can't believe you're thinking of skipping the South Island!" reaction. BTW, we have friends touring NZ right now, and their kids loved Rotorua too.

Don't know where we're flying into / out of yet. Trying to nail down overall, high-level itinerary first, and then will get flights. I suppose we'll be doing SFO to Auckland or Sydney. I don't think there are nonstops to anywhere else. ANZ to Auckland is running about $1250 right now, which seems reasonable.

You're not skipping the SI, you're just saving it for a return visit .

You might take a look at Virgin Australia. I'm putting together a trip for my brother to meet us in NZ in August/Sept and have done a lot of research on flights to NZ from the US.

Air NZ is well and good, but do be aware that they cram ten seats across in a 777 in coach whereas Virgin Australia only crams in nine seats on the same type of plane. Something to consider if you're flying coach. Every inch counts on such a long flight. Believe me, I know.

Virgin Australia has flights from LAX (and possibly SFO) via SYD, MEL and Brisbane.

OK, the "2 Week Family Trip" is now a 3-Week Family Trip! Talked it over with the DW, examined the bank statement, and tacked on an additional week. So the SI is back in!

Trip is the first three weeks in July; thinking about heading to SI right away after arrival and working our way up -- the logic there is to get through the SI before the NZ school holidays start on July 12. Does that make sense? Thinking that Kiwis go to the SI to ski and stuff for the winter holidays, but probably don't go to Auckland and Wellington as much (or we won't have as much trouble with accommodations there).

Off the top of my head itinerary is:
- Queenstown
- Arrowtown
- Milford Sound (and maybe Doubtful Sound and Te Anau)
- Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers
- Hokitika
- Punakaiki
- Abel Tasman NP
- Wellington
- Rotorua
- Hobbiton & Waitomo caves (yes, we have kids!)
- Auckland
- Bay of Islands

How does that sound? Not sure what's between Welly and Rotorua that the kids would be interested in. And is Bay of Islands worth the drive up in the winter? Any reason to go to Christchurch, or are we better off using that time in the mountains?

Good on ya.

Probably not a bad idea to head south first given that ski areas+school holidays=busy.

Even with an extra week, you might be pressed to fit in all on your SI wish list given that Abel Tasman is way north and QT is down south. There's a lot of driving involved on your itinerary.

Are you thinking about flying from Nelson to Wellington?

Christchurch never has interested me much, as I visit NZ for the scenery, but there's plenty to do in the area if you can spare the time. I'm thinking you won't have much time to spare though.

Great decision to extend by a week. Your dollar will go a long way in NZ so you may as well make the most of your airfares!

I'd give Christchurch a miss in favour of more time on the West coast.

There's really nothing much between Wellington & Rotorua except a very long drive!

I agree with melinq that you will be hard pressed to fit everything into your SI itinerary. You may also get held up by snow at that time of year. You might be better to concentrate on the southern bits this time.

The Bay of Islands is lovely but it's a deceptively long drive from Auckland. You could go from Rotorua to Mount Maunganui or even up to the Coromandel for some NI beaches. If you're going to Waitomo (very expensive worms!) then it's not far to check out Raglan and the black sand beaches. I think they are amazing.

Auckland is just another city, don't dedicate too much time to it.

OK, sounds like Christchurch is out; thanks for validating that.

Kwaussie: looks like Bay of Islands is about 3:45 hours drive from Auckland (sound right?), which probably makes it an overnight trip. Perhaps we're better off using that time on the SI somewhere?

Should we even bother with beaches given that it will be July? I suppose we'll do a walk or two on some nice beaches, but I don't think it will be warm enough to hang on the beach and swim, so unless there's some awesome coastal scenery, I'm guessing we give beaches a miss. Plus we'll have a week+ in Pt Douglas and the Whitsundays later on in the trip. Let me know if I'm wrong.

Don't know if we should fly b/w Nelson and Wellington or take the ferry. Advice?

Putting a bit more flesh on the itinerary:
Day 1 - Fly Auckland to Queenstown, hang out and explore
Days 2-4 - Queenstown area: Arrowtown, Milford Sound whenever the weather is good, whatever else... is it too cold for the jet boats?
Day 5 - Drive to Franz Josef; do Fox and FJ glaciers (maybe splurge on a heli flight?)
Day 6 - Drive to Punakaiki, stop at Hokitika on the way (and perhaps other places)
Day 7 - Drive to Abel Tasman NP / Nelson area; see something on way?
Day 8 - Abel Tasman cruise
Day 9 - Nelson in the morning, then fly or ferry to Wellington
Days 10-12 - Wellington visiting cousins, doing stuff around there
Day 13 - Drive to Rotorua (via Taupo or Napier?)
Days 14-15 - Rotorua area (or just one day? or perhaps break up day 13 drive by spending the night between Rotorua and Wellington, and driving to R on morning of day 14)
Day 16 - Hobbiton, Waitomo Caves, drive to somewhere north of Auckland (too much in one day?)
Day 17 - Bay of Islands (cruise?)
Day 18 - Drive to Auckland
Days 19-20 - Auckland
Day 21 - Fly to Sydney

I think the general idea of the trip is good -- fly to Qtown and work our way back up to Auckland. Would you all add or remove any locations? Add more days somewhere? Maybe forget Bay of Islands and add a day or two somewhere else?

I'm not too worried about the driving on this trip; after this we're going to Australia for four weeks and will be doing much less driving there. That said, I don't want to push it too hard.

Thanks again for all the advice.

The ferry leaves from Picton, not Nelson. It's a two hour drive between the two which you'd need to factor in if you're spending your last SI night in Nelson/Abel Tasman area.

It's not too cold for the jet boats if you bundle up, but I'd recommend the Dart River Safari out of Glenorchy over the Shotover Jet in QT in a New York minute. The former is a lovely scenic journey with Mt Aspiring Nat'l Park as the backdrop, with commentary and a few spins thrown in for good measure, the latter is strictly a thrill ride.

Not sure which Abel Tasman cruise you're referring to, but you'll want to check operating schedules, as in the winter months many activities are on reduced schedules.

Personally, I think you SI itinerary is too rushed. You're driving most days and you've not left any time for contingencies - like bad weather.

Melnq8 - Thanks for the recommendation of the Dart River Safari!

I didn't think we were driving too much on the SI as we have such a big chunk of time in Queenstown, but I do see what you mean outside of that. And although we've got some flexibility in the Abel Tasman / Nelson area, the trip up the west coast is vulnerable to issues like bad weather.

Some friends who are currently touring NZ with kids right now sent me their itinerary, which is:
Auckland- 2 nights
Waitomo to Rotorua- 3 nights
Wellington- 2 nights
Christchurch- 3 nights
Franz Joseph- 1 night
Wanaka- 1 night
Queenstown- 3 nights
Te Anau- 3 nights
Dunedin- 3 nights
Christchurch- 1 night (fly out)

They were underwhelmed with Christchurch, and wished they'd had another day in Wanaka.

I'm thinking we should chop out Bay of Islands, and maybe a day out of Wellington (depending on feedback from the cousins), and add some more time to the SI, although I'm not sure where. How about this:

Day 1 - Fly Auckland to Queenstown, hang out and explore
Days 2-6 - Southland / Fiordland TBD: Queenstown, Te Anau, Arrowtown, Milford Sound, Wanaka
Day 7 - Drive to Franz Josef; do Fox and FJ glaciers (maybe splurge on a heli flight?)
Day 8 - Drive to Punakaiki, stop at Hokitika on the way (and perhaps other places)
Day 9 - Drive to Abel Tasman NP / Nelson area; see something on way?
Day 10 - Abel Tasman cruise, stay same place as night 9
Day 11 - Nelson in the morning, then fly or ferry to Wellington
Days 12-13 - Wellington visiting cousins, doing stuff around there
Day 14 - Drive to Rotorua (via Taupo or Napier?)
Days 15-16 - Rotorua area
Day 17 - Hobbiton, Waitomo Caves, drive to Auckland
Day 18-19 - Auckland
Day 20 - Fly to Sydney (realized we need to be in Sydney a day earlier)

I'm not crazy about Christchurch either. Much better on offer IMO.

I always recommend two nights at the glaciers, because the drive to get there takes so long - ~4.5 hours from Wanaka, not including stops, and there are lots of reasons to stop.

Add to that the short days...one night doesn't really allow time for any glacier activities, as you'll have a longish drive the next day as well, about 3.5 hours (without stops).

If a heli-hike is important to you, just be aware that you might miss out if the weather is bad, as there's no room for a second chance in your itinerary - the only time I see that you can do a heli-hike is the day you depart Franz, which means you'll be getting a late start on your journey to Punakaiki, which will reduce your exploration along the way, hence my suggestion of two nights.

You'll reach Fox first coming from Wanaka, so it makes sense to explore it en route to Franz time and daylight allowing.

Two nights in Wanaka comes in quite handy if you hope to drive out the Mt Aspiring Nat'l Park, which is about 90 minutes from town - lots of fantastic scenery back there and wonderful walks, but the road can be a bit iffy in the winter months (many fords to cross and lots of opportunities to bottom out your rental car!). If you're just interested in seeing the lake, maybe visit Puzzling World for the kids and basic exploration, one night do the trick.

Still curious about that Abel Tasman cruise - are you referring to the water taxi?

Probably a good idea to stay two nights at the glaciers, especially so we have two shots at decent weather. I thought it was 3:30 from Wanaka to FJ, but it appears that 4:30 is more like it, assuming good weather. I'll work in an extra night there somehow.

Not sure about what exactly we'll do in Wanaka, Queenstown, Glenorchy, Te Anau etc and how many days where. Mostly just want to get the overall number of days in the area settled down and then work out the details. No matter what, it appears we won't have nearly enough time to do everything there is to do in this area.

Abel Tasman - we'll either do the water taxis and some short hikes, or if the kids are feeling lazy, cruise up to Totaranui and back. Haven't really planned it out yet. It seems like a very scenic area, and the weather is apparently usually very good there, lots of sunshine.

I assume you know that you can take a water taxi at Abel Tasman, be dropped somewhere on the track, walk to another section, and then be collected by water taxi. Nice way to spend a day in the park.

Glenorchy is only a 40 minute drive from QT, so easy to do as a day trip. There's not much in Glenorchy for accommodation or services, but the scenery is incredible. The Dart River Safari begins in Glenorchy, so you could drive there, do the safari, and then explore the area before/after. I have some suggestions if you want them.

Arrowtown is a short drive from QT - it's not terribly exciting as places go, but people seem to like it and there are some nice walks.

Te Anau makes the perfect base from which to explore Milford. It's a two hour drive from QT each way. I'd suggest two nights there - which gives you one full day to dedicate to Milford Sound and the Milford Road, and prevents having to drive back to QT after a full day.

So, maybe two nights QT, two nights Te Anau, one night Wanaka? That covers days 2-6.

No matter what you do, I reckon you'll wish you had more time.

"No matter what you do, I reckon you'll wish you had more time." Unfortunately, I could say that about almost all of my travels!

Revised itinerary:
1 - arrive QT (probably late morning), hang out and explore
2 - Glenorchy, Dart River trip
3 - Fun stuff in QT
4 - drive to Te Anau, do more stuff in QT or Te Anau
5 - Milford Sound
6 - drive to Wanaka (3.5 hrs?); Puzzling World
7 - drive up rt 6; maybe do a quick walk or two in the Makarora Valley; go over Haast Pass; arrive FJ (or Fox); see Fox Glacier if time
8 - FJ Glacier (and maybe Fox)
9 - Drive to Punakaiki, stop at Hokitika on the way (and perhaps other places)
10 - Drive to Abel Tasman NP / Nelson area; see something on way?
11 - Abel Tasman NP, stay same place as night 10
12 - Nelson in the morning, then fly or ferry to Wellington
13-14 - Wellington visiting cousins, doing stuff around there
15 - Drive to Rotorua (via Taupo or Napier?)
16-17 - Rotorua area
18 - Hobbiton, Waitomo Caves, drive to Auckland
19 - Auckland
20 - Fly to Sydney

If weather looks bad on day 5, but ok on day 4, we could drive to Te Anau on day 3 afternoon, and do Milford Sound on day 4 instead. Likewise, we have the option of doing an early morning heli to FJ Glacier on day 9 if day 8 has bad weather. I think we'd be OK with that even if it meant we had to skip something scheduled for day 9; the glacier will probably outrank anything between FJ and Punakaiki.

To do this, I had to cut a day out of Auckland, leaving us down to one full day and two nights, but we've got some serious city time coming up in Sydney and Melbourne right after this.

We could probably skip Arrowtown; we've got lots of old gold-mining towns near us in California.

I think this is pretty good now at a high level. Thanks for all your help. The only day I'm a bit worried about is #15, which is about a six hour drive from Welly to Rotorua apparently. But we'll survive.

Melnq8, I'd definitely be interested in your Glenorchy suggestions. And is there anything we should hit in Te Anau (besides Milford)? Are the glow-worm caves there any good, and if so, how do they compare to Waitomo's? Also, anything else worth doing around Wanaka?

Looks good to me. Sorry, can't help with the NI.

Here's the site I use for travel times distances - it shows Te Anau to Wanaka at 3:20. It always seems to take us a lot longer than the charts indicate, but we're easily side tracked, your experience may vary.

http://www.newzealand.com/travel/getting-to-around-nz/travel-times-and-distances/travel-times-and-distances-home.cfm

I've never done the Te Anau glow worm caves - did Waitomo eons ago.

Don't miss the Blue Pools en route to Fox/Franz. There's also a nice walk to Monro Beach near Lake Moeraki - penguins in season, but usually at dusk. Expect sandflies.

My trips are walk centric, so these may not appeal to you, but here you go:

Glenorchy -

Walk a section of the Routeburn Track (it's about 15 km to Routeburn Flats and return, but you certainly don't have to walk that far to get a feel for it).

Drive to the other side of the lake and walk a section of one of the tracks over there or just drive over to get a different perspective of the lake, maybe pop into Kinloch Lodge for a drink (check hours, they sometimes close in winter). You'll probably need to book if you plan to eat there, although we were there in June and no bookings were required).

Explore the Whakaari Conservation Area (on the Queenstown/Glenorchy Road abut 3 km from Glenorchy)

Mt Crighton track - on same road as above, but closer to QT

Glenorchy Walkway - a boardwalk that leads through the lagoon, easy - good for kids

Te Anau -

Walk to Key Summit, a section of the Routeburn Track (it begins on this side and ends on the Glenorchy side)- fab views on a clear day

Pull over at every opportunity on the Milford Road, you'll see why once you get there - lots of overlooks, lakes, viewpoints and short walks.

Loads of tracks in/around Te Anau

Wanaka -

You might enjoy the drive over the Crown Range via QT to Wanaka - it's a bit shorter, but both routes are very scenic, can't go wrong with either, unless there's snow on the Crown Range Rd, and there very well could be.

Mt Iron - right in town, can't miss it - steep walk to the top for some pretty nice views, lots of birds

Wanaka has a funky little movie theater, I keep meaning to check it out: http://www.paradiso.net.nz/

Take a drive from Wanaka along Mt Aspiring Road towards Raspberry Creek - this leads through the West Matukituki Valley of Mt Aspiring Nat'l Park - this is the road I mentioned above that has lots of fords which can be troublesome in the winter months. It's about an hour to Raspberry Creek and a trail head - even if you don't choose to walk, the drive is pretty spectacular.

There's also a winery and a brewery in Wanaka.

Drive from Wellington to Rotorua via Taupo. You'll go right past Tongariro National Park, where parts of Lord of the Rings were filmed (Mordor, the Emyn Muil).

We bought these big square crackers that looked like the movie version of lembas, took them up Mt. Ruapehu, and took pictures sitting on the rocks with our lembas.

Lee Ann

You're getting lots of good SI advice so I'll stick to NI, except to say that if you stay in Wanaka and want to ski then my favourite place is Snow Park. They are open for night skiing and their hire rates are very reasonable. It's a small field but magical at night and the lodge has great food and wine for the non skiers (and non drivers!). Also, stop in Hokitika and go for a walk on the beach where you are sure to find some pieces of greenstone in their natural state. If you stay in Franz Josef take some food with you. The local supermarket has a monopoly and the prices are atrocious.

Drive Wellington to Rotorua via Taupo for the aforementioned view of Ruapehu which rises from the Desert Road like magic. It's much too far to go via Napier. It is a long drive but if you make good time then I would suggest diverting between Taupo and Rotorua to visit Orakei Korako for some geothermal magic.

In Rotorua visit the luge & either Te Puia (gov't run Maori Arts & Crafts Institute) or Whakarewarewa (less 'glossy' Maori Village). If your kids are into thrills then they'll love the swoop at the Agrodome and if you like sheep then their sheep show is pretty cute! Go to the Mitai Hangi & Show. Make sure you soak in some thermal hot pools - our favourite is just out of Rotorua in the Waikite Valley. At Kuirau Park at the base of the hospital you can see lots of thermal activity for nothing and in the Ohinemutu Precinct there is a beautiful Maori cemetery and church that are also free to visit. At the back of the Ohinemutu marae there is a lovely little gift shop with locally made crafts, a great place to pick up some authentic souvenirs.

It's a pretty big drive Rotorua - Matamata (Hobbiton) - Waitomo - Auckland. I'm not sure you'll see a great deal at either place in that time frame. You might be better to end the day over near Waitomo & just drive up to Auckland the day you fly out. If you have time before your flight you could go up the Sky tower but given that you're flying to Sydney you really don't need to spend time in Auckland. Or maybe stay in Matamata the night of the 18th so you can make an early start to the day. Or, if you get to see glow worms in Te Anau then you could forget Waitomo altogether.

In the NI, make sure you drink some L & P (soft drink) and eat a steak & cheese pie.

Just be aware that every driving distance is longer than you think in NZ. We're just back from the US and we found the opposite, every trip was shorter than the google map estimate but in NZ the roads are windier and narrower and there are so many places that you just have to stop to take a photo.

Forgot to mention, when in Te Anau, don't miss Ata Whenua:

http://www.fiordlandcinema.co.nz/ata-whenua-shadowland

Thanks for all the great ideas! I'm feeling like this is really coming together now.

Finally Skyped with my Wellington cousin the other day, and he confirmed that we've got a good itinerary. The only place we're missing that he loves is Kaikoura; he's not sure whether he'd do Kaikoura or Abel Tasman if he had to choose between the two. He also thinks we may want to spend that first Rotorua night in Taupo or Turangi instead, just to cut an hour and a half off the drive from Wellington. So I'm off to research whether there's good stuff to do in those towns.

I struggled with whether or not to include Kaikoura on my winter trip too - I've never been a fan of the town, but during the winter months the seal pups gather at Ohau Stream, and that alone, IMO, is worth the effort. Your kids would love it.

Check out this DOC video for a preview:

http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/tracks-and-walks/marlborough/south-marlborough/ohau-stream-walk/

Well those seals sure are cute! But we do get a lot of seals, sea lions, sea otters, and such here in NorCal, so I don't think that's a must-do.

Probably not then, but nice to finally have an easy choice.

I'd push on through to Rotorua. Taupo is pretty but IMO there's not much to do there at night time (and it's cold!) Enjoy the long drive around the lake and maybe stop for coffee there but then get to Rotorua and go for a nice long soak in the hot pools. You'll forget you've even been in the car after that

Thanks for everyone's help! Our flights are now booked, so now we can get to work on lodgings and so forth. We'll have 18 1/2 days in NZ, starting in Queenstown and ending in Auckland.

BTW, should we take the ferry from Picton to Welly, or fly from Nelson? We'd probably save $200-300 by taking the ferry, so I'm not super-concerned about that as a factor. The difference in time for the full journey appears to be about four hours shorter by plane than the ferry.

So is ferry ride scenic enough to be worth it? I guess the real question is, should we fly and have an extra four hours in Nelson or Wellington, or should we take the ferry and get the scenery from Nelson to Picton and across the strait?

Well, I googled around, and it appears we can rent from Apex and they'll include the vehicle part of the ferry ticket. So that makes the ferry $600 cheaper than flying, which is enough to be a factor in the decision. Still interested in opinions on the ferry scenery vs spending that time in the Nelson area.

And is Apex any good? Wading through tons of posts in the forums, and so far people seem to like them.