17 day NZ itinerary
 

Our trip is fast approaching (end of Sept.) and we've dialed in a little closer on our itinerary, thanks in part to comments from posters here:
Arrive Auckland
2 nights Auckland
-take coach Auckland to Whangarei
4 nights at Taiharuru Lodge.
(we will p/u a car in Whangarei, as we'd rather accomodate to NZ driving (it will be new to us) in a smaller town rather than a city.)
Drop off the car & take coach back to Auckland. Stay at an airiport-area hotel & catch a plane the next day to Wellington.
Arrive in Wellington and take ferry to Picton.
-3 nights in Picton/Nelson, etc. We plan to leave these nights open and choose something along the way. We won't have to worry if for some reason we don't take the ferry. As a back up we will tour by car southern North Island.
Ferry back to Well.
2 nights in Welllington
Flight to Dunedin.- on arrival pick up the train/coach trip to Queenstown.
3 nights in QT. Will take the coach/cruise trip to Milford- possibly with the scenic flight back!
Back to Dunedin by coach for 2 nights there before return to Auckland where we pick up our return flight home.
Only the 2 nights in Auckland and 4 nights in Taiharuru are booked and confirmed, so still open to input and ideas. We will enjoy a little bit of city, but mainly scenery and smaller towns, day walks (3-5 miles), and , of course some great food & wine!
Thanks

Hello hanabilly

Have you considered visiting Hawkes Bay ? Great food and wine , day walks, scenery and small towns = Hawkes Bay !

Well, hanabilly, since you say you are "still open to input and ideas", permit me to comment.

When you leave Whangari, why waste a night at AKL airport, when you could fly directly to either Wellington or Nelson?
Why take the ferry both ways?
Why stop at Dunedin, when you could fly directly to QT?

Based on your post, I offer this itinerary, which would eliminate backtracking:

AKL - 2 nts
Whangarei 4 nts
fly to Wellington - 2 nts
ferry to Picton - Nelson
fly to QT - 3 nts
coach/fly to Dunedin - 2 nts
fly to AKL to return home. ((*))

Thanks both of you for the input. I agree the itinerary is a little awkward. We have some flights pre-booked, and that's what formed the skeleton of the plan. Now that we're taking a closer look at how we want to spend our time, the flights are in question. They are changeable, but with a fee. When it comes to just 17 vacation days, the fee may well be worth it- in at least some instances. Hawkes Bay looks inviting too! No doubt this trip will leave us wanting more!

I have the feeling that you will regret the wasted time more than the fee. ((*))