Hi, Fodors travelers -- I've been learning so much from this board! You're all full of so much great info. I'm going to New Zealand for 2 1/2 months, from Dec. 5 through Feb. 19th as part of a sabbatical from work. I'm very excited!

I'm 41 and in excellent shape. I'm doing this trip in the semi-backpacker/budget manner. Staying in hostels or B&b's, bringing all my stuff in a roll-along bag. I hope to do a lot of hiking and kayaking. I love cities (live near NYC) and I love the outdoors. I hope to try lots of things except zorbing and bungee-jumping -- but I'll be there to do photography!

I'm a bit overwhelmed about making an itinerary. I don't know how much I need to fix and how much I can leave to chance. That's part of the fun of it, right?
Here's what I have so far:
Arrive Auckland 5 December.
Stay through Saturday 9 December.
Then ...
Bay of Islands? Rotorua? Tongariro Crossing?
Napier and Hawke's Bay for several days?
Then, ending up in Wellington on Friday 22 December and staying through the 27th or 28th.

Then ???

Then, go back to Auckland on Feb. 17 or 18, and fly home on the 19th.

I am desperate for suggestions and advice and all is welcome.

For instance, what should I do about crossing and staying somewhere for New Year's? Do i have to have that set now, too?

Thank you!

How will you be traveling about - hiring/buying a vehicle, or mass transportation? That will play a large role in determining your itinerary.

Also, if you are going as a budget traveler, you will not want to spend much time in B & Bs, which tend to be more expensive.

Do yourself a favour and buy a Lonely Planet guide to New Zealnd. It is packed full of necessary information. The NZ-ers are outdoor people so that will help you. If hungry and walking past a garage, drop in the shop as most do a selection of tasty hot pies. Buy a good map.


Note. The west side of south island is unrelenting countryside for much of it. Driving was bad enough. I would not like to try walking it as there is nothing there. If walking, take a foldup umbrella with you. It can sometimes rain heavy for days in summer.


If in Auckland, pop across to Devonport on the ferry. As ALF said, B&B are expensive in NZ, though there are plenty of them.


If I were you, I would go to a town or camping place nearby and have days out from there as you work your way around the islands (each the size of England or Florida).


Rotorua is a fairly large town. Make sure you don't stay downwind of the volcanic park. Plenty of smelly hydrogen sulphide.

I'm going to use mass transportation for the journey. If I need to I'll rent a car, but only as a last resort.

I do already have a Lonely Planet, and I'm working my way through it.

As for B&B's, I guess I misspoke. I didn't mean the high-end ones, but rather the smaller hostels that aren't those huge YHA buildings that mostly 20-somethings head for.

Good idea about doing day trips from various cities.

For hostels, visit the BBH website - www.backpack.co.nz/index.html We stayed in two of their hostels (Lloyd's Lodge in Whakatane and The Missing Leg in Egmont Village) and were really pleased with both places.

Lee Ann

if you are traveling alone via mass trans transpo, you might want to check out some of the backpacker buses, such as Magic Bus (www.magicbus.co.nz). You can buy a pass from them that allows you to hop on & hop off the bus wherever/whenever you want. The only catch is that you might be a bit on the old side for typical travelers, who tend more to be 20-something.

Another bus pass outfit is Kiwi Coach Pass (www.kiwicoachpass.co.nz)

Thanks, Elendil, for those BBH suggestions. I'm staying in one in Auckland -- Verandahs. Looks great from the web site. I'm glad to know of some others to check out

as for the buses, I've been doing a bit of reading the LP guide and I think I might go with the InterCity bus network pass for backpackers. Instead of being a "tour bus" it's like a phone card -- you buy a certain amount of hours and then can use it on the entire bus network until you run out of time; you can put more money on it.
check it out:
http://www.flexipass.co.nz/

The Magic Bus seems a bit too party-bus-like for me. I don't really want to hang around a bunch of drunk 20-somethings.

If you love the outdoors, focus on the South Island. We spent nearly three months in NZ last year and loved all of it - but the South was the highlight.
Walk the Queen Charlotte Track, swim with dolphins in Kaikoura, tour the wild Caitlins coast - it's all fabulous.
North is beautiful too, especially Bay of Islands.
Lots of reasonable accomadation, we stayed in everything from hostels to motels and can offer lots of advice if you have specific places you're looking at.
You'll love NZ - it's one of the most beautiful and diverse places you'll be lucky enough to ever visit. Enjoy!

Try to see the very North of North Island: Cape Reinga, where the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea clasp; Ninety Mile Beach; Coromandel Coast. We loved it all!

I had to chuckle at Kaneda's post.

"Unrelenting countryside... I would not like to try walking it as there is nothing there".

Some nice day walks on the west coast include Scott's Beach (the south end of the Heaphy track), Lake Matheson loop trail, walk to the base of one of the glaciers, Okarito Trig, and Munro's Beach.

If you are not staying in a bunk room, there are homestay B&B's that are not much more expensive than hostels for a single room. Check the websites bnb.co.nz and nzhomestay.co.nz. Even if you stay mostly in hostels, it is worthwhile to stay in a few B&Bs to meet the host families, which have a different perspective than the folks you will meet in hostels. The YHA network in New Zealand is also excellent. The one in Kaikoura is quite nice. I checked in there after my BBH hostel turned out to be a dump.

In addition to the backpacker busses which cater to the boozy 20 something set, there are minivan shuttles between a number of the major towns in the South Island, so it sometimes pays to shuttle between towns, spend a few days without a car, and then rent a car for a week or so.

Hello hikrchick:

You could not pick a better plce to spend some time. Beautiful scenery, friendly, kind and honest people [other than the visitors], great weather and the food is okay too. Be sure to try the lamb shanks.

Be aware that you will be traveling during vacation time so you could encounter some business at the low cost accommodation sites.

Check with the NZ tourism web site and find out what you will be facing. Forewarned will be to your advantage.

I think that where ever you go you will have a great time. We stayed away from the west coast of the south island in the past simply because we live close to the Canadian Rocky Mountains and prefer to see other sites. Next winter we will visit the south island and pass that west coast on our way to Nelson from further south.

Have a great trip.

Woodie

thanks for all the great advice. I'm starting to get my act together, and am booking a hostel in Nelson for the days surrounding New Year's. I'm starting to get excited about the trip!

There are a number of bus companies in NZ and different companies can charge a big difference in prices over the same route.

hikrchick: You might, if you haven't already, check out NZ's DOC, or Dept of Conservation. http://www.doc.govt.nz/index.html
Click on the "traks and walks" link. You will find that NZ is totally rigged to trekkers and walking. While I myself am not into that, we were with several who were. And in a restaurant in Fox Glacier we struck up a conversation with a 50 something couple of Kiwi's who had hiked over the mountains from the east side in two days, just for the fun of it.
I disagree with the above poster on the west side of the south island. While a little wild, it certainly has much to offer trekkers at all levels and is just plain beautiful.
I have a contact with much experience on backpacking the country, and have emailed him for backpackers inns, or hostels, if you will. I will report back.
Wish I had 2 plus months there. I'm jealous.