Hi. Me in my fiance are planning to go for our honeymoon in feb and we have decided to go for tahiti, bora bora and NZL. the total duration of our trip can be around 30 days and we have decided to spend 8-10 days in NZL. THis is our first time to the country and ofcourse want want it to be the best experience ever.
Our arrival and departure port would be Auckland. We prefer visiting fewer places and enjoy them as compared to traveling everyday. we would also love to have a small road trip.
Any help would be highly appreciated.

I'd just continue on down to Queenstown and spend the time around there.

Pick one Island. Either Island will have plenty to fill in a very busy week. One week is not enought for both Islands.

Best Advice:-
Wait for Melnq8 to repond to this thread and follow her advice.

Bay of Islands [about 3 hrs north of Auckland] is very nice and worthy of consideration.

I would disagree with Bay of Islands since you're going to be at Tahiti/Bora Bora.

As MelnQ8 Hasn't replied as yet look at the other NZ threads.

Appreciate the vote of confidence peter!

Hi sans 123 -

With only 8-10 days, I strongly suggest you stick to one island, and I'm going to be really predictible here and suggest the SI.

As you're not interested in long drive days, you might consider limiting yourself to either the far north of the SI or the area around Queenstown as suggested by mlgb.

One possibility:

Fly from Auckland to Christchurch, rent a car and head up the coast to Kaikoura (seals, whale watching trips, coastal scenery, etc). From Kaikoura continue north towards Nelson, making stops in Blenheim (wineries galore) and Picton (gateway to the Marlborough Sounds). With Nelson as a base, you can easily explore the Nelson wine region, as well as the arts and crafts trail. You can also get to Abel Tasman National Park in about an hour from Nelson, or stay closer to the park near Motueka, Kaiteriteri or Marahau. It's also easy enough to head over Takaka Hill to Golden Bay and Collingwood, if that strikes your fancy.

After exploring the Nelson region, I'd suggest returning to Christchurch via the inland route through Murchinson. You can continue on to Wesport if this does anything for you, or just head back to Christchurch via Lewis Pass, making a loop.

If this is too much driving, you might consider flying into/out of Nelson.

Another possibility:

Fly from Auckland to Christchurch, rent a car and head down the West Coast via Arthurs Pass. This route will include Westland National Park, the glaciers and some of the prettiest scenery on the SI IMO. After exploring this area, continue driving south, exploring Wanaka and Queenstown.

From Queentown you can visit Milford and/or Doubtful Sounds, Arrowtown and Glenorchy. You could then fly back to Auckland (not sure if there are direct flights, might have to stop in Christchurch).

Or, fly from Auckland to Queentown, using QT as a base to explore Wanaka, Milford/Doubtful, Glenorchy, Arrowtown, and then either fly back, or drive (via Mt Cook or the West Coast).

The options are really endless, it just depends on what you want to see and do.

If you're looking for a place to splash out on the SI, you might consider Blanket Bay:

http://www.blanketbay.com/

I hope this helps.

hi Guys!
Thanx a Ton for all the help.

I am inclined over driving from christchuch to queentown and exploring the nearby areas.
just curious to know if it makes more sense to do the 7 hr drive in one whole day or to stop for a day in between. which should be the best area to make the stop.

I would want to avoid the beaches as "mlbg" rightly pointed out that after tahiti and boa-bora, we would be pretty much done with the beaches.

Thank You

Go Mt. Cook for a couple of nights from Christchurch, then drive on to Queenstown.

or you could take the Pacific Alpine Railway to Greymouth, drive on to the glaciers, stay a couple of nights.. and then on to Queenstown..