First Time to New Zealand
 

We are planning a two week trip. the question is do we split it up and go to Australia as well? Can someone share with me their first time itinerary. My partner is limited in physical activity, so it needs to be a cultural exploration. Thank you.

Susan -

Two weeks simply isn't enough time to visit both NZ and Australia. They look close on the map, but Sydney is some 1,200 miles from Auckland (give or take.)

Personally, I think it's difficult to visit both the North and South Islands in two weeks, but people do it all the time.

Our first visit to NZ was about two weeks long and it was all spent on the South Island. We did a circuit of the island spending nights in Christchurch, Nelson, Hokitika, Franz Josef, Lake Moeraki, Queenstown, Mt Cook and Te Anau.

We were able to see and do quite a bit including the TransAlpine train, a cruise on Milford Sound, a jet boat ride in Queenstown, some walks and loads of sightseeing.

Even with limited physical activity, there's alot to see and do in NZ.

Susan, we spent 10 days on the North Island in April. I agree with the others; two weeks is barely enough time to enjoy one island in New Zealand without trying to fit in Australia.

Here's our itinerary. Some of the things we did may be too active for you, but you would see a lot of lovely scenery even if you don't do any hiking.

Day 1 Auckland to Whakatane
Day 2 Whakatane (dolphin swim) to Rotorua (Maori cultural evening and hangi at Te Whakarewarewa)
Day 3 Rotorua to Tongariro National Park via Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland and Taupo
Day 4 Hiking in Tongariro; drove to Wellington
Day 5 Te Papa Museum in Wellington and wandering downtown
Day 6 Wellington to Wanganui with a stopoff at Kaitoke Regional Park
Day 7 Wanganui to Egmont National Park (hiked there)
Day 8 Wanganui to Waitomo for cave tubing
Day 9 Waitomo to Auckland - took the ferry to Devonport
Day 10 Auckland Museum and back home

With this itinerary, we drove a couple of hours a day most days except days 1 and 4, which were longer but still quite manageable.

Lee Ann

Lee Ann and all, thank you, I am looking into a trip to NZ now!

Could you tell me if you liked the weather in April? Would I be better off staying on the north island, if I go in April, weather wise? I am not sure when my next trip to NZ may be, so I feel like I would like to see a little of both islands in 2 weeks... if I had to choose only one island, which is the more likely choice, in your opinion? I may try to go in Feb or March, but it could be as late as April.

thank you!

I love fall, so April was a great time to visit. My husband was just commenting that we got to experience two autumns this year. :-)

Most people recommend spending more time on the South Island; we would have liked to have gone there, but we had to fly in and out of Auckland, and couldn't afford the plane fare to Christchurch. The really gorgeous scenery is on the South Island, but the North Island is lovely as well.

I think your weather would be fine in April, though you might run into some rain.

Lee Ann