Fly or Ferry/train from North to South Island?
 

We are planning a 3-week trip to NZ and Australia, with about 10 days in NZ. Is it worth the extra time to drive from Rotorua to Wellington, take the ferry and then the train to Christchurch? Or should we just fly to Christchurch.
Here is our tentative NZ itinerary:
Fly into Auckland, rent a car.
Auckland - 1
Rotorua - 2
?(Wellington - 1)Ferry/train
Christchurch - 2
Tranzalpine Train to Greymouth,rent a car
Franz Josef - 1
Queenstown - 3
Fly to Melbourne.

Would like some info on what to see on the drive from Rotorua to Wellington. The ferry trip sounds good, also the train from Picton, but we plan to take another train later and our time is so limited.
Thanks for all your help!
Lee P

Hi again!

With limited time, make the most of it! I'd scrap driving from Rotorua to Wellington and just fly to Christchurch, then take the train and head down to Queenstown.

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Kiwi Specialist

Hello LeeP

If you are really just wanting to mix with tourists and see the usual touristy ( yawn ) spots, then Melodies idea is fair enough. Of course time is precious and has to be taken into consideration too.

There are a couple of options for driving from Rotorua to Wellington. Both of these involve driving to Taupo - ( you should have your NZ map open ! )

Option one: Take the " Classic NZ Wine Trail ". This will have you crossing over to Hawkes Bay from Taupo. The road is excellent and you get to see some very rugged and beautiful countryside.
I won't go into any details of activities here - far too numerous !
Continue down to Martinborough. The Wine and Food festival is held in March - this is a really wonderful celebration and a great way to see Kiwis at play - its fun and civilised.
Then just a short drive to Wellington.

Option two: ( quickest ) From Taupo drive along the volcanic plateau - a stark landscape for obvious reasons. This will draw you quite close to the 3 volcanoes. Through Taihape and onto Palmerston North, perhaps detour to Martinborough, Wellington.

Hi again, LeeP,
Another suggestion from me, copied from the SI itinerary thread of yours. How about you drive to Wellington and stay a night or two. Next day catch the ferry across with the car, and then you can visit the Marlborough vineyards. You will need to stay a night here before driving to Christchurch. This will take you along the Kaikoura Coast which is very rugged and interesting. You will probably be able to stop and talk to the seals just north of Kaikoura! In Christchurch you could leave your rental car, take the TranzAlpine to Greymouth, pick up a new rental and carry on with your plans to Queenstown. Then I would drive back to Christchurch through the inland route, or fly, and catch your flight to Melbourne from there. It may mean cutting a day from somewhere else to do it, but is another option.

LeeP - There are a number of "Themed Highways" mentioned on the NZ Tourism website, they are well worth doing.
Might I suggest instead of trying to see all of NZ in the short period of time, why not pick out the "best" of NZ and concentrate of these locations, by having additional time there.
Personally, with only 10 days in NZ, I would forget Auckland & Rotorua and spend the whole time in the south island....its more scenic than the north island.

I think where you say at the end that you have limited time sort of says it all. You know that itinerary is too crowded!!

I do think taking it slowly is rewarding anywhere, but if you only have 10 days then you have to decide which is more important to you. Having the freedom that comes with having wheels, or seeing as much as possible.

To be honest i wouldn't attempt to visit both the S and N islands in 10 days. If you really want to, then I guess you will have to sacrifice the ferry trip in favour of flying.

Have a wonderful time, whatever.

You could what we are planning-we love trains and like to see as much as we can also. Assuming the NI train is running when you will be there, you could:
Fly to Auckland
Auckland 1
Train to Wellington 1
Wellington 1
Ferry/Train to Christchurch 1
Christchurch 2
Car or Train/Car across Arthurs Pass to Franz Josef 1
Queenstown 3
Fly to Melbourne
You could take a day from one of the cities and stop at Rotorua for a day, then continue on the next.

LeePI would suggest Heathy's option 2.
We quite enjoyed our drive from Rotorua to Wellington. Lake Taupo are is beautiful.
Then there is Wellington, itself. Too beautiful a city to miss! and we had a very special, wonderful tour of the city!
And then there is the beautiful ferry ride. We loved it. As we first caught site of the south island, it was awesome. And pulling into Picton was such a wonderful site.
I know your time is limited, but this itinerary was really worth it.

Good luck with your planning..

Hi Dotty!!

I am almost certain that the passenger train between Auckland and Wellington stopped running at the end of September 2006.

The ferry trip between Wellington and Picton is wonderful (provided it is a calm day). The scenery is breath-taking.

For what it is worth, the NZRail site is still showing the Wellington to Auckland-Overlander still running, at least for March 2008. I have not make my reservations yet, but it is pricing a one way at $119NZ(I think) one way.

I did read that they were talking about discontinuing the train, but then later were talking about running it during peak times etc....