Hi, I need advice from you guys. I have two weeks to stay in NZ and this will be my first trip to NZ. I heard lots of suggestions to head to south island because the scenary and I am also an amateur photographer, so I am all for nature and landscape. Question 1) can you suggest where to go and what to do? 2) is it easier to rent a car and just travel from one place to another using a rental car? I am thinking probably this will be easier and allow me to stop to take pictures along the road.

Thanks for your advice in advance.

I would definitely suggest the National Parks down south - Milford Sound etc. Also the Glacier Lakes near Mt Cook.

A rental car is the way to go as there is not other way to reach many of the more scenic places.

We enjoyed our trip to the South Island... Yes, rent a car.

Suggested itinerary to get you started...

1 night Christchurch (we didn't stay there)

1 night Kaikoura

1 night Hanmer Springs

2 nights Franz Josef

3 nights Queenstown

2 nights Te Anau/ Fiordland

3-4 nights in Catlins and Dunedin.

Definitely south island although the date can make a difference...GENERALLY easier to find lodging during June-July-August (winter when school is in session) but NOT around Queenstown after June (ski season)... definitely rent a car... Tim and Liz' posting is okay but depends on how much time you want to spend at a particular location...

Don't hesitate to just go...I-sites and compact nature of country make travel EASY -- I recall warning about an "EXTREMELY long bus ride" -- almost 5 hours -- cannot even make it ACROSS Kansas in that time

wilees/Tim_and_Liz/theheadysmiths: thanks for the suggestions and the suggeted itenerary. I definitely want to go to Milford sound after I watched a feature about this place on Travel Channel this weekend

I will use Tim_and_Liz suggested itenerary as my starting point and will do research as well on those places. Do you have any suggestion like places to stay?

Thanks all and will update once I have a change to finalize the itenerary. Cheers!

For a variation on Liz's itinerary, you can see our 2 week trip to SI:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34602230

There are many other similiar trip reports on this forum.

Do you have a budget for lodging? There is a wide range of choices, from hostels (nicer than you might think), homestays, b&bs, motels, holiday parks, and upscale hotels and lodges.

We like Doubtful Sound more than Milford -- both are extraordinary but Doubtful MUCH less traveled. You will not get a large tour group on Doubtful. You can get tickets at Te Anau or Queenstown. We stayed two nights in Te Anau and were glad we did. It is a VERY LONG day from Queenstown including driving through Te Anau en route...

It amazes me how many people here want to go all the way to NZ for the scenery, for hiking, etc. Something wrong with Norway or do they just like spending a day on an air plane?

Perhaps the people are friendlier in New Zealand.

It takes less time to reach NZ, nonstop from the west coast. And there is more to do than just see the fiords.

The Tim and Liz itinerary looks fine as a basic starting point. If you follow it, on the leg from Hanmer Springs to South Westland (Franz Josef), go via the Buller Gorge (turn off at Springs Junction) and then down the West Coast through Punakaiki -- even spend a night there. You won't regret it.

Very true, mlgb, there's more to NZ than fjords. There are lakes, forests, mountains, plains, rivers, and of course the friendly people - and all in a small enough area to tour around in just a few weeks. An not-often-visited photographers dream is Lake Matheson, on the west coast north of Haast, best approached before dawn to catch the sunrise. It's one of those dead still lakes where the forest reflects on the surface of the water with such clarity that you don't know which side of the picture is "up".

I just came back from getting married in NZ and we travelled (by car) the South Island for 2 weeks - basically a circular route from Christchurch to Greymouth (via Arthurs Pass with Kia birds and the Pancake rocks), Franz (would walk Fox however), Wanaka, Queenstown, Dunedin (penninsula for penguins, seals, shags & Royal Albatross), Lake Tekapo and back.
This worked very well in the given time, although I was sad to miss Abel Tasman this time around for beach culture. However, photography wise, this route would be great - lakes, mountains, wild life, rocks, crashing sea... add in Milford or Doubtful and it's a winner!