Honeymoon in New Zealand! Looking for some final thoughts on itinerary
 

Hi everyone. My fiancee and I will be in New Zealand for 15 days in October and we've just finished up our itinerary. I've already gotten some great feedback from various places but am looking for some final thoughts before we finish booking all our flights and accommodation. I would really appreciate if anyone could take a look!

Day 1
Arrive Auckland in the morning
Ferry to Waiheke - hang out on beach, go to a winery if we're up to it - Ferry back to Auckland
Sky Tower
Night in Auckland

Day 2
Drive to Waitomo Glow Caves and then to Tongariro National Park
Night in Tongariro National Park

Day 3
Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Night in Tongariro National Park

Day 4
Drive from Tongariro to Wellington
Night in Wellington

Day 5
Fly from Wellington to Nelson
Drive from Nelson to Abel Tasman National Park
Night in Abel Tasman National Park

Day 6
Day and night in Abel Tasman National Park

Day 7
Drive from Abel Tasman > Nelson
Fly from Nelson > Christchurch
Drive from Christchurch > Lake Tekapo
Night in Lake Tekapo

Day 8
Drive from Lake Tekapo > Mt Cook area
Night in Mt Cook area

Day 9
Day and night in Mt Cook area

Day 10
Drive from Mt Cook > Wanaka
Night in Wanaka

Day 11
Day and night in Wanaka

Day 12
Drive from Wanaka > Te Anau
Night in Te Anau

Day 13
Day and night in Te Anau

Day 14
Day and night in Te Anau

Day 15
Drive from Te Anau > Queenstown

Day 16
Fly Queenstown > Auckland for flight back home

Things I am wondering about
-Is day 2 doable? I made sure to give us two nights in Tongariro because I know it would be impossible/horrible to hike the crossing on the same day as a drive. But is the drive from Auckland to Tongariro, with a stop at the Waitomo glow worm caves, overly-ambitious for the second day? We really want to see Tongariro but I would be open to alternative ordering of the itinerary to avoid over-exertion when we're jetlagged.
-Would it be wise to book backup accommodations in Rotorua on nights 2 and 3, in case weather doesn't permit the Tongariro alpine crossing? Or are there other things to see in Tongariro National Park that are worth the trip even if we can't do the crossing?
-Similar to my first question, is day 7 doable? I know that's a lot of transport but I am okay with having one day that's mostly travel if it means being more relaxed the rest of the time.
-Is it reasonable to bypass Queenstown and spend 3 nights in Te Anau? We don't hate adventure sports, but it is not at all a high priority for us. We are more interested in relaxing/hiking/seeing beautiful places. Is Te Anau a good base for this? I wouldn't mind fitting in a bungee jump/rafting trip/whatever if it worked with the itinerary, but would be reluctant if this meant not enough time for other things.

Thanks so much for reading through this! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Day 2 is too much driving. It will be a rush to see the caves and then drive onto Tongariro. Stay that night in Waitomo somewhere.
Where are you staying before and after the TAC? You are walking in the winter season which is recommended to have a guide.
www.tongarirocrossing.org.nz
A back up plan is sensible but Rotorua is a long back track. Taupo would be a better option and you can do a day trip to Rotorua from there.
Day 7 is crazy so stay the night in Christchurch.
Te Anau is very small (and it is years since I went there) but 3 nights sounds far too long. It's handy for the Milford or Doubtful Sounds trips and some walking. Don't bypass Queenstown.
We have a public holiday weekend here Labour Day on 24 October and everything will be busier than normal.

Thanks for the response. I would love to have an extra day to stay in/near Waitomo, but wouldn't it then be impossible to do the Tongariro alpine crossing the next day? We are planning to stay inside of Tongariro National Park, at a lodge that shuttles people to and from the crossing.

Why exactly is it too much driving? From what I have seen it should be a maximum 5-6 hours of driving, and the glow worms tour takes less than an hour, right? We were thinking of it more as "drive from Auckland to Tongariro, with a stop at Waitomo," rather than "drive to Waitomo, spend all day there, then drive to Tongariro." Like Days 1 and 2 of this itinerary - http://www.gorentals.co.nz/explore-n...rip-itinerary/

Also I should note - we would prefer drive 4-5 hours one day, and then spend 2 nights at the same place with minimal driving, rather than drive 2-3 hours every single day and have to pack up, check out, and check back in and unpack at a new place every day.

I definitely see how day 7 is too much driving. The reason that we had it arranged that way is because we wanted to stay the night at Lake Tekapo to go up to the observatory at night. And again, in order to have a travel day followed by several days of light travel, rather than multiple consecutive days of moderate travel. Is it worth staying at Lake Tekapo, or is the night sky view just as good anywhere in the Mt Cook area?

We are spending one afternoon/night in Queenstown. From what I described of our interests, why do you suggest that I spend more time there and less in Te Anau? I have read that Queenstown is appealing if you like adventure sports, but that there is a lot to do in Te Anau for seeing nature (ie, twotonedtravelers.com/2013/09/29/te-anau-great-base-for-hiking-in-new-zealand/). Is this not really the case?

Your link regarding Te Anau is dead. More on that later.

Day 2 will be a long day of driving. I hope you only plan on the 45-minute glow-worm tour. Then Day 3 will be an exhausting day of hiking (but well worth it!)

So then on Day 4, you have another long day of driving, with little opportunities for interesting stops.

So days 2,3, and 4 are full-on. Doable, yes, but tiring.

The night-sky tour at Tekapo does not use the observatory telescope! You are led up a hill, away from Tekapo's lights and use a small telescope. There is an equivalent tour at Mt Cook. So I'd travel as far as Christchurch on Day 7 and overnight 2 nights Mt Cook for nights 8 and 9.

We spent 3 nights in Te Anau and a storm came in. We struggled for things to do and did a lot of re-juggling to make use of our time. The Milford Sound tour is fine in the rain - take the coach tour. But if you have another day to fill and it's raining, there's not much to do. We ended up driving down to Clifden Caves (and it was dry there) explored the cave and did some random short hikes around the area.

Had we been in Queenstown, there would have been less of an issue. It's not all extreme sports. Lake Wakitipu is beautiful and the drive to Glenorchy is certainly in my top 3 of the country. Kayak from Glenorchy to Pig Island or Kinloch. Arrowtown - bike rentals to the bungy bridge or wineries. Skipper's canyon tour, with or without jetboat. Gondola to top of Bob's Peak. Kiwi house. Fergberger. Queenstown Gardens. Segway Tour. ....

I personally love Te Anau as a base and I've spent three nights at a time there several times.

As much as I like Te Anau though, I probably wouldn't suggest it in lieu of Queenstown for a first time visitor. Te Anau is about lakes, walking tracks and access to Milford Sound. It's a small town with a great little cinema, some cafes and restaurants, nice lake views and lovely walking tracks. There's also a bird sanctuary, but it's not something I'd go out of my way for.

Nearby Manapouri is also interesting, at least for me - we spent three nights there once and are planning to go back - but probably not the best base for a first timer who is trying to hit the highlights with limited time.

If your plan is to visit Milford from Te Anau, good on you, but you could easily get away with two nights, which will give you one full day for Milford. If you hope to hike some of the wonderful tracks around Te Anau, three nights makes complete sense, but you could well feel robbed by not at least spending a few days in/around Queenstown.

Queenstown is much, much more than adventure sports.

Day 7 is indeed crazy. No way is it 5-6 hours. It's a 5:15 hour drive from Nelson to Christchurch, then a four hour drive from Christchurch to Mount Cook WITHOUT STOPS. Please don't attempt this.

>>Your link regarding Te Anau is dead.<<

The second parenthesis needed to be removed. https://twotonedtravelers.com/2013/0...n-new-zealand/

Lee Ann

Thanks so much to everyone for the advice! It's been extremely helpful. We've decided to stay the night in Christchurch instead of Lake Tekapo, and then 2 nights near Mt Cook, and also to spend just 2 nights in Te Anau and then our last 2 nights in Queenstown. I see that days 2-4 are pretty active but we really badly want to see Tongariro and I can't figure out how else to fit it. Does anyone have any other ideas on how to do that? Also, do you think that one full day in Queenstown is worthwhile?

I've not done the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, but I've heard stories from people who have.

I think you might be rather optimistic in that you've allowed no wiggle room at all for poor weather. You might be lucky and have spectacular conditions, but then again you might not.

If you haven't already, I suggest you take a look at this:

http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-rec...before-you-go/

Yes, I think one full day in QT is worthwhile. Three or four are better of course, but one will give you a taste, and you'll have another 1/2 day on your arrival day if you plan well.

As I so often say on this forum, I think you're rushing about, trying to fit in too much in too little time, but I also fully understand limited holiday time, so it goes.

Thanks for the thoughts. Yes, I have done research into the crossing, including looking into backup plans for inclement weather, as I indicated in my original post. I'm not sure why you would assume I've done no research whatsoever.

I appreciate the feedback on Queenstown. In regard to time, yes, I'd prefer to have at least 2-3 full days everywhere we go, but at that rate we would see so few things in our trip that it wouldn't even be worth the flight from the other side of the world. There are certain unfortunate constraints and I'd prefer advice on how to structure/prioritize my itinerary within those constraints.

"why is it too much driving"
You asked for feedback and opinions so that's mine.
We regularly drive Auckland to Turangi in about 4 hours but we live here and are very familiar with roads and driving conditions in NZ and places to stop etc. For a tourist who might want a slower pace I would recommend slowing down a bit.
However it's your holiday so stick with your plan of a brief caves trip on the way to Whakapapa for the TAC.
Queenstown is the tourist hot spot of NZ and a very beautiful place for anyone to visit. Not going there is similar to visiting the States and saying I don't like big cities so I will give New York a miss.

That's definitely good to know. Though if someone had only 2 weeks in the US and wanted to mostly see the national parks and pass on New York City, I wouldn't find that ridiculous at all. Many of us in the states have never even been there!

<<I'm not sure why you would assume I've done no research whatsoever.>>

I'm not assuming that suuyfota, hence my wording "if you haven't already".

I'm not sure why you'd assume we're mind readers either. We have no idea based on your posts how much research you have or haven't done.

My point is that it'd be a shame to go all the way to Tongariro hoping to take the walk and then not be able to because the ONE day you've allocated for it turns out to be
unsuitable weather-wise.