Itinerary for 3 weeks visit to New Zealand
We are a family of 2 adults and 2 kids of ages 8 & 14 respectively. We need suggestions for places to visit on both North and South Island for 3 weeks. We plan to hire a car and are fond of outdoor activities, mountains and beaches. We are planning to visit during end of April and would like to have some information about the weather and also if we can get better deals for accommodation(self contained) since this is supposed to be low season. Looking forward to your suggestions.
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We spent 10 days on the North Island in late April last year (not used to thinking of 2004 as last year yet!). The weather was mostly sunny; we were drizzled on in Egmont National Park, but the only day it rained was our last day in Auckland.
Our itinerary (you can read a trip report elsewhere in this folder called "10 Days on the North Island" or something along those lines) was: Day 1 Arrive in Auckland; drive to Whakatane Day 2 Dolphin swim in Whakatane; drive to Rotorua for Maori concert/hangi at Te Whakarewarewa Day 3 Explored Rotorua a bit; drove to Waiotapu Geothermal Wonderland, through Taupo and on to Tongariro National Park Day 4 Tongariro - we'd planned to do the crossing but the mountains were socked in by cloud, so we opted for a shorter hike and drove to Wellington Day 5 Wellington - Te Papa Museum and exploring downtown Day 6 Wellington - hiked on Mt. Victoria and visited Lord of the Rings sites in the city; drove to Kaitoke Regional Park and on to Wanganui Day 7 Wanganui to Egmont National Park for hiking Day 8 Egmont to Waitomo - cave tubing with Black Water Rafting Day 9 Waitomo to Auckland - took the ferry to Devonport and did a walking tour Day 10 Auckland Museum and home You should be able to get good rates for accomodations. Lee Ann |
Thanks for your reply. Need to have some information about the weather during end April to beginning of May. Also would like to know the places to visit in Souh Island especially with kids.
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Some South Island ideas for kids (we are planning a NZ trip as well)
Antarctic Center in Christchurch Puzzle World in Wanaka swimming with dolphins in Kaikoura panning for gold on West Coast of S. Island viewing wildlife on Otago Peninsula near Dunedin jet boat ride/rafting in Queenstown |
Make sure you obey speed limit while driving . Speed cameras are everywhere. Your credit card gets automatic penalty.
South island lovely. Ferry ride between islands for car and adults is costly. Check it out if planning on driving from north to south. |
>>Thanks for your reply. Need to have some information about the weather during end April to beginning of May.<<
I did mention that it was sunny, with some drizzle toward the end of the trip... :-) To be more specific, we left Los Angeles April 18th and returned the 29th. I thought the weather was fairly warm on the North Island; I wore T-shirts most of the time and was very comfortable. I brought along long-sleeved shirts for evening, which were warm enough for me. I also brought a polarfleece pullover, but only wore it a couple of times. I remember putting it on during the day in Tongariro National Park because it was a bit chilly up on Mt. Ruapehu. Does that help a little? Lee Ann |
We are having a beautiful summer at the moment and looks as though it could go on for a while. The Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellington is also a great trip.
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Bonham - FYI - you'll be in NZ during school holidays, so you'd best book your lodging in advance, especially in heavily touristed areas.
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