I am thinking of an October/November (2007) trip to the Cook Islands for a few days and then N.Z. -- probably about 3 weeks total. It appears that this a good time of year for these destinations. I am presuming that at that time of year it would be best to start in the Cooks, and then work our way from north to south in N.Z. Off hand, I'd like to see both the North and South islands if that isn't too ambitious. We were in the Cooks for a few hours on a cruise stop but this will be our first trip to N.Z. We are interested in culture, history, beautiful scenery, and being active (snorkelling, biking, hiking). Thanks in advice for your advice and suggestions.

Hi Judilie,
We spent 12 nights in the SI in January and it wasn't enough. I would skip the North Island and go to the Cooks and the SI on this trip. Just my opinion, and I haven't been to the NI or the Cooks (yet!)
Liz

You're probably right, though we will probably have 17 days for N.Z. Aukland sounds quite interesting, but perhaps we can pick up much of what it has to offer in other places.

Rotorua also sounds very interesting.

I can't help you with the Cooks or the South Island, but you can see how we spent 10 days on the North Island in 2004 here - http://community.webshots.com/user/ElendilPickle

Lee Ann