need advice for planning new zealand trip!
 

I am trying to plan a 2 week trip to New Zealand and would greatly appreciate any advise!
We would like to dive at Poor Knights in Northland but wondered where we should stay overnight.
Would Russell or Paihia be a good area to stay to not only go diving but to do alittle exploring?
Any other suggestions? We would like to spend 2 nights there. Also is Rotorua a must do?
We would like to go to Waitomo and were wondering if we should also go to Rotorua.
We would also like to do some winetasting in the Marborough area, perhaps do a'hike at Queen
Charlotte, kayak at Abel Tasman and are looking for an area to stay perhaps 3 nights to
explore these areas. Would Blenheim or Nelson be a good location to stay? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Hi!
You have a great experience here......I think Nelson is good location.

You can also kayak in the Marlborough Sounds. Nelson, Motueka, Marahau, Kaiteriteri and Upper Moutere make a good base for Abel Tasman. Many wineries in this area too, particulary around Richmond (near Nelson) and Upper Moutere (near Motueka).

Picton or Havelock make a good base for exploring the Queen Charlotte Track. Or, you could stay within the Sounds...lots of accommodation options, some accessible via car, others only accessible via water taxi. Loads of wineries around Blenheim, which is a 25 minute drive from Picton, but do be aware that if you stay within the Sounds, it becomes more logistically challenging to get to the wineries.

It's a ~2.5 hour drive from Abel Tasman to Blenheim. Havelock is a possible compromise, although it's not midway between the two (1:45 drive between Havelock and Abel Tasman, less than a hour from Havelock to Blenheim), but Havelock would offer relatively easy access to Picton via Queen Charlotte Drive. If you can swing it, I'd suggest spending time in both the Nelson region and the Marlborough Sounds region to cut down on drive time and concentrate on explore time.

Thank you everyone for the advice! The Marborough
Sounds and Coromandel peninsula sound wonderful.
It sounds like there are so many wonderful places
to see in New Zealand that it is difficult to pick
and choose the places to visit in 2 weeks especially
since it may be a once in a lifetime trip (unfortunately!)
While we want to see as much as possible, we also
don't want to be rushing around and want to enjoy our
time there.Again, thank you everyone for taking the
time to respond to my questions!

Poor Knights is a fantastic dive spot. There is a lovely hotel at Tutukaka - roll out of the door and straight onto the dive boat. Highly recommend Dive Tututaka. To combine walking, sea kayaking, ensuite accommodation and great food and wine at the top of the South Island, with everything planned and done for you, check out a trip with Wilsons Abel Tasman.

HLucy, thanks for the reply. Do you know the name of the hotel
in Tutukaka?