My fiance and I are planning on going to New Zealand for our honeymoon in late June (hopefully working our way around some of the sporting events going on). We have 2-3 weeks to explore the country (we hope to book our flights this weekend or very early next week).

We were thinking about starting in the South Island in Queenstown, working our way up to Franz Josef/Fox Glaciers and Punakaki, spending a day or two in Nelson, working our way back down to Christchurch (stop off in Akaroa), and then flying back to somewhere on the North Island and spending a few days wandering around (haven't decided where yet; potentially flying into Wellington, driving up to Rotorua, and then up to Auckland). We'd probably spend more time on the South Island than on the North Island.

My questions:
1.) We wonder if our current itinerary calls for an unreasonable amount of driving on the South Island, given our time constraints. I've been told driving takes a long time, so we want to make sure to be reasonable. What do you think? If you were to change our South Island itinerary to involve less driving (perhaps by knocking out a location from our list), what would you do?

2.) We're also interested in the possibility of staying at one location for a larger chunk of time and renting out a house. What location do you recommend for doing that? We'd like to be doing a mix of exploring nature and perhaps good eating and relaxing for that chunk of the trip.

3.) Where would you recommend going in the North Island? Given the weather conditions, would you recommend us spending more time in the North Island than the South?

4.) We've heard the South Island is prettier than the North, although we're not sure if that holds true for this time of year. We'd consider just staying on the South Island, or going the opposite direction in our travels (from North to South) to have some of the prettiest scenery at the end. Any suggestions on that idea?

Thank you in advance for your input.

If anything, the South Island is even more spectacular in winter with snow on even the lesser peaks. Queenstown, though it had grown considerably as a tourist mecca, would still be a good base for a few days as there is so much to do and see there, including a number of good restuarants. Weather permitting, you might think of doing a day trip by plane to Milford Sound while in Queenstown. Superb! Or, if driving hasn't got the best of you by then, you should consider the drive to Milford Sound....the section between Te Anau and Milford is incredibly beautiful. It's not hard to believe claims of it being among the most scenic roads in the world. Trouble is that it is a very long day's drive from Queenstown. An overnight in Te Anau wouldn't be a bad idea.

When I was in NZ last July, we used Te Anau as a base for 4 days...much quieter than Queenstown at that time of year but limited in terms of dining. People also recommend Wanaka as a base destination, lower key than Queenstown but probably more alive than Te Anau in winter.

A major highlight of our July04 trip was Mt Cook. Our timing in terms of weather was perfect...an absolutely crystal clear day. We stayed in nearby Twizel (pretty non-descript) but while at Mt Cook, had wished we had known of the Hermitage Hotel, right at the base of the mountain. We did the 2 hour Kea Point walk at Mt Cook...an easy walk with spectacular vistas.

Other than Wellington and the Auckland airport, I have not seen the North Island. However various friends of mine have commented that roads on the South Island are better and faster. So I wouldn't worry too much about over extending yourself driving the South Island....it is so beautiful, you will love every minute of it.

We spent 10 days on the North Island last April. If you click on my name and scroll down, you can read our rather lengthy trip report. You can also see our pictures at community.webshots.com/user/ElendilPickle

Here's how we spent our time:

Day 1 Auckland to Whakatane - our longest driving day, mostly because we stopped a lot
Day 2 Dolphin swim in Whakatane with Whales and Dolphin Watch; drove to Rotorua for a Maori concert and hangi at the NZ Maori Arts and Crafts Institute at Te Whakarewarewa
Day 3 Explored Rotorua a bit, drove to Waiotapu Geothermal Wonderland and on to Tongariro National Park
Day 4 We had planned to do the Tongariro Crossing, but the weather wasn't good, so we did a shorter hike in the park, then drove to Wellington. We strolled along the harbor and went out for dinner.
Day 5 Te Papa Museum in Wellington - a must-see
Day 6 Hiked on Mt. Victoria in Wellington, then drove to Kaitoke Regional Park and on to Wanganui via the Akatawara Road - if you like really narrow roads that are so twisty you can't see what's coming, this one's for you.
Day 7 Wanganui to Egmont National Park for some hiking
Day 8 Egmont to Waitomo for cave tubing with Black Water Rafting. That evening we walked the trail near Ruakuri Cave to see more glowworms - the whole day was great!
Day 9 Waitomo to Auckland - we took the ferry to Devonport, walked and ate, then spent the evening walking around downtown Auckland.
Day 10 A short time at the Auckland Museum before we went to the airport.

Lee Ann

Hi Melodyc -

This site will help you determine driving distances and times - I've found it very helpful in planning all of our trips to NZ:

http://www.accommodationz.co.nz/distances2.html

If you have three weeks, I think your current itinerary will work - with only two weeks, I'd suggest limiting your trip to one island, and personally, I'd choose the South, regardless of the time of year.

It does take longer than you might think to drive within NZ, but the drives are often spectacular, so they're part of the attraction. Of course you want to allow enough time to stop along the way to explore.

As far as what location to spend a "chunk" of time, I'd recommend something in the Nelson, Mapua, Motueka area. These locations are in the north of the South island, so your chances for good weather improve. I've read that Nelson claims to have more sunshine than the rest of the country, and I believe it.

There are some great cottages, B&Bs, winery accommodation, and self catering homes in this area as well.

We stayed at a great little placed called The Old Schoolhouse on a vineyard near Tasman, between Motueka and Nelson - an good choice for a honeymoon IMO. We've also stayed at a nice little B&B in Motueka called The Blue Moon. There are oodles of places to choose from in this area - it's one of my personal favorites, as there's so much to do and the weather is usually nicer up this way.

I'll look up some accommodation sites and re-post.

Melodyc -

Here are a few sites. If you do a search on "cottages NZ" or "self-catering accommodation NZ", or "B&B NZ" you'll pull up oodles of cottages, etc. There are some really interesting lodging options in NZ.

The Old Schoolhouse
www.cottagestays.co.nz. (click “regions”, then click Mouteka under the South Island column, then click “old schoolhouse”).

The Blue Moon
57 School Road, Riwaka, Mouteka
www.thebluemoon.co.nz

http://www.cottagestays.co.nz/

http://bed-and-breakfast.co.nz/nelson.html

Hope this helps.

There is already so much good info and opinion provided by the previous posters, so I will limit my NZ comments to just two little highly-opinionated things (remember, this is just my pure and honest opinion):

1. if you can help it, avoid lodging in Queenstown because it is such a popular and crowded tourist city, and hasn't much in the way of natural beauty, which is the reason most people (if not all) visit NZ. otherwise it tends to feel like any nice (but unoriginal) ski resort in the U.S. Did you go below the equator just to see Aspen?
2. stay on the South Island. There is just too much natural beauty there. The North Island is more "developed" and citified -- not as interesting if you're from an already citified nation like the U.S.

oh man, I ended up babbling way more than I intended. Sorry!!

True, Queenstown is a bit of a zoo these days. But I wholeheartedly disagree that it is not a place of beauty...the view over the Remarkables is magnificent, one of the most famous in New Zealand, a backdrop in Lord Of Rings.

Last July we made Te Anau our base for 4 days instead of Queenstown, for the specific reason of getting away from the crowd. I'm glad we did it that way, but still would have liked to have had more time in Queenstown because there is so much to do....the gondola, the Shotover Jet, bungy jumping, the luge, the lake cruises, etc, etc. Plus a lot of eating out options. I don't like shopping but my wife does - she enjoyed Queenstown from that aspect as well.

In addition to Arrowtown, an alternative town for accomodation in the Central Otago area is Clyde. There are a few boutique lodgings as well as motels, and Oliver's restaurant. It wound up in my itinerary by accident, but I would recommend it to those who find Queenstown too much. The owners of my motel referred to Queenstown as their Las Vegas. I agree that the setting of Queenstown is beautiful. I stop there for a bit of shopping, or to play golf, and then move along. (I do like the jetboat and TS Earnslaw, though).