North Island itinerary - does this work?
 

We are traveling in NZ for 8 weeks mid October - early December. I posted earlier about our South Island itinerary - thanks to all who helped me make huge improvements! I'm now working on our North Island plans. Suggestions please! What works - what doesn't?

We're a retired couple. We love short hikes (4 hour hikes, at Moderate or easier level is our limit - we're slow hikers). Kayaking. No bungee jumping or extreme sports. Interesting cities, art museums, local culture, and gardens are also on our list. We do plan to rent a car for travel outside Auckland. Our preference is to spend a few days in one area exploring, not hopping too much with one night stays.

Our North Island explorations are split into two parts. At the beginning of the trip we plan to spend two full days in Auckland, then head to Northland for 3-4 days. At the end of the trip, we'll take the ferry from Picton to Wellington, and work our way north to Auckland for our flight home.

Our itinerary:
Beginning of trip in mid October -
Auckland 3n - Auckland Museum, Art Museum, walking tour, Rangitoto Island if the weather is good. We do not plan to rent a car until we're ready to leave Auckland.
Northland 3n - Paihia 3n or Paihia 2n Kaihu/Dargaville 1n. Waitangi, Russell, Bay of Islands, and Waipoua Kauri Forest, then back to Auckland. We will have 4 days, returning to Auckland at the end of the last day for flight the next AM to Christchurch.
Auckland 1n airport hotel and off to the South Island.

End of trip - last week of November and first week of December.
Wellington 3n. We should have 2 full days in Wellington. Te Papa museum. Botanic Gardens. Tongariro NP 3n. Short walks/hikes. I would love suggestions for best walks to do and which town makes a good base.
Taupo 2n. Lakeside walks, kayak or boat to Mine Bay rock carvings, Craters of the Moon walk. Lake Taupo Museum and Art Gallery.

Two of the following on the way back to Christchurch. We don't have time for all three. Rotorua will be a must IF we haven't included a lot of Maori cultural stuff earlier in the trip. We spent several days exploring Yellowstone a few years ago, so the thermal attractions sound like fun but are not a high priority:

Rototua 2n. Kuirau Park, Ohinemutu Village - Kia Ora guided walk, NZ Maori Arts & Crafts Institute,
Rotorua Museum, Maori cultural village including hangi if we haven't already done one. This list is too long for one day. We'll see what the weather is like and pick a few.
Waihi 2n. Karangahaka Gorge. Windows Walkway - Hauraki Rail Trail Crown tramway track to Dickey Flat. (these may be the same?)
Whitianga 2n. Hahei and cathedral cove.

Auckland 1 night. The following day to explore a bit more of Auckland - or do a lot of repacking to keep the airlines happy. Evening flight back to the US.

Suggestions please!

Two good things to do - take the ferry from Auckland to Devonport, nice place to wander around with great views to Auckland.
The other is the museum at Dargaville - we spent longer there than we thought we would.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Looks very sensible to me. I have posted earlier about the walks in TNP and suggested Turangi but it is very close to Taupo (about 40 minutes).
National Park may be a better option for you but there is much less in the way of shops, cafes etc. It is more a place for skiers to stay in the winter.

I will mention we have Labour Weekend October 22nd - 24th 2016 with the Monday a public holiday.
If you are in the South Island book accommodation in advance and if you are in the North island try and avoid Auckland on Friday 21st afternoon when everyone drives out of the city and Monday 24th when they all come back. There will be long traffic delays.

Tasmangirl, thanks for the heads up about Labour Weekend. We will be in the Catlins that weekend. Fortunately we have our rooms booked.

Do you know how long the drive is from Turangi to the National Park/Whakapapa area? There do seem to be more accomodation choices in Turangi. On the other hand, a self-catering place in Whakapapa or National Park would be closer to the visitor center and Whakapapa trails.

Great you will be in the Catlins! Far away from the madness of Auckland's traffic.
Turangi to National Park is only about half an hour and the same to Whakapapa. It's the same road except you turn off to go to Whakapapa about ten minutes before National Park.
Chateau Tongariro is the hotel at Whakapapa and there is a holiday park there as well. whakapapa.net.nz
That would be the closest for walks and you could always go to the Chateau for a meal or a drink. Otherwise there is not much else there.
National Park has more accommodation options than Whakapapa.