My very tentative itinerary:
Fly NYC-Auckland, arriving Dec 4th.
Spend 3 days in N. Island, sleeping off jet lag, visiting beaches and Napier (BF is a HUGE Art Deco buff & won't budge on this).

Fly to Christchurch where we must visit a family friend. We plan to stay 7 days on the S. Island and mainly want to check out Queenstown, national parks & do outdoorsy stuff (hiking, kayaking, & BF wants to bungy jump).

Fly to Melbourne, stay for 2 or 3 nights. Explore city and nearby coast.

Fly to Sydney, stay for 2 or 3 nights. Explore the city. BF would like to climb the bridge.

I know, this is not enough time!! But it's the longest vacation I've had in years, I can't take more time off than this. Plus, we are go-go-go type people and can squish a lot of things into a day. Relaxing is boring.

And I know it will be HOT in Australia, that is why we are staying in the south.

My main concern is SO MUCH flying. I wish we could cut out some of that and take a boat or train or something...so we don't feel like we are spending a good portion of our trip in airports. Or {sigh} cut down on the number of locations we visit. I have friends who prefer Sydney and others that favor Melbourne...how to decide between the two?

The trip will be just my BF and I, late 30s, no kids. We love the outdoors and being active. We are unlikely to visit museums unless there's something truly spectacular that can't be missed. We don't like just sitting there on a beach - not for more than a couple hours anyway. We are very interested in art (mainly galleries/local artists, not museums) and architecture. We love long, scenic drives too. And of course, anything wacky, spectacular and out of the ordinary!

Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Given your limited time, I'd omit Australia altogether and focus on the South Island. If you can't bring yourselves to do that, then skip Melbourne--this may have its charms, but nothing really spectacular. In Sydney, apart from the obvious sights and trips, you might enjoy the Spit to Manly walk.

Yes, under the circumstances you'd better skip Melbourne, I think. Sydney shouldn't be excessively hot in mid-December, especially close to the sea and harbour, but as always there are no guarantees with weather. It would be a good idea to pick up a guidebook to make sure you don't miss the things you really should see. Also, the 'search' function on this forum will turn up useful past threads. With 5-6 days in Sydney you could take the train to the Blue Mountains (2 hours), stay a night and get in some walking.

I take it you'll be driving down to Napier and flying from there to Christchurch? This would be better than driving back to Auckland, given your time restrictions.

What I would do is take the time to make arrangements to immigrate to a country which lets you have at least 4 - 6 weeks vacation per year so that you can at least DO something during that time.
If the shoe was on the other foot and I asked you what to cut out in a two week holiday of the USA and Canada what would you suggest?
I'm with someotherguy - I would omit Australia altogether and stay in the South Island of NZ - that is of course if you are not from some area that is similiar.

Hi Suzanne,
Napier is certainly not your usual destination for a NZ trip of this length but I'm sure you will enjoy it. The beach at Napier is extremely dodgy for swimming. Interesting to go and watch the surf for half an hour but dont even think about swimming there - do any swimming in Sydney.

It would be sensible to skip either Melbourne or Sydney but I think you would love both and if you can manage to get 3 nights in each and don't mind a rushed trip it is do-able depending on exactly how many days you have.

What date do you fly home?

Thanks for your suggestions so far! I am now leaning towards skipping Melbourne (as much as I would hate to) and maybe spend 4 nights in Sydney and add another night to the South Island.

I heard the N. Island beaches are nice around Mercury Bay - true?

I did not even think of flying from Napier-CHC (instead of from Auckland)because one-way car rentals tend to be pricey, but I'll check out this option.

LizF, I hear you! Americans get piddly little vacations & I hate it (I haven't taken a week off since January). Another good reason to check out Sydney. I have business connections there.

Also, thanks to everyone contributing to the recent thread on NZ itineraries. It's giving me great ideas!

I've not found one-way car rental to be expensive in NZ (I use Avis, but they are all similar). If you are driving from Auckland to Napier, one option to consider is continuing to Wellington. Drop the car there, then take the (scenic) ferry and train to Christchurch.

Kiwis-
I forgot to tell you...I plan to leave Australia for home on Monday Dec 19th.

I know that kids get off of school sometime in mid December (starting when?) which means the start of peak season, and accomodations in vacation areas may be tough to get. That is the main reason why I am saving Australian cities for last - people should be heading out of them around that time...correct?

someotherguy: I thought about that too...I guess I thought it would be too much driving, but since it IS so scenic, hmm...maybe.


Also I have a question about bicycle rental. I love to explore cities on bike (NYC, San Diego, Copenhagen, SF, and Stockholm are great for this). Would this be a good idea for Sydney? Do they have bike lanes or a good system of bike paths?

Good idea to skip Melbourne I personally don't think its an International destination like Sydney. I expect to get the usual bric-bats for saying that because people don't like me to have an opinion on a place but I will! Keep your beach time for Sydney there are many wonderful beaches in and around it and plan to have a meal, either a lunch or dinner at Icebergs Club at Bondi Beach - absolutely fantastic!. As for bike ways - the best person to answer that is Alan so if you can find something from him, click his name on and see what he has suggested in the past - his posts have been informative and fantastic and he knows his Sydney - even if he does talk about me behind my back and he is "culturally challanged". Hi Al :0)
Kids in Australia seem to finish school from about mid-November onwards. Also I would expect that more people would be going into Sydney than out of it in December actually. I doubt there will be a problem with accommodation though.

We are spending 3 nights in Napier in early Jan. Have rented a house through www.holidayhouses.co.nz overlooking the ocean (deco bay villa) You mentioned biking and we discovered 2 biking winery & sightseeing tours in Napier. www.bikedevine.com and www.bikeabouttours.co.nz. Thought you might be interested.

Fallrats-
Thank you for the info!

I am getting more and more excited about this trip!

Since you will be in Christchurch anyway, be sure to see the new art museum, very interesting building as well as the contents.

You will need more time in the North Island. Two days in Auckland because the first will be a blurr. Stay in Ponsonby and wander around the galleries there. Go out on the harbour. Allow two for Napier as the road is a lot more windy than it looks on the map.
Three great places we stayed at:
In Auckland the Great Ponsonby B&B which is full of art, in fact the windows are art works in themselves.
In Napier in an Arts & Crafts B&B called Mornington where the host spoiled us every evening with nibbles.
In Sydney Regents Court which is a small hotel in Potts Point and has a huge roof garden complete with olive trees. We bought deli food from over the road and had it fo dinner on the roof.
Hope this helps.

Suzanne,
Looks like the NSW school hols run 21 December -30 January 2006.