NZ - North Island - Itinerary
 

Dear Forum Friends,

Does anyone have a suggested 3 week itinerary of the North Island of New Zealand? My husband and I are going in March 2004 and I have the first week down pat, with a big visit to the Bay of Islands and working back down to Auckland....but after that, I am stuck.

Day 1 Monday

Morning flight to Auckland ? arrive approximately 12 noon. Pick up car and drive through Auckland to the North Shore Holiday Park. Check in. Drive to nearby Westfield Shopping Centre and stock up.
Overnight at North Shore Holiday Park.

Day 2 Tuesday

Early start. Drive to Russell via Whangarei. Arrive at Russell and check in, explore.
Overnight at Russell Top 10 Holiday Park,

Day 3 Wednesday

Explore Russell and cross over on the ferry to Paihia. Explore Paihia on foot.
Overnight at Russell Top 10 Holiday Park.


Day 4 Thursday

Drive to Paihia and explore by car. On to Waitangi Treaty Grounds for a few hours. Continue on to Kerikeri and check in. Explore Kerikeri and Kemp House. Maybe Makana Chocolate Factory.
Overnight at Aranga Top 10 Holiday Park,


Day 5 Friday

Drive to Cape Reinga, via Mangonui, Cable Bay and Awanui. Drive to Kaitaia and check in.
Overnight at The Park Top 10 Ninety Mile Beach.

Day 6 Saturday

Drive to Auckland via Kohukohu, Hokianga (ferry) and the Waipoua Forest. Visit Tane Mahuta. Continue to Auckland via Dargaville, Matakohe and Brynderwyn.
Overnight at North Shore Holiday Park.

Day 7 Sunday

Victoria Park Markets then explore Auckland by car, Tamaki Drive, Mt Eden etc. Check out the venues for tomorrow. (Kelly Tarltons, Auckland Museum, Skytower) Maybe go to a Warriors game, if playing. Rest during the afternoon.
Overnight at North Shore Holiday Park.

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How does the first week sound? I welcome any constructive criticism. Like everyone else, we want the perfect holiday with as few regrets as possible. :-)

We are budgeting on $NZ175.00 a day which will include petrol, food, accommodation etc. I hope this will be enough because it runs into thousands, hence accommodation at the holiday parks which we hope will be cheaper and a bit quieter than a motel.

We are planning to spend 3 weeks on the South Island about 18 months after this trip.

Thank you in advance for any help. As we all say on this fabulous forum, it is GREATLY appreciated.

Jenny

Hi Jenny,
It sounds like you have your 1st week sussed.
Staying in Holiday Parks might save you a few $$$$ but it all depends on the type of accom. you choose.

Camping in a tent would be very economical but staying in the cabins can get costly.
Most cabins have a basic sleeping area and mattress, no bedding at all so you would have to buy sleeping bags, pillows etc.
Also the holiday parks have communal kitchens but you need to have your own cooking utensils in most places ( another cost)

If you wanted more creature comforts, you would be needing the costlier "Tourist Cabin" which has a few more facilities.

Staying in motels, b & b's, and homestays or even Backpackers might actually work out better for you $$$$ wise. Some of the chains have promotions as well, ( discount cards at the Golden Chain motels gets a 10% discount per stay) sort of thing.

When you arrive in NZ, head to any information centre and pick up the free accom. books or do a few Google searches "New Zealand B & B's" or the like.
Something to consider anyway.

Re the itinary,
I would do a quick road tour of the rest of the Nth Island with the time left.
From Auckland...
Head south to the Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Taupo, Napier, Wellington, Taranaki and back to Auckland via Waitomo Caves.

Hope I have helped out in some way and not just added to the confusion.

Have fun planning...
Christa

Hi Brushtail
North Shore holiday park is great, there is a fruit and vege shop next door and the closest supermarket is round the corner about a five minute drive, no need to go to Westfield. The park has units better than cabins and also motel units.
Five days to me is long enough in the north, there isn't a lot to see in the Paihia centre, a couple of hours strolling does it, Russell is more interesting and the little museum is worth a visit. The Treaty house only needs an hour. Do the hole in the rock boat trip, spectacular and book that on the wharf in Paihia. I wouldn't stay overnight in Kerikeri, it's only a short drive from Paihia anyway and people commute there every day to work. Coming thru the west coast route is a good idea, Opononi is worth stopping at also. Stop in at the Kauri Museum near Brynderwyn.
Put a text search up for the north island and you will get lots of ideas.
Also peruse purenz.com and jasons.com, still two of the best websites.
I would wing it most of the way, at that time of year there is plenty of choices for accom. There's a lot of new backpacker places which are very comfortable and have private rooms.

Thank you Christa and KathyNZ.

You have some great ideas, and I will be surfing the net looking at the suggested sites today.

It is a lot of fun planning a holiday, nearly as much fun as the holiday itself. :-)

Jenny

Anyone been in May or June?

To the last poster why are you asking this question on every thread, or what exactly are you asking?
Is it okay down here in may or june, well nearly 4 million of us are here in may and june, a very nice time of the year.

Hi Jenny,

We live at Mt Maunganui and did a trip to Northland in March this year - precisely the route you plan to take. Your itinerary sounds excellent and well planned, however in March there is no need to book ahead so long as you don't turn up after 5pm with the exception of Paihia (we still managed to get a lovely unit to stay in although it was dearer than we wanted to pay). My only comments would be:

- On the way North from Auckland, turn off the main highway at Warkworth and travel thru Matakana and on to Goat Island Marine Reserve. You can see heaps of fish (huge snapper & pink mao mao) swimming around the rocks, go snorkelling if you want to although it is getting a bit chilly and you can go on a glass bottom boat. There are heaps of potteries and cafes in this area also worth stopping at (Morris and James is particularly nice).

We stayed in Paihia as opposed to Russell as you need to take a car ferry over to Russell or drive quite a way off the beaten track. We stayed at Smiths Camping Ground (which may or maynot be open still as it was for sale at the time we went) . This camp is situated in its own little bay, on the water with nice motel type units. You can use their kayaks and paddle around the mangrove inlet. It is a little out of town (5 min drive), but very picturesque. We visited Russell by ferry and walked around the town (it is very small and easy to see on foot). A guy also runs tuk-tuk tours of the area which was awesome fun & he gave a great commentary about the town's history etc. He sits at the end of the wharf. As previously mentioned, the Bay of Islands is best seen from the water, so definately take one of the many tours offered. Paihia township itself is nothing spectacular, and you can drive to Waitangi in 5 mins on the way out of town. A couple of hours on the grounds??? If that is your interest thats cool... As previously mentioned, Kerikeri is a short hop away, and a very pretty town worth a couple of hours exploration. My advice tho' would be to do the sights and drive on to the Mangonui/Coopers Beach area for the night before driving up to Cape Reinga which is a long way. We stayed at the Top 10 camp at Whatuwhiwhi on the Karikari Peninsula, but I wouldn't recommend it - nice camp, but too far off the Main Road. Definately, definately take a night stop in the Dargaville area - there is a lot to see and it is beautiful (and this is coming from a Kiwi seeing her own country). We stayed at the Kauri Coast Top 10 camp which was fantastic! The owner takes guided walks thru the Kauri Forest reserve at night which gives you the opportunity to see kiwi in the wild, giant Kauri Snails, Weta and the trees by moonlight is magnificent. It is really reasonable too. We also saw heaps of glow-worms in the camp and he fed the eels in the stream running thru the camp. We also drove a short way to the Kai-Iwi lakes which are simply breathtaking. It was quite a long drive back to Auckland from Dargaville too.

My only other comment would be that whilst Top 10 camps have excellent facilities, be aware that their locations are sometimes out of the centre of things a bit, they are popular, and on a recent trip around the South Island in a Motorhome, we found them to be very expensive compared to other camps nearby with equivalent or better facilities (ie $10-15 per night dearer for a campsite!!!). They do offer a discount card which attracts tourists, however I feel their prices are inflated to cover this.

Hope you have a wonderful holiday and enjoy this country as much as we do.

Cheers,

nzers

What a great source of information this site is. Thank you Nzers, you have some valuable tips which I will incorporate into our holiday.

I will definitely check out the other holiday parks and have been to www.jasons.co.nz and ordered their maps and brochures. They will send them to me for free. I am so impressed that they will do that. Just brilliant.

I am counting down and only 131 days to go. :-)

Thanks again,
Jenny