britomart -

No, it's not a pain to take water taxis in Marlborough Sounds, but it's not cheap. Most accommodation operators in the sounds are more than happy to help you make taxi arrangements or you can do it yourself, but they do adhere to a set schedule and are more limited in the low season (can't remember when you're going). It's a great way to see some of the sounds though and the only way to access some parts of the Queen Charlotte track without having to walk all of it.

We got around having to pay for parking in Picton while we were in the Marlbrough Sounds by returning our car to the rental car operator to 'hold' while we were gone. We still paid for the rental, but didn't have to pay for parking and they gave it wash for us.

Another option would be to drop off your rental car and just pick up another one when you depart Picton, but you'll need to arrange all of this beforehand as rentals in Picton are popular with people coming off the ferry from Wellington.

<don't bother with those cabins in milford - look kind of gross>

ivyhouse - are you referrring to the new riverside chalets at Milford Lodge? I was considering them for an upcoming trip this winter.

I thought the chalets at Milford looked awesome... At least on the website they do!

Melnq8, do you have any thoughts as to our itineraries? We're going in Feb.

Hi britomart -

Of your two itineraries, I much prefer the first one. I would never, ever choose the NI over the SI, but that's just me. I visited the NI several years ago and have never been tempted to return, whereas I'm currently planning my 10th visit to the SI, which pretty much says it all.

hi there - just waking up from my return traveling!

i too think the first itinerary is better - although i still believe north island unjustifiably gets less attention.

some notes:
the only hostel where we encountered ANY drinking was in queenstown. the best run hostels keep an eye out for this since owners either live on or very near the hostel. these places are quiet.

i would really encourage you to try renting the cabin at hopewell http://www.hopewell.co.nz - i can't see that you would be disappointed. you can actually drive into hopewell, but it takes a long time (about 2.5 hrs each way). maybe leave the car parked at TeMahia (cheaper option - 1 hr. drive from picton, less expensive taxi) or water taxi in from Picton and float plane out - http://www.nz-scenic-flights.co.nz/index.html. you will save on car rentals this way, which can make up for the expensive travel in and out. Picton might be a bit sleepy for you for 2 nights (this town shuts down at 7 pm), though it is a great place to day trip from - cougar line is the main choice for transportation in and out of the sounds with LOTS of options http://www.cougarline.co.nz/. you might also try a day hike on the queen charlotte track as this one has lots of options whereas most other big tracks require bigger commitment. to read more advice on hopewell, check out tripadvisor for reviews.

i would do:
days 123 Paihia - i personally think you could cut this area to 2 nights unless you day trip to cape reinga from here - the trip with sand safaris only leaves from ahipara or kaitaia (a truly awful town!), but their are bigger operators from paihia (twice the price). ahipara is about 1.5 hrs from paihia (town is famous for the surf break - nothing else there) - spend a little time in russell - the ferry is quick and cheap and runs almost constantly. must do at least 1 thing on the water from paihia or this location is a bust, and being on the water is really the only way to see the islands. treaty house ok too. don't bother with kerikeri. hokianga area (opononi and omapere) is nice as well - a little over an hour from paihia. giant kauri trees are a bit south of hokianga and should be included in a day trip if you try this area.

you will then have almost a 6 hr trip to coromandel from paihia - whitianga location is good - we stayed at tui lodge in backpackers, but they also have private motel units with kitchens, and the place is nice and clean. great jumping off point to cathedral cove and hot water beach. again, i would urge you to try blackjack lodge http://www.black-jack.co.nz/photos.html - good location as you can get to whitianga in 15 minutes and coromandel town in 30. the chalet is a must if you stay here... the town only has 1 store though...

abel tasman schedule is good, and i discussed picton/marlborough sounds above.

kaikoura might not need 2 nights, and i'm not sure about the christchurch 3 night stay as i didn't go there. but i think banks peninsula is worthwhile.

i agree with you about queenstown - much to do in many directions - fjordland, wanaka, arrowtown. you can day trip to glenorchy with dart river safaris - http://www.dartriver.co.nz - jet boat ride, hike, off road tour with transport from queenstown, or do a ride on our own for the scenery (again, nothing in the town but a cafe, though it is charming). scenery is jaw dropping. arrowtown deserves a day (shops, restaurants, historic buildings, walks). and a day trip to milford sound with cruise is also a must if you do queenstown and saves a lot of driving time - kiwidiscovery.co.nz is very reasonable!

hope this helps...

ivyhouse -

Did you stay in the self contained cottage or the hostel at Hopewell?

hostel - but self-contained cottages elsewhere. like cottages better...

Thanks ivyhouse. I was eyeballing that cottage at Hopewell, as we prefer cottages too, and we're considering yet another stay in the sounds next trip. We'll see...

i really think it's a great choice!

Well, after lots of deliberation and discussion, we have decided to go with itinerary #2. We found a cheap flight from Napier to Nelson, so we're going to eliminate the overnight in Wellington and add it to Rotorua so this part is less rushed.

I e-mailed Black Jack lodge about their rates, but is there anywhere to eat in that town or would we have to drive to Whitianga for meals? It looks like it's in a nice, quiet little town though.

Also, I've found that the hostel rates for ensuite doubles are about $90 NZ, and I've found some rates for motels and B&B's for not much more, so think we will go this route.

Akaroa looks so wonderful, I'm wondering if we should stay there and day trip to CC instead of the other way around? I found a farmstay that looks so wonderful, Paua Bay:

http://www.mcclarity-media.nl/pauabay/

Also, I'm getting rates of about $50 NZ per day for a car rental (automatic), is this a good rate, should we book it now, or will it go down? I'm thinking of using Autoeurope based on advice in other posts here.

Also the airfare Napier to Nelson was $90 AUS, seems cheap, should I get it? Is Napier a good base for this area?

Thanks again for all the advice, I feel so relieved about having our itinerary down finally!

I'm not sure I'd even call Kuaotunu a "town". It's more of a vacation home area. The beaches are beautiful. If your lodging doesn't offer dinner, you'll either have to cook for yourselves or drive into Whitianga. I think the locals even go into Whitianga for their groceries. I stayed at Drift In B&B and she was an excellent cook. (It's listed in the bnb.co.nz website).

Napier's main claim to fame is Art Deco and wineries. Two nights is about right.

Autoeurope contracts with 2-d tier local rental companies like National. I had used National directly once in Invercargill and wasn't crazy about them, no flexibility on the rentals (they gave me a car with no trunk cover and wouldn't let me trade up).

You might check avis.co.nz (the NZ website) to see if there are any special deals (like 2 days free with a weekly rental). They were almost the same as Apex when I checked this past January. Apex is also fine although they don't have as many locations.

i used a company called yourway.co.nz - NZD $20 per day manual shift. i think rate was reduced because of 60 day rental. company is small, but car was great - brand new. also, we had our windshield cracked by a flying rock while on road - we had declined insurance, and priced windshield around the country at smith & smith (one in every town!) and got avg. price to repair of $450 - car rental company only charged us $275!

mlgb is right - kuaotunu isn't really a town - from blackjack you walk across a little footbridge to a small store which has groceries and ice cream / movie rentals. that's it! all shopping is done in whitianga. you can either bring your food (we did) or they may prepare meals for a fee (not sure about this). Carl (owner) is, however, often plying you with goodies - fresh figs, fresh mussel cakes (best ever).

also, i agree with your assessment about banks peninsula - stay there, and maybe skip christchurch altogether. akaroa is a great town and the b&b looks lovely. there are lots of beautiful spots in this area, and you could easily spend 2 or 3 days. just know that it will take you about 1/2 hr of winding roads to get into akaroa... very scenic drive! okains bay has a museum, small church, store, other small historic buildings and a large sandy beach with beautiful estuary - great for walking...

Don't skip Queenstown! It was my favorite place in NZ. It is so beautiful and everywhere we went the people were so great.

The cheapest rate I am getting for an automatic on yourway is $40 a day for Feb 2011... Perhaps it's high since it's so far out? Blackjack emailed me back and they have availability, only $90 NZ a night for the cabin! I think we'll stay there.

Perhaps it's because it's February which is high season, in addition most likely because they had a 60-day rental. A lot of companies have that tiny word "from" placed in front of their promotions.

I've not heard of yourway. One thing to be aware of is that some of the small companies are wanting a nonrefundable deposit paid in advance...uh-uh.

One thing to watch for as I mentioned are relocation specials.
Often you can get a car for free or minimal cost, usually with a mileage limit, for a day or two's rental if going in the right direction. I especially like the airport to city relocations (I normally book thru Avis for those). While Christchurch is a snap, the Auckland one can be tricky if you aren't familiar with the central Auckland business district where the drop off is located.

just wondering if any of the other posters have had issues with traffic tickets in NZ - we've been home a couple of months, and both my sister and I received speeding tickets in the mail this week - apparently, they have satellite / radar and send tickets long after you were there. as a side note, the tickets were on the 3rd of february, and the 3rd of march. my sister, traveling independently from me, received speeding tickets in the mail as well... for the same dates! but in different locations. no one alerted us to this...kind of a scam, i think! any feedback???

Hi ivyhouse -

We've not gotten a ticket during any of our visits to NZ, but other Fodorites have mentioned getting tickets on this forum.

It's been my experience that NZ is well covered with speed cameras. There was a time when they'd set up the cameras in the back of cars set alongside the roads - we'd wave as we passed them. Not sure how they do it these days though.

Hi ivyhouse, yes there are speed cameras everywhere in NZ, fixed ones in the cities and towns and, mobile ones which are in the back of van/cars. They are not a scam.