My daughter and I are planning a trip to New Zealand during her summer vacation on the above dates. We already have a timeshare reserved at the Hyatt Regency Auckland from 7/31/10 to 8/7/10. WE have another one reserved at Taupo Ika Nui in Taupo which is scheduled to begin 8/6/10 and end on 8/13/10. ( note the one day overlap.) After that we have 3 days scheduled at Christchurch beginning 8/13/10 and ending 8/16/10. Beyond that we have nothing definitely scheduled but we would like to take in as much of the country as possible at a reasonable cost. We are mostly interested in experiencing the beauty of the culture and the scenery. Suggestions for itinery and best ways to travel would be appreciated. What would be the best way to fly in and out of the country from Chicago and to depart again. And then what would be the best and most economical way to travel around the country and still accomplish our goals? Also how much will the weather be an issue?

You are travelling in the middle of winter, so snow could be a problem in both the North and the South Island at this time of year. The most economical way to travel is to hire a car. Do a search on the board and you will find many trip reports which will cover most of the questions you have.

The majority of flight from the US fly out of Los Angeles or San Francisco, and fly into Auckland. Some flights do fly into Christchurch, however flying into Auckland makes sense in your situation.

It's hard to see New Zealand by daytripping from the cities, you will find the distances are much farther than you think. Just because it's a dot on the world map doesn't mean it's small. Read up on some trip reports, hire a car, and drop days off the timeshares so you can travel around.

I'm not sure what the winter would be like, but if you can make it down to Queenstown, it's spectacular. New Zealand is amazing all over, but there is quite a bit of difference with the geography between say Auckland and Queenstown. It's further down on the South island, so it might take a bit more effort to get there, but the majestic scenery is worth it.

Thank you for your replies. We have scheduled our flight via LAX to Auckland. Sounds like hiring a car will be our best bet. Hope the snow won't be too big an issue, although we are used to it being from Wisconsin.

If you're from Wisconsin, you'll laugh at the snow in NZ!

We spent a couple of months in NZ at that time of year and hired a camper-van - not every ones idea of a great holiday but we loved it and the flexibility is gave us. I doubt we would have seen so much using a rental car and hotels/B&Bs. The weather varied tremendously form blues skies and 70 degrees to blizzard but generally it was not a problem and NZ still ranks as the high point of a 1 year + trip around the globe.

On balance I think I preferred the South Island but here is a link to our blog with route details and photos - Entries 39 onwards cover our time in the country

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...ai/1/tpod.html

We arrive in Auckland 2 days before our timeshare begins in Auckland. What would you suggest we do for those first 2 days? Take the train to the capital for an overnight? Are there some day things we could do around Auckland while we are staying there? I am thinking it might be nice to travel up to the top of the north island, maybe stay overnight there 1 night and then sight see again on the way back down the next day. We are also wondering about whether we should just rent a car for the first 2 weeks while we have places to stay on the north island and then maybe switch over to some type of camper van as we drive the south island. Would that be the most economical way to go or should we do something different. We have to be back in Auckland Aug. 21 to fly back home. We would like to see as much of the islands as possible. We are both interested in seeing the thermal area, rain forests, the beaches, volcanoes,mountains, the fiords and experience the culture and people. Any suggested itinery would be appreciated. I also hear the train ride from Greysmouth to Christchurch should not be missed. Thanks for any assistance any of you might give.