South and North New Zealand in three weeks
 

Hi,

We plan on arriving in Auckland but would rather go South right away since we plan on traveling late April to mid-May. Any suggestions on where we should start our trip. We plan on renting a car. We are looking to go hiking, see the glaciers, and are more into scenery than museums. We all in our early fifties and in good shape.

We are interested in visiting:

Auckland
Coromandel
Rotorua
Taupo
Wellington
Queenstown (Franz Joseph)
Christchurch

All suggestions are welcome.

Thanks.

Isabel

Good idea to go south first given the time of year.

I'd suggest two weeks on the SI and one on the NI, but it seems you're more interested in the north than the south, given your list.

With two weeks on the SI, I'd suggest something like this:

Arrive Christchurch

Drive Christchurch to glaciers via Arthur's Pass with a side trip to Punakaiki (may want to break this up with an overnight in Punakaiki or Hokitika)

Explore glaciers (I suggest a minimum of two nights, which gives you at least one full day)

Drive glaciers to Wanaka - minimum of two nights - three is always better - from here you can visit Mt Aspiring Nat'l Park which is gorgeous

Drive Wanaka to Te Anau - at least two nights here as a base to see Milford Sound

Drive Te Anau to Queenstown

Then depending on how much time you have left - either fly back to Christchurch from QT or drive to Christchurch via Mount Cook and Lake Tekapo - you can do this in a very full day, but I'd suggest a couple of nights at Mount Cook.

I'm in your age bracket and also a hiker - I've found that I need a minimum of three nights in a given location to get in some hiking and get to know the area - there are always exceptions of course, like when just breaking up a long drive, but for the places you want to really see, three nights is a good place to start.

I'll leave the NI to those who know it better.

Thank-you! That helps a lot.

Much appreciated.

Isabel

We decided to stay two weeks in SI, looks amazing. We thought of arriving in Christchurch and rent a car. Any suggestions where to start?

Thanks

Isabel

Ummmm, perhaps re-read my suggested itinerary above?

Sorry. I just reread it. I will definitely use your suggestion. I was get confused with your south being colder.

Thanks and again sorry about that.

Isabel

No worries Isabel. Happy to help with the SI if more questions arise.