Want to share itineraries? We are going in March 2006
 

We have just booked the airline tickets and ALL the hotels for a 3 1/2 week visit to New Zealand.

First we are seeing the south island in debth (2 weeks) and then flying to Auckland and spending another week up there.

I'm sure there are lots of you planning similar holidays. If you would like to share your itin, my personal email address is [email protected] I live in Washington state.

Hi Katherine,
We will be in the South Island in January! Here is our itinerary:
Day 1: Arrive Christchurch, drive to Kaikoura
Day 2: 5:30am dolphin swim, drive to Hanmer Springs
Day 3: Drive Lewis Pass to Punakaiki to Franz Josef
Day 4: Franz Josef
Day 5: to Queenstown
Day 6: Queenstown
Day 7: Queenstown to Te Anau
Day 8: Drive to Milford Sound; Te Anau
Day 9: Doubtful Sound overnight
Day 10: to Dunedin
Day 11: Otago Peninsula
Day 12: Fly Dunedin- Christchurch- Auckland-Fiji

Hi Katherine,
I like your idea of sharing itineraries:)
Here's ours:
Day 1- arrive AKL and spend the night
Day 2- fly to Dunedin, spend the night
Day 3- Otago Peninsula, night in Dunedin
Day 4- drive to Te Anau via the coastal road (we'll get going very early and arrive late in the evening)
Day 5- drive the Milford Road and take a Milford Sound day cruise, night in Te Anau
Day 6- noon: board the overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound
Day 7- noon: return from overnight cruise then drive to Queenstown and spend the night there
Day 8- day and night in QT (jet boat, bungy jump)
Day 9- spend the day driving to Fox Glacier, spend the night there
Day 10- Fox Glacier 1/2 day hike, afternoon drive to Punakakiki, and spend the night in Greymouth
Day 11- early morning drive Arthur's Pass to CHC, afternoon and night in CHC
Day 12- spend the day in (or around) CHC and at 6:30pm take a flight from CHC to NSN (this saves us about an 8 hour drive), spend the night in Nelson
Day 13- day trip to Abel Tasman, night in Nelson
Day 14- late afternoon flight Nelson to AKL for our flight home
We live in New Hampshire and we'll be going Feb 5-21.
Have fun planning your itinerary...it is half the fun;)
And have a GREAT TRIP!!!
Safe travels:)

We are going in June/July 2006 and spending half the trip in Australia and half in New Zealand. We're a little less settled than those of you leaveing earlier, but here's the basic itinerary for us:

June 17-22 Sydney
City Tour
Harbour Tour
Visit the reptile park
Visit the koala park
Blue Mountains day trip
Overnight trip to Jervis Bay
June 22-29 Port Douglas
Snorkel the reef two days
Daintree and Cape Tribulation tour
Kuranda sky tram and train
June 29-July 5 South Island
Christchurch city tour
Tranzalpine train the Greymouth
Drive down to Te Anau
(stop somewhere along the way)
Milford Sound or Doubtful Sound
(or both)
Drive back to Christchurch
Trip to Akaroa (if time)
July 5-9 Auckland
City tour
Ferry to Davenport or sail
"Bush and Beach" tour
Overnight trip to Rotorua (?)
Overnight trip to Coromandel (?)

As I said - it's a bit up in the air yet. We are going to keep the South Island part flexible so that we can watch the weather and take advantage of good days. The dates in each place are fixed since we have already done the airfare (managed to use frequent flyer miles for all of it!). Can't wait to get the rest figured out. Like you said - half the fun is in the planning.

Hi Katherine,
We are going to NZ and Australia in December. Here is our NZ itinerary:
Day 1: Fly into AKL.
Day 2: Waitamo caves, Drive to Rotorua
Day 3: Rotorua and Taupo. (Zorbing, Wai-o-Tapu, Huka falls etc.)
Day 4: Fly to Christchurch. Drive to Kaikoura
Day 5: Early morning Swim with Dolphins. Drive back to Christchurch.
Day 6: Drive to West Coast through Arthur Pass. Night in Hokitika
Day 7: Heli hike in Franz Josef. Sunset at Lake Matheson. Night in Fox Village
Day 8: Drive to Wanaka via Haast Pass
Day 9: Drive to Te Anau (Arrowtown on the way)
Day 10: Milford Sound Road. Hike to Key Summit. Overnight Milford Sound cruise
Day 11: Drive to Queenstown. sky dive, jet boating etc.
Day 12: Queenstown. fly out in evening.

Since you have much more time in north Island, you could consider doing Paihia and Bay of Islands as well.
Hope this helps. Have fun planning and have a great trip!

Vandy

We arrived Christchurch, rented car, drove to Arthur's Pass where we stayed at McSweeney's Wilderness lodge (www.wildernesslodge.co.nz/ -
for four days/ hiked/rounded up sheep/ etc - then drove AP over to Pancake ROcks and back down to Franz Josef Glacier for 2 days/excursions there - from there to Wilderness Lodge lake Moeraki and 4 days there - kayaking/beach walks/night walks/fly fishing/ etc - and then down to Queenstown for 4 days for other activites (lunch at winery, bungy jumping, etc) and drove up to Christchurch for a few days and headed out. You have more time than we did, so I would do Milford/Doubtful which we sorely missed but look forward to someday. You will have a ball - look at wilderness lodge web pages, they were both delightful spots.

Thank you for sharing your itins.

We are flying into Christchurch from CA and spending 2 weeks on south island. We are then flying to Auckland and spending about 10 days on north island. We carefully compared Fodors and Frommers, side by side, and how they rated MUST SEE attractions and have tried to include every possible attraction. When we vacation, we rarely REST...our feet hit the ground running. We generally see so much but it's great when we finally are heading home and sharing all our pictures and experiences and diary.

We try to stay at good B&Bs and hotels including a few hostels for the experience and a farm stay or two.

Our itin is now 20 pages...in great detail. When I get a shorter version put together, I can post it right here. If you are interested in the WHOLE thing, email me and I'll be happy to share. It's taken us months to evaluate each attraction. It has been so helpful reading the bulletin board; you all have given me great advice.

Thank again.

email: [email protected]

Here's a more detailed copy of our itinerary. Any suggestions on what to see or we should skip?
NEW ZEALAND 2006
withFodors 2005
* pg. # reflects interest level/rating and location in reference book

DAY 1, March 19, Sunday
Leave from Seattle via San Francisco for N/S Flight to Christchurch, NZ

AIR NEW ZEALAND NZ 9393 ECONOMY CLASS CONFIRMED

DAY 2, March 20, Monday

Travel Day lost flying

DAY 3, March 21, Tuesday
Arrive Christchurch early morning, rent car and check into hotel

New Zealand Auto Assoc -pg. 50 Reciprocal privileges with our AAA Club Card - don’t forget to bring it
***BOOK IN PERSON Eastern Boys Scenic Mail Run Tour- pg. 355 -
**HOTEL: (4 NIGHTS) The Heritage Christchurch - pg. 327

maybe...
Port Circuit Bus - pg. 324
***Christchurch Gondola - pg. 342
** Arts Center - pg. 338

DAY 4, March 22, Wednesday

***Eastern Boys Scenic Mail Run Tour- pg. 355 -

DAY 5, March 23, Thursday

The Christchurch & Canterbury i- site
Visitors Center 8:30 - pg. 322
Ride free yellow bus - pg. 324
* Christchurch Cathedral - pg. 340
By Tramway - pg. 324 Wizard of Christchurch 1:00 p.m. - pg. 338
***Canterbury Museum - pg. 338
***Bontanical Gardens - tour - pg. 339
***Christchurch Art Gallery - pg. 339

DAY 6, March 24, Friday

Ride the free yellow bus
***International Antarctic Center - pg. 339
***Antarctic Haggland Ride - pg. 340
***Orana Park - pg. 341

DAY 7, March 25, Saturday

***Hammer Springs Thermal Reserve - pg. 358
***HOTEL: (1 NIGHT) Cheltenham House- 13 Cheltenham Street
Hanmer SpringsNorth CanterburyNew ZealandTelephone:
64 3 315 7545Facsimile:64 3 315 7645Email:
[email protected]. 358

Telephone: 64 3 315 7545

DAY 8, March 26, Sunday

***World of Wearable Arts & Collectible Car Complex - pg. 303
***Abel Tasman Aqua Taxi - pg. 315
*HOTEL: (2 NIGHTS) pg. 311 BakerLodge,

DAY 9, March 27, Monday

***Abel Tasman National Park & Golden Bay - pg. 314
**Farewell Split Tours - pg. 317

DAY 10, March 28, Tuesday

***Exploring Karamea - pg. 365
*** option:5 1/2 hr. Honeycourt Tour - pg. 366
***Punakaiki Pancake Rocks & Blowholes - pg. 367
Punakaiki- Paparoa National Park - pg. 367
**Truman Track - pg. 367
**HOTEL: (1 NIGHT) QUALITY HOTEL KINGS - pg. 371

DAY 11, March 29, Wednesday

***Franz Josef & Fox Glaciers - pg. 377 & 378
Knights Point View - pg. 383
En Route to Wanaka - pg. 383
En Route to Queenstown - pg. 384
***HOTEL: (3 NIGHTS) Mountvista Boutique Hotel - pg. 413

DAY 12, March 30, Thursday

Visitors Center - Shotover & Camp Street - pg. 399
The Shopper Bus
** Queenstown - Arrowtown Double Decker - pg. 403
***Skyline Gondola - pg. 401

DAY 13, March 31, Friday

***Skipper Canyon Heritage Tours - pg. 403

DAY 14, April 1, Saturday

Fiordland Visitors Info - pg. 426
***Doubtful Sound - pg. 427
Real Journeys - to be considered - pg. 426
Check Visitors Information - pg. 458 and pg. 463
HOTEL: 1 of 15 home & family stay - Invercargill

DAY 15, April 2, Sunday

***Reverse the trip - en Route to Invercargill - pg. 456 & 457
** The Essential Dunedin - pg. 446
***The Taieri Gorge Railway - pg. 448
***HOTEL (ONE NIGHT) Mahara B&B- pg. 449

DAY 16, April 3, Monday

City Bus Newton Tours - pg. 446
***HOTEL -(ONE NIGHT) Outrigger Clearwater Hotel- Pg. 332

DAY 17, April 4, Tuesday

AIR NEW ZEALAND NZ 506 ECONOMY CLASS CONFIRMED
DEPART TUE 04 APR 06 CHRISTCHURCH 7.40AM
ARRIVE TUE 04 APR 06 AUCKLAND 9.00AM
TOTAL TIME CHRISTCHURCH TO AUCKLAND 01.20

*** Auckland Domain - pg.120 The city’s oldest park, is an imposing crown of green just minutes from the city center
*** Auckland Museum - pg.115 Largest collection of Maori and Polynesian artifacts in the world
New Zealand Auto Assoc -pg. 50 Reciprocal privileges with our AAA Club Card - don’t forget to bring it
***HOTEL: (3 nights) Sebel Suites, 85-89 Custom Street W 09/978-4000 pg. 101

DAY 18, April 5, Wednesday

** New Zealand National Maritime Museum opens at 9:00 a.m.- pg. 118, 124
Boat ride at noon or 1:45 p.m. with Maritime Museum - pg. 118,124
***Board Double Decker Explorer Bus at 10:00 a.m. - pg. 92
*** Sky Tower - pg. 115

DAY 19, April 6, Thursday

*** Waiheke Island - divine little paradise just 35 miles from downtown Auckland pg. 133
*** Drive the Loop - pg. 135
Lunch - Ajadz Indian Cuisina, Artworks, Oneroa (closed Monday) pg. 137

DAY 20, April 7, Friday

*** Town Basin - pg. 154
*** Bay of Islands - pg. 139
*** Waitangi National Trust & Treaty House (1 mile walk) pg. 142
** Culture North - 2 hrs. Maori Cultural experience - pg. 143
*** Kerikeri Basin - pretty town has most to offer - pg. 144
***HOTEL: (1 NIGHT) Copthorne Hotel & Resort Bay of Islands, Tau Henare Drive 09/402-7411 pg. 147,148

DAY 21, April 8, Saturday

*** Enroute to Cape Reinga - pg. 145
In the Far North -
** Ancient Kauri Kingdom-visit homestead built in 1860 - pg. 144
*** Waipoua Kauri Forrest-Trounson Kauri Park, Hokianga Harbor - pg. 157
*** Glowworm Caves - pg. 170
**HOTEL: (2 NIGHTS) ROYAL LAKESIDE NOVOTEL-Lake end of Tutanekai st., Rotoura 0800/776-677 pg.195

DAY 22, April 9, Sunday

***Rotorua Museum - pg 184
***Polynesian Spa - pg. 186
***Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve and NZ Maori Arts & Crafts Institute - pg. 186
or
***Tamaki Maori Village - pg. 189
***Whaharewarewa Forest - pg. 193
***Redwood Memorial Grove Track - pg. 193

DAY 23, April 10, Monday

***Waiotapu - pg. 190
***Volcanic Activity Center - pg. 201, 203
***Te Mata Peak - pg. 232
***Gannet Gazing - pg. 232
***Putangirua Pinnacles - pg. 285
***Patuna Chasm Walking - pg. 285
***HOTEL : (2 NIGHTS) INTER-CONTINENTAL WELLINGTON - pg. 262

DAY 24, April 11, Tuesday

The City Circular Bus (yellow bus) 7:30 a.m. - pg. 259
***Te Papa Tongarewa - pg. 273
**The Parliament Bldg. - pg. 275
**Kelbum Cable Car - pg. 274
**Wellington Botanical Garden - pg. 274
Lanbton Quay - “shopping” - pg. 280, 281

DAY 25, April 12, Wednesday
Return Home
AIR NEW ZEALAND NZ 8 ECONOMY CLASS CONFIRMED
DEPART WED 12 APR 06 AUCKLAND 7.15PM

I love reading this thread. It's so helpful comparing itineraries.
Karherinemaepardee, where are you spending night 10? Do you have enough time Day 11 to get to Q'town and see the glaciers?
We're doing a similar trip 21 nights all the the south island and I found planning the west coast the most difficult part. Right now our trip looks like this:
Day 1- arrive Aukland, fly to Nelson. Three nights near Motueka in Bronte Lodge. Abel Tasman, wineries, etc
Day 4- Drive through Murchinson to Arthur's Pass Wilderness Lodge for 2 nights. Day fishing trip.
Day 6- Drive down west coast to Hoktika. Overnight at Kapitea Ridge Lodge
Day 7- Fox glacier. Maybe helicopter trip. Hike around Lake Mathison. Two nights at Wilderness Lodge at Lake Moeraki
Day 9- Drive over Haast Pass to Queenstown. Two nights at Shotover Lodge. Skippers Canyon, jet boats, Arrowtown?, etc
Day 11- Drive to Te Anau. Overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound.
Day 12- Two nights in Te Anau at Mt Prospect High Country Lodge. ( Do Milford drive and day cruise?)
Day 14- Drive to Queenstown- fly to Christ Church in A.M. See Antarctic Museum. Drive to Akoroa. Two nights at Maison de Mer. Harbour Cruise or Mail Boat ride.
Day 16- Drive thru Christchurch. See Botanic Gardens? Winery lunch at Pegasus
Two nights at Kaikoura at Miharotia House. Dolphin Swim, Whale Watching
Day 18- Drive to Blenheim. one night at Bell Tower. Bike ride through vinyards.
Maybe drive to Picton and see some of Queen Charlotte Drive. Fly from Blenheim at 4:50 to Aukland and then HOME

PAWLEYS: SO GLAD YOU POSTED YOUR ITIN.

This will really help everyone, and especially us, in streamlining our itin. We are still waiting for detailed driving maps and hopefully we haven't crammed too much into each day. The hotels that are missing are farm stays or B&B's we have not confirmed as yet.

How are you doing with car rental? That's are biggest problem right now.

When are you going?

Write me direct:

[email protected]

Great itinerary!!!!

Katherine

Hello, Katherine.
Thought I'd throw in my itinerary for our upcoming wine-and-food journey to NZ in late January; being oriented toward the exploration of New Zealand's culinary delights (I'm a wine-food-travel writer), its focus is somewhat different than most. Nonetheless, you may be able to find a few items of interest to flesh out your trip. (I recently finished an article on the North Island; email me at [email protected] if you'd like a copy sent to you)...John

DAY 1 Auckland-Waiheke Island
Arrive Auckland from Los Angeles, cab to New Zealand Maritime Museum, board Lady Gay (a classic, 46-foot launch built in 1934) for cruise to Waiheke Island. Lunch onboard, swim/snorkel in sheltered anchorage, proceed to Oneroa Bay. Lodging: The Boatshed. Dinner: The Boatshed.

DAY 2 Waiheke Island-Auckland
Tasting/tours at Stonyridge, Peninsula Estate and Te Whau, including lunch at Te Whau's restaurant. Afternoon: visit the home of noted artists Chris and Barbara Bailey (along with a reading, by Chris, of his poetry); return to Auckland by ferry. Lodging: Auckland Hilton. Visit Sky Tower; explore Ponsonby. Dinner: Soul.

DAY 3 Auckland-Martinborough
Fly from Auckland to Wellington. Drive over Rimutaka Range to Greytown; lunch at Salute. Afternoon tour/tastings at Margrain, Ata Rangi and Te Kairanga; dinner at Bistrot. Lodging: The Martinborough Hotel.

DAY 4 Martinborough
Tour/tastings at Martinborough Vineyards, Murdoch James (including lunch at Riverview Café), Palliser Estate and Nga Waka. Afternoon ATV ride in Wairarapa. Dinner: Est.

DAY 5 Martinborough-Wellington
Drive back over the Rimutaka Range to Wellington; lunch at Dockside. Afternoon: Kelburn Cable Car to Botanic Garden and Carter Observatory; visit Karori Wildlife Sanctuary and Te Papa National Museum. Dinner: Icon. Evening visits to Welsh-themed Dragon Bar & Grill and Molly Malone’s Irish Pub. Lodging: Halswell Lodge (1920s villa).

DAY 6 Wellington-Marlborough
Board Lynx Ferry for the voyage across Cook Strait to South Island. Take water taxi to Torea Bay in Queen Charlotte Sound; portage shuttle to Kenepuru Sound. Board chartered launch for sightseeing/snapper fishing cruise; lunch onboard. Drive to Blenheim; lodging at Vintners Retreat. Dinner: Catered barbecue on the grounds.

DAY 7 Marlborough
Tour/tastings at Cloudy Bay, Allan Scott, Highfield (lunch in the vineyard), Nautilus, Matua and Huia. Dinner at Herzog.

DAY 8 Marlborough-Canterbury
Drive to Kaikoura for three-hour whale-watching cruise; lunch at The Whale Watch Café. Drive to lodging at Claremont Country Estate, northeast of Christchurch. Dinner at the estate.

DAY 9 Canterbury-Queenstown
Take 4WD tour of the estate; tasting-tour-lunch at Pegasus Bay Winery. Drive to Christchurch for flight to Queenstown. Afternoon: Jet-boating on the Dart River. Lodging: Mercure Grand St. Moritz. Dinner at The Boardwalk.

DAY 10 Queenstown
Drive up the Kawarau Gorge for tasting/tours at Peregrine and Felton Road; lunch at Gibbston Valley Vineyards. Visit Kiwi & Birdlife Sanctuary in afternoon; board T. S. S. Earnslaw, a vintage 1912 steamship, for evening cruise across Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak Station. Dinner: Walter Peak.

DAY 11 Queenstown
Morning ride on Skyline Gondola up Bob’s Peak, for panoramic view; slide down on Skyline Luge. Lunch at The Cow. Fly to Milford Sound for afternoon cruise. Dinner: The Bathhouse.

Day 12 Queenstown-Denver
Fly from Queenstown to Denver, via Christchurch and Los Angeles.

Hi, Katherine,
We found the AA NZ Road Atlas very helpful for planning our driving tour of NZ, especially the distance/time charts between cities and towns. Our itinerary is as follows:

Day 1 - Arrive Auckland
Day 2 - Rotorua
Day 3 - Napier (art deco)
Days 4 & 5 - Wellington
Day 6 - Kaikoura
Day 7 - Christchurch
Day 8 - Dunedin
Day 9 - Invercargill
Day 10 - Te Anau
Day 11 - Queenstown
Day 12 - Franz Joseph
Day 13 - Greymouth
Day 14 - Christchurch
Day 15 - Flight to Melbourne

This is our first trip to NZ. We usually drive around the countries we visit and look forward to this visit. I understand the roads are not as narrow as those we drove in Ireland so don't anticipate driving difficulties. We plan to use Apex Car Rentals, dropping off one car in Wellington and picking up another in Picton.

We'll probably use Wotif.com for lodging as (others have pointed out), it appears the B&B's are more expensive than hotel stays (we found B&B's in England, Scotland and Ireland to be less expensive than hotel stays).

After NZ we plan to spend a month touring Tasmania, Victoria, NSW and as far north as Noosa in Queensland. Hope you all enjoy your New Zealand adventure.