Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - First Trip to New Zealand! Itin help needed desperately

We are heading down under for the first time in mid-march...will be hitting Sydney & Melbourne for 8 nights, Fiji for 2 nights, and NZ for 10 nights. I'll probably be requesting add'l help for the other cities, but for now I'm somewhat at a loss for NZ, since there is so much to see. As a note, I have just spent the past 5 hrs going through all 8 pages of threads in the past 2 years, and have jotted down pages of notes.

Basically, we would like to see as much as we can see, w/o being too rushed or too relaxed. We love the outdoors, and would like to spend most of our time enjoying all that NZ has to offer. So, what I have gleaned from the past threads, I should obviously spend most of my time on south island. We are flying into AKL, and plan on trying to stay there at least for the first and last nite. Staying at the Hyatt to try to utilize our hotel points. I know that it will take quite a bit to drive all over. So maybe spend 3 nights on the north island, & the remaining 7 nights on south island?

For north island, we are interested in going to see the volcanoes...probably will go to the Bay of Islands & Rotoura/Turangi/Taupo. What else is a must see for our short time here? Also, I show that it takes ~3.5 hrs to drive from auckland to both the Bay of Islands & Rotoura. Is is possible to do a day trip here & back to Auckland (so that we can stay in auck overnite to utilize hotel points)? Or are they not close to each other? In addition, here is what I have down on possible must-sees here: tongurero crossing, Lake Taupo, and waitomo. Not sure if all of these (besdies tongurero crossing) is that great.

For south island, I am more at a loss of how we should plan our itinerary. Since we will also be flying out of AKL, we have a lot of driving to do. I know that the western side of the island is much nicer, but since it is a round trip, we will be able to do both. Here are the notes that I wrote of what would be neat to see: Milford Sound (conflicting views based on the weather), Alpine side, Kaikoura, Abel Tasman NP, Arthurs Pass NP, Fox Glacier. Of course we will also want to experience Queenstown & Christchurch. So is it do-able in 7 full days or are we kidding ourselves?

Also, a side note, I realize that daylight savings time will be 3/20...so we will be gaining 1 hr, right? Excuse my ignorance, just want to make sure!

I know I'm asking a lot from everyone, but since we will not be able to use hotel points (I'm looking into Priority Club pts in Christchurch), what cities do you recommend that we stay in on south island that are inexpensive & decent? My guess is that we sholud stay in the big cities since there is more competition?

THANK YOU so much, I'm very overwhelmed with all that there is to do! :)

I have to rush off so quick reply for now, more details later.

Bay of Islands is north of Auckland and Rotorua is south. So no way to see both on a single day trip. Since your time is limited I would either skip North Island completely, or spend just first OR last day there. Dont bother with rental car in Auckland - use taxi, or bus if going out of the city. A rental is of much more use in the South Island. You can fly from Auckland directly to Christchurch or Queenstown very cheaply if book in advance. (Can fly to other places too but CHC and ZQN best placed for most tourists.)

7 days to see all that you mention in south island is insane - nowhere near long enough.

Not sure what order you are doing Fiji, NZ, Aust but note there is frequent schedule trans-tasman from Christchurch and also CHC-LAX flight (3 times weekly reducing to once weekly) if you are heading directly back to US from NZ. That would save some time heading through Auckland both ways. Indeed you could even skip Auckland and North Island totally.

At end of daylight saving in March clocks fall back one hour.

You will see a lot in 7 days on the South Island...unfortunately most of it will be looking out your car window if you try to do the whole Island! Pick out two or three places to really experience, and plan to come back again. We are planning our sixth trip, and are still entranced by the people and the country
Probably best bet on accommodations is to use www.wotif.com---we use them every trip, and are quite pleased with them.
If you narrow your choices down, I can give you some specifics regarding our experiences.

Hmmm, you guys are probably right...but that's disappointing! We were hoping to be able to do a blitz tour!

OK, so what are the must-do's if we want to focus on scenery & outdoorsy type things? We don't mind skipping the big cities if it's just touristy.

Okay trying to narrow down for your first trip to NZ.

There are nice day hikes everywhere, and longer tramps in all mountain and some coastal areas. Some other activities are very location specific eg glacier climbing (only west coast and Mount Cook region). Kayaking and sailing are best in Auckland/Northland or Marlborough Sounds and Nelson. Adventure activities in many places - most well known being Queenstown and Taupo but there are plenty others. If you can explain what you mean by outdoorsy that may help pinpoint further.

Scenery is nice most places. North Island has lots of rolling hills and of course geothermal activity in Rotorua/Taupo area. South Island has wide plains and more rugged mountains; much less populated than the north. Both islands have nice beaches.

When I went to NZ last year I spent 11 days total - 9 of it on the South Island. DON'T RUSH. There is sooooo much to see but you'll miss the wonderful parts of the country by rushing through it just to make some sort of arbitrary deadline. Just my 2 cents, but it's just an amazing place - spend time to enjoy it. I would suggest Christchurch, Milford Sound, Queenstown, Marlborough Sound for the ten days. I didn't drive at all - got from place to place on Air NZ - buying tickets there it was cheaper, but I understand they have a "boomerang type pass" available as well.

Feel free to PM me if you need/want further information. I do agree with the other posters though about you just seeing things fly by if you try and do it "all" on your first trip.

I'm going to chime in with a slightly different opinion. Here's roughly what I did. (I REALLY need to work on my trip report... I spent two weeks on the South Island and almost three in Australia, it's going to take me a while to write.)

14 Dec: Arrive CHC. Walk around town after flying for 18 hours.
15 Dec: Pick up rental vehicle, drive to Dunedin. It's a Land Cruiser, so I explore a few trails and drive around on the beach for a while en route.
16 Dec: Southern Scenic Route to Invercargill. Gotta see Slope Point! Beautiful drive, tons of hikes.
17 Dec: Fly to Stewart Island. Incredible experience.
18 Dec: Fly back to mainland, drive to Te Anau.
19 Dec: Drive to Queenstown. Spend two days. Skydiving and partying!
21 Dec: Drive to Franz Josef Glacier. Another fun drive.
22 Dec: Climb glacier all day, drive to Greymouth at night. Greymouth sucks, but it was just a place to sleep.
23 Dec: Drive to Nelson. Wander around town, meet people, hit up the bars.
24 Dec: Hike Abel Tasman all day. This is the one place I wish I had more time because I really wanted to spend a few nights in huts.
25 Dec: Drive back to CHC. Was meeting up with friends I met back in Queenstown.
26 Dec: Meander around CHC. Art gallery, botanic garden, the river, etc.
27 Dec: Depart CHC for SYD.

Definitely a whirlwind tour, but I didn't drive more than a few hours each day, except for Nelson to Christchurch. Wish I could have stopped at the wineries along the way, but since it was Christmas Day, they weren't exactly open for business.

You're not going to see it all no matter how much time you have. Some people think I rushed (I also did Sydney to Cairns in 11 days, heh) but I don't care. I had absolutely amazing experiences along the way, and besides, now I know what parts I want to focus on next time :)

If you want the outdoors stuff, my personal recommendation would be at least Nelson/Abel Tasman and Franz Josef Glacier (I keep hearing it's a better experience than Fox, and I'd highly recommend the full day trek). Milford Sound was beautiful, but so is the entire South Island -- I'm more of a hands-on person who wants to get my hands dirty and have fun out there, so just looking around at the scenery is nice but doesn't really thrill me.

Flying is great but the South Island isn't that big. I'm glad I drove. Like I mentioned, I hired a Land Cruiser from a small shop in Christchurch; it came with a jacked-up suspension, offroad tires, and a ton of camping and recovery gear. Most importantly, the shop owner sent me a slew of books and maps of trails throughout the South Island before my trip. I'll never forget driving around and stopping wherever I pleased to hike a trail (there are hundreds of them, all excellently maintained) or pop the Cruiser into 4lo and make my way back to parts of the island that were impossible for most people to see. Besides, a car gives you freedom; if you don't like a place you can leave, and if you really like a place you can stay without having to worry about what plane ticket you might have booked.

Regarding accomodation, have you considered hostels? Again, a radical departure from what people will often recommend around here, but just think about it. A lot of what I chose to do was based on the stories people told about what they did that day or the day before, and there's no way I would have met the hundreds of people I did had I not spent my nights in hostels. For less than US$20 per person per night it's an unforgettable and inexpensive experience. Trust me, I was reluctant at first, but from NZ I was off to Melbourne and I almost secretly wished I was staying in a hostel rather than the Park Hyatt there (although I have to admit it felt great to take a bath!).

I could write for hours but the bottom line is that everybody travels differently. I happen to like the blitz method and wasn't afraid to push myself on the timing. You should do whatever works best for you.

... and last but not least, some pictures to wet your appetite. Follow the link below; images 4 through 24 were all in NZ and are in chronological order, so they follow the route above.

http://www.buchananerkman.com/~brett/travel/southpacific/preview/

I did a three week trip to NZ last year, and there were still lots of things that I didn't get to see. Basically, halfway through the trip, I decided that I would just have to return at some point in the future!

I would decide on 2-3 things that you really want to see, and then add stuff that is close by or along the way. The Tongariro crossing (on the North Island) is supposed to be the best one day hike in NZ, and it does have fabulous views. However, be forewarned that it is much more difficult than the "moderate" rating would suggest (well, by US standards, I'm sure that it fits the NZ moderate rating!). I did it right after a big snowstorm, and while it was fun to see the mountains blanketed in white, it did make the hike much more slippery. I thought that Picton/Marlborough Sound was beautiful, as nice as Milford Sound (though in a different way of course). Queenstown is also beautiful, and there are lots of things to do in the surroundings.

If you're renting a car, it is fairly easy (and inexpensive) to do a one way rental. I don't think you'd see much if you planned on driving both up and down the South Island in 7 days! Domestic flights are cheap. Also, I would suggest renting from one of the local companies; I used omega travel I think, but a google search will turn up lots of options. The cars will be older (5-7 yrs), but they are still comfortable. They are substantially cheaper than the name brands, and as an added bonus, the optional insurance (to cover the damage deductible) will be much less. I think that most US credit cards excluded NZ as a country where they had the complimentary CDW coverage. I actually really enjoyed driving around NZ, and you get to see stuff that you wouldn't via any other method.

For hotels (in major cities), I found that www.ratestogo.com had the best prices (if you can book within 20 days of arrival; not a problem in low/shoulder season). Priceline (the hong kong/singapore version) was not competitive at all.

Also, a side note, I realize that daylight savings time will be 3/20...so we will be gaining 1 hr, right? Excuse my ignorance, just want to make sure!


Depends what you mean by "gaining." Just to be clear: NZ Summer time ends March 19/20 (OZ ends a week later) so you'll have an hour less daylight in the evenings. Note that Easter is the end of March and there are school holidays then, so popular places like Queenstown could get booked out.

You probably read my thread that's floating right at the top of the forum. What I'm doing is basically a circle tour of the south/mid part of the South Island, Christchurch, TranzAlpine train and bus to Franz Josef Glacier, and finally basing myself in Quennsland for few days to do few day trips. From Queensland I'm flying on Qantas to Rotorua, and finlly arriving in AKL couple of days later.

The Qantas flight was around $100 one-way.

So maybe you could do AKL, rent a car, drive down to Rotorua area. Couple of days later return the car and fly from Rotorua to Queensland, rent another car and work your way around from there. It will probably give you extra 2 days to see the Milford Sound, the glaciers, then maybe do the train to CHC from Greymouth.

The money you save on the car rental could be applied toward the airfare. From what I've been reading, you should rent the car once you are leaving AKL, not when you are staying there. The public transportation is great and cheap. Same in Christchurch. That's another 3-4 days less of car rental.

Thank you all for your valuable input (& loved the pics, blort)! I'm trying to absorb all the information and yes, I guess I had too high of expectations. I'm researching airfare costs & Air New Zealand is pretty tricky w/charging a higher fare for US vs. NZ passengers. Does Freedom Blue fly within NZ? I haven't been able to get it to work that way, so I'm guessing not. What are other low-cost, competitive carriers?

Anyway, it seems as if we will be saving a lot more time if we fly to S. Island (maybe Christchurch), even though it is a more expensive option. I still want to spend 1-2 days on N. island though. So maybe 7-8 days on s. island originating from Christchurch and down to Queenstown area. Are there other cities north of Christchurch (Picton - Marlborough Sound or Nelson) recommended with all that I want to do? I am thinking that Nelson may be recommended since Abel Tasman NP is there and supposed to be beautiful. I'm thinking that I may nix Milford Sound (even though it looks beautiful) since the weather is very iffy over there, and time is not on our side.

So if I were to fly into Christchurch, and want to go all the way down to Queenstown, and possibly go all the way up to Nelson, am I still trying to see too much? If so (which I think I am), is the Abel Tasman NP that great, or are there other highly recommended NPs?

As far as outdoorsy things I like to do I mainly like to hike to see amazing things. I like somewhat extreme activities, so plan on skydiving/bungee jumping in Queenstown and doing the glacier hike.

Thanks again all! Not feeling as overwhelmed anymore, but definitely don't have much time to plan!

Thank you all for your valuable input (& loved the pics, blort)! I'm trying to absorb all the information and yes, I guess I had too high of expectations. I'm researching airfare costs & Air New Zealand is pretty tricky w/charging a higher fare for US vs. NZ passengers. Does Freedom Blue fly within NZ? I haven't been able to get it to work that way, so I'm guessing not. What are other low-cost, competitive carriers?

Just book on the New Zealand website (www.airnz.co.nz) and you'll get the lower rates. Downsides are baggage on weight system and less protection of connection to/from your international flights.


Anyway, it seems as if we will be saving a lot more time if we fly to S. Island (maybe Christchurch), even though it is a more expensive option. I still want to spend 1-2 days on N. island though. So maybe 7-8 days on s. island originating from Christchurch and down to Queenstown area. Are there other cities north of Christchurch (Picton - Marlborough Sound or Nelson) recommended with all that I want to do? I am thinking that Nelson may be recommended since Abel Tasman NP is there and supposed to be beautiful. I'm thinking that I may nix Milford Sound (even though it looks beautiful) since the weather is very iffy over there, and time is not on our side.

So if I were to fly into Christchurch, and want to go all the way down to Queenstown, and possibly go all the way up to Nelson, am I still trying to see too much? If so (which I think I am), is the Abel Tasman NP that great, or are there other highly recommended NPs?

As far as outdoorsy things I like to do I mainly like to hike to see amazing things. I like somewhat extreme activities, so plan on skydiving/bungee jumping in Queenstown and doing the glacier hike.

Thanks again all! Not feeling as overwhelmed anymore, but definitely don't have much time to plan!

Anyone who likes the outdoors should love Nelson. 3 national parks within easy drive (covering mountains, lakes, caves, and coastal areas); amazing beaches; plenty of day walks very close to the city (within 15 minutes drive). Also has lots of arts and crafts for the occassional wet day when hiking isnt so pleasant.

You can kayak in Abel Tasman or hike and take boat back - makes for nice daytrip. Has nice golden sand beaches, caves (the best 2 easily accessible are source of Riwaka River and the cave by the roadside top of Takaka Hill - but some really huge ones also for serious cavers), bush clad hills, etc. Kaiteriteri makes a nice place to spend a night or two - and in March wont be packed (except possibly easter). Marahau also at the entrance of Abel Tasman is quieter but beach isnt as nice (tide goes out a loooong way).

Golden Bay is nice rural area over the other side of Takaka Hill, but not recommended on such a short trip.

Let me know if you want more specifics - I know the area very well.

So maybe 7-8 days on s. island originating from Christchurch and down to Queenstown area. Are there other cities north of Christchurch (Picton - Marlborough Sound or Nelson) recommended with all that I want to do? I am thinking that Nelson may be recommended since Abel Tasman NP is there and supposed to be beautiful. I'm thinking that I may nix Milford Sound (even though it looks beautiful) since the weather is very iffy over there, and time is not on our side.

So if I were to fly into Christchurch, and want to go all the way down to Queenstown, and possibly go all the way up to Nelson, am I still trying to see too much? If so (which I think I am), is the Abel Tasman NP that great, or are there other highly recommended NPs?
Here's what I would recommend: Christchurch - Dunedin - Queenstown - Franz Josef - Nelson - Christchurch. You're going to be going fast but you're also going to see what I would consider to be the best spots for an adrenaline junkie who likes the outdoors. It's entirely doable in 8 days.

Day 1: Arrive Christchurch. Get a rental car and start driving south. Spend the night in Dunedin. It will take you five hours to cover the 362km but I would stop along the way and get yourself ready with some hikes.
Day 2: Poke around Dunedin. Look at the blue penguins if you are feeling touristy. The important part on Day 2 is driving to Queenstown, which will take you 4h25m to cover the 283km. Again, I'd stop along the way at whatever catches your fancy, just get to Queenstown by dinnertime.
Day 3: Now for the fun stuff. Skydiving. Shotover Jet. Bungee jumping. All those expensive things in Queenstown that get the adrenaline pumping. Stay the night in Queenstown. Go to World Bar.
Day 4: Enjoy your last hours in the craziness and start heading north to Franz Josef. Get there by 7pm so you have time to eat dinner and get a good night's sleep.
Day 5: Spend the entire day on the glacier. Bring a plastic Ziploc bag to keep your camera dry. You'll be done by 5-6pm and Nelson is about eight hours away, so I'd drive four hours that night to Westport.
Day 6: Finish driving from Westport to Nelson. You can be there by noon. Or just skip Nelson altogether and head directly to Abel Tasman with a backpack (I'm still mad at myself for not staying overnight in Abel Tasman).
Day 7: More Abel Tasman. You can also do Golden Bay if so inclined but I'd stick with AT. Don't waste your time driving to Farewell Spit like I did.
Day 8: You can make it from Nelson to Christchurch in 6h15m. It's an easy drive once you pass Blenheim. Catch an afternoon flight.

This is a packed itinerary and you're going to do more in eight days than a lot of people do in a year. Your friends and co-workers will all be jealous. Get ready to lose some weight too -- I'm slightly over six feet and went from 175lbs to 155lbs during my two weeks on the South Island just because I was always doing something.

If you need to do this in seven days, drive directly inland from Christchurch to Queenstown without going along to the coast to Dunedin. I recommended the coastal route because it's beautiful and it gives you a chance to get acclimated before diving head first into Queenstown.

So that's my opinion. I'm curious to see what Kiwi Flyer and the other resident experts will have to say. Just don't fall into the trap of thinking you can't do a lot in eight days because you really can -- like I mentioned in an earlier post, there's no way you're going to see it all, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to see as much as you can. Besides, you have all the time in the world to rest and relax once you get home, which is when you'll question why you ever left and spend time on FT encouraging other people to go nuts out there. :)

Wow blort that is one mad rush of a holiday :) Hope you're coming back again.

You can make it from Nelson to Christchurch in 6h15m. It's an easy drive once you pass Blenheim.

There are two ways to Christchurch from Nelson. One is through Blenheim and down the coast. Pluses include wineries in Marlborough, Kaikoura coast is spectacular, decent road. Minuses are more traffic and can be slower than the alternative.

The other way is inland over Lewis Pass. Has a couple more mountains to pass but reasonable road and great mountain scenery. Also could do short (15 minutes) side-trip to Hanmer Springs (bunjy and jet boating but the main attraction are the thermal springs, autumn colours in the plantations and snow in winter of course).

Wow blort that is one mad rush of a holiday :) Hope you're coming back again.
It's definitely a mad rush, but wouldn't you agree that it is worth the effort? I can't imagine there is anywhere else on Earth that offers such a broad spectrum of activities and sights in such a short time and relatively compact environment.

And yes, I'm definitely going back. In that little corner of the world I've only seen the South Island and the east coast of Australia; that still leaves the North Island and a lot of land in Australia to cover, and do you really think I would make the journey all the way over there and not stop by the South Island for at least a little bit? :)

One of the reasons it is taking me so long to get a trip report together is that I start daydreaming each time I look at the ~800 pictures I took over the five weeks down there. Especially Abel Tasman -- I would have no problem dedicating a week to tramping through there next time.

I'm flying out to DCA for an open house on Univ of Melbourne's b-school program in a couple of weeks... who knows, I may end up back there sooner than I think.

To the OP:

I think that you really need to decide what kind of vacation YOU want. I know of people who say they have gone through the Louvre in Paris in one day. I've been to Paris 14 times in 3 years and still have lots of rooms to see at the Louvre. So - it's up to you. Although some say 'see as much as you can'; I'm of the school - enjoy what you're seeing and savour it. It really depends upon what you like.

I forgot in my original post - one of the best things I did is I took the train from Christchurch to Manoa. Amazing! WONDERFUL day hiking; fabulous food at the little restaurant in town; gracious people. The scenery on the train was also really something else.

Again, I think you just need to decide what type of trip you want. You won't see everything in such a condensed period of time and can always return at a later time to see more.

Manoa? Do you mean Moana (by a lake on west coast) on the Tranz Alpine?

A couple of quick options:

i) had the same problem with AirNZ fares. Qantas have no such restrictions, but less routes.

ii) Consider skipping Christchurch??? You could fly down to Wellington, take the ferry to Picton and then drive down to Queenstown. I think this would be an efficient use of time.

All great suggestions! I am nowhere near finalizing, but it's great to have everyone's input. Since we don't know when we'll be able to make a trip here in the near future (we are trying to travel as much as we can before our house gets built), we'll try to do as much as we can.

We may just spend 1 full day on the north island, going to visit Tongariro Crossing (which is ~5hrs? I mapped it to Whakapapa Village, but not sure if that is the correct city). Still have to work on the timing of this, since we don't get into Auckland until the night before, and would really like to maximize the day. For the north island, I really only wanted to see this and Rotarua...is there really much to see & do in Rotarua? Then since it's only 5 hrs to drive to Wellington from Whakapapa Village, we will try to just do it at night...or may consider flying from there to CHC or ZQN. Then work our way up the island, maybe just take the ferry back, so we just have to buy one-way tickets.

Now just have to process everything & figure out what is best. Thank you!!!

I already warned mr. subdawg that since we'll be relaxing a lot in Australia & Fiji, NZ will be where we see everything. ldsant - we did the Louvre in 4 hrs! We're not museum buffs. :)

A couple of quick options:

i) had the same problem with AirNZ fares. Qantas have no such restrictions, but less routes.

ii) Consider skipping Christchurch??? You could fly down to Wellington, take the ferry to Picton and then drive down to Queenstown. I think this would be an efficient use of time.

To get the cheaper tickets book on the local NZ website of Air NZ (www.airnz.co.nz). It will happily accept your booking and all domestic flights are e-tickets so no ticket delivery problems.

Its a long drive from Picton to Queenstown. A reminder that most roads in NZ (even the highways) are one lane in each direction, with some passing lanes on highways and extra lanes near the cities on the very limited motorways. Also NZ is fairly hilly (except around Christchurch) so you cant just cruise. According to AA (http://www.aatravel.co.nz/tourist/southisland_travellingtimesdistances.shtml) it is almost 12 hours driving. Add on 3 hours for ferry crossing and time to get on/off the ferry and that is one very long day where you are doing nothing but travelling. Yes it can be done but not recommended.

All great suggestions! I am nowhere near finalizing, but it's great to have everyone's input. Since we don't know when we'll be able to make a trip here in the near future (we are trying to travel as much as we can before our house gets built), we'll try to do as much as we can.

We may just spend 1 full day on the north island, going to visit Tongariro Crossing (which is ~5hrs? I mapped it to Whakapapa Village, but not sure if that is the correct city). Still have to work on the timing of this, since we don't get into Auckland until the night before, and would really like to maximize the day. For the north island, I really only wanted to see this and Rotarua...is there really much to see & do in Rotarua? Then since it's only 5 hrs to drive to Wellington from Whakapapa Village, we will try to just do it at night...or may consider flying from there to CHC or ZQN. Then work our way up the island, maybe just take the ferry back, so we just have to buy one-way tickets.

Now just have to process everything & figure out what is best. Thank you!!!

I already warned mr. subdawg that since we'll be relaxing a lot in Australia & Fiji, NZ will be where we see everything. ldsant - we did the Louvre in 4 hrs! We're not museum buffs. :)

Words fail me.

Tongariro Crossing is a strenous day hike - takes a good portion of the day and since it is mountains you have to be prepared for anything, even snow in the middle of summer. It would be dangerous to attempt to drive from Auckland and do the hike and then plan to travel somewhere else. When do you arrive in Auckland? Can you take an earlier flight (I presume from Australia) and then do some of the driving that afternoon - perhaps as far as Waitomo?

Rotorua has enough for several days but you can see highlights in a day. Main attractions being the geothermal activity, maori culture. Other attractions being adventure activities, wonderful scenery.

Rotorua is 2-3 hours from Tongariro Crossing (see link above) and 6 1/2 hours from Wellington.

As per previous post, NZ roads are not like US inter-states or other highways you may be used to.

If you're not going to be spending time in the lower north island or upper south island I would consider flying from Rotorua to Queenstown or Christchurch. Queenstown has the advantage that you're then heading back up the island and so dont have back-tracking (although miss out on MacKenzie country and Mount Cook region). This would also save a lot of $$ as it is expensive to take a car on the ferry.

Words fail me.

Tongariro Crossing is a strenous day hike - takes a good portion of the day and since it is mountains you have to be prepared for anything, even snow in the middle of summer. It would be dangerous to attempt to drive from Auckland and do the hike and then plan to travel somewhere else. When do you arrive in Auckland? Can you take an earlier flight (I presume from Australia) and then do some of the driving that afternoon - perhaps as far as Waitomo?

Rotorua has enough for several days but you can see highlights in a day. Main attractions being the geothermal activity, maori culture. Other attractions being adventure activities, wonderful scenery.

Rotorua is 2-3 hours from Tongariro Crossing (see link above) and 6 1/2 hours from Wellington.

As per previous post, NZ roads are not like US inter-states or other highways you may be used to.

If you're not going to be spending time in the lower north island or upper south island I would consider flying from Rotorua to Queenstown or Christchurch. Queenstown has the advantage that you're then heading back up the island and so dont have back-tracking (although miss out on MacKenzie country and Mount Cook region). This would also save a lot of $$ as it is expensive to take a car on the ferry.

You are right again, KiwiFlyer! Can you tell I'm trying to squeeze everything in like crazy? :) I had another idea (well, not my idea, but everyone else's)...maybe we'll do the drive down & see all the dif spots along the way, then just fly from ZQN back up to AKL. That way we can see everything that we want to see, and not have to worry about trekking back up. I just need to really plan it so that sometimes we drive at night.

As far as north island goes, since we fly into AKL late night, the next day we'll just take it easy & go to Rotarua. Then we'll drive to Tongariro Crossing that night so we can be well-rested for the hike the next day. Then drive to Wellington that night and take the early ferry to Picton the next am. Then we can just make our way down to hit Abel Tasman NP, Franz Joseph, Christchurch, Dunnedin, Queenstown. So that's do-able, right? We don't mind maximizing our day and doing some driving at night. Although we'll do some driving during the day to be able to take in the beautiful scenery.

How does that sound?

BTW, thx for the Air NZ site, it's giving me much better fares!

Then drive to Wellington that night and take the early ferry to Picton the next am. Then we can just make our way down to hit Abel Tasman NP, Franz Joseph, Christchurch, Dunnedin, Queenstown. So that's do-able, right?
I'm not sure if I would visit Christchurch if I wasn't flying in or out of the city. It does have its redeeming qualities, but I'm not sure if it has enough of them to warrant a visit by themselves.

If you want to go at an easier pace, Nelson - Franz Josef - Queenstown will get you to what I thought were the three best parts of the South Island. I didn't have the luxury of using Queenstown as a start or stop point, hence my circle trip starting and ending in CHC.

Given the choice I'd rather spend more time in Abel Tasman than visit Dunedin, but that's just me.

I wouldn't count on driving much at night. With the exception of the area surrounding Christchurch, you aren't going to find any four-lane highways on the South Island. Lots of the roads are cut through mountains and you aren't going to see many guardrails. There will be times when you travel a dozen kilometers and it takes you half an hour because you're just going up and down switchbacks. As much as I advocate seeing as much as possible, I wouldn't do so at the risk of safety -- my advice would be to drive during the day and enjoy the scenery, especially if you are only going from Nelson to Queenstown. The distances are not that far.

It took me a whole three days before I came across a couple of tourists whose Toyota Corolla had slidden off an unsealed road and was sitting on its belly; this isn't a situation you want to be in at any time, especially at night.

I'm not sure if I would visit Christchurch if I wasn't flying in or out of the city. It does have its redeeming qualities, but I'm not sure if it has enough of them to warrant a visit by themselves.

If you want to go at an easier pace, Nelson - Franz Josef - Queenstown will get you to what I thought were the three best parts of the South Island. I didn't have the luxury of using Queenstown as a start or stop point, hence my circle trip starting and ending in CHC.

Given the choice I'd rather spend more time in Abel Tasman than visit Dunedin, but that's just me.

I wouldn't count on driving much at night. With the exception of the area surrounding Christchurch, you aren't going to find any four-lane highways on the South Island. Lots of the roads are cut through mountains and you aren't going to see many guardrails. There will be times when you travel a dozen kilometers and it takes you half an hour because you're just going up and down switchbacks. As much as I advocate seeing as much as possible, I wouldn't do so at the risk of safety -- my advice would be to drive during the day and enjoy the scenery, especially if you are only going from Nelson to Queenstown. The distances are not that far.

It took me a whole three days before I came across a couple of tourists whose Toyota Corolla had slidden off an unsealed road and was sitting on its belly; this isn't a situation you want to be in at any time, especially at night.

Great, glad to hear all this. I really didn't know what special things that Christchurch had that would necessitate us swinging by. If it's just a quaint city, then I can pass on that for next time, and just focus on the scenery. OK, it's settled then (I'm soooo close to finalizing!)...we'll just go down the western side of the island (Greymouth, Franz Joseph, Queenstown, Te Anau, Invercargill). That should be plenty to see! Is it worth it to check out Mt Cook & the Mackenzie region? Or can I see it from the main road around Franz Joseph?

So there's nothing to do in Dunnedin? Are Te Anau and Invercargill worth it (besides seeing Slope Pt?)?

blort - thanks for the warning about driving at night, I was trying to figure out how safe that would be w/o any lights, etc. Guess I'm too used to the highways in the US!

I feel so much better now that I actually have a game plan! Without you guys, I would be helpless, thank you! ^