Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Two week New Zealand scenic loop?

We are planning to visit New Zealand for about two weeks in November, flying in and out of AKL, and are interested in beautiful scenery, day hikes, forests, mountains, lakes, etc. Not really interested in beaches, rafting, wineries, shopping, villages or lolling in resorts. Renting a car and driving would seem the best way to get around? If it would be better, I suppose we could fly part of the way.

Any suggestions for planning an itinerary?

There are tons of scenery, day hikes, forests, mountains, lakes, etc in NZ. Two weeks is a decent amount of time, and enough to visit/enjoy a few locations.

A few points ... You might consider spending time on the North and South islands ... fly between the two to a central airport ... get a rental car when you're on the ground. Check out the DOC (http://www.doc.govt.nz/) site to find more info on parks, hikes, and the like. I've rented cars from Jucy (http://www.juicy.co.nz/) many times and they're great ... you'll find them on North and South islands. Finally, its a good idea to get an idea on driving distances (http://www.accommodationz.co.nz/distancesnorth2.html) when doing initial planning.

There are MANY similar threads with info to help you ... search and you'll shall find. NZ is a great place to visit .... wish I was planning another visit. Enjoy.

2 weeks is a great length of time for a south island loop from Christchurch.

we did several 2 week loops during school holidays when I lived in NZ

a sample route could be Chch-Oamaru-Dunedin-Catlins-Te Anau-Milford-Queenstown-Wanaka-Mt.Cook-Chch/Akaroa

or Chch-Arthurs Pass-Hokitika-Glaciers-Wanaka-Queenstown-Te Anau-Milford-Mt.Cook-Chch

If you are sticking around on the North Island, Waitomo, Bay of Islands, The Coromandel and Rotorua can easily be fit into 2 weeks especially if you are more into hikes and the outdoors not beaches and cities


I am biased towards the south island since it was my home, and if I only had 2 weeks to drive around NZ, I would definetly head south

I too suggest sticking with one island, or even just 1 or 2 areas within an island. 2 weeks is not really much time to explore NZ. The South Island will probably be of more interest to you. Note that November is still spring so weather is changeable. Christchurch (and Canterbury) has a public holiday 14 November and the week long show week leading up to 14th - while there is more to see and do then, accommodation will sell out early if dates coincide with your trip.

Have you checked out the NZ master thread sticky (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=401294) for ideas?

We are planning to visit New Zealand for about two weeks in November, flying in and out of AKL, and are interested in beautiful scenery, day hikes, forests, mountains, lakes, etc. Not really interested in beaches, rafting, wineries, shopping, villages or lolling in resorts. Renting a car and driving would seem the best way to get around? If it would be better, I suppose we could fly part of the way.

Any suggestions for planning an itinerary?

Here's a brief breakdown of our itinerary last November, 2008. Maybe this will give you somthing to work with, or help with planning.

Day 1: November 23, Arrive Auckland, visit Sky Tower, Walk City, Free Bus, Kelly Tarlton Aquarium, Devonport

Day 2: November 24, Paihia, Bay of Islands, do On the Edge Catamaran Bay of Islands Sailing

Day 3: November 25, Paihia, Bay of Islands, Dune Rider 4x4 Cape Reinga tour

Day 4: November 26 Auckland Auckland Hilton
Waitangi Treaty Grounds, drive West coast, Waipoua Kauri Forest, Kauri Museum

Day 5: November 27, Waitomo Caves & Rotorua, Glow worm caves, Billy Black’s Kiwi Cultural Show, and Mitai Hangi

Day 6: November 28, Rotorua, Tour Rotorua, geysers, and Tamaki Maori Village Hangi

Day 7: November 29, Wellington, Huka Falls jet boat and drive to Wellington, Te Papa Museum, Tram up hill

Day 8: November 30, Kaikoura, 8:00 am Bluebridge Ferry to Picton, South Island, confirmation #605611, Visit Wineries

Day 9: December 1, Punakaiki, Kaikoura Whale Watch, drive to Cape Foulwind in Westport, Punakaiki and Pancake Rocks

Day 10: December 2, Franz Josef, visit Greymouth/Hokitiki Jade Country, and HeliHike Fox Glacier, maybe 4x4 ATV tour

Day 11: December 3, Wanaka, Backup date for HeliHIke Fox Glacier, take waterfall walks, and visit Puzzling World in Wanaka

Day 12: December 4, Dunedin, Moeraki Boulders, visit Cadbury Chocolate Factory, Elm Wildlife Tour, penguins, Albatross, seals

Day 13: December 5, Te Anau, Milford Sound Nature Cruise with underwater Observatory

Day 14: December 6, Doubtful Sound, Doubtful Sound overnight on ship

Day 15: December 7, Queenstown, Shortover River Jetboat, Gondola to Bob’s Peak, and T.SS Earnslaw Steamship and dinner

Day 16, December 8, Mt. Cook,
Dart River Jet boat at Glenarchy, visit Arrowtown, watch bungee jumping

Day 17: December 9, Christchurch, Glacier Explorer Boat glacier cruise, Church of the Good Shepherd, tram around Christchurch