Air New Zealand Air Points - Recommendations for 3 days in NZ please.

I am planning our honeymoon for next May/June which will be mainly in Tahiti but we will also have 3 days in NZ on the way out and 1 full day on the way back.

Clearly this is a holiday I need to make very special so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

We arrive into AKL around 6am on Wed 19th May and leave at 7pm on the 21st May. As we have a day in AKL on the way back I thought I would leave AKL for that second visit, recommends for AKL gratefully received too.

I know May isn't a great time being late Autumn in NZ so I'm not expecting the best weather but I need to make it as special as I can for the time of year.

I've seen other suggestions about going to Queenstown which I could do if people think I have time. I am concerned though about it being yet more flights and my girlfriend going bananas at the prospect given it will have taken us 3 to get to AKL!

Other thoughts I had were to visit some of the hot springs that are a couple of hours outside Auckland for a few days. If people think this is a good idea that the best ones/hotels recommendations would be most welcome.

Ironically my grandfather used to live in Auckland but passed away when I was too young to visit him, we never actually met therefore which I always regret. Even calling NZ back in those days was a fortune for my parents so a twice yearly event. However my parents have many of the books he sent so I'll be looking at those for ideas too.

In an ideal world I would like to keep it to hiring a car and exploring around the north island or anywhere where 3 days makes sense. However I have seen the amazing south island scenary on tv so wonder if going all that way we should make the effort or is 3 days going to be far to short and the time of year etc., so maybe a future trip just to NZ would be better.

All thoughts would be very helpful, thanks in advance.

Scotland

Go to Rotorua. It is a short flight, or a fairly easy moderate drive. There is more than enough to see & do in the Rotorua/Taupo area to occupy 1 full day plus 2 half days, and you won't end up feeling you are doing nothing but travelling.

Or go to Northland, the scenery is different from what you would expect of NZ, eg. snow covered mountains and fjords (well it was for me when I got here;)). Rainforest (sort of), beautiful beaches that go forever (I know middle of winter but they could be hardy Scotts:p) but most amazing are the ancient Kauri trees.:cool:
Of course down south you could fly to Queenstown and then a long day trip to the sounds....:-:

First of all, congratulations on getting married! It's the best trip you'll ever take. As with any long and worthwhile journey, just be prepared for some bumps, surprises and challenges along the way...which are unavoidable and can make it all the better in the end.

My wife and I went to NZ on our honeymoon. It's a wonderful country with equally wonderful people, so should make for nice stop-overs.

Having said that, we were there almost nine years ago and went in November, so I'd defer to the good advice you're getting from others who know the country far better than I do and know what it's like in May. But hey, I've already offered marriage advice, so to offer some NZ thoughts anyway:

1. Would you really want to arrive after three flights in a jet-lagged state and rent a car? This is not a purely rhetorical question--it's not the toughest thing in the world to do and you might well be up to it. But in terms of the hassle of doing so when you may not be fully awake and the weather possibly being lousy, and even safety considerations of driving in a new country when you're not 100 percent, I just want to put it on the table. (And to be frank, I offer this thought because on our honeymoon there I barely avoided a potentially very nasty accident, trying to pass a truck on a slick road while tired and driving a rental car with lousy traction.)
2. OTOH, I could see you or your wife (no longer just girlfriend by then!) not wanting to board yet another flight. But FWIW, AKL is a very nice airport. At least way back when we were there, the international terminal had a booth where we both got nice massages. Not sure if you could do that if you had some time to kill while transferring from international to domestic.
3. We spent most of our time on the South Island, which was fantastic--but it was during a time of year when the weather was mostly pleasant and the days gloriously long. I suppose that in Queenstown you could go skiing if you were so inclined, though the risk averse poster in me (see #1) would be cautious about squeezing in a trip to the slopes while jet-lagged and possibly doing yourselves a bit of harm right before your tropical honeymoon.
4. I'd beg to differ with Blackcloud a bit re a trip to the sounds on the South Island...we did Milford Sound, which is a fantastic fjord, but squeezing in a long day trip (if it could be done in a day) during the dark and cold of winter would not be a good way to start your trip.
5. With all of this in mind, I circle back to Kiwi's good and well-informed advice about Rotorua. We didn't get there, but heard great things about it. It's different, unique to New Zealand, offers some Maori (sp?) culture, relatively easy to get to (whether you decide to fly or drive) and, if I understand the scene there correctly, you'd have the hot springs to soak in even if the weather is lousy.
6. I would just wonder whether you'd want to Rotorua right off the plane or whether you might want to spend the day/evening enjoying the first day of your honeymoon in Auckland and then drive to Rotorua for an overnight the next day.
7. However much time you spend in Auckland, it's a very nice city. Plenty of neighborhoods to explore, easy to walk around, plus ferries that take you to nearby islands. Perhaps not one of the Great Cities of the World (whatever that might exactly mean), so I could see why you'd want to explore a bit outside of it. But you could certainly do worse than simply spending a few relaxing days there, especially after a long international trip to get there.
8. If you do fly in and out of AKL to Rotorua (or wherever), make sure you give yourselves more than enough time to make your connection to your onward flight to Tahiti, just in case there's a delay in your domestic leg. If you can include your domestic flights as part of your overall ticket (perhaps particularly if you're flying Air New Zealand to Tahiti), it might give you additional protection just in case of glitches.
9. Having thought about all of this some more, I guess I'd recommend either connecting directly to Rotorua by air on the day you arrive or spending the day of arrival in Auckland and driving there the next day. But again, this gets back to how you think you and your wife would feel upon arrival in AKL.
10. Regardless of what you do, have a great honeymoon!

Go to Rotorua. It is a short flight, or a fairly easy moderate drive. There is more than enough to see & do in the Rotorua/Taupo area to occupy 1 full day plus 2 half days, and you won't end up feeling you are doing nothing but travelling.

I agree, Rotorua gives is the best destination in that timeframe. If you go to Queenstown you are at risk of problems with weather/ flights in and out. There is lots to see and do in Rotorua.

Congratulations!!

I would agree with Rotorua as there are a few different and interesting things to do and see. There are often some good value domestic fares so this could be an option, but with unpredictable May weather be acreful that any plans are not likely to cause a problem in relaton to your onward Tahiti flight. Be careful hiring a car for your arrival as you could be very tired and will be driving in a foreign country albeit with similar road rules to the UK. For some this could be stressful for others a walk in the park.

Whatever you decide to do have a great time.