Help with a travel itinerary to NZ
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I will be in NZ this coming July for 21 days - in and out of Auckland. It's my first time to NZ and to say I'm excited is an understatement, I have dreamed of this moment ever since watching the 1988 All Blacks almost 40 years ago.
Was broadly speaking planing on going north to south, doing 5/6 days in Auckland, 5/6 in Wellington, 5/6 in Christchurch then heading back to Auckland. My thinking was to base myself in these cities and see them but then also do some day trips to places that are in close proximity.
The main things I like are sightseeing, walking, hiking and I also want to see plenty of Maori cultural sites.
Can you Kiwis just help me out to let me know what you think are must see places that are a 1-3 hour day trip outside of Auckland/Wellington and Christchurch?
Thank you very kindly for any help you can provide.
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5-6 days in Auckland won't leave you enough time for the Bay of Islands and Waitangi. From AKL I'd suggest either or from this list;
Waiheke Island. Within easy reach from downtown by ferry, nice beaches (Onetangi is my favourite), vineyards and olive plantations to visit eat and drink
Piha. Dramatic black sand beach, some nice walking around there although I don't know if flood damage from 2023 has been fully repaired
Hobbiton. If you are a LOTR fan
The All Blacks experience at Sky City (I assume it's still there)
Matakana market on a Saturday morning, then an afternoon at Omaha, Goat Island, or Tawharanui Reserve
Rangitoto island day trip
If you want Maori cultural experience I'd suggest a stay in Rotorua on your way down South
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Be a shame to come to NZ and not see Queenstown / Central Otago lakes / Milford. Could trim a couple of days off Welly and CHC to give you a few there.
I live in the Matakana, Goat island area @canefan mentions, it's great, but is about the beaches really and you are here in July...Still some good vineyards to visit, but you could do that around Queenstown if that was your thing. Tawharanui is a nice walk up our way as mentioned though.
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Tranz alpine train from Christchurch to Greymouth.
I haven't done it myself, but it's something I want to do.
Once in Greymouth you can then hire a car and travel down the west coast to Franz Joseph Glacier and/or Fox Glacier, then Milford Sound and on to Queenstown.
Or skip Milford Sound, go to Queenstown for a few days and include a bus tour to Milford Sound.
TranzAlpine Train
Travel in scenic style on the world-famous TranzAlpine Christchurch to Greymouth train, stopping at Arthur's Pass and Moana
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Thank you so much guys.
I've already taken note of all your feedback as I flesh out my itinerary.
I'm arriving in Auckland on the 11th July and the ABs play in Hamilton on the 19th and I intend to be there (with or without a ticket) so I think I will do all north of the north island stuff in that 8 day window then travel down to Wellington on the Sunday.
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@Smudge said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
Good start. And don't spend too much time in Wellington (I say that as a resident of the greater Wellington region).
Agreed, and I’d say the same about Auckland and especially Christchurch TBH - not sure what country you’re coming from or what amount of international travel you’ve done, but NZ is not a great country to visit because of its major cities. They can all be done in 2 days each. NZ is an extraordinary place to visit because of its rural scenery, the driving, the dramatic coastline and proximity to mountains and glaciers.
Sounds like you’re tied to Auckland for the first 6 days with the rugby, so I’d spend that time exploring north of Auckland, then immediately head south afterwards. If you’re a happy driver, just rent a car and head south, via Rotorua to Wellington. Get on the Ferry to the South Island and go down the West Coast, do the crossings and the glaciers, get to Central Otago before coming back up the middle of/ other side. (You might not have time for Milford)
I’d probably split my time 2:1 in favour of the South Island
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Kerosene Creek 20 min south of Rotorua.
Hot water creek -
@nonpartizan Make sure you see Queenstown and the Milford Sound. Dunedin's a fun place to have few beers as well.
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I didn't read the July part. Beaches aren't as nice if you can't swim and lounge, so less time would be fine. If you shorten your stay in AKL it would bring Bay of Islands into play. 2 days up there to see Waitangi would be great IMHO. Then head to AKL for a few days, see some sights, perhaps a day on a on/off bus, the ABs interactive experience, and one of either Rangitoto/Waiheke/Piha, then off to Hamilton. From Hamilton you can see Waitomo glow worm caves or Hobbiton, or both. Head to Rotorua for 3 days of hot pools and more Maori culture. If you shorten your Wellington stay as Smudge suggests you could even squeeze a few days in Napier and head down to Wellington thru the Wairarapa
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@Smudge said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
Good start. And don't spend too much time in Wellington (I say that as a resident of the greater Wellington region).
Can I ask why? All the foreigners I've taken to Wellington have loved the city.
Although, if it is to visit HB as @canefan suggests then I'm fully onboard with it.
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@nonpartizan where ar eyou coming from?
Key is to be really clear about what it is you are wanting to see. All Blacks obviously - but you wlil be trading off scenery (south island in particular) with culture (Rotorua/Waitangi) and generally going to hospo and getting munted (pretty much anywhere).
Three weeks is a lot. You'll be able to do a lot, but honestly I would sugget spending more time lapping the South Island looking at winter scenery and less time in the cities.
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@nzzp said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@nonpartizan where ar eyou coming from?
Key is to be really clear about what it is you are wanting to see. All Blacks obviously - but you wlil be trading off scenery (south island in particular) with culture (Rotorua/Waitangi) and generally going to hospo and getting munted (pretty much anywhere).
Three weeks is a lot. You'll be able to do a lot, but honestly I would sugget spending more time lapping the South Island looking at winter scenery and less time in the cities.
Thankyou.
I am coming from California. For the record I expect this to be the one and only time I am in NZ so I have to make every day count.
I will be coming with my 18 year old son as it's a celebration of him graduating high school.
As far as goals, I do want to take in scenery but I also am a huge enthusiastic of museums so I really want to learn a lot about the Maori and also the British settlers.
The only hard and fast thing on my itinerary thus far is I HAVE to be in Hamilton on the day of the 3rd test v France. Even if I can't get in, I will never have another chance to be in NZ on the day of a test again.
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Btw, I have read everyone's posts (actually I'm cutting and pasting them into a Google doc) and I'm taking on board all feedback even if I did not reply individually to all posts.
Thanks again everyone. As a consequence of the advice Ive been given I will abbreviate my stay in the cities and spend more time on the south island.
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@canefan said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
I didn't read the July part. Beaches aren't as nice if you can't swim and lounge, so less time would be fine. If you shorten your stay in AKL it would bring Bay of Islands into play. 2 days up there to see Waitangi would be great IMHO. Then head to AKL for a few days, see some sights, perhaps a day on a on/off bus, the ABs interactive experience, and one of either Rangitoto/Waiheke/Piha, then off to Hamilton. From Hamilton you can see Waitomo glow worm caves or Hobbiton, or both. Head to Rotorua for 3 days of hot pools and more Maori culture. If you shorten your Wellington stay as Smudge suggests you could even squeeze a few days in Napier and head down to Wellington thru the Wairarapa
Thanks Canefan.
Your advice has given me the basis of my 11th - 19th itinerary before I head southwards.
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@nonpartizan said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@nzzp said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@nonpartizan where ar eyou coming from?
Key is to be really clear about what it is you are wanting to see. All Blacks obviously - but you wlil be trading off scenery (south island in particular) with culture (Rotorua/Waitangi) and generally going to hospo and getting munted (pretty much anywhere).
Three weeks is a lot. You'll be able to do a lot, but honestly I would sugget spending more time lapping the South Island looking at winter scenery and less time in the cities.
Thankyou.
I am coming from California. For the record I expect this to be the one and only time I am in NZ so I have to make every day count.
I will be coming with my 18 year old son as it's a celebration of him graduating high school.
As far as goals, I do want to take in scenery but I also am a huge enthusiastic of museums so I really want to learn a lot about the Maori and also the British settlers.
The only hard and fast thing on my itinerary thus far is I HAVE to be in Hamilton on the day of the 3rd test v France. Even if I can't get in, I will never have another chance to be in NZ on the day of a test again.
Oh and just to clarify this further since I said I rather than we- my son is an outdoors kid.... Was a boy scout, big into hiking and camping and nature.
I'm more of a city type of person than him so the trip will essentially be a fusion of both urban and rural but that's fine because we are both easy going and flexible. Not to belabour the point but at least it gives a better indication of what the goals and agenda of the trip are.
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If the 1988 All Blacks is your starting point I'm guessing you're either Strayan (if you watched them live), or Welsh if you watched on tele (that 2nd Test at EP was a great game by the ABs, great atmosphere at the ground (was there). But you're coming to watch the French ...
Anyway, my 2c.
If you're hanging around the north of the NI for Hamilton Test look into the Rotorua (1.5hrs to Hammy) tourist traps (culture, thermal springs etc), and you could do Hobbiton on the way. Waitomo Caves also close to Hamilton. You could do some sort of loop to incorporate those spots.
Plenty of walking tracks wherever you go just do research into difficulty (or otherwise). (Am not going too much into specifics but I always enjoyed Wairere Falls, which is on the way to Rotorua via Matamata (which would take you past Hobbiton). Couple of nights in Roto Vegas, then back to Test Town via the Caves? Not an excessive amount of travel.
Going north of Auckland for the history at the Bay of Islands would be good, but realistically a days travel each way.
In and around Auckland, maybe a cruise on the gulf, but winter ...
Go up one or more of the various maunga in Akl (extinct volcanic cones). History dating back to pre European times. Mt Eden and One Tree Hill, maybe North Head, and Mt Victoria.
Heading south I reckon the southern NI is most useful for getting you to Wellington ...
Taupo and surrounds is quite good. Again, geothermal pools and stuff, walks etc (around the Volcanos on the southern side of the Lakes in particular. )
If you're in to wine you could travel south via Hawkes Bay (Napier, Hastings) and do a tasting tour.
Wellington I'll leave to others.
But having just returned from a trip around the SI (am Kiwi living in Oz) I can recommend a couple of highlights:
- Picton/Marlborough Sounds. Loved it. Did Eco Tour boat cruise. Lots wildlife. Beautiful place. You would see a lot of this if you take the ferry, assuming it doesn't run aground, but without commentary or proximity to critters. Marlborough also big wine district.
- Kaikoura. Spectacular. Huge mountains immediately adjacent to deep ocean. The highway hugs the coast for long way. Multitudinous seals and we even saw dolphins from the car (pulled over and watch with an excited Scandinavian family watching from the shore). Whale watching from Kaikoura a thing (we didn't).
- Chch. Amongst other things the tram tour was excellent. Hop on and off as desired to stop and look at the various attractions and the rebuild from the EQ. (Am keen to get to a Test at Te Kaha when that gets finished).
- Milford. I'd suggest this is a must do if you can afford the time. I'll challenge @WestieFella 's geography here as if you head down the west coast you reach Queenstown before Milford. Tour companies run bus trips to join the cruise in Milford, but if driving I'd suggest a couple of nights in Te Anau to facilitate an in and out to Milford. Depending on direction of travel.
- Queenstown. We couldn't book accommodation 12 months out, so had to stay in Wanaka and pop over the Crown Range (which is an event in itself). Things to do in Central Otago would be snow sports, wine tasting (continuing the earlier theme), jet boating, and various other ways of attempted suicide in the name of adrenalin .
There's much more, but above would be my recommendations (and not going to bore you any further with my "what I did on my holidays" story).
And just remember the weather, especially in winter, could seriously mess with your best laid plans.
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Take really good, breathable raincoats.
Merino in NZ rocks and is great to travel with.The top of NZ is kind of special but you'd need a full day min from Auckland.
Oh and if your son likes big trees and you go to Northland in the North Island, this is worth a short walk from the road: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tāne_MahutaIf you want half day travel around the Auckland area I think Piha is rather special. if you have 1 or 2 days I think Russell Bay of Islands is pretty and has history in a Whaling/early colonial capital kind of way. I'll assume you won't be scuba diving but there are some great diving sites in the wider area.
Mid North:
If you have a day around Hamilton I'd go to Raglan on the west coast, too cold to swim but you get to see surfies getting frozen.
There are some beautiful lakes and activities around Rotorua and Taupo.Napier is great but you don't have much time.
Wellington is great for food, coffee, beer and Weta. And has some great parks, bush and eccentric early modern architecture.
But in the South Island if you can handle the drive, you get some of the best wine and vinyards, far more nature and some of the small Otago towns are very cute. If I had time I'd take a sailing /canoe trip around the top of the South Island, but in summer.
Local hotsprings, glowworm caves etc you can find all over, not just the famous tourist spots.
A great but expensive way to see parts of NZ are short smaller plane flights. Esp over South Island, Hauraki Gulf etc.
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@nonpartizan said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@nzzp said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@nonpartizan where ar eyou coming from?
Key is to be really clear about what it is you are wanting to see. All Blacks obviously - but you wlil be trading off scenery (south island in particular) with culture (Rotorua/Waitangi) and generally going to hospo and getting munted (pretty much anywhere).
Three weeks is a lot. You'll be able to do a lot, but honestly I would sugget spending more time lapping the South Island looking at winter scenery and less time in the cities.
Thankyou.
I am coming from California. For the record I expect this to be the one and only time I am in NZ so I have to make every day count.
I will be coming with my 18 year old son as it's a celebration of him graduating high school.
As far as goals, I do want to take in scenery but I also am a huge enthusiastic of museums so I really want to learn a lot about the Maori and also the British settlers.
The only hard and fast thing on my itinerary thus far is I HAVE to be in Hamilton on the day of the 3rd test v France. Even if I can't get in, I will never have another chance to be in NZ on the day of a test again.
I’m sure it’s on your radar as a museum enthusiast, but I’ve been to Te Papa in Wellington probably 5x, and enjoyed it every time - I reckon you could spend 2 hours in the Anzac exhibition alone, the sculptures are incredible, and the stories so well told. If you’re looking for Maori history, definitely don’t shirk this one.
