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September 4, 2020

New Zealand's North and South Island: Two Week Itinerary

(written and done in 2017) // See also our guide: how to plan your NZ experience.

We have explored NZ by motorhome for 2,5 weeks. Not being attached to "hotels/locations", we freely skipped famous “top attractions” if there were not so cool in reality to have more room for enjoying not-so-famous spots we truly liked.

Short suggested itinerary (how many day / where) at the end of the post.

Outline

North Island: Auckland —> Rotorua —> Tongariro Alpine Crossing —> Wellington —> ferry to South Island: Marlborough —> Wanaka —> Queenstown —> Christchurch. And couple of not famous places in between, that we’ll recommend.

Now, let's get down to details.

NORTH ISLAND

AUCKLAND

Approx. timing for the area: 3+ days

Suggested itinerary:

  • Stay further from the centre and rent a car to explore nearby areas:
    • heartily recommend Hectic Haven self contained flat via Airbnb (btw, one of the best Airbnb we had so far with a great host) https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1298043?s=51
    • take a Scenic drive to Piha (you can surf there, if you don’t mind cold waters), check the Tasman lookout, do a quick and stunning Lion Rock hike (we jogged around the beach there)
    • New North Rd (and around it) has plenty shopping and eating options: Sake Bar Ico (great Japanese place owned and managed by Japanese Chef), Crave
  • Stay 1-3 days in Ponsonby to explore the city centre and islands. No car required. Some of the ideas on what to do:
    • check out Viaduct Basin and Wynyard Quarter areas for sea views and food options, also a party area at night (e.g. Oyster and Chop)
    • take a ferry to Waiheke Island
      • 35-minute ferry from Auckland's Downtown Terminal
      • rent (a bike if ready for hilly roads) or move around by bus
      • mix of rolling farmland, native forest, beaches and vineyards
      • Oysters @ Oysters Inn are amazing!
      • Look for award-winning “Mr. Feelgood Ice Cream” at “The Island Grocer”
      • You need 2+ hours on the island. You can just pop in for lunch and ice cream, or can have a couple of wineries on the list, (check out the travelling times from one to another, they’re not in walking distance). And try some of the wines from the Island in a restaurant, for instance. Cause it wasn’t to my taste, so I left the wineries to Marlborough.
    • You can check the Coast to Coast Walkaway (temp.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/parksfacilities/walkingtracks/Pages/coasttocoast.aspx#map)

A quick note about Queen St. & Ponsonby:

City is big, walking from one end to another is about 4hrs. And not all areas are enjoyable for walking.

Queen st:

[-] busy like Manhattan, tall buildings, quite dirty, business and shopping area, a lot of people and tourists, beggars, most of the places are closed during weekends.

[+] couple really nice eateries, e.g.: Hugo’s Bistro, Into, Oyster & Chop; easy access to the waterfront;

Ponsonby:

[+] more “hipster area” with nice shops and restaurants; 20-30 min walk to the Queen st if needed or uber; lower buildings, nicer houses to live in.

Extra sources:

ROTORUA

Approx. timing for the area: 1-2 days

Geothermal capital, perhaps best known for its smell, and is home to bubbling mud pools, spurting geysers and hot springs.

We did and liked:

  • Zorbing (ogo.nz.co; 7 min by car from the city centre). I’d recommend trying the combo: zigzag and straight (can be 2 of you in one zorb), and, if possible, take extra single rides with one person in zorb, so you can try to stand or jump inside and not be scared to hit each other
  • Rainbow mountain easy hike (we jogged it all) to Kerosene Creek (where you can swim/sit in nature hot pool). http://www.rotoruanz.com/visit/see-and-do/hot-pools/kerosene-creek

Extra: http://www.hellsgate.co.nz, Rotorua Museum, tamakimaorivillage.co.nz, riverrats.co.nz, polynesianspa.co.nz, skyline.co.nz

WAITOMO

LAKE TAUPO

Approx. timing for the area: at least night before the hike and the day of the hike. However, the weather changes a lot. Be prepared to wait for a good weather for a hike (maybe a couple of days).

Tongariro Alpine Crossing

length: 19.4 km, 5-8h, the highest point - 1886 metres

("hobbits" things are also here)

STAY & TRANSFER

Usually, before this hike, people stay at the Tongarino Holiday Park (same name, close, has a transfer. However, according to the reviews: overpriced, no supermarket or cafe around if you came hungry and without snacks for the hike, and with bad service).

We stayed at Parklands Motor Lodge at Turangi: awesome service, walking distance from supermarket, various transfer options (we chose to drive 20 min to the end of the hike - Ketetahi car park, since it is one way; leave our car there and get a 30 min transfer to the beginning of the hike).

Transfer: tongariroexpeditions.com (full refund if they cancel due the weather + weather report on the website)

HIKE & GEAR recommendations (we did hike at the end of November, ~almost summer)

  • Hiking boots. Sneakers would be fine, if not almost a 100% chance that you'll get caught in the rain somewhere on the way, so hiking boots, which can deal with rain and mud. We went 2 last hours in the rain + caught up some mud in the forest after the night rain.
  • Thermal underwear
  • Rain-wind-proof pants and jacket
  • Have fleece hoodie ready for rest stops
  • Sun screen, sun glasses, hat, camera

SNACKS & DRINKS

I’d recommend 3-4 small “meals” of things you like, for instance it can be: sandwiches, fruits, nuts, cookies, choco bars, etc.

At least 1L PER PERSON of fresh water (NO refill options during the hike)

Lovely to have hot tea (great on windy rest stops).

WELLINGTON

Approx. timing for the area: 1-2+ days (city is not big, but I believe, you’d want to stay longer)

  • You can walk the whole city inside out, don’t need a car
  • It’s a really nice city to be in (if you like Amsterdam or San Francisco, you’ll like it), so to truly feel the local life - stay longer if have a chance, and just relax, feel the city vibes, swim at the beaches, jog at the waterfront, enjoy the pop up market at the waterfront
  • explore top attractions, hike to Mt. Victoria Lookout
  • lots of foodie options, e.g. Egmont Street Eatery
  • wetaworkshop.com

Extra ideas for North Island (we didn’t do):

  • Coromandel: Cathedral Cove & Hot Water Beach
    • We also did “The Karangahake Gorge”, but I’d skip it - walkways like anywhere in NZ, and 1 km tunnel
  • West Coast: (not Greymouth, cause it’s a tiny strange town), Franz Josef Glacier

SOUTH ISLAND

MARLBOROUGH

Approx. timing for the area: winery + museum = half a day, if you’re planning more (cruises, hikes, more wineries) = 1-2+ days

  • Book your lunch @ Saint Claire Vineyard Kitchen (do the wine tasting that is free with lunch to pick your favourite wine to match the meal)
  • or explore other wineries http://www.wine-marlborough.co.nz/wine-trail/
  • if you’re interested, visit Cars & WWII exhibition @ Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre
  • Stop by if you see strawberries and cherry signs - they’re right from the garden - de-li-ci-ous! E.g. hedgerows.co.nz;

Extra links: QCtrack.co.nz; queencharlottetrack.co.nz;

WANAKA

Approx. timing for the area: 1-2+ days (depends on how long you want to chill in a splendid surroundings)

  • Have you heard about this place? We haven’t prior to our unplanned stop there. And we liked it that much we stayed there a couple of days. It’s good if you want to relax. Like in Wellington, though the place is way smaller.
  • Swim in the crystal clear fresh water mountain lake, jog in the stunning lake+mountain+parks surroundings, hares are jumping around, watch a movie in the cinema with couches instead of chairs, explore quite a few amazing dinning options
  • Check out: Bistro Gentil, Charlie Brown’s crepes, Patagonia Chocolate, Gin and Raspberry (bar with the view), Kika, Cork bar, Francesca’s Italian Kitchen
  • Blue Pool walk

QUEENSTOWN

Approx. timing for the area: 1-2+ days (depends on how many “adventures” you want to experience)

TEKAPU LAKE

In the middle of nowhere, however, seems to be a good spot for star gazing.

CHRISTCHURCH

Approx. timing for the area: 1-2 days

  • At first you’ll probably notice - the city is pretty empty. A lot of ppl left Christchurch during the series of earthquakes. Still a large number of construction works are going on. However, we found a few places worth visiting.
  • International Antarctic Centre
  • Nice eating out options neatplaces.com; Fiddlesticks, Louis Champagne and Oyster Bar
  • adrenalin-forest.co.nz

Extra: http://cityscape.co.nz/; findchch.com; christchurchattractions.co.nz; ccc.govt.nz; hanmerspringsattractions.co.nz; Extra ideas for North Island (we didn’t do):

Suggested itinerary:

  • Christchurch (2 nights)
  • Kaikoura (1 night)
  • Queenstown (1 night)
  • Wanaka (2 nights)
  • West Coast Ocean road and The Neck between two lakes (1 night)
  • Marlborough (wineries & long queen charlotte track) (1 night)
  • ferry to Wellington (3 nights)
  • Tongariro Alpine Crossing (hike) (1 night)
  • Waitomo Caves (1 night)
  • Rotorua (1 night)
  • Coromandel: Cathedral Cove & Hot Water Beach (1 night)
  • Auckland (4 nights)

Safe travels!

Pacific Temper
September 4, 2020, 08:59
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