Guides

Three Actual Trip Itineraries I’ve Done in New Zealand

April 7, 2024 / No Comments

Intro

This post includes three actual itineraries for trips I planned and executed with the participating parties. Each group came for a different amount of time with very different goals (which I’ve also listed). Each was a successful trip, though I will include a few lessons learned at the end of each itinerary. While these were incredible trips, I also have a page of suggested itineraries here (coming soon) that I complied from all the lessons learned from each of these trips.

With Mom & Dad

In total, my parents and aunt and uncle were in New Zealand for 19 days and here is the itinerary we followed.

Goals: to have a comprehensive trip of the South Island and to DO more than SEE.

Feb 8: Arrival Day

  • Visitors arrive in Christchurch at 4:00pm (airport map)
  • Drive 3 hours to Lake Tekapo

Feb 9: Tekapo to Te Anau

Feb 10: Te Anau

We had planned to do a day hike on the Kepler Track but the weather was rainy with low clouds, so we decided to skip it. Then, we thought about visiting the Glow Worm Caves across Lake Te Anau, but every else had the same thought, so they were booked up. 

Feb 11: Te Anau – Milford Sound

Feb 12: Te Anau to Queenstown

Feb 13: Queenstown

Feb 14: Queenstown to Wanaka

We had planned a full day Dart River Jet Boat and Funyak Trip but it was canceled due to high winds and dust storms

Feb 15: Wanaka

Feb 16: Wanaka to Franz Josef

Feb 17: Franz Josef to Hokitika

  • Hike Robert’s Point Track (5 hours total, or 2.5 hours return to the longest swing bridge)
  • Drive 2 hours to Hokitika
  • Walk Hokitika Beach and town, look for pounamu
  • Sunset at the beach

We had planned a 4-hour Heli-Hike Excursion for the morning, but it was canceled due to low fog which the helicopters can’t safely fly through. Helicopter trips here are apparently canceled about 50% of the time due to weather (clouds, fog, and rain), so if you really want to do a Heli-Hike, you should spend several days in the Franz Josef/Fox Glacier area.

Feb 18: Hokitika to Mapua

  • Drive 4 hours to Mapua
  • Chill on the beach

Feb 19: Mapua

Feb 20: Abel Tasman NP

  • Meet at the Wilson’s Abel Tasman Office in Motueka at 11am
  • Follow the Wilson’s Schedule, which included:
    • Water taxi ride to Tonga Beach
    • Hike to Awaroa Bay and Meadowbank Lodge

Feb 21: Abel Tasman NP

  • Wilson’s Abel Tasman Trip
    • Beach time
    • Hike across the estuary to the steam engine

Feb 22: Abel Tasman NP

  • Wilson’s Abel Tasman Trip
    • Hike to Totaranui Beach
    • Water Taxi to Onetahuti Beach
    • Kayak to Torrent Bay and Torrent Bay Lodge

Feb 23: Abel Tasman NP

  • Wilson’s Abel Tasman Trip

Feb 24: Abel Tasman to Nelson

Feb 25: Nelson to Kaikoura

Feb 26: Kaikoura

Feb 27: Departure Day

  • Drive to Christchurch (2.5 hour drive) and arrive by 11 to catch a 2:20pm flight

Thoughts for Next Time

We signed up for a 5-day, 4-night guided and catered trip in Abel Tasman National Park so we didn’t have a lot of flexibility with this. Instead, it would be just as wonderful and easy to rent an AirBnB or bach in the park. If you are interested in this, I would stay at Torrent Bay rather than Awaroa (there are a lot more things to do at Torrent Bay and the beach is nicer). Then, I would spend only 3 nights in Abel Tasman National Park and add one additional night to Franz Josef Glacier Town to extend our chances of doing the Heli-Hike. And, if it was foggy again the second day, there are other (non-helicopter) hikes in the area to be enjoyed.

Alternatively, you could elect to do only a 3-day 2-night guided experience in Abel Tasman if you really want to hike the track. Then you have another free night to add somewhere (I would pick Wanaka because there are a lot of nice hikes around there we didn’t have the chance to do).

Finally, the fishing trip in Kaikoura was super fun, but if fishing is not your thing, the Dolphin Encounter is amazing (both swimming and watching). Personally, I wouldn’t recommend Whale Watching Excursions either by boat or air. Even though it’s cool to see a whale, you don’t get very close and, unless it’s humpback breaching season, you rarely see more than a flipper or a tail fluke. With the dolphins though, they will get really close and will jump and do acrobatic flips.

With Nana & Poppie

My grandparents came to New Zealand for 16 days and here is the itinerary we followed.

Goals: to enjoy a train trip on the North Island, taste wine, and see the South Island highlights.

March 4: Auckland

  • Nana and Poppie arrive at 7:00am, take SkyDrive bus into the city
  • Maddie arrives at 11:15am, take SkyDrive bus into the city
  • Walk the Viaduct Harbor

March 5: Auckland

March 6: Auckland

  • Waiheke Island:

March 7: Train Journey

March 8: Cross to the South

  • 8:15am: Ferry to Picton
    • Andrew is going to pick us up and we’ll get lunch with him in Blenheim
  • Wither Hills Winery
  • Drive 2 hours to Kaikoura

March 9: Kaikoura & Akaroa

March 10: Akaroa & Dunedin

March 11: Dunedin & Te Anau

  • Larnach Castle
  • Drive 3.5 hours to Te Anau
  • Walk Te Anau town center and along the lake

March 12: Te Anau – visit Milford Sound

March 13: Te Anau & Queenstown

  • Te Anau Bird Sanctuary (free self-guided option or a tour at 10:30 for $10)
  • Drive 2 hours to Queenstown
  • Jet boat ride
  • Walk Downtown Queenstown (and get ice cream)

March 14: Queenstown

March 15: Queenstown & Cromwell

March 16: Cromwell

March 17: Mount Cook Village

March 18: Mount Cook Village

March 19: Mount Cook & Christchurch

March 20: Departure

  • Drive 20 minutes to airport, arriving by 9am for a 1pm flight

Thoughts for Next Time

Driving down the east coast in three days was too quick and too much driving each day. Next time, I would plan an additional night in either Akaroa or Dunedin to cut down on consecutive days of long driving. To keep the trip at the same amount of days, I would have stayed one less night in Cromwell. However, the reason we choose to stay two nights in Cromwell and one fewer night on the east coast is because our lovely accommodation in Cromwell required a minimum 2-night stay. Most vineyard accommodations do.

With Curve & Shelley

Good family friends (basically family) came to visit New Zealand for 14 days with goals to see as much as possible on both islands. Here is the busy itinerary we followed.

Goals: wineries, Milford Sound, and to see as much of the vast variety of the two Islands as possible (i.e. mountains, glaciers, beaches, and volcanos).

March 23: Arrival Day

  • Curve and Shelley arrive at Christchurch airport at 10:25
  • Drive 1.75 hours to Arthur’s Pass
    • Stop: Supermarket (there are no shops or dinner restaurants in Arthur’s Pass)
    • Stop: Sheffield Pie Company
  • Hike the Devil’s Punchbowl Track (45 minutes)

March 24: Arthur’s Pass to Fox Glacier

We had planned to hike to the Franz Josef Glacier viewpoint (20 minutes) but the clouds were so low and visibility poor that we decided to skip it.

March 25: Fox Glacier to Queenstown

March 26: Queenstown

  • 7:00am-7:30pm: bus tour to Milford Sound

March 27: Queenstown

March 28: Travel Day

March 29: Travel Day

  • Drive 5 hours to Blenheim
    • Stop: Kaikoura (lunch and beach walk)

March 30: Marlborough Region

We had planned to visit a second winery (Saint Clair Family Estate), but the first one was plenty for the day.

March 31: Cross to the North

  • 7:45am ferry from Picton to Wellington (check in minimum 1 hour early)
  • Drive 4.5 hours to National Park
  • Walk the very tiny streets of National Park, NZ

April 1: Tongariro Alpine Crossing

If the Tongariro Alpine Crossing is too busy for you (it’s a popular hike), try Tama Lakes instead.

April 2: Rotorua

  • 11:00am: Geothermal Tour and Cultural Performance at Te Puia
  • Walk around downtown Rotorua
  • Visit Kerosene Creek natural hot springs (between Taupo and Rotorua)

Please note that I don’t recommend leaving valuables in your car when visiting Kerosene Creek, or really anything at all. I didn’t have an issue, and I’m sure most people don’t. But I have heard that this is a common place for cars to be broken into and items stolen.

April 3: Taupo to Coromandel

  • Drive 2 hours to Waitomo
  • 12:10: Waitomo Glow Worm Caves Tour (50 minutes)
  • Drive 2.5 hours to Whiritoa, Coromandel

April 4: Coromandel

We were tired and I was dealing with car stuff, but if you’re up for more adventure, the Wharekirauponga Track (4 hours) near Whangamata is wonderful.

April 5: Coromandel

April 6: Waiheke Island and Departure Day

Thoughts for Next Time

We covered a lot of ground and saw many amazing things, but it was a lot of driving and we were all pretty exhausted by the end. This is not an itinerary to follow if you’re looking for a relaxing vacation. In fact, it worked for us partially because I have been here for so long and am familiar with the roads, otherwise it would have been even more time spent driving. (When I first got to New Zealand, both the windiness of the roads and driving on the opposite side meant it often took way longer to get somewhere than Google Maps estimated, sometimes more than an hour longer).

If you really want to do both islands and only have two weeks, I recommend flying into Queenstown and then heading up the west coast and over Arthur’s Pass to get to Marlborough. This would cut out 1 whole day of driving (the Queenstown to Methven portion).

Also, we skipped Hot Water Beach (which is a hot spring at the beach) while in the Coromandel simply because the tide times were really inconvenient. The hot springs at Hot Water Beach can only be accessed 1.5-2 hours on either side of low tide. But, if it’s convenient (don’t plan your whole trip around it, but if it’s convenient), it’s a really cool place to go, though it can get really crowded during the tourist season, which definitely is a downside as there isn’t a lot of room.

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