New Zealand Travel Answers

Having hired a campervan and done it, I would hire a car and stay in hotels. I found the campervan no cheaper and you had to pack everything up everyday. Also, being winter you won't be able to sit outside in the evening so you will be stuck in the van. Just my opinion. I won't comment on a route because I am sure that there will be others who have more knowledge about NZ in the winter.

so you have about 12 days, less 5 in Q'town, so 7 left to drive up and down...doable, but not really a holiday, especially in midwinter....so plan on flying. You dont specify your departure airport, but flight time CHC AKL is only 1 hour 20 so you have some options. Every respondent will have a different answer, and they are probably all right, when it comes to where to spend time...so best you do your own research. I reckon 3 days around Northland, then fly AKL-Q'town, then 3 - 4 days drive back to CHC -via Dunedin, or thru the middle, or up the West Coast, or ?????

Steve's right, Auckland to Queenstown and back - assuming you're leaving the way you arrived, you haven't told us that - anyhow, six days for that, in a camper van , summer or winter, might be "doable" but it certainly wouldn't be a holiday,. I would say flyings's your only option, even if you reduce your skiing time by a day or two. Sunrise is about 8.30 and sunset is just after 5 at that time of year, cutting your driving time considerably as there are long narrow and winding stretches of the road where driving at night is not recommended -

Seven days are just good enough to drive from Auckland to Queenstown - and not back! AKL - Wellington = 2 days (and you have not really done anything) Ferry to Picton/Kaikoura = 1 day Activities, then to Christchurch = 1 day Chch - Queenstown = 1 day (and just short stops; to really visit you need 2 days) Fly back to AKL = 1 day (does not mean that the flight takes one day but you cannot do a lot more) Flights out of Queenstown can be tricky, so you have to make sure you do not book a flight out on the day you fly out of NZ again. Or do you have a flight out of Queenstown (to Oz?)? If you fly out of AKL I would reverse the itinerary. Suggestion: forget the North Island. Fly to and out of Christchurch, hire a car or campervan there (and yes, this is the middle of winter, so a car/motel/hotel combination is much more pleasant), are make a round trip - but not along the mostly boring east coast (it only gets really nice north of Dunedin, and Otago Peninsula is wonderful - but somehow out of the way if you have seven days only), instead on the inland route and the West Coast where winter is the best time to travel (less rain) if you want to go on a glacier walk. So the rough route would be: Chch - Rakaia Gorge - Geraldine - Lake Tekapo - Lake Pukaki (Mt. Cook National Park) - Lindis Pass - Queenstown - Wanaka - Haast Pass - Fox or Franz Josef Glacier (Franz Josef glacier walks are now only possible by helicopter shuttle which makes the experience hugely expensive while Fox is still accessible on foot) - Greymouth - Arthur's Pass - Castle Hill - Chch. Hiring a car or campervan in Chch makes sense because you have a huge range of companies here which makes it cheaper. The same applies for returning the vehicle at the same place. Make sure you have snow chains in the boot in case of severe winter weather. There are plenty of pass roads to drive on. If you bring your own skiing gear you can also do some skiing at Mt. Hutt (snow-making starts next week as they have just had 5cm of snow) and on the way back between Arthur's Pass and Christchurch at Porter Heights, Broken Hill, etc.

Landing and departing Auckland? Hire a rental car in Auckland, drive south to Whakapapa skifield (largest and most popular NZ ski-slopes). Take SH3 to visit Waitomo caves ahead of arriving in National Park village accommodation or at the hotel or lodges along the Bruce Road. Next visit Taupo followed by some of the thermal areas and activities between Taupo and Rotorua. Enjoy the lake,thermal sights and activities around Rotorua before flying directly to Queenstown from Rotorua airport.