New Zealand Travel Forum

WE are going to New Zealand for the first time and ideally would like to see both islands . we are driving and dont want a very hectic time. therefore wanted to know if we should avoid one island or what are the absolute must sees on both islands.

Although I don't know when and how long you are planning to stay in New Zealand. Anyway here are some recommendations of 'must sees'( at least in my opinion).
I visited all these spots personally.
About most of these places you will find more info in my tips on VT.

NORTH ISLAND
White Island: my absolute number one spot in NZ, an active volcano near Whakatane (Bay of Plenty) 50 km’s off shore.

Tauranga/Mount Maunganui/Papamoa Beach.

Rotorua: with lots of interesting volcanic sights (we did like most of all: Wai-o-Tapu, Mt. Tarawera and a little bit further away Orakei Korako);

Tongariro National Park with the famous Tongariro Crossing and lots of other tracks (drive also along the so called ‘desert road’).

Palliser Bay: near Martinborough on the south end of the North Island, with lots of seals along the (gravel) road and the Putangirua Pinnacles with impressive scenery.

Wellington: absolute must see’s are Te Papa Museum and the Botanical Gardens with the famous red cable car.

Napier: art deco buildings and Cape Kidnappers with a large gannet colony, but also the splendid views from Te Mata Peak.

Mahia Peninsula: with sandy and lovely rock beaches; a very remote part of NZ.

Gisborne: with wineries and perhaps a visit to the village of Whangara, where the movie "Whale Rider" was filmed.

East Cape: attention it is a long drive !!

Coromandel Peninsula: lots of small beaches and Cathedral Cove the most lovely beach of NZ, Hot Water Beach; for walking/hiking the remote Kauaeranga Valley near Thames (the peninsula is more or less a ‘little New Zealand’).

Auckland Region; with lots of unexpected spots like Waitakere Ranges with the wild coast neaby Piha and the gannet colony at Muriwai Beach; Waiheke Island or Rangitoto (both accessible from Auckland city by ferry); Goat Island on the way to the north.

Bay of Islands: Waitangi, where modern NZ was born, Russell (‘swim with the dolphins’ or make another cruise) and Kerikekeri (on the way north take a look at the Hundertwasser Toilets in Kawakawa).

Cape Reinga: with wonderful views over beaches, Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean. With a side trip: near the parking lot is a trail that goes off to the West, about two miles long down to a large mostly empty beach. The beach itself is amazing.
On the way to/ from Cape Reinga there is a walk (or drive) through a little stream with huge dunes - Te Paki Sand Dunes - to “ninety mile beach” (be aware of the dangers when driving the beach, mostly it is not allowed with a rental car).

Waipoua Forest: with large impressive kauri's.

Hokianga Harbour: with huge sand dunes and further away Mitimiti, a very remote Maori-village on the wild coast of the Tasman Sea ( use the ferry near Rawene).


SOUTH ISLAND
Marlborough Sounds: with the famous Queen Charlotte Track.

Blenheim: with the wineries and Lake Grassmere with a sea salt plant and a 'strange' pink colour.

Abel Tasman National Park: famous coast track and golden beaches; stay in Kaiteriteri (just the name sounds great !!); make a trip with one of the water taxi’s.

Golden Bay: with Takaka Hill, Pupu Springs and a very remote beach called Wharariki Beach near Farewell Spit (sometimes with fur seals on the rocks).

Buller Gorge: on your way to/from Abel Tasman Nat. Park; with the Buller Gorge Swingbridge; or make a detour to St Arnaud with the Nelson Lakes in Nelson Lakes National Park.

Westport: with Cape Foulwind and its fur seal colony; the 'Coaltown Museum' is situated in this small town.

Wild West Coast: between Westport and Greymouth with Punakaiki and the Pancake Rocks and blowholes; Paparoa National Park with its very very green rainforest, made for a walk through this native bush; look also for the rare Nikau palms; 5 km's north of Punakaiki is the Truman Track (15 minutes) to a spectacular beach.

Fox and Franz Josef Glacier - perhaps do some glacier hiking.

Arthur's Pass: alpine scenery, but also the ‘strange’ rock formations of Castle Rock and the Cave Stream Reserve.

Christchurh: with Bank's Peninsula and the ‘French’ town of Akaroa (also for dolphin watching).

Lake Tekapo/Twizel/ Mount Cook.

Cadrona Road, Wanaka and Haast Pass.

Queenstown and Arrowtown; especially Queenstown offers a lot of ‘wild’ activities and Arrowtown offers some old building and walks in the mountains.

Dunedin: with Otago Peninsula and its penguin and albatross colonies and Larnach ‘Castle’.

Mouraki Boulders: between Dunedin and Christchurch.

And much much more; feel free to ask more information.
Happy travels !!!!
Jaap

Before giving recommendations on this issue, it would be important to know where you are from, what other major countries you have visited, etc. And also how much time you have.

If, for example, you have visited Norway's fiords or Switzerland there is no need to visit NZ's very south. If you have seen geysers you can bypass Rotorua. If you live by white sandy beaches you will be less impressed by the Bay of Plenty than other people. And so on.

How much time you have and when are your traveling are definite need-to-knows in order to guide you right. Also, what you are interested in doing while in NZ? Both islands are amazing and both are very different. But if you have limited time, you don't want to try to do both.

@vtveen: Amazing list! I'm blown away by the detail. Well done!

happy travels.....:)

thank you so much for your replies. especially Vvteen u have given me so much detail. unfortunately i am only there from the 16th to 30th december and dont think i can do all that u have suggested.

hence would like to do only the absolute must sees this time since time is a restraint and also dont want to spend too much time in commuting from one place to another.
am going to rent a car but am also toying with the idea of taking a train to save travel time and weariness of driving long distances.
so Vvteen could u please guide me again and tell me what i can do in this time. i am travelling with my husband and 14 yr old daughter. thanks

I am from India, and have been around europe and also to USA to varied places.

since i have only 2 weeks ( 15 days in all) i dont think i will be able to do both North and South Island. my flight lands in auckland and hence was thinking i should do only north island but people tell me the south island is more beautiful. am confused and need help!!!!!

I am from India, and have been around europe and also to USA to varied places.

since i have only 2 weeks ( 15 days in all) i dont think i will be able to do both North and South Island. my flight lands in auckland and hence was thinking i should do only north island but people tell me the south island is more beautiful. am confused and need help!!!!!

and Vvteen u have given me a wonderful reply but we like a relaxed driving holiday . like to make our base in 1 or 2 places at the max. and drive around. so shall i do South or North island?

The South Island is the more beautiful island - if I had to choose only one, I would go to the south again. You can fly from Auckland to Christchurch and rent a car from there.

As said before in this thread both islands are different and have their own highlights and charm. Havin visited both Switzerland and Norway we did like the North Island more (although the other one is also beautiful).

Itinerary for North Island for 15 days:
- Auckland, the islands - Rangitoto and/or Waiheke Island - in the Hauraki Gulf, Devonport and Waitakere Ranges
- Coromandel, Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach
- Whakatane and White Island
- Gisborne and Napier
- Tongariro National Park
- Taupo and Rotorua

Itinerary for South Island for 15 days:
- start/finish with a couple of days in Auckland
- Christchurch (although I don't know how it is after the earthquake) and Banks Peninsula
- Dunedin
- Queenstown
- Te Anau, Milford Sound
- Fox and/or Franz Josef Glacier
- Greymouth
- Arthur's Pass back to Christchurch

I might be biased because I live in the South Island. But having travelled an awful lot in the North Island during the past year, I can well and truly say that the North Island is beautiful but the South Island is more spectacular. It is larger but less populated, and just has the more dramatic landscapes.

You will not be able to do a lot of travel by train. There are just three major train routes in the whole of New Zealand.

But what you could do, starting in Auckland, you could take the Overlander which connects Auckland and Wellington and cross the entire North Island in a long day. You can also interrupt the journey, best in the Tongariro National Park.

In Wellington you take the Interislander or Bluebridge ferry to Picton, and get on the Coastal Pacific down to Christchurch. You can interrupt the journey in Kaikoura for a whale watch or dolphin tour.

Then you could use Christchurch as a base for various day trips to:

Arthur's Pass/Castle Hill
Hanmer Springs (hot pools)
Banks Peninsula

The trip to Arthur's Pass would also be possible by train (TranzAlpine, it is absolutely spectacular, you would just miss out on Castle Hill. And you have to decide if you go the whole way to Greymouth or spend several hours at Arthur's Pass. It is a day trip, this or that way.

From Christchurch you could drive to Queenstown, past Lakes Tekapo and Pukaki (Mt. Cook National Park). Queenstown would be your next base - but I would allocate a night in the Mt. Cook NP area (Mt. Cook Village or Twizel). From Mt. Cook Village you can take a tour on a lake covered in icebergs (Tasman Lake).

You can take a scenic flight at Lake Tekapo or from near Mt. Cook Village (Glentanner) to see the West Coast glaciers.

From Queenstown you can do a lot of things, including a visit to Milford Sound, either by flight/cruise, a bus day tour, or drive to Milford Sound, stay there for the night, go on the first cruise in the morning (less people) and drive back to Queenstown. From there you could fly back to Auckland.

Info on the train trips:
http://www.tranzscenic.co.nz/

Scenic flight:
http://www.airsafaris.co.nz/

As you do not want to get stressed I would not suggest to cover more terrain.

As you travel during the peak season, particularly the time after Christmas, it might be essential to make reservations for about everything, starting with flights, ferry, accommodation, etc.

if i have to choose between Dunedin and Christchurch which place should i go to?

That will depend on what you plan to do - Christchurch is more central but Dunedin closer to Queenstown and all that it has to offer. Either offers routes to the glacier side of the island, if that is part of your itinerary. A VTer that is aware of how Christchurch is now after the earthquakes will need to let us know what your options are for that area. I really enjoyed Christchurch and used that as my home base for the South Island part of my trip, but that was before the earthquake.

Christchurch is still a great base, and there is still a lot to do even after the earthquakes. Surely the very city centre is off limits but you still have the Botanic Garden, Hagley Park, Deans' Bush, Canterbury Museum, the International Antarctic Centre, Punting on the Avon, the beaches of Sumner and New Brighton, parts of the Summit Road and walks in the Port Hills, etc.

And sure, you have Banks Peninsula at the doorstep which is fantastic TODAY with no cloud in the sky :-)

It is close to Arthur's Pass, Hanmer Springs, Kaikoura, even not too far from Lake Tekapo for a day trip, there is the Waipara wine region nearby, as s the site of Edoras from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. So much to see and do.

And believe me, it is interesting (and sobering) to see what an earthquake can do to a wonderful place.

A lot of updated info on my Christchurch page.