Travel Recs 🌎

New Zealand: Itinerary

ABOUT

We visited New Zealand over the New Years holiday from 2017-2018. Our trip was 11 days total (including travel) with 6 days off of work. Best times to visit New Zealand are the summer months, December- March.

New Zealand is broken into two islands (north and south). Given our time constraints, we spent most of our time on the north island and plan to return at some point to explore the south island. When we do return the items at the top of my list are:

• Milford Sound: Hike the 4-day Milford Track, take a boat tour and/or kayak in the sounds.

• Fiordland National Park: Hike to see Mitre Peak and Mirror Lakes.

• Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park: Hike around to see and/or ski the glaciers.

• Lake Tekapo Lupins: Camp at Lake Tekapo in late November to see the Lupins in full bloom.

• Rent a VW Van: Car camp throughout south island (most rentals have a 8-14 day minimums) from Kiwi Kombis or Classic Campers.

Day 1: Auckland

• Fly from San Francisco to Auckland (~14 hours of travel)

• Land at Auckland in the am, take uber to hotel

  - We booked the IBIS Budget, but when we arrived everyone was evacuating due to a burst pipe and they relocated us to a much nicer hotel on the water called Grand Mercure Auckland.

• Explore Auckland

  - Ferry Terminal for breakfast. Outdoor food truck type pop up shops here. Went to Wolf coffee roasters to try a traditional NZ “warm toastie” and lots of strong coffee.

  - Visit Sky Tower: Tallest structure in Auckland with 360 views.

• Lunch at Soul Bar & Bistro: Ceiling is covered in beautiful flowers, food was delicious.

  - Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.

  - Walk Albert Park (park surrounding above gallery).

  - There is also a free hop-on walking tour, departs from Queens Wharf International Cruise Terminal, 89 Quay St, Auckland, 1010 (duration: 2.5 – 3 hours).

• Dinner at Ortolana: Farm to table seasonal dining focused on local produce.

• After dinner drink options: La Zeppa (cute outdoor lanterns), The Jefferson, Bellini Bar, Racket Bar

Day 2: COROMANDEL + HOT WATER BEACH

Here we met up with a segment of a Flying Kiwi Tour. They have a variety of tours to choose from and you can join for different lengths. The bus from destination to destination made our travel easy, and it’s relatively cheap.

• Breakfast at The Shaky Isles Coffee Co.

• Bus to Coromandel Peninsula

  - Park at Hahei Beach and hike down to Cathedral cove.

  - People typically take a picture of Te Hohho rock from under the limestone archway. Make sure you also go to the far left of the beach to see the rock up close (pictured below).

• Bus to Hot Water Beach

  - Camp in the Holiday Park.

  - Walk to hot water beach: Geothermal water reservoirs underground bring hot water to the surface at low tide.

  - We walked to the beach after dinner as it was getting dark and the path was lit by glowworms (felt like we were in a disney movie).

  - Bring a shovel to dig own tub in the sand, soak in the hot water and look at the stars.

  - Spend night camping in Holiday Park.

Day 3: Karangahake Gorge + HOBBITON

• Bus to Waihi: Hike around old gold and silver mine.

• Bus to Karangahake Gorge: Hike around gorge trail.

• Bus to Hobbiton

  - Take Hobbiton tour. All of the Lord of the Rings movies were filmed in New Zealand. While cheesy, I love LOTR so we really enjoyed out tour. At the end you can stop for a beer in the “Green Dragon Pub.”

• Bus to Rotura: Stay the night in Rotura

Day 4: HUKA FALLS + LAKE TAUPO

• Rotorua has a lot of geothermal activity and the city even smells like sulfur.

  - Visit the Geysers and mud pools of Wai-O-Tapu

  - Visit Lady Knox Geyser

• Bus to Huka Falls

  - Hike around. Over 220,000 liters of water get forced through the narrow canyon each second.

• Hike to Taupo City

  - We then did a 5 mile hike along Waikato River, passing Otumuheke Hot Springs and ending in Taupo city.

  - Lunch in Taupo City, walk along Lake Taupo.

• Spend the night camping in Turangi.

Day 5: Tongariro Alpine Crossing

• Bus to Tongariro National Park

  - One of the oldest national parks in New Zealand and home to several volcanic mountains- Mount Ruapehu (the highest peak on the north island), Mount Ngauruhoe (Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings) and Mount Tongariro.

• Hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing

  - One of the most popular day hikes in the country/world and no permit needed.

  - 13 miles from point to point with 2,690 ft elevation gain.

  - We saw dried lava flows, emerald lakes and incredible views.

• Bus to Paekakariki

  - Watch the sunset on the beach.

Day 6: WELLINGTON + MOTUEKA

• Bus to Wellington

  - Wellington is New Zealand’s capital. We spent a couple hours here exploring along the water and grabbing lunch.

  - You can also visit the Te Papa museum.

• Fly from Wellington to Nelson (Tip of the South Island)

  - Uber to Wellington Intl. Airport. Stop at Mount Victoria Lookout on the way (our Uber driver didn’t mind waiting 5 minutes for us to enjoy the view).

  - We flew directly over the Marlborough Sounds (pictured below) and it was by far the most beautiful flight I’ve ever taken.

• Drive to Motueka

  - We rented a car from the Nelson airport and drove to a little beach town called Motueka.

  - We stayed at Avalon Mannor hotel which felt like an upscale motel.

• Explore Motueka

  - Motueka Beach Reserve: Can walk around reserve area.

  - Kaiteriteri Beach: 20 min drive, awesome swimming beach.

  - Marahau Beach: Last beach before Abel Tasman national park starts.

  - Split Apple Rock: 15 min from beach.

Day 7: ABEL TASMAN NATIONAL PARK

• Drive to Marahau, Abel Tasman Park access point

  - Abel Tasman is New Zealand’s smallest national park along the south islands northernmost coastline and it receives the most days of sunlight in all of New Zealand.

  - Its known for the Abel Tasman Coast Track which is a 26 mile point to point hike where you can camp along the way or rent wooden huts.

• Day trip in Abel Tasman

  - You can easily explore Abel Tasman on your own, however we wanted the opportunity to kayak. So we booked this trek where we hiked on our own then met a guide at Observation Beach and had a guided kayak tour back to Marahau.

  - The hike out was gorgeous (took around 3 hours) and while kayaking back we saw seal pups!

Day 8: GOLDEN BAY

• Drive to Golden Bay

  - Hike to Wharariki Beach Archway Islands.

  - Breakfast at Archway Café.

• Explore Pillar Point and Farewell Spit

  - Lunch at Old School Cafe Bar and Restaurant or Collingwood Tavern.

  - Meet at Ocean view Chalets for Marahau beach horse-back ride with Abel Tasman Horse trekking (this was canceled due to rain).

• Drive back to Motueka

Day 9: WINE TASTING + FLY HOME

• Check out of Avalon Mannor hotel.

• Drive to Winery for lunch and wine tasting.

  - Neudorf Vineyards:138 Neudorf Road, Upper Moutere, Mapua 7175 (no booking needed, have $5 wine tasting, and deli/outdoor seating for lunch).

• Drive to Nelson Airport

• Afternoon flight from Nelson to Auckland.

• Evening flight from Auckland to San Francisco.

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