New Zealand, North & South island road trip -  our top 6 must see locations.

 

New Zealand can be best described as raw, edgy and beautiful all at once. It is a place of jaw dropping scenery. New Zealand has forests so dense that you could walk for weeks and never see a soul.

 

To get the best weather in both New Zealand’s North and South islands, if you have the choice, we would recommend going between December to February as this is their summer season. Their winter is between June and August.  We travelled in Dec - Jan and luckily we experienced some really pleasant warm summer weather.

 

Our observations and tips for a NEW ZEALAND road trip

• In New Zealand they drive on the left hand side of the road, if you normally use left hand driving, you should be ultra careful;

• A well worn-in pair of walking boots and lots of pairs of good walking socks are a must for any trip to New Zealand;

• Driving distances can be very long in-between recommended locations, take lots of short breaks to maintain concentration or preferably swop driving duty with your travel partner;

• Rent a set of wheels, you simply cannot get around New Zealand very easily without a motorised means of transport;

• Rain is common and sudden (even in Summer) so always be prepared. Bring a good rain jacket with you. There is no such thing as bad weather in New Zealand, there is just a bad choice of clothing.

• Apply tons of sunscreen. The ozone layer above New Zealand is very thin, so the sun can be strong. You may not realise this but within one day you can get severely burned. Better still wear a broad brimmed hat.

• During the summer holiday season, accommodation tends to book up very fast. Make sure to book your accommodation choice, at least a few months in advance, to avoid disappointment

• Bring a good camera, tripod and remember a wide angle lens as well. Photographic opportunities are all around you. Panorama shots are the best at trying to capture the enormity of this landscape.

• New Zealand is a big country with lots of foliage cover, if visiting in summer and you are prone to allergies, bring lots of your own high strength meds with you.

• It can be very windy at any time of year. Basically New Zealand is a few mountainous islands stuck partially in the Roaring Forties. These westerly winds blast over the South Island and the lower portion of the North Island. In fact, the Roaring Forties stops northwards at about Whanagnui. North of that you're outside of the Roaring Forties, and as a consequence the north island gets much less wind.

• New Zealand ranks second place (after Finland) for being the safest country in the world, however, nowhere is perfect. You should still take care in the busier cities of New Zealand such as Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington.

• Sport, dogs and the wind are some of the favourite conversation topics for New Zealanders.

• Be advised that sandflies are the hidden curse of New Zealand, but, if you wear a good insect repellent at all times while outdoors, you will be sorted.

• New Zealand wine is nice and plentiful, but be advised that it was more expensive to buy in its home country than to buy the same wine at home in Dublin, go figure !

• The Sun still rises in the East, but it goes from right to left across the sky. The moon is seen upside down and water goes anti-clockwise down a plug hole.

• New Zealand weather changes very fast, this can be especially critical if you plan to hike. You can see four seasons in one day. To be prepared bring clothing layers with you. 

• In our opinion, South Island has some of the best hikes we’ve seen in the world so we recommend spending a little more time in the South Island.

 

 

Hill walking suggestions

 

Aoraki/ Mount Cook National Park

Housing the tallest mountain of New Zealand, Aoraki/ Mount Cook National Park is known for the snow capped mountain, dramatic landscape, and amazing hikes. On your way to  Mt. Cook take in Lake Tekapo, its a well known post card location and Lake Pukaki is another beautiful lake about 20 minutes from Lake Tekapo.

 

Hooker Valley Track Length: 3 hours round trip (5km)

Perhaps the single most popular track in Aoraki/Mount Cook NP, Hooker Valley’s got it all: beautiful landscape, 3 swing bridges, alpine lakes and snow capped mountain. Most importantly it’s very easy!  Bus tours of hikers visit it everyday.

Mueller Hut Track or Sealy Tarns Hike: One of the best day hikes (or overnight hike) in Aoraki/ Mt. Cook National Park is the Mueller Hut hike. It’s an 8 hour hike (round trip), hiking first to Sealy Tarns then you have the option to either turn back around or continue up to Mueller Hut, an actual Hut that you can stay in overnight and then return.

Rob Roy Glacier Hike & The Blue Pools Length: 5km each way (3 hours roundtrip) Elevation: ~500m (~1600 ft) Difficulty: Easy to Moderate

Wanaka is very close to Mount Aspiring National Park and the Rob Roy Glacier Hike is situated in Mount Aspiring National Park

Abel Tasman National Park: A beautiful coastal National Park on the North side of the South Island.

Arthur’s Pass National Park: The highest pass over the Southern Alps situated between Canterbury and the West Coast on the South Island.

 

Transport options

From our experience, an upgrade (from a camper van) to the hire of a Motorhome is the best option for our North and South Island road trip. We had a living space, kitchen and separate bedroom, with ample space for living in relative comfort, with a toilet, shower, full size bed and power to run small TV and radio, fridge A/C etc. In a Motorhome you are self contained which allows you to stop and take in the scenic spots at your leisure.

The other options were bus or car. We are too old for the inflexibility of bus travel and not supple enough for sleeping in a car, camp or hostel (been there, done that already).

 

Tip: Buy or hire two bikes and strap them on top or onto the camper. When you get all hooked up in a campsite or caravan park, the bikes give you the flexible option of visiting the local sites, in a radius of your ability to cycle comfortably (50K round trip in our case).

 

 

 

(1) Auckland

As an international flight destination, Auckland is a great place to start your North Island road trip. We went straight from the airport and picked up our new Motorhome rental. Having learned from our previous experience on the East coast of Australia road trip, we decided to increase the size of our rental from a camper van (Transit van size) up to a motorhome. We made this decision to give us much more space and comfort. If you can afford this upgrade, it was the best decision for us.

Things to do in Auckland:-

The sky tower is a top attraction in Auckland. It can be found in walking distance from the harbour. There are lots of restaurants and bars nearby.

If shopping is your thing, check out Queen St or Britomart area.

If you are looking for photos of the city, Mount Eden offers some of the best views of Auckland. It’s about 3 miles from Auckland city centre.

There are tours available or simply walk around the Viaduct harbour and stop by some nice restaurants and bars.

We recommend that you break your journey to Rotorua with a stop at Matamata and visit the Hobbiton Movie Set, used in the making of the Lord of the Rings. You can also take the tour option from Rotorua, if you prefer.

Distance from Auckland to Rotorua: 230km (around 3 hours by road)

 

 

(2) Rotorua & Taupo

Rotorua is in a very active geothermal area and Wai-O-Tapo is the prime example of all the geothermal activities one can witness. You will be seeing geysers, sulphur deposits, mud pools, etc. Plan about 2 hours at Wai-O-Tapo for your visit and be aware that this whole park smells like rotten eggs.

Things to do:

Since the entire area of Rotorua is in an active geothermal area, there are a ton of hot springs. Some of the most famous ones include Polynesian Spa and Waikite Valley Thermal Pools.

If you want to see the glowworms and Hobbiton Movie Set you can take a tour that will take you from Rotorua to the Waitomo caves and Hobbiton. Most people opt to take the regular boat tour through the Waitomo Cave to see the world famous glowworms. The glowworms you see in Waitomo are actually native to New Zealand. For the more adventurous you can take an adventure tour called Black Water Rafting from Waitomo.

On the Hobbiton Movie Set tour, the guides are all very good. During the Hobbiton tour you will learn about the back story of the movie set and filming of the Hobbit. If you are a fan of the Lord of the Rings movies then you must do this tour of Hobbiton.

 

Taupo

Taupo is a big resort town about an hour from Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Many people stay in Taupo before going hiking. There is a nice lake in Taupo and you can do boating and other water activities at Lake Taupo.

Many visitors stop by Huka Falls in Taupo. Parking lots get filled very quickly but the falls is nice to see from the viewing platform.

For the adrenaline junkies, visit and jump at the Taupo Bungy.

Distance from Taupo to Wellington: 370km (around 5 hours by road)

 

 

(3) Wellington to Picton

 

Wellington is the Capital of New Zealand. Just 50k north of Wellington are Paekakariki and  Paraparaumu, the home of the Wellington Tram Museum and Southward Vintage Car Museum, respectively. If you are a car or train buff, then they are well worth a visit.

Things to do:

• Visit the botanic garden and take the cable car to the highest point for great views of the city.

• Visit Queens wharf and the Harbour front. From here you can take in the Wellington and New Zealand museums. 

Take a 3 hour ferry from Wellington to Picton in the South Island. This is an extremely scenic ferry crossing across the Cook Strait. You are never very far from land during the crossing. There are several ferries per day.

 

(4) Queenstown

Since Queenstown is the adventure capital of New Zealand, of course there are plenty of adventurous activities (as well as non-adventurous activities) in Queenstown. Situated by 

Lake Wakatipu and surrounded by the Southern alps, Queenstown has all sorts of adventure activities so you can literally spend a week in Queenstown and not get bored.

Things to do:

• One of the most popular attractions in Queenstown, the Skyline Gondola takes you to the peak of Bob’s Peak for a panoramic view of Queenstown. There is a restaurant there as well. If you want to do stargazing tours in Queenstown, the tour will take you up Bob’s Peak at night. The gondola closes at 9pm so only those with stargazing tours or restaurant reservation are allowed up there at night.

• The Luge is a fun family friendly activity at Skyline Gondola. You ride in a luge cart and go down the hill as fast as you want.

• You can also mountain bike from the top of the Gondola.

• Queenstown is the home of Jumping and where they first commercialised Bungy Jumping in the world. There are 2 places you can Bungy Jump in Queenstown, one is next to Bob’s Peak and another one is in Kawarau. You can also go out of town to Nevis Bungy above the Nevis River.

• Take a Day Trip to Milford Sound. Many people opt to take a full day trip to Milford Sound for the scenic cruise. It takes about 4 hours to drive to Milford Sound from Queenstown. Alternatively you can fly over the Alps in under an hour in a small twin-prop plane

• One of the most popular things to do is to take a Hotspring Spa in Queenstown at the the Onsen Hot Pools. You will need to make your reservation in advance during peak summer season to avoid disappointment.

• Take a nice scenic Helicopter Ride above the Southern Alps or even to Milford Sound or Mount Cook. The view is unreal and something you cannot get anywhere else. However these helicopter rides can be quite expensive.

• The jetboats in Queenstown are unlike any other Jetboats. The most famous ones are the Hydro Attack and Shotover Jet, but there are many other companies such as Go Orange Thunder Jet Boat and Dart River Funyaking.

 

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(5) Milford Sound and Franz Joseph Glacier

Milford Sound is the most popular attraction in the South Island of New Zealand if not the entire country. Even though Milford Sound weather is mostly rain you can still visit this natural wonder all times of the year.

The most popular thing to do in Milford Sound is to take a scenic cruise. Most people take the day cruise but there are options to take an overnight cruise at Milford Sound as well.

Many people take a day trip from Queenstown to Milford Sound for the cruise but we personally think it’s better to fly to Milford Sound since a day trip from Queenstown to Milford Sound is literally 8 hours sitting in a bus.

As the most popular activity in Milford Sound, a sightseeing cruise shows you the peaks, waterfalls and wild lives of Milford Sound. During rainy days there are many temporary waterfalls form on the walls of Milford Sound. Generally Milford Sound sightseeing cruises last about an hour and half.

 

 

 

(6) Christchurch

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island. Unfortunately Christchurch suffered a devastating earth quake in 2011 so most of the buildings you see in Christchurch are now either new or lower built. Hundreds of its historical buildings were lost to the earthquake. The re-building of Christchurch is ongoing with traces of the destruction and fenced-off broken buildings probably more noticeable to tourists than locals, who instead see how far the city has improved.

Things to do: 

• 185 Empty Chairs: an unofficial memorial for the 185 individuals who died during the devastating 2011 Christchurch earthquake;

• Christchurch Botanic Gardens: a really nice botanic garden in the Christchurch city centre;

• Christchurch Gondola: a relaxing gondola ride to the top of Port Hills with a panoramic view of the city.

 

 

When we travel, especially if we do it for a limited period of time, a lot of us try to fit so much into our schedules that there are days when we don’t even have time to breathe.

In the end, you come back so tired that you need to go on vacation again to recharge your batteries.

Planning the trip and realising you can’t possibly fit in all you want to do can be exhausting and, sometimes, frustrating.

Although here, we have to add that it is a good strategy to leave something out so that you have an excuse to return.