New Zealand: Mountains and Water

map of trip

Table of Contents

  • 28 days (plus 3 days on Oahu)
  • 2026 Winter (back in North America, summer here)

This was our second trip to New Zealand. The first time we were here we also went to Australia. We went to Australia first and spent more time there. This time we visited New Zealand first and spent more time here.  When we were here in 2019 we focused on The Lord of the Rings locations and highlights like the southern fjords. This time it was more summer than fall and we spent most of our time out in nature. 

It’s hard to pick a highlight in New Zealand. There are so many places good for a few days and few things that are must-dos for the masses. Many people drive and/or rent campers. We found it easy to get around by bus and the few scenic train journeys. 

Food & Beverage $39 per day*

Average per person per day. We bought breakfast from bakeries and ate another meal out most days. We occasionally got sandwich makings or meat pies to reheat in our room, to save money and because it's nice to have a night in. And meat pies are tasty!

Lodging $108-280 per night*

Wellington was cheapest; Aoraki/Mt Cook was the priciest. The rest ranged from $112-205. Breakfast was not included anywhere. Everywhere we stayed had a kitchenette.

Transportation $643 per person*

Transportation includes our Coastal Pacific train fares, Intercity bus fares, and Interislander ferry fares plus a couple of taxi fares.

Entertainment $402 per person*

We took three boat tours, in Tauranga, Picton, and Wanaka. There would have been a fourth but our whale watch in Kaikoura was canceled due to weather.

* Costs in US dollars at time of trip

Days 1-3: Waikiki Beach

The Plan: We did a stopover in Hawaii the last time we went to New Zealand, to cut down on the length of the flights. It worked well, so we’ll do that this time too. 

The Reality: Yep, it worked well this time too. We took a walk along the waterfront to a neighborhood of older homes at the end of the beach. 

  • Relax on the beach by the pool
  • Walk to historic homes in Waikiki

Days 5-9: Tauranga

The Plan: Tauranga sounds like a good place to recover from jet lag and do some walking. Plus it’s close to Auckland, which we’ll need to fly through. We missed Rotorua on our last trip so we can fit it in here. We did see Auckland, Hobbiton, and the Waitomo caves.

The Reality: Tauranga was a pleasant place to spend our first five nights. We didn’t get to do the Mt Maunganui walk but we found other walks to do. There was enough to see in the area to keep us entertained, but no real must-see sights (other than the Mt Manganui walk) that we felt compelled to fit in. Perfect for jetlag. We chose not to do a day trip to Rotorua and after stopping there enroute to Taupo we were happy we did.

  • Fly from Honolulu to Tauranga
  • Tauranga and Mt Maunganui waterfront walks
  • Day trip to Rotorua
  • Bay Explorer tour

Days 10-12: Taupo

The Plan: Taupo has some thermal features that sound interesting, plus some walks. And it shortens the bus ride from Tauranga to Wellington.

The Reality: We did a couple of great walks from Taupo. There are many activities nearby but most required a car to get there and we opted not to rent one. If we had we could happily have spent another couple of days.

  • Bus to Taupo
  • Wairakei Terraces
  • Huka Falls Walkway
  • Lakeside walk

Days 13-17: Picton and Wellington

The Plan: We need to spend a night in Wellington before catching the ferry to the south island. It sounds like Picton has good walking opportunities, and we’ll try to spend some time on the water. 

The Reality: We did a Marlborough Sounds boat tour that allowed us to do part of the Queen Charlotte Track. And we did part of the Snout Track from Picton itself. Both were scenic and not too challenging. There were many walks to choose from. 

  • Bus from Taupo to Wellington
  • Ferry from Wellington to Picton
  • Snout Track
  • Marlborough Sounds tour, including bird sanctuary and Queen Charlotte Track from Punga Cove and back

Days 18-20: Kaikoura

The Plan: On our last trip we took scenic trains on the north island and across the south island. This time we’ll take the Coastal Pacific. Kaikoura is supposed to be a great place for viewing wildlife so we hope to see some. 

The Reality: We didn’t see whales or albatrosses (we scheduled a whale watch but it was canceled due to weather and other tours were full) but we did see lots of seals on the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway.

  • Scenic train from Picton to Kaikoura
  • Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway
  • Coastal walk to Fyffe House 
  • Whale Watch/Albatross Encounter

Days 21-23: Christchurch

The Plan: On our first trip we only spent the night in Christchurch. This time we’ll stay three nights so we can see some of the city. 

The Reality: We still haven’t seen much of the city thanks to cold, horizontal rain. We got drenched just going to the supermarket and back. At least we got to try Vietnamese food. 

  • Scenic train to Christchurch
  • Avon River Walk 
  • Godley Head Walkway

Days 24-27: Aoraki/Mt. Cook

The Plan: When we left New Zealand last time we flew over lots of mountains and thought “we need to come back and see more of those.” So we’re doing that this trip. We don’t have specific walks in mind, but we plan to do lots of walking here. 

The Reality: This ended up being the highlight of this trip. We never got tired of gazing at the mountains, which we could see from our room. (And from everywhere else nearby.)

  • Bus from Christchurch to Aoraki/Mt. Cook
  • Hooker Valley Track
  • Kea Point Track

Days 28-32: Wanaka and Queenstown

The Plan: We spent a night in Queenstown on our last trip. We’ll do that again this trip before flying on to Australia. We liked Queenstown, but Wanaka sounds more relaxed. We visited Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound on our last trip so we won’t do those again. 

The Reality: Wanaka was a pleasant place to spend a few days, with activities available from town and in the surrounding area. (If you had a car, which we did not.)

  • Bus from Aoraki/Mt. Cook to Wanaka
  • Waterfall Creek Track
  • Mount Iron Track
  • Jet boat trip and wilderness walk
  • Bus from Wanaka to Queenstown

Go to the Australia part of the trip

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