New Zealand

itinerary map

Table of Contents

  • 15 days in New Zealand
  • 3 days on Maui
  • 2019 Winter/Spring (back home in North America)
  • Summer/Fall (Local)

New Zealand was the second part of our 54-day trip down under. Two weeks was not nearly enough time to see everything we wanted to but we did hit our highlights, which included wildlife, Lord of the Rings sights, and lots of beautiful scenery. We would love to go back. We started with Australia.

Food & Beverage $53 per day*

Average per person per day, not including any meals furnished as part of a tour.

Lodging $44-$156 per night*

We stayed in three hostels that are part of the BBH backpackers network. Purchasing an annual card gets you discounted rates on any of their hostels. We spent enough nights with them to make purchasing two annual cards worthwhile.

Transportation $492 per person*

Includes a combination of planes, trains, and buses. In some cases we spent more to fly in order to save time. We would have preferred staying on the ground and seeing more of the countryside, but that wasn't always practical given our short time frame.

Entertainment $1,187 per person*

Includes four full day tours. Two were concerning hobbits and two were on the fiords (sounds) at the southern tip of the south island. All were magical.

* Costs in US dollars at time of trip

Days 1-4: Auckland

The Plan: Auckland was quite pleasant and easily walkable. One entire day was consumed by a Hobbiton movie set and Waitomo Caves tour. 

The Reality: We’d thought we might take a ferry to Rangitoto Island and hike. Our host suggested Mt Eden, another of the many dormant volcanoes in Auckland. It didn’t require a ferry and the views were spectacular. 

  • Walking around downtown
  • Hobbiton and Waitomo Caves tour
  • Rangitoto Island
  • Mt Eden +

Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Days 5-8: Wellington

The Plan: We really enjoyed the quirkiness and energy of Wellington. Zealandia was a nice spot of wildlife near the city. The Gallipoli exhibition at Te Papa was engrossing. 

The Reality: Our plans were disrupted by a road closure while touring Lord of the Rings sites. We were able to finish the tour the following morning and were unable to fit in the botanic gardens. 

  • Full-day Flat Earth tour of Lord of the Rings film sites and Weta Workshop
  • Wellington Cable Car
  • Wellington Botanic Gardens
  • Zealandia
  • Te Papa museum

Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Days 9-11: Nelson

The Plan: For a car buff and a wannabe fashionista, the WOW museum was a must! (The WOW fashion part has since closed. The cars are still there.) We also wanted to experience at least one of New Zealand’s Great Walks. Since there were so many options for day trips on the Abel Tasman, we chose this walk.

The Reality: The Abel Tasman was beautiful and the trail easy to follow. We really enjoyed the town of Nelson, too. Nelson is famous for the best weather in New Zealand, so of course it was pouring rain when we arrived!

  • National WOW (World of WearableArt) and  Classic Cars Museum
  • Abel Tasman track
  • Walking around Nelson +

Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Days 12-14: Christchurch and Dunedin

The Plan: It took us a full day to get from Nelson to Christchurch via a scenic bus ride along the west coast, then the TranzAlpine train across the South Island to Christchurch. 

The Reality: In Dunedin we toured the Chinese garden and the train station on our first afternoon. Our one full day in Dunedin we walked around Otago University and the Otago Museum, then took a tour out to the Otago peninsula to Natures Wonders Naturally, to see penguins in the wild. On our last morning in Dunedin we shopped for possum wool socks. We skipped the Olveston Historic Home since it required a scheduled tour.

  • Pancake rocks at Punakaiki
  • TranzAlpine scenic train
  • Dunedin Chinese garden
  • Dunedin train station
  • Natures Wonders Naturally
  • Olveston Historic Home
  • Otago Museum +

Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Days 15-18: Te Anau and Queenstown

The Plan: Fiordland was the grand finale we hoped it would be. We couldn’t decide between Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound so we did both, and were happy we did. 

The Reality: If we ever return here, we’d consider doing an overnight trip on either sound.  We ended up not doing any hiking due to wet weather.

  • Doubtful Sound Cruise
  • Glowworm Caves
  • Hiking
  • Ata Whenua movie +
  • Milford Sound Cruise

Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Days 19-21: Maui, Hawaii

The Plan: When we discovered Maui was just about as cheap to stop over for a couple of days as Oahu, we opted for Maui. 

The Reality: This was our second time here. Our first visit was in 2008 and we stayed nearby. We thought about driving up to Haleakala to hike but decided to take it easy and wind down on our last couple of days. 

  • Snorkeling off Ka’anapali Beach
  • Scenic drive to the blowhole in northwest Maui +
Go to the Australia part of the trip
book cover

Resources

We used Lonely Planet New Zealand (Kindle format) as our main resource

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Christmas Ornaments

We buy Christmas ornaments on each trip.  The kiwi we found at the museum gift shop at Te Papa. It was a convenient flat-pack that you assemble yourself so it was easy to transport. We saw many fantails and enjoyed their antics. We picked up the fantail because we had a few New Zealand dollars to spend at the end of our trip!