March 2019
With only two weeks to explore New Zealand, we knew it would be an impossible task to see everything. After doing preliminary reading, it was clear people do not recommend a two week trip to see both North and South islands and to instead focus on one. Since we both had a feeling this would not be our last visit to New Zealand, we decide this trip would be a highlight reel from both islands. We started planning by pinning locations on Google maps that we wanted to see and the hoped that an organic itinerary would come together.
As hoped, our pins provided a natural flow and driving gave us the flexibility to accomplish as much or as little as we wanted. We started on the South Island in Queenstown, drove north through Mt Cook then continued north up the east coast until we hit the ferry to transfer to the North Island. From the capital of Wellington, we continued north towards Auckland making many stops along the way. We were so proud and excited with our itinerary- an incredible 2,070km (1286 miles) of driving through New Zealand.
Upon our return, it is easy why people recommend focusing on one island but even two weeks would not be enough time to see everything on one island. Since we had such limited time, we knew there was a high risk of our itinerary experiencing changes. Many of our activities were weather dependent and there are many other factors that are out of our control. We ended up having to change quite a bit around! We were very happy with our trip and I already have ideas for our next New Zealand adventure.
Two Week New Zealand Itinerary
| Day 0 | Arrive in New Zealand Travel to Queenstown Check into Airbnb AJ Hackett Bungy Jump Explore Queenstown |
| Day 1 | Tiki Trail – hike or gondola ride Optional hike extension to Ben Lomond or Skyline Luge Queenstown Wine Trail Tour |
| Day 2 | Pick up car rental Get burgers to go at Ferburger Drive to Mt Cook Hike Hooker Valley Trail Check into Airbnb |
| Day 3 | Drive to Tekapo Drive to Fairlie with stop at Fairlie Bakehouse Drive to Christchurch Botanical Gardens Check into Airbnb |
| Day 4 | Drive to Kaikoura Peninsula hike Kaikoura Seafood BBQ Kiosk Check into Airbnb Explore Kaikoura Fish and Chips from Top Shop |
| Day 5 | Drive to Picton Picton Ferry to Wellington Arrival at Wellington Check into Airbnb Weta Workshop Tour Treat yourself meal at Shed 5 |
| Day 6 | Te Papa Museum Explore downtown Wellington Drive to Tongariro Check in at Tongariro Park |
| Day 7 | Hike Tongariro Alpine Crossing |
| Day 8 | Drive to Taupo Skydive Taupo Spa Thermal Park Huka Falls Lookout Drive to Rotorua Check into Airbnb |
| Day 9 | Hobbiton Tour Skyline Luge |
| Day 10 | Redwoods Treewalk Sequoia Eatery White Water Rafting Te Puia Experience |
| Day 11 | Drive to Waitomo Lost World Epic Cave Tour Drive to Auckland (2.5 hours) Check into Airbnb |
| Day 12 | Return car rental NZ Wine Pro Tour Ice cream at Giapo Dinner at Cotto |
| Day 13 | Parnell Open French Market Auckland Memorial Museum Lunch at Wu and You Explore downtown Auckland |
| Day 14 | Departure |
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