Ultimate two week New Zealand Itinerary

A totally unique and fascinating part of the world that must be visited by all at least once in a lifetime is, New Zealand. It’s natural beauties are guaranteed to astonish you.

Based on our experience New Zealand was one of our most difficult trips to plan as the country has so much to offer and it is spread out all over the country. It is always a dilemma to determine which places to visit when time is of essence. We have written a special step by step guide that will help you plan your NZ trip effortlessly. We highly recommend reading Planning a New Zealand trip before booking your vacation.

On November 2018, beginning of NZ summer season, we visited both the North and South Island. This trip reports entails the details of our 12 day NZ itinerary with additional stops you can make along the route.

Day 1 – NZ arrival and Waitomo Glow Worm Caves

We started our travels from North island and landed Auckland airport by 8:30 am.

NZ does not have free wifi throughout the country and these days you can’t go far without internet. So, we bought a SIM card and data bundle that would last us throughout our 14 day stay from “SPARK” at the airport. The stall was easily found at the airport arrivals. The process was really quick and we got a SIM card within 10 minutes.

We also exchanged a small amount of money at the airport for emergencies only. We highly recommend exchanging money from a bank from the city later, for better rates.

Finally, we picked up a rental car from the airport which we had booked in advance.

Money Saving tip: In NZ you can also rent a car for free based on availability. The concept for free rentals is “Rental car companies are spending large amounts of money on transferring cars between their branches, in order to position their fleet for new hires. They can either use expensive trucks or trains or they can let you drive it for free. The rental operators win, you win.”  Check out this website for availability of a free rental car.

By 10:30 am we set off for the road to Waitomo – which is a 2.5-hour drive from Auckland.

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1 to 2 Add on Days: If your schedule permits, you can add 1 or 2 days to explore Auckland. You can visit Mt. Eden, sky tower, take a cruise to Whitianga, full day Auckland sightseeing bus tour etc. We skipped Auckland City due to our interests and time limitation.

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Additional Information:

• Driving in New Zealand is on the left hand side, opposite of what we have in USA. If you are not comfortable with driving on the left-hand side we recommend staying at Auckland at least for a day, get accustomed to the new rules and leave on the next day when you are fresh and not so tired.
• Driving in New Zealand is pretty simple. They don’t have busy highways in fact there was barely any traffic. You should be able to get used to the driving pretty easily.

Upon arriving at Waitomo, we still had time to check into our hotel and relax before our 5:00 Waitomo glow worm cave tour. It was a 50 minute guided tour of the caves which included a short raft ride in a dark cave with millions of glowworms above us that beautifully illuminated the caves. It was a dazzling sight and totally worth the experience.

Unfortunately photography and videos are strictly forbidden on this tour.  However, they have a camera crew that snap pictures of each group and is available for sale at the end of the tour.

Tip: We recommend booking all of your NZ excursions in advance to guarantee a spot for each activity which is crucial especially when moving on a schedule.

Day 2 – Drive to Matamata (Hobbiton movie set) and Rotorua

Following day we set off for Matamata early in the morning to make it in time for our 10:40 AM Hobbiton Movie set tour. 

This was one of our favorite tour in New Zealand and a must do whether you are a Lord of rings fan or not. Saj made sure we watched the movies before visiting NZ and we were grateful for it as it really adds on to the enjoyment. We were able to relate to the tours and sites even more.

The tour included a short bus ride to the movie set followed by a 50 minute guided tour of the the little hobbit village aka “Shire”.

It is a picturesque tour with tons of beautiful photo opportunities along with lord of the rings behind the scenes facts.

The tour ends with a complimentary drink with alcoholic and non alcoholic options – and trust us it is always fun to be hogging like hobitses 😉

This little hobbit village is so magical and definitely makes you feel like you are in a place out of this world. It was our best tour of the entire trip.

After our Hobbiton tour, we headed for Rotorua which is about a 1.5 hour drive. We got Rotorua at 3pm and headed to the Wai-o-tapu geothermal park. The park showcases  New Zealand’s most colorful and unique geothermal elements sculpted by thousands of years of volcanic activity. It took us about 1.5 hours to explore the whole park.

The champagne pools are the park’s most colorful geothermal attractions.

Another intriguing sight of the park is the devil’s pool that attracts many people due it’s unnatural stagnant green water.

The Wai-O-Tapu volcanic era offers no shortage of wondrous attractions. There are several other geysers and colorfully steaming mud bogs at this park.

That same evening we also did the redwood tree board walk which was a pretty nice and unique experience that included 1.5 hours of walking on bridges that connect from one tree to another through a little forest lit up with different kinds of lights.

Tip: Rotorua is the hub of excursions in North Island so if your schedule permits you can definitely add more days here. There are tons of activities to engage in such as Gondola, Zorb, Buggy tours, sky diving and much more.

Day 3 –  Queenstown Gondola, Luge Ride & Onsen Pool

The next morning we returned our rent a car at Rotorua airport, and flew to Queenstown. We rented another car from Queenstown for the rest of our stay. We had taken an early morning flight so that we would not be wasting an entire day in the commute and rather enjoy for at least half a day.

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8 to 10 add on days: If you have additional days in New Zealand consider driving down from North Island to South Island. You can make several stops along the way at New Zealand’s national parks and other hidden beauties.

Below is an alternate route we considered taking if we had an additional week. However, due to time limitation we skipped many stops and instead flew to Queenstown.

Please note – we did not visit the stops marked in red so you will need to do some more research on those stops to determine if that is a place you are interested in visiting.

Auckland → Matamata → Rotorua → Wellington → Nelson → Abel Tasman → Greymouth → Franz Josef Glacier → Wanaka → Quuenstown → Te Anau → Milford Sound → Christchurch (Fly home from CHC airport)

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Tip: We booked our rides via bookme.co.nz which offers various excursions at discounted prices. At 4 pm we went for the skyline gondola which we purchased along with 5 rounds of luge ride. We highly recommend adding the luge ride thrill to this excursion to make it more fun.

The gondola is about a 3 min ride up with beautiful views.

Queenstown is world famous for it’s upscale day spa at the, Onsen Hot pools. It is a very popular activity in Queenstown and usually gets fully booked months in advance. Consider booking this as early as possible!

So far we we had been exploring NZ at full pace. Onsen Hot Pools is just what we needed to take a step back to enjoy the beauty of the surroundings and simply relax. We booked the ultimate relaxation package which included a 1 hour hot pool experience followed by a 1 hour massage and ended with refreshments.

The scenery from the pools is incredible and the water temperature was perfect for the cold day we had.
We booked our experience around sunset time – this way we could enjoy views of the day light and lanterns in the dark.

Tip: Onsen pools should be the first thing you book as soon as you finalize your itinerary.

Day 4 – K Jet

We kept this day light on activities to chill and explore Queenstown. We had a late start to the day by grabbing Queenstown’s very famous – FergBurger. When in Queenstown a meal at this place cannot be missed!

Later that afternoon, we went for a thrilling jet boat ride with KJet on Lake Wakatipu, Lake Kawarau and the lower shot-over river. The boat goes up to 95 km/h with 360 degree spins on the edges of the river that will rise up your adrenaline levels!

Tip: For a more stimulating jet boat experience, consider booking with the Shotover canyon swing & fox. The shotover jet rides on the upper shot over river where the current is much stronger, thus giving a higher thrill. When booking consider the ride time – it was a 60 min ride with K-Jet and 25 min with Shotover Jet.

Day 5 – Day trip to Milford Sound

We were all pumped with energy by this day and really looking forward to a long day of beautiful scenery. We booked a Day trip with Jucy cruise, which included two way travel to Milford sound in a glass roof top coach and a 50 minute cruise to the exotic waterfalls in Milford sound.

The ride from Queenstown to Milford sound was very scenic and our guide made several stops along the way at mirror lakes, the chasm, Davy Gunn Lake, and many more.

Below is a picture of the chasm!!

But our favorite and most beautiful stop was valley of thousand waterfalls – just as the name suggests it is a valley with a winding road going downstream amidst thousands of waterfalls. You have to be very lucky to experience this as the waterfalls are temporary and only drop if it has been raining for at least 2 hours continuously. We got extremely lucky with the weather that day to experience this unimaginable beauty and views. Trust us, no camera or video could have captured the beauty of this unimaginable valley. You have got to be there to experience the bliss and tranquility of this place.

Milford sound is also referred to as the “Eight wonder of the world” – it is surrounded with magnificent mountains and waterfalls.

It is an absolute must visit when in NZ!

The unique thing about this cruise is the way we got to experience the fall – the captain literally takes the cruise underneath the waterfall.

Tips:

• Milford sound is a rainforest so it tends to get pretty cold. Dress warm!
• Carry a rain jacket as you will get wet on the cruise (also consider taking an extra pair of clothes)
• If your package does not include lunch buffet pack some snacks as you will get hungry. The company provides a “picnic lunch” but its more like a goodies bag

Day 6 – Unique Bungee Jump experience  and Arrowtown

If you love thrill-seeking activities, bungee jumping is your thing to do in Queenstown!

Queenstown is home to the world’s first bungee jump located off Kawerau Bridge and also to the world’s highest bungee jump in the Southern Hemisphere, the Nevis Bungy Jump at 134 meters high.

We love trying rare adventures and decided to try a bungee experience with a twist. NZ is also known for having the world’s first and highest cliff jump with 10+ jump styles over the ShotOver Canyon.

To get the adrenaline pumping, we started with the canyon fox, an electrifying ziplining experience that starts with a free fall from 182m high to 130m within 3 seconds before zipping on the slack line across the canyon.

Saj did the Giant strides drop style….

while I did the the reverse forwards drop!

There are 6 drop styles to choose from all listed on their website along with the difficulty level.
The return zipline is a more traditional one and does not include a free fall.

The adrenaline was definitely pumping by then but not sure if it got us ready for the canyon swing – a similar experience to bungee jumping which involved jumping off a cliff with a cord tied around our ankles.

The canyon swing also has 10+ jump styles that you can check out in further detail on their website.

We did the “Gimp Boy goes to Hollywood” tandem jump, which includes being suspended upside down over the canyon and then released towards the river. Below is a glimpse of our adventure!

Later that evening we visited the historic Arrowtown, a charming place perfect for an afternoon visit. A must visit in Arrowtown is the Chinese settlement, which tell the tales of Chinese miners through several restored huts. Visiting the Chinese settlement can take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour.

Other than the Chinese settlement, Arrowtown has lots of fine dinning options and walking along the banks of arrow river is perfect for a lazy afternoon.

Day 7 – Buggy tour and drive to Glenorchy

Today we booked a guided scenic off the road buggy tour which really took us by surprise – it ended up being one of our favorite activities in Queenstown and ranked pretty high on our list.

This adventure was a 90 minute off-road buggy tour of 8 people with varying comfort levels – each buggy had two people. The tour started with a safety briefing followed by hands on training with the buggy before talking off for the track. The guide ensured that everyone was comfortable driving the buggy before taking off.

We loved this activity mainly because of the track – it is rugged muddy track with abrupt bends and small hills that made this a sensational experience from beginning to end.

The guide was always at the front and led the way; we also made a couple stops with incredible views where we were given a brief history of the area. It’s definitely a thrilling experience and we highly recommend it!!

Later that afternoon, we drove to Glenorchy aka as the drive to paradise because of it’s heart stopping views throughout the way.

Tip: The experience of driving to Glenorchy is heavily dependent on weather conditions because on days when it’s foggy you really don’t get the best views as most of the alps are covered by the clouds and fog. If you have a flexible schedule you may have to reschedule this experience based on weather conditions.

Unfortunately for us, Queenstown was very foggy for the days we were there so we did not get clear pictures but it was still worth the drive as the views are really magnificent.

Once you get to Glenorchy, do take a picture with the “Little Red Hut” as it has become one of the most photographed spot in Glenorchy.

Day 8 – Drive to Wanaka, lavender farm, and Roy’s peak

Queenstown was very entertaining and we really enjoyed our stay there, but it was time to move on to our next adventure. It was an early start to the day, by 8:00 am we set off for the road to Wanaka which is an 1 hour and 30 minutes drive from Queenstown. Our first stop was at the Wanaka Lavender farm.

When we visited in November the flowers had not yet fully blossomed as it was just beginning of summer – but it is still a very peaceful and pleasant visit and great spot for photography.

Visiting the farm can take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, depending on your interests.

You will also find the classic tic-tac-toe game in the farm which is always fun to fool around to spend some extra time amidst the lavender beauty.

By 1pm we had our lunch and were all set for an enduring yet memorable hike to Roy’s peak.

We did the hike at normal pace and it was a 6 hour return hike, it was pretty tiring going up and we took several stops along the way!

We are not really hikers and this was the first hike we did together so it was quite painstaking for us. At every turn we asked passerby’s how much more till the peak??  So you can imagine our sheer feeling of accomplishment and happiness when we reached the summit!

The view when hiking is not all that fascinating but once you get to Roy’s peak it is literally a million dollar view and totally worth it!!

The Roys Peak hike is a great way to reap the benefits of what nature has to offer. It gave us an amazing sense of self confidence and a sheer feeling of accomplishment and happiness.

Tips:  

• If possible do the hike in the morning as it gets foggy later in the day and you may not get a clear view from the top
• Pack really light and take only that which is required, you don’t want to carry extra weight on the hike. Be sure to pack water and some snacks
• Consider taking hiking poles
• It’s warm when you start the hike and gets really cold as you get higher so dress accordingly
• Keep the next day light on activities as you will need the rest

Day 9 – Drive to Franz Josef

Today was all about the picturesque drive to Franz Josef and we dedicated a whole day just for the drive as there are several scenic stops along the route that will definitely tempt you to pull over.

Tips:

• Timing is very crucial for this adventure, start your day as early as possible for an unhurried experience and to ensure you have enough time to visit all the stops along the way. We set off for the road by 8:00 AM
• All the stops can be easily spotted along the route. Clear signs are posted on the roadsides along with information on how many miles the next stop will be at
• Parking facilities are available at all the stops
• Download an offline GPS map in case you loose Internet connection
• Fuel up before heading for the road as there are no gas stations along the route
• Pack some lunch/snacks before starting the excursion, as there aren’t many restaurants along the road
• Carry a comfortable pair of hiking shoes as there are plenty tempting hikes through scenic forests
• There are plenty of photo opportunities along the route so do not forget your camera

Things to Take: Camera, Cash, Water, Towels, Hiking Shoes, Insect repellant, plastic bag for trash, Shades, Hat, Napkins, Sunscreen, packed lunch, snacks, Band Aids, First Aid kit and hand sanitizer.

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Similar Post Read – Hawaii, Maui Road to Hana 

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Stop 1 – #ThatWanakaTree

One of the most instagrammed photos of all New Zealand is the “lone tree of Lake Wanaka” spurged out from the lake and back dropped by the stunning Southern Alps. A must visit when in Wanaka and makes for excellent pictures. There is a parking lot just by the lake and the tree is easy to spot.

Plan to spend 20 minutes here.

Stop 2 – Lake Hawea

A place of vivid beauty surrounded by mountainous extremes; Lake Hawea offers a very peaceful environment with magnificent views of the surrounding peaks and a lake to cool off.

Tip: Do not get tempted to see the lake from one of the viewpoints above without going closer to the lake. It is really peaceful and totally worth your time to get a closer look of the lake.

Plan to spend 20 minutes here.

Stop 3 – Makarora Country café

This is an optional food stop that comes literally along the way to the Blue Pools walk, stop 4.  You can make a stop at this café for a quick bite.

Stop 4 – Blue Pools Walk

Next on the route is the Blue Pools walk. It is an easy 15 min walk from the parking lot through mature beech and podocarp forest that leads to the natural blue pools of pure glacial water. Walk through beech forest to a swing bridge over Makarora River. Continue on a boardwalk to the second swing bridge, which is the viewing platform over the Blue Pools. Cross this bridge for great views up the river gorge.

Plan to spend 1 hour here.

Stop 5 – Fantail Falls

Next stop, within a 5-minute drive is the beautiful and easily accessible Fantails falls, which drops into the crystal clear Haast River. It is an easy 10 minute return track.

Plan to spend 20 minutes at this stop.

At these falls, there is also a tree full of stone balance art that makes for great photography.

Stop 6 – Thunder creek falls

We also made a quick stop at the thunder creek falls, a 96m high waterfall that feeds into the Haast River. The waterfall is made up of one single stream that bursts out from the steep cliffs covered in thick, green, and lush vegetation. It is an easy 10 minute return track.

Plan to spend 20 minutes here

Stop 7 – Ship creek

The next stop at a 50-minute drive was at ship creek. There are two walks you can do at Ship Creek and this stop makes for really good pictures. There is a swamp forest walk or the dune lake walk. They are both gentle walks amidst lush forests and plantations with spectacular views.

Plan to spend 1 hour here and beware of the mosquitoes as you go through the track – highly recommended to apply insect repellent. 

Stop 8 – Lake Matheson

Our final stop for the day at a 1 hour 20 minutes drive was at Lake Matheson, near the Fox Glacier.

Lake Matheson is nestled in ancient forest and is known for having mirror views of Aoraki/Mount Cook and Mount Tasman.

Unfortunately, on the day we visited it was cloudy and we did not get any reflecting views on Lake Matheson, as seen in the picture below.  We heard from locals that it is very rare to have a clear reflecting view of the mountains and it really depends on the weather conditions.

It is roughly a 1 hour 30 minute circuit walk around the lake but can be cut short to 40 minutes, if desired.

Day 10 – Franz Josef Scenic flight and valley walk

Today was the day for our most awaited excursion in all of NZ, the Franz Josef heli hike. So, you can imagine our grief when we found out that that all the hikes for the day had been cancelled due to bad weather conditions. We had booked through the helicopter line and were extremely disappointed when they refused to rebook us for the next day. They gave us a full refund on our excursion but we would rather that they would have rescheduled our entire group for the next day.

After a couple phone calls and hassle we got lucky to get a reservation on the Fox Glacier heli hike for the next day. 

Tip: Prior to visiting NZ, we had read about how often the heli-hikes get cancelled due to the weather conditions, so we planned to spend two days in Franz Josef. This way we could still try our luck at rescheduling the hike for the following day in case it got cancelled and were thankful for the pre-planning.

As our heli-hike got cancelled, we had one whole spare day in Franz Josef.  We decided to do the Fox Glacier valley walk that is open for all to visit free of charge. We also made a last minute reservation for a Franz Josef scenic flight to make the most of our time in Franz Josef.

Note: The scenic flights may still be operational while the heli-hikes get cancelled. The is because the scenic flights are usually for 30 to 40 minutes and they may be able to take up the helicopters and safely land within an hour while the weather is clear. As for the heli hike they are typically for 4 hours, so the companies have to consider weather conditions 4 hour period to guarantee a safe landing.

We truly got so lucky to get a last minute afternoon booking for a Franz Josef scenic flight which provides some of the most stunning ice architecture views of any Glacier in the world.

We highly recommend doing this scenic flight especially you have not experienced a helicopter flight before. This is undoubtedly one of the best places to experience a helicopter ride and we were so thankful we choose to do this adventure!

We had three flight options to choose from that you can further view here.  The prices vary based on the route and also whether a snow landing is included. We experienced the franz Josef/Mount Cook 40 min ride which included a snow landing.

The snow landing really adds on to the experience and is what we loved most about this flight.

Tips: Book the earliest flight of the day as the weather is usually clearer during the morning hours and chances of cancellation are lower.

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Similar Post Read: Helicopter flight over Maui & Molokai in Hawaii

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Later that afternoon, we did the fox glacier valley walk. Within a 20 minute walk from the car park comes the first viewpoint of the spectacular fox glacier that you can see from a distance.

You can turn back from the first viewpoint or keep walking further into the valley to get a closer look of the glacier. We did the whole hike and it was a two hour return walk of moderate difficulty over rough and uneven ground which also included crossing streams.

Tips:

• The valley walk is free of charge and a great back up option in case your heli hike gets cancelled. It is also the closest view you will get to the glacier
• If you have more time in Franz Josef you could also do the Roberts Point track

 Day 11 – Heli hike

We got extremely lucky on the following day, as the weather conditions were favorable and we got to explore our most awaited adventure – heli hike 🙂 🙂

It started with a safety briefing along with what to expect on the hike. We were provided with rain jackets and hiking shoes before boarding the helicopter. It was a short flight to the landing site.

Upon landing, we were provided with crampons and hiking poles for safe walking on the ice.

We had two guides who paved the path for us and led us deeper into the glacier.

We experienced some astonishing ice caves….

……narrow blue water streams…

curved arches…

and many other breathtaking ice formations.

This was by far our best adventure in New Zealand and were soo thankful to have experienced such beauty! An absolute must do when in NZ!!

 Tips:

• The higher you go, the closer you are to the sun and hence there are higher chances of getting sun burnt.  Make sure to apply sun screen and wear sun glasses, you will need them
• Carry some water and snacks for this 4 hour hike
• Book the first slot of the day as the chances of cancellation are lower in the morning hours
• Book this adventure for your first day in Franz Josef so you may have the opportunity to reschedule in case of cancellation

Additional Information:

You can choose between the Franz Josef heli hike or the Fox Glacier heli hike. Below are the major differences between the two hikes:

• The Fox Glacier meeting point is almost a 30 minute drive from the Franz town where most tourists tend to stay whereas the Franz glacier heli hike takes off from Franz town center
• Fox Glacier is larger of the two but less steep than the Franz Glacier
• With Franz heli hike, you have the opportunity to book the glacier pools after the hike. The Fox glacier does not currently offer glacier pools experience
• Prices of the two glaciers do not vary much
• The Franz heli hikes go through a designated route as the ice formations are more permanent and track is pre-cut. The Fox Glacier heli hike on the other hand, goes through different routes each day as the tracks are cut and established by the guides as we go through them. The guides also find various unique formations to take the group to. All the pics on this blog are of the Fox Glacier heli hike.

Day 12 – Drive to Christchurch, Punting on the Avon and Botanical Gardens

This was technically our last day in NZ as the following day we had a morning flight back home.
We drove to Christchurch from Franz Josef which was roughly a 5 hour drive. It was a very beautiful drive with stunning views throughout the way.

You will come along several viewpoints that will tempt you to make a stop so plan your drive time accordingly.

Upon arriving at Christchurch, we visited the botanical gardens and ended this remarkable vacation with a relaxing punting on the avon.

And of course a big part of vacations enjoyment is in the food 🙂  Here are some pics of all the various cuisines NZ has to offer!!

Nom, Nom, Nom!!!

🙂 🙂 🙂