I frequently see travellers on here asking for advice on travel to New Zealand. I moved to Wellington, NZ in March 2013 from Canada to go to university and I've done a fair amount of travelling here since then. Here is some advice on a roughly 4-week travel itinerary covering both islands.
First, New Zealand has a really superb visitor information centre system in place. In almost every major town and city, there is a local "i-site" where you can go to get excellent information, book accommodation and activities, and get souvenirs. Frequently, if you book activities through the i-sites, especially if you book more than one activity in a region, you'll get a discount.
So, moving from south to north from Queenstown:
SOUTH ISLAND
Queenstown is a true adventurer's gem. Modern bungy jumping was invented there, so in the Queenstown area you can jump at both the world's first jump site (on a river) as well as the world's highest bungy (Nevis High Wire). The company you want to use is AJ Hackett and they have an office in the centre of town. It's worth going up the gondola to get a view of the city, and there are just SO many adventure activities to do. Jetboating, hang gliding, paragliding, parabungying (yes, that is bungy jumping from a parasail), concrete luge, giant swing. It's THE place to do something utterly ridiculous. The restaurant scene in Queenstown is also fantastic with a number of top chefs having restaurants there.
Milford Sound / Fiordland National Park / Te Anau - Kipling described Milford Sound as the "eighth wonder of the world" and it lives up to the praise. Worth a boat tour. A day trip from Queenstown is available through a company called Real Journeys. It feels like the fjords of Norway, except as an added bonus, there are penguins. A must see. The world-famous Milford Track goes from Te Anau to Milford Sound and takes 4 days to do (you are not permitted to go slower or faster). There are huts along the way with stoves so you just need your clothing and food. The Routeburn and Kepler Tracks are also in this region and are also supposed to be spectacular. An excellent choice for a multi-day hike if that interests you. You need to book the huts well ahead of time.
Wanaka / Haast Pass - Leaving Queenstown, heading north, you need to choose the east or west coasts. The east coast is flat farmland and not very interesting. The west coast is mountainous and stunning. I'd take the road through Arrowtown/Wanaka/Haast Pass and go up the coast. Stunning scenery. It's the most fun I've ever had driving a car.
Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers - along the west coast are two glaciers that come down from Mt Cook, the highest point in NZ. You can go hiking and heli-hiking on both of them. Coming from the south, you'll reach Fox Glacier first. I decided to hike on that one because it was much less developed/commercialized than Franz Josef, and as such my tour group was smaller. Either one is worth exploring.
Hokitika - a centre for the jade industry in NZ. It's a dumpy little town, but if you want any souvenirs made from jade, it's THE place to buy it. You have to drive through it anyway, so might as well stop. Incidentally: great whitebait fritters here.
Near Greymouth, you have a choice to continue up the west coast, or head east through Arthur's Pass. I think I'd recommend a longer, circuitous route going through Arthur's Pass, or the pass further north, and it's so that you can hit the following places:
Arthur's Pass National Park - gorgeous scenery as you cross the Southern Alps. Likely to see the kea, NZ's alpine parrot. Definitely look for them, but be wary as they have been known to strip the rubber caulking off cars.
(alternatively, take SH 7 through the Southern Alps)
Hanmer Springs - quaint little hot springs town
Kaikoura - whale watching town extraordinaire. Excellent sea adventures, including sea kayaking. There is a hotel near here that is entirely made up of treehouses. It’s not cheap but would be a neat experience
Marlborough - NZ's premier wine-growing region. There are probably 100 wineries here. NZ's version of Napa.
Queen Charlotte Track - at the northern end of the South Island, this area of isthmuses, peninsulas, islands and coves is probably one of the places you will definitely want to stop to do some hiking and/or kayaking. Worth reading about it ahead of time and booking something.
Abel Tasman National Park – also at the northern end of the South Island, another one of New Zealand’s Great Walks is here: the Abel Tasman Coastal Track. Both the Queen Charlotte and Abel Tasman Tracks are supposed to be stunning.
From this end of the South Island, you need to take a ferry to the North Island. The rental car companies do not allow you to bring your car from one island to another, so you’ll return your car at the ferry terminal, walk on board with your belongings, and then pick up a new car once you arrive in Wellington. There are 2 ferry companies: Interislander and Bluebridge, and each usually operates 2 boats. One of Interislander’s ferries lost a propeller in November and is currently out of the country being repaired; the replacement ferry they brought in has also had issues. This has meant that booking ahead for ferries is more important than usual.
NORTH ISLAND
Wellington – NZ’s capital city, the centre of its film industry, the centre of arts & culture, and the windiest city on Earth. Wellington is built into hillsides, but has a compact little downtown area. Wellington is worth a day, with the following highlights:
→ Miramar – this neighbourhood by the airport is home to the Weta Workshop, which is the design studio responsible for LOTR, Avatar and a host of other Hollywood hits. It’s a surprisingly small shop in an even more surprisingly suburban neighbourhood. It’s worth the $20 for the Inside the Workshop tour so that you can learn how the props are made for movies. Founder Richard Taylor and Sir Peter Jackson stop by regularly, and many of the staff have been extras in movies.
→ Parliament – Located at the north end of the CBD, close to the Railway Station, Wellington’s unicameral Parliament offers free hourly tours. The Executive Wing building is locally known as the Beehive and is a hideous example of 1960s architecture. Parliament itself is quite quaint and charming.
→ Te Papa National Museum – this superb museum is on the waterfront in the Te Aro neighbourhood and is free to enter. It’s quite large and has some great exhibits, including a massive giant squid, a $3 million hand-carved piano, a room that simulates earthquakes, and a lot more. It’s conveniently located next to…
→ Courtenay Place – this street/shopping district is the centre of Wellington’s restaurant, bar and club scene. Movie premieres for LOTR and The Hobbit shut down this street, where it was entirely covered in red carpet. If you go to one restaurant in Wellington, it should be Pizzeria Napoli on Courtenay Place itself. They serve just about the best pizza I’ve ever had.
→ Mt Victoria Lookout / Cable Car to Botanic Gardens – either one of these two options provide a great view of Wellington and its harbour. I prefer the view from Mt Victoria, but the Botanic Gardens are superb so that vantage point has appeal as well.
Heading north out of Wellington, you have 2 choices: SH 1, along the Kapiti Coast, or SH 2, through the Rimutaka Ranges. I would recommend SH 1 without a shadow of a doubt, as SH 2 can be a brutal road as it twists through the mountains, ascending 555 m, at times with no guardrails and a 100m+ drop. Don’t go there. Take SH 1.
As a side note: the police in NZ have no tolerance for speeding, and cars here (even rental cars) very rarely have cruise control. The police also actively seek out speeders, especially on downhill portions of highways, and there are hidden speed cameras even on sections of highway in the middle of the woods. You will get a speeding ticket for going 4 kph over the speed limit. Err on the side of caution and go 5 kph under the limit. Also, it’s worth noting that in NZ a dotted centre line on a highway does not mean that it is safe to pass: it only means that you are permitted to pass if you think it is safe to do so. Most of the time, it is not.
Bulls – on your way north, you will drive through the town of Bulls. They have fully embraced the name of the town, which is full of pretty funny signs. Worth stretching your legs just for a laugh.
Wanganui River Road, Whanganui National Park – As a slight detour on the way north, we really enjoyed the quiet farming countryside along the Wanganui River Road within Whanganui National Park. At least 10 km of it is rough gravel, so be forewarned, and it takes longer than you think.
Tongariro National Park – You certainly can’t miss this portion of the North Island, with 3 active volcanoes. This is Mt Doom from LOTR, Mordor itself. There are skifields on Mt Ruapehu, with the best approach at Whakapapa. Mt Tongariro itself was used for Mt Doom. There is a very popular hike through this park called the Tongariro Northern Circuit, portions of which can be done in a single day. It’s a great opportunity to see alpine lakes and volcanic landscapes in person.
From Tongariro, the best route to take isn’t easy to determine. There are great things to see in Taupo, Rotorua, Matamata, Tauranga and Waitomo Caves. I will list what there is to see and do and I guess you'd have to select your route accordingly.
Tokaanu – If you do some hiking in Tongariro, you may want to stop briefly in Tokaanu on the shore of Lake Taupo, as there is a decent hot spring there (privately run) to soothe their muscles. Otherwise, this area is kind of dumpy.
Taupo – A tourist town if I ever saw one. The entire Lake Taupo is the caldera of an extinct volcano, but this means there is ample geothermal activity in the area. You can go jetboating, skydiving (NZ’s most popular skydiving destination), see Huka Falls and go boating in the river, cycling, kayaking, parasailing. There are a number of restaurants. We particularly enjoyed some of the honey manufacturing, as well as the fantastic hot pools at Wairakei.
Rotorua – One of my favourite places in NZ. This is where zorbing was invented (get in a giant plastic ball and get rolled down a hill). The Agrodome allows you to get up close and personal with some farm animals, including sheep, alpaca, cows, dogs, deer and more. The Polynesian Spa in Rotorua is world-renowned. Hell’s Gate is another geothermal area with heated mud pools. You can go whitewater rafting or sledging (a personal favourite of mine, basically tobogganing on a whitewater river). While in town, attend a Maori cultural performance and dinner. I’ve been to two of them, Mitai and Tamaki, and highly recommend the Tamaki Maori Village. It was very informative, interactive and had a great earth oven feast.
Hangarua Spring – on the north shore of Lake Rotorua is a gorgeous fresh water spring and a redwood forest. Worth a short detour.
Tauranga / Mount Maunganui – One of the warmest parts of NZ, the largest port and a fantastic beach, this is a decent little city. The hike to the top of Mount Maunganui isn’t very long and affords great views. The beaches are decent, as is surfing. There are some decent restaurants and shops, particular in the Mount. Phil Rudd, the drummer from AC/DC, owns the Tauranga Bridge Marina and has a restaurant there. You can frequently find him there if you want an autograph.
Matamata – The town of Matamata itself is quaint farming country, but you come to Matamata to see its i-site building and to go tour the Hobbiton Movie Set, which is about 15 minutes outside of town. The tour costs $75/each and lasts around 3 hours, but it’s fantastic. The set is still fully built since they’re still using it for the Hobbit movies. If you see one LOTR film spot during your trip, it should be this one.
Waitomo Caves – this is a little awkward to access, off SH 3 due west of Rotorua, but it’s a pretty incredible place. You can do a massive rappel into a cave called The Lost World and you can go blackwater rafing in a cave full of glowworms. If you go through this area, Bosco’s Café in nearby Te Kuiti is a sure bet for a coffee or dinner.
Kawhia Harbour – in NZ, there are a few beaches where there is geothermal activity under the sand. The most popular of these is on the Coromandel Peninsula. A little-known spot is along Kawhia Harbour, and you’re likely to find yourself alone on the beach. Dig down 1-2 feet in the sand, let the hole fill up with hot water, and you’ve got your own private hot tub on the beach.
Coromandel Peninsula – I haven’t been here, so can only speak from its reputation. A very popular spot for Aucklanders to go on the weekend, Cathedral Cove (near the town of Hahei) is supposed to be one stunner of a beach. The most popular hot water beach is just south of there at a place named, you guessed it, Hot Water Beach. Here, you can rent a bucket and a spade to dig your own hot tub. This place can get very busy, especially on weekends.
Auckland – the largest city in New Zealand, and not well liked by the rest of the country. (Kiwis outside of Auckland refer to their inhabitants as JAFAs: Just Another F’ing Aucklander). Kelly Tarlton’s Aquarium is quite spectacular, and the view from the top of One Tree Hill (now missing its tree) is great. However, I don’t think the city is worth spending much time in.
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