New Zealand

[shanghaismog]

We’re just trying to put together an itinerary for a December trip to NZ. We’ll be there for almost 3 weeks (over Christmas & New Year) & need to factor in some sunshine R&R as well as more adventurous stuff. Any top tips or must visit places, preferably off the beaten track a little? No flights booked yet, so can start either in Christchurch or Auckland. It looks like there are a million options for mountains & lakes, so keen to hear of other things to do, cool places to stay or eat, as well as places with fun nightlife. Any help appreciated, as it’s all a bit overwhelming trying to work out what to do & where to go…!

I would say be wary of things like the moeraki boulders or the pancake rocks. You drive for miles / hours just so you can spend five minutes saying "that's cool." ... and then wondering what's next on the itinerary.

Absolutely this for the north island. Vineyard on Waiheke called Mudbrick, get the ferry over from Auckland. Takapuna was nice too. Oldest pub in NZ the Duke of Marlborough at Russell.

I haven’t been for well over a decade but I loved Christchurch so I’d start there, then go to Wanaka and Doubtful Sound then travel up the west coast to Nelson, then get the ferry to Wellington, drive up to Taupo and Rotorua, then visit the Coromandle Peninsular, then head over to the Bay Of Islands and then end in Auckland. I so want to do this!

3 weeks is not long to cover both islands sufficiently. I did 6 weeks covering both islands and there was so much I didn’t see.

I reckon Shillyshally... has quite a good route suggested. If you're planning for this Christmas, you're cutting it a bit fine. It's peak NZ holiday season and I'd guess some things will be booked up. Bay of islands is lovely, and also further north, Cape Reinga and Ninety mile beach, but the distances are huge, and some of the roads are windy and slow. Loads of outdoors stuff to do round Queenstown and the Nelson Area (Abel Tasman National Park - eg kayaking and walking). Lovely beaches on the Coromandel peninsula. Rotorua is very touristy , but there are some geothermal areas outside the town that are spectacular (along the road towards Taupo).

The luge in Rotorua has been mentioned, but it's just a concrete track down a hill. My kids enjoyed it when they were younger, but not so interested as older teenagers. A relative who was a GP in the area used to see a few luge related injuries!

The scenery is spectacular in both north and south Islands. Waitomo caves are interesting, and we did some black water rafting in the Waikato area. There are also glow worm caves in the South Island (Lake Te Anau I think).

I would probably try and stick to one island with only 3 weeks.

Just reiterating what a few people have said about NY/Jan being peak summer time. It's a bit like August in Europe, everyone is taking their yearly break.
I live in Wanaka which is spectacular but the first few weeks of January are awful. Full of uber rich people from the cities with their boats causing mayhem on the roads and lakes. It turns from a small quiet ish town with plenty of space on the beaches and tracks to a free for all for about 2 weeks.

West coast south island is gorgeous, even in the rain. Sitting in a hot tub in the rain forest is incredible.

Milford Sound is a really long day trip but truly amazing. If you have the budget then a flight from Wanaka or QT makes it a much easier day.

Abel Tasman and the top of the south island is beautiful and we have never had bad weather there (although NZ weather is very unpredictable!)

Don't underestimate the impact of the length of travel to get there. Hire car companies won't let you drive out on the day you arrive, I don't think. So, going for less than 3 weeks, and having to also presumably take a day or two out for Christmas is going to leave you really short of time.

If you fly in to Christchurch, you could take the trans southern alpine train across to the West coast of the Southern island, and go from there down to the Sounds (Milford Sound is the best known, we went on a boat overnight along Doubtful sound - it was absolutely STUNNING. Sounds are similar to the Fjords in Norway.
Another highlight for me was seeing penguins at a specialist reserve just South of Dunedin - we went in the evening when they were swimming in from the ocean at dusk to nest for the night.

The cities in NZ aren't where you want to spend much time. NZ is all about the scenery.
Roads are great. Public toilets are everywhere - clean, free, easy to find. It really is a great country to travel round.

Nz weather over Xmas is really varied- it is not reliably hot at all although yes occasionally it can be amazing/swimming weather.
My experience is in Northland. Not sure about South Island- sometimes places there can be hotter than the north
Personally I would stop at an island if that was an option for more reliable heat if that's important.

We did three weeks in NZ, about ten years ago now. We did an overnight trip on Doubtful Sound (amazing), Wanaka which we loved, West coast of the south island, Abel Tasman and Nelson, Wellington, Napier, Coronandel, Rotorua, Tongariro Crossing, Auckland, quick trip to Bay of Islands, then a few days on Waiheke. It did not feel a crazy pace although it sounds it. Loved everything about it.

It's a looooong time since I went on hols to NZ, but highlights were hike on Fox glacier, west coast drive on South Island, seeing albatrosses and penguins in the wild at Otago peninsula, whale watching at Kaikoura. Sadly our trip to Milford Sound was spoiled by poor weather.

I spent a few weeks there at that time of year and loved it. The weather was generally pleasant, not hot. We did miss out a few things due to the weather there. No Tongariro crossing or glacier. We did some lovely walks, but certainly didn't spend the whole time hard core hiking. Given the price rises for travel in the past few years, and you seemingly not that sure, is this really the holiday for you?