8 days in New Zealand

Edit; Could also fly in and out of Christchurch. Slightly more expensive but $ isn't a huge concern

>>1218095
Don't spend more than one full day in Auckland, it's not a tourist town.

If you have a car, it takes 3 hours to drive to Rotorua, and Taupo/Tongariro National Park are only an hour from that. You could do them in one or two days if you have a clear plan about what you want to do/see.

Wellington is about five hours from that area, and can also be done in about a day.

From there you could fly to Queenstown, do Christchurch//Dunedin/Milford Sound from there, and then fly back to Auckland. Queenstown is probably the nicest city in NZ at the moment. Milford Sound is a full day trip from there, but it's worth it because it's the NZ they put on all the postcards. Fair warning, Christchurch is still a shadow of its former self, and I wouldn't advise going anywhere near Kaikoura at the moment.

If you just want to do the North Island, you could take two days or so to go north to the Bay of Islands and Cape Reinga (nice in summer, weather may be iffy around Easter), or down to the Coromandel from Auckland (again, weather might be iffy). Wanganui (slightly north of Wellington) is also very nice.

If you want to fly in and out from Christchurch, you could take some time to look at the west coast. It rains all year-round there, so you don't have to be concerned about the weather.

Basically depends on what you're interested in.

If you want volcanoes, you want Auckland, Rotorua,Taupo, Tongariro, and White Island (off Whakatane, which is fourish hours from Auckland).

If you want adventure tourism, you want Rotorua and Queenstown.

If you want skiing or hiking, you want Queenstown.

If you want nightlife, you want Wellington.

If you want beaches, you want the Coromandel or the Bay of Islands. Don't go swimming at the west coast beaches around Auckland unless you know what you're doing.

Don't bother with Gisbourne or Taranaki.

>>1218095
As a New Zealander I can give you some advice:
1. fly straight to Wellington after you've landed in Auckland; most of north island is boring and lame except for Wellington, which is a lovely city
2. After exploring Wellington, hop on a cruise to Nelson; from Nelson go to Marlborough Sounds, which is absolutely beautiful and terribly underrated, you'll love it
3. After exploring Marlborough Sounds, travel down the West Coast, which has lots of lovely scenic spots; go to in information centre there so you know where to find all the gems along the west coast
4. After you've travelled down the west coast, go to Queenstown; you'll go through the southern alps to get there, so it's a scenic drive that you'll enjoy
5. Head to Invercargill, which is south of the southern alps, and walk around Bluff hill if you want too, because it's a lovely walk
6. Head up to Te Anau and go trek through Fiordland on the Milford Track, where you'll end up in the beautiful Milford Sound, where you'll leave on a prebooked boat
7. Go to Invercargill, fly up to Auckland, then fly home

>>1218154

Mint as, cheers for that, you a local?

I'll be hiring a car for the week so no issues boosting around. I'm aware there is just way too much to do in the time frame available so unfortunately will have to bite the bullet pick an island. At this stage it's looking like the North.

Massive outdoor enthusiast and would prefer a bit more of a relaxed schedule on the South where I can bring the backpack and tent and just get lost hey.

>>1218176

God damnitt, maybe merging the two isn't such a bad idea. North really that bad eh?

>>1218180
The North is nice but better in summer. Doesn't have the alpine beauty of the south but there's more than enough to keep you busy.

Recommend taking a day trip to Tiritiri Matangi from Auckland.