5 weeks in New Zealand

I assume your plan is to travel south from Christchurch along the east coast to Dunedin and west to Queenstown/Wanaka/ Fiordland etc, then travel north up the west coast to the north island, explore NI and finish in Auckland?
Or you could do SI clockwise, start and end in Christchurch then fly to Auckland and then do NI - start and end in Auckland? Might be cheaper than the extra cost of van drop-off in a different location plus ferry.

I have a campervan reserved for 4 weeks starting Feb 21. I am arriving in Auckland on Feb 17 and taking a local flight to Christchurch. We are renting a car for 3 days for day trips in and around Christchurch and most importantly to get acquainted with driving on the left. I haven't picked a day for the ferry yet but I am leaning towards Mar 12/13. The we will have a week on the North Island returning the van in Auckland on Mar 20 and flying out Mar 22. I was wondering is that was a good split for the two islands. I have the van rented and my flights are booked. As soon as I figure the day for the ferry I can reserve it and get down to more detailed planning. I am usually pretty loose with my scheduling to allow for flexibility to due weather or adding a day to a stop we really enjoyed.

Hi redvudu,
Here are two great options to kick off your New Zealand adventure:
Option 1: Start in Auckland Spend the first few days exploring the North Island’s highlights—Waiheke Island, Hobbiton, Rotorua, and Waitomo—using a rental car. After that, fly to Christchurch and begin your van journey through the South Island.

Option 2: Transfer Immediately to Christchurch If you'd prefer to start the van journey right away, consider flying to Christchurch upon arrival. Spend 2–3 days there with a rental car to explore Akaroa, Banks Peninsula, and nearby sights. Then pick up the van and begin your South Island road trip.
If you’d like help planning your itinerary, feel free to reach out—I’d be happy to assist!

Note that there are many flights Auckland to Queenstown as well, so Christchurch is not the only option. There is also a United nonstop San Francisco to Christchurch which bypasses Auckland.

There may not be a one-way rental fee that starts in the south and ends in Auckland.

The interisland ferry sells out in peak season.

With 5 weeks I’d spend closer to 2 on the North Island.

You may want to visit Tiritiri Matangi Nature Preserve which is easily accessed from Auckland.

thank you, our flights are all ready booked SFO-AUK. I booked the flight prior to the van or I might have changed. The connecting flight was not too expensive, it just chews up a little time. My initial plan was to rent in Auckland and go one way South but the rate was way better to do South to North.

It sounds wonderful. And 5 weeks sounds like a long time till you start to plan and figure out how much there is to see. (I was there for 5 weeks in Jan/Feb.)

I loved the NI but truthfully there is so much on the SI that spending 4 of your 5 weeks there is not unreasonable. It just leaves you with things left unseen on the NI.

You might do a search for a couple of trip reports by Eatsrootsandleaves. He did a van trip of the NI and one of the SI (coming from Australia, so he didn’t HAVE to do it all at once).

Edit: OK, change of forum name LOLOL. I was worried!
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/beyond-europe/2-bogan-aussies-a-campervan-an-the-n-i-of-nz
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/beyond-europe/southern-alps-new-zealand-trip-report

Sorry for the confusion TTM (not really I love confusion). Currently showing my support for my Mighty Hawks as they make a charge for the AFL Grand Final (Aussie version of your Superbowl).
Lloyd "Lord" Meek is the Hawks brave warrior 203 cm 100 kg ruckman. I won't attempt to explain what an AFL ruckman is though.

Both of those trips were far too brief to see all we want to see. Hard choices were made on not visiting certain areas. We also are a little bit weird in that we prefer searching out the more obscure sights ahead of many of the more popular. Also absolute tightarses who begrudge forking out too much of our hard earned. For eg instead of expensive Waitomo Glow-worms we splashed our way through an obscure free to enter Glow-worms cave in a forest way up north.

@ Lord Meek - Ha! No worries on the confusion - I was just afraid you had left the forum and all your help left with you!