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6-8 weeks in New Zealand - where to start??

Posted by on

Hi all,

I'm planning a 6-8 week trip to NZ in December-January (with probably 1-1.5 week excursion to Australia).

My goal is to have a mix of feeling like a local and immersing myself in NZ living, while also still seeing a good mix of nature and city life.

My original thinking was to set up a home-base in Christchurch (I have family friends living there) and to rely on public transportation for getting around day-to-day and for weekend excursions.
Some other alternatives I've thought of -
-Stay in a more rural area to get my fill of nature, and put the money saved on big-city lodging towards a rental car so that I can explore with ease
-Stay 2 weeks in Aukland, 2 weeks in Wellington, 2 weeks in Christchurch, etc etc.

I know this is all very broad, but I'm hoping someone can help me narrow down what I should prioritize to achieve my goal/get the best of NZ, while saving as much money as possible! Thank you.

Posted by
9 posts

There’s so many incredible things to do in NZ, I’ve been there twice, once to the north island and once to the South Island. Highlights of the North Island for me were: sailing in the Bay of Islands, Waiheke Island wine tasting, Auckland war museum on a rainy day, Piha black sand beach, Rotorua, Cathedral Cove, and Taupo, which was the furthest south that I got on the North island. If I had more time, I would have loved to have visited Tongairo National Park.
For the South Island, I would recommend visiting Abel Tasman Park, the Coastal Pacific journey from Christchurch to Picton with an overnight stop in Kaikoura (I did this the opposite direction), Akaroa harbor cruise to see Hector dolphins, and then I did a similar trip to this, https://activeadventures.com/destinations/new-zealand/trips/ultimate-south-island-adventure/, minus days 1-5, with REI, back when they still did international tours and it was absolutely amazing. Such a beautiful country and the people there are probably some of the nicest ones that I’ve ever met.

Posted by
433 posts

Hi dc.
I recently posted a bit of a trip report re a 3 week campervan roadtrip of the Southern Alps regions of the South Island. While a campervan roadtrip might not be in your wheelhouse might still be worth reading for some ideas.
My 2 N.Island trips were 24 and 41 years ago so I wouldn't be much help on that front. We are hoping to revisit the North Island next year.
Anyway have a quick browse of my trip report and if you want any further info I am happy to help if I can. Feel free to message me if you wish.
Cheers.

Posted by
40 posts

We were in New Zealand for 2.5 weeks last November and I found the TripAdvisor New Zealand forumchock-full of info. (Better than the TA Portugal forum tbh). There is a Top Questions section. After reading through those, you can ask for help from the forum. They are very knowledgeable, but get acerbic if people haven’t done any research. You may want to give them a ballpark of your budget, because saving money may mean hostels, apartments, campervan, etc.

It’s a lovely country, and very varied. Whatever you choose, you’ll have a great time, but you probably won’t be able to all that you want to.

Posted by
8030 posts

We did 9 days doing only the North Island and moved from the north to end in Wellington, spending 3 nights there.

I would not advise using anyplace as a base, the country is bigger than you think.

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