New Zealand - Am I seeing the best of New Zealand in the time we have?

Mt Cook to Qtown, stops - Omarama Clay Cliffs, impressive. Lindis Pass is just a nice stop with views. Cromwell is a nice town with a lovely little heritage precinct, they reconstructed part of the town that was flooded by a dam. Kawarau Gorge is pretty awesome. I certainly enjoyed Arrowtown a lot more than Q'town. Great little museum. Make sure you check out the Chinese area. March is too early for the best of Autumn colours.
Queenstown is a spectacular spot but was a bit too commercial/ touristy for me but many love it.
Milford from Queenstown is a monstrous day unless you are flying back. We did Milford (also the bigger quieter Doubtful Sound) from lovely Te Anau. That was still a long day 10 am to 5.30 pm but about 4 to 5 hours less than from Queenstown if bussing. Flying is a good option (a bit above our pay grade).

To get the most from New Zealand, you should hire a car and self drive. With just 8 days, I would stick to one island, and you will get more value from The North Island in such a short time. Distances in NZ are deceptive, and travel time between destinations is far slower than you may think.

We did a nine day group tour with Trafalgar that only included the North Island. It was great.
We didn't have time to do the South Island, that would have required over two weeks.

We loved Wellington/ Rotorua was great with the Maori people. Ackland was good as was the north end of the North Island.

If you have any interest in Lord of the Rings, Hobbiton near Rotoroa is a must-see.

Kia ora, a few thoughts.

Most flights from the US land inAuckland early in the morning, so you’ll likely have most of that first day ahead of you. The Viaduct and waterfront are nice areas to wander around. A ferry ride across to Devonport is also a nice, easy way to get a feel for Auckland Harbour. Another option is one of the volunteer sailings run through the Maritime Museum. Check their website for sailing times.

Other than the Maritime Museum another option for a good introduction to NZ is the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Don’t be misled by the name into thinking it’s primarily a war museum. The building itself is the war memorial, and the contents of the museum cover New Zealand’s history, Māori and Pacific cultures, our flora and fauna, and natural environment.

In Rotorua, I probably wouldn’t do both Wai-O-Tapu and Waimangu. They’re different, but similar enough that you’re better off giving yourself a little more breathing room that day. If I had to pick, I’d go with Wai-O-Tapu.

Arrowtown is worth a short stop. Around an hour would be plenty. You could also stop at Kawarau Bridge on the way into Queenstown, home of the world’s first commercial bungy operation to watch a few jumps. Even if you’re not up for jumping the adrenaline is infectious.

Queenstown itself is beautiful, but be prepared for it to be busy. People often arrive expecting a quiet, idyllic lakeside town. It certainly has the idyllic setting, but a lot of other people have also heard how wonderful it is!

For Milford Sound, I assume your drive/cruise/fly is an organised tour. Flying back to Queenstown is definitely the way I’d do it. Just don’t bank on the flight operating. Low cloud can often cancel flights in and out of Milford, in which case you’ll need to return by road. So better not to make any firm early dinner reservations in Queenstown that evening.

You can use the DOC (Department of Conservation) website to find suitable short hikes - https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/things-to-do/walking-and-tramping/

Have a great time when it comes!

@CMB

Do not know but the Shakey Isles are just a short flight over the ditch for me. We are intertwined. Been there a few times.

Have enjoyed Queenstown in Mid-Winter. My son, his wife with a child each have enjoyed the luge ride. I was relegated to videoing their enjoyment whilst trying not to slide on the snow laying on the ground. Also have had a dinner at the Skyline restaurant. A wonderful experience. Rather surreal at night looking down and into a jet’s lit up cabin with passengers on final approach to the runway. Will do it again.

Did not see much at Glenorchy village. The surrounding mountain ranges were spectacularly loaded down with snow cover. There is a grass aerodrome which I understand is used over summertime for skydiving and pleasure flights over the alps toward Aoraki and helicopter joy rides.

The TSS Earnshaw was in drydock. Need to time things better.

Had a lunch at Arrowtown. Interesting mining history.

The real fun activity is the Shotover Jet. https://www.shotoverjet.com/

Exhilarating. One will know intrinsically if it is for one. If one has doubts, do not attempt.

You are dreaming if you think you will not be back.

Regards
Ron

What time of day is your planned Rotorua to C'church flight? I think flight time is around 2 hrs. Probably need to be there hour before so out the door 1.5 hrs before. Hiring a car in C'church? We picked up our van near the airport, picked up from airport by hire company. Even so from landing to driving was well over an hour. So allow 4 to 5 hours from Rotorua hotel to drive away. The journey to Mt Cook is about 4.5 hours if all goes well. Worth a few stops along the way so at least 5 hours. So a long day.
Are you planning to stay in the Nat Park? Limited accommodation options.
Hooker Valley is back on line after being closed for sometime. Looking at pics from today it was crazy crowded. Parking looked insane. We skipped it and did less crowded hikes back in 2024 in May. I imagine March will be very busy.

MilfordSound? I guess an organised tour? Be aware that it gets something ridiculous like 8 metres of rainfall annually. Flights sometimes get cancelled. I guess you would have to join the plebs on the bus back if hat was the case. That makes it maybe a 14 hour day.

Rotorua, Queenstown, Waitomo Glow-worms, Milford Sound and Auckland are the tourist hotspots,along with Hobbiton I guess the big bucket list destos. So you are hitting nearly all the big names despite such a brief trip.

For a little perspective, our trip in 24 (our 3d visit) was 3 weeks at a punchy pace on the South Island focused just on the Alps and Fiordland. In 25 we did 3 weeks on the North Island. Again this was at quite a punchy pace and we skipped quite a bit. So 8 days is very, very limiting.

We spent 4 weeks in New Zealand one January and it rained a lot then so March weather could definitely be iffy. Queenstown is busy with tourists but the surrounding areas have beautiful walks with absolutely amazing scenery. As long as you have a car you don’t need to be near other people. Personally I didn’t rate any of the towns and cities as they’re all a bit flat and unexciting. Wellington was probably the best. You go to NZ for the natural beauty.

Wow. Thank you everyone for all the information and suggestions. So very helpful in working on my itinerary.
For the drive from Mt Cook toward Queenstown, I am considering spending a quiet evening somewhere worth exploring a bit more, rather than going all the way to Queenstown. Is Cromwell or Arrowtown a good overnight stop? Stay overnight in one and still stop and visit to the other? Other suggestions that are en route? I would plan to arrive in Queenstown around noon, return our car and have part of the day free to go up the Skyline before we go to the TSS Earnslaw. Is this a good idea?
To answer some of the questions.
- We are not Lord of the Rings /Hobbiton fans so have not planned on that.
- The flight lands at noon in Christchurch and we did figure we wouldn't get to Mt Cook Village until at least 6. We enjoy a scenic drive and hoping the scenery will keep us exhilarated. But I hear you - I would rather start this drive earlier in the day.
Thanks again.

Cromwell is a nice town, decent size with good services. Quite a pretty location although not as spectacular as many others in the area. We stayed overnight coming from Omarama via Lindis Pass. We were free camping by the lake so I can't help regards accommodation. A good spot to overnight then take your time along the Kawarau Gorge with a couple of short scenic stops, morning visit to Arrowtown, sounds like a good plan. Start your visit in Arrowtown at the informative and very quirky museum in the old bank building.
You have a hectic schedule so fair enough to skip Hobbiton. I was not a LOTR fan but my wife is. Happy wife, happy life so we did Hobbiton, I loved it (as did my wife of course).

The walk to the Skyline lower station is low strenuous uphill circa .5 Km from the dock area.

We stayed in a motel at Cromwell last year on our way to Mt Cook. It was convenient to the airport and we have already been to Queenstown and thought we’d give it a miss. Cromwell was pleasant enough, and the accommodation was reasonably priced for the area. My impression at the time was that Cromwell is an average NZ small town with convenient services (supermarket, bottle shop, etc) and a few basic restaurants. Arrowtown does have a definitely more touristy feel, with historic buildings, a nice main street, tourist oriented shops and cafes etc.

Hello!
In my opinion, the Tongariro National Park and the Tongariro Alpine Crossing are absolutely unmissable on the North Island. However, eight days is a very short time for New Zealand, so I’d focus on just one island to make the most of your trip, and then come back next year for the other one. 🙂

Here are some useful official resources about Tongariro National Park:

https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/central-north-island/places/tongariro-national-park/

https://www.newzealand.com/int/feature/national-parks-tongariro/

https://www.visitruapehu.com/explore-the-region/tongariro-national-park

https://www.nz-tourism.com/tongariro-alpine-crossing-the-best-one-day-hike-in-new-zealand/

When I was planning our trip to NZ, many people recommended spending all of our time on the South Island. We spent 3 weeks here and I don't regret it at all. Of course, I haven't been to the North Island, but many people told me the South Island is more beautiful than the NI. Just saying . . .

Definitely do the Hooker Valley Track. It was one of the highlights of our trip. Spectacular scenery!

We also drove to Glenorchy, and that drive was one of the more beautiful drives of our trip. The drive follows along Lake Wakatipu all the way to Glenorchy. We walked along the Glenorchy Walkway. This is an easy and flat walk along the Glenorchy Lagoon. It's very pretty and peaceful. We had lunch at Queenie's Dumplings before heading back to Queenstown.

We also did the dinner cruise on the TSS Earnslaw, and we really enjoyed it. A few people did the cruise only, which I would not recommend. We didn't think the scenery from the lake was all that spectacular. While the boat trip was fun, the dinner at Walter Peak Farm and the sheep shearing demonstration was the highlight.

We spent time in all of those places while in NZ, but we had 3 weeks total.

Your plan is doable, but it will be a lot of driving.

I loved Arrowtown, so if you can fit it in for a few hours, it would be a fun stop.

How are you getting from Queenstown to Milford Sound? It's a 3.5 to 4 hour drive. Nothing on the South Island of NZ is an easy, fast drive. There is basically one big highway that takes you around the Island, and it goes around the mountains, not over, so be prepared for that when planning your driving map. What seems like an easy drive may not be in reality.

We have been fortunate enough to spend a total of 16 weeks in New Zealand over three separate trips and still have places that we have not seen. For example we have spent no time in Rotorua or been to Hobbiton, as they did not interest us. Most of our favourite places are not on your plans at all - Russell and the Bay of Islands, Wellington, Marlborough Sounds, Abel Tasman NP, the west coast, Wanaka and wine tasting. But that doesn't mean your plans are wrong, just that there is so much to see that in 8 days you can only possibly see a fraction and maybe your interests are different to ours.

You say that you like poking around in cities. New Zealand is not really a place for cities but the one city to see for me is Wellington. But that would be difficult to fit into your current plan.

One tip that has worked really well for us is to immediately fly from AKL to another destination to get over your jet lag. Auckland is a lovely city to live in but not high for me as a tourist city. It depends a bit on what time your flight arrives in AKL but if you can you could fly straight to Rotorua and create some extra time. Of course a late in the day arrival at AKL will make that difficult - we have always arrived in the morning.

It sounds like Helen was unlucky with the weather. Our trips were all in Feb/March and we have probably had 4/5 proper rainy days in those 16 weeks. March is actually a great time to visit New Zealand, after the peak travel of Jan/early Feb when local and Aussie schools have their main Summer holidays but still with decent weather.