Preamble
Mike and I have always wanted to visit New Zealand and Australia. It took a lot of planning, but we came to terms with the fact that we could only do one country well, rather than two half-assedly. So the planning for our big Kiwi honeymoon commenced. Read about some of our research
here, which we completed with 2.5 weeks to spare.
Rambling
The posts, hopefully, will be added as we go, complete with photos and notes on how the plans changed:
- Day 1 SFO -13h- AKL -3h- Waitomo Glowworms
- Day 2 Waitomo -2h- Rotorua
- Day 3 Hobbiton Tour, Hangi dinner at Te Puia
- Day 4 Rotorua -6.5h- Wellington
- Day 5 Wellington -4h- Picton
- Day 6 Boat to Ship Cove - QCT - Endeavor Inlet
- Day 7 QCT - Endeavor Inlet
- Day 8 QCT - Portage Bay
- Day 9 QCT - Lochmara Bay
- Day 10 QCT - Anakiwa - boat to Picton
- Day 11 Picton -7h- Christchurch
- Day 12 Christchurch
- Day 13 Christchurch -1.5h- Akaroa (and back again)
- Day 14 Christchurch -5.5h- Franz Josef
- Day 15 Franz Josef
Glacier
- Day 16 Franz Josef -5h- Queenstown
- Day 17 Queenstown -4h- Milford Sound (and back again)
- Day 18 ZQN -2h- AKL
- Day 19 Auckland
- Day 20 Auckland
- Day 21 AKL -14h- SFO
- Lessons learned (Tips and advice)
Ambling
The super basic itinerary is on the
Itineraries page. Here are more details:
| Meal |
| Free Time |
| Booked Tourism |
| Driving |
| Logistics |
| Mon March 20 |
| Overview | SFO -12h- AKL -3h- Waitomo |
| Lodging | Glowworm Motel |
| Sunrise | 7:24a - 7:33p AKL |
| Sunset | 7:22a - 7:31p Waitomo |
| Details | 7:55am AKL - United 917 |
| Pick up a car - Avis |
| Coffee, snack |
| Drive to Waitomo |
| 181 km |
| 2h15 - 3h |
| |
| 3pm Spellbound Tour |
| |
| dinner |
|
|
| Tue March 21 | Wed March 22 |
| Overview | Waitomo -2.5h- Rotorua | Hobbiton Tour, Te Po dinner |
| Lodging | Bella Vista Motel |
| Sunrise | 7:23a - 7:30p Waitomo | 7:19a - 7:24p ROT |
| Sunset | 7:18a - 7:25p ROT | |
| Details | Drive to Otorohanga | breakfast |
| breakfast | 8.20am bus to Hobbiton |
| Drive to Rotorua | 4.5h |
| 139 km | |
| 1h51 - 2h | |
| | |
| | 6pm - 9pm Te Po |
| | dinner (hangi) |
| dinner | and |
| | geyser |
| Thu March 23 | Fri March 24 |
| Overview | Rotorua -6.5h- Wellington | Wellington -4h- Picton |
| Lodging | Hotel Waterloo & Backpackers | Picton Beachcomber Inn |
| Sunrise | 7:20a - 7:22p ROT | 7:27a - 7:26p WLG |
| Sunset | 7:26a - 7:28p WLG | 7:31a - 7:29p Picton |
| Details | breakfast | 8:15 am Ferry |
| Drive to Wellington | 4h |
| 452 km | breakfast (prepaid) |
| 5h30 - 6h20 (inland) | |
| | 12:30 pm arrive Picton |
| Return rental car | |
| | 5pm briefing at Wilderness Guides Office |
| dinner | dinner |
| | |
| Sat March 25 | Sun March 26 |
| Overview | Boat to Ship Cove - QCT - Endeavor Inlet | QCT - Endeavor Inlet |
| Lodging | No Road Inn | Mahana Lodge |
| Sunrise | 7:32a - 7:28p Picton | 7:33A -7:26p Picton |
| Sunset | | |
| Details | 8:30 water taxi | breakfast |
| 9am cruise to Ship Cove | |
| Today's Hike: | Today's Hike: |
| 5 hr | 4 hr |
| 8.7 mi | 7.5 mi |
| 14 km | 12 km |
| sack lunch | sack lunch |
| | |
| | |
| dinner | dinner |
| | |
| Mon March 27 | Tue March 28 |
| Overview | QCT - Portage Bay | QCT - Lochmara Bay |
| Lodging | Raetihi Lodge | Lochmara Lodge |
| Sunrise | 7:34a - 7:24p Picton | 7:35a - 7:23p Picton |
| Sunset | | |
| Details | breakfast | breakfast |
| | 9am water taxi to Portage Bay |
| Today's Hike: | Today's Hike: |
| 8 hr | 3 hr |
| 14 mi | |
| 22.5 km | |
| sack lunch | sack lunch |
| | |
| 4:15 pm Kenepuru Water Taxi | |
| Portage Bay to Raetihi Lodge | |
| | |
| dinner | dinner |
| | |
| Wed March 29 |
| Overview | QCT - Anakiwa - boat to Picton |
| Lodging | Picton Beachcomber Inn |
| Sunrise | 7:36a - 7:21p Picton |
| Sunset | |
| Details | breakfast |
| |
| Today's Hike: |
| 6 hr |
| 11.2 |
| 18 km |
| sack lunch |
| |
| 3:30 PM boat Anakiwa to Picton |
| 4 pm Wilderness Guides Office |
| |
| dinner |
| |
| Thu March 30 | Fri March 31 | Sat April 1 |
| Overview | Picton -7h- Christchurch | Christchurch | Christchurch |
| Lodging | Colombo in the City |
| Sunrise | 7:37a - 7:19p Picton | 7:45a - 7:22p CHC | 7:46a - 7:20p CHC |
| Sunset | 7:43a - 7:24p CHC | | DST Ends Sunday 2am |
| Details | breakfast | breakfast | breakfast |
| Get car (Avis) | | |
| Drive to Christchurch | Laundry | Akaroa (cruise) |
| 479 km | | |
| 7h - 7h30 | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| dinner | dinner | dinner |
| | | |
| Sun April 2 | Mon April 3 |
| Overview | CHC -6h- Franz Josef | Franz Josef |
| Lodging | Alpine Glacier Motel |
| Sunrise | 6:47a - 6:19p CHC | 6:58a - 6:27p FJ Gl. |
| Sunset | 6:57a - 6:28p FJ Gl. | |
| Details | breakfast | breakfast |
| Drive to FJ Village | Glacier Heli Hike |
| 370km | 11:00 AM |
| 5h - 5h30 | 4 hr |
| | glacier valley hike |
| | |
| | thermal pools |
| | ($ incl in helihike) |
| | |
| dinner | dinner |
| | |
| Tue April 4 | Wed April 5 |
| Overview | FJ -5h- Queenstown | Queenstown |
| Lodging | Rydges Lakeland Resort |
| Sunrise | 6:59a - 6:25p FJ Gl. | 7:08a - 6:28p ZQN |
| Sunset | 7:06a - 6:30p ZQN | |
| Details | breakfast | Milford Sound |
| try again for helihike | 6:50 AM pick-up |
| Drive to Queenstown | 289 km (4h) |
| 351 km | Cruise: 1h45 |
| 4h30 - 5h | 289 km (4h) |
| | |
| pack lunches (tomorrow) | 7:30 gondola stargazing |
| dinner | dinner |
| | |
| Thu April 6 | Fri April 7 | Sat April 8 |
| Overview | ZQN -2h- AKL | AKL | AKL |
| Lodging | Sebel Auckland Viaduct Harbour |
| Sunrise | 7:09a - 6:26p ZQN | 6:39a - 6:06p AKL | 6:40a - 6:05p AKL |
| Sunset | 6:38a - 6:08p AKL | | |
| Details | breakfast | breakfast | breakfast |
| kiwi birdlife park | hop-on/off bus | harbour cruise |
| lunch | | |
| | aquarium | motat (museum) |
| Return car @ ZQN | | |
| | museum | sky tower |
| Air New Zealand | | |
| Flight 628 7:45p | dinner | dinner |
| AKL 9:35 PM | | |
| Sun April 9 |
| Overview | AKL -14h- SFO |
| Lodging | Home |
| Sunrise | 6:41a - 6:04p AKL |
| Sunset | 6:43a - 7:40p SFO |
| Details | breakfast |
| |
| |
| 1:20pm AKL |
| 6:35am SFO |
| United 916 |
| |
| |
| |
| Dinner with |
| Cherry and Eddie |
| Redwood Grill |
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