I'm in Aotearoa for a month next Autumn. I'm in the following places - where's the best place to stargaze? Is it worth booking something or just literally going for a walk myself?
Worth noting I don't have my own transport
Auckland, Paihia, Rotorua, Taupo, Wellington, Picton, Kaikoura, Nelson, Queenstown, Christchurch, Invercargill, Stewart Island 💃
Tia
Hi! The fiancé and I are planning our honeymoon to be a Lord of the Rings sightseeing tour with nature and culture sites. Does anyone have any suggestions for how we can see a good chunk of Lord of the Rings sites without having to drive for large chunks of the day every day? We got an itinerary for a 17-day self-drive tour from a travel company, but the shortest amount of driving we will be doing in a given day is 2.5 hours.
We understand we have a lot of ground to cover and we will be seeing the sights as we drive, but we also aren’t sure how we feel about spending a huge chunk of our honeymoon in the car. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Edit to add basic itinerary:
Day 1: Auckland Arrival + Wētā Unleashed
Day 2: Auckland to Cambridge via Hobbiton (Evening Banquet)
Day 3: Cambridge to Tongariro National Park (Ohakune)
Day 4: Tongariro National Park to Martinborough via Putangirua Pinnacles - "Paths of the Dead"
Day 5: Martinborough to Wellington via the Hutt Valley & Kāpiti Coast
Day 6: Wellington Lord of the Rings Full Day Tour
Day 7: Wellington to Nelson
Day 8: Nelson (Lord of the Rings)
Day 9: Nelson to Hokitika
Day 10: Hokitika to Lake Wānaka
Day 11: Wānaka to Te Anau
Day 12: Milford Sound (Piopiotahi) Day Trip
Day 13: Te Anau to Queenstown (Mavora Lakes LOTR)
Day 14: Queenstown Full Day Lord of The Rings Tour
Day 15: Queenstown to Lake Tekapo via Aoraki Mount Cook Village
Day 16: Lake Tekapo to Christchurch via Edoras
Day 17: Departure
Hello everyone
I am in the midst of trip planning. I am flying LAX - AKL on Boeing 777-300ER, and AKL to ZQN on an Airbus A320-200. All operated by Air NZ.
I know I will have one checked bag(free), 1 carry on (up to 7kg) and one personal item. That should be applicable throughout the trip correct? I don't have to buy checked baggage for the AKL - ZQN leg as looking at my ticket it doesn't mention buying a first check bag. It appears free.
For those flights are the following allowed as a carry on and a personal item?
Monos travel pro plus carry on (image attached)
Osprey backpack?
If not, any recommendations for carry ons? Personal item I can just use a handbag if an osprey backpack would not be allowed.
Thanks in advance!
Hi All, first time visiting NZ, unfortunately I only have a week so am sticking to the north of the northern island.
My rough itinerary is as follows:
Start in Auckland - trip to Waiheke Island for some wine tasting.
Auckland - Waitomo caves ( I am hoping to do one of the tours with the black water rafting co)
Waitomo caves - Rotorua (Perhaps with Hobbiton en route)
In Rotorua I am planning to do Wai Ariki, white water rafting, Mitai Maori, Redwood tree walk
Rotorua - Taupo
In Taupo I am planning to do the walk from spa thermal park to Huka Falls, and also the Maori rock carving cruise
Taupo - Auckland
My biggest sticking point is that I am not driving. I have found this really restricting for the Auckland- waitomo - rotorua leg. This tour used to exist which would have been perfect,https://www.greatsights.co.nz/new-zealand-tour-destinations/waitomo-caves-tours/waitomo-caves-blackwater-rafting-rotorua however it no longer runs and there doesn't seem to be anything similar (i.e that will allow me to do the black water rafting co tour - I know there are tours that will allow for the 45 min boat ride in the caves)
If anyone has any thoughts on how I could best navigate this I would love the help!
Further to this, any recommendations on the Waiheke wine tasting (whether I should use local buses or book a tour - which vineyards to go to etc)
Also any comments or helpful tips relevant to my above itinerary would be really appreciated.
Thanks!
Kia-ora!
I'm currently staying in Whakapapa village after doing the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and have to be in Wellington the night of October 7th for the night tour at Zeelandia. I don't have any plans till then. Is there anything to do between Tongariro and Wellington? I'm thinking of looking at the war museum or Whanganui. I have a SC campervan so I can overnight pretty much anywhere.