Road Trip New Zealand
New Zealand Road Trip
North and South Island
20 Days
Here is the itinerary of when, where, and what my husband and I did as we travelled New Zealand:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/171vMbzKzN7k6hCvwrjkrEc4S5x3cFlvWdcn3dVYkSbg/edit?usp=sharing (names and location of Airbnbs have been removed, but if you plan your trip using these ideas, I suggest putting your hosts' names, phone number, and address in the notes section) We usually tried to use the evening to drive close to our next day destination.
Here are some photos and comments about our days. Details on things to do and how long to stay are in the itinerary.
Day 1: Arrive in Aukland. Catch regional Pokemon (we're nerds, we know).
Day 2: Karangahake Gorge - hiking around a historic gold mining area to learn a little more history.
Day 3: Wairere Falls and Hobbiton! If we could do it again, we'd book the Hobbiton Dinner. It's once in a life time. We may never be back, but by the time we decided, it was already booked up!
Drinks at the Green Dragon Inn Hobbit Hole The Shire
Day 4: Kiwis, Glow worms, and Red Woods
Kiwi Tuatara Lanterns
The kiwis live in a nocturnal exhibit, so no flash photography allowed, but the kiwi statue had no problem with it! We also saw many other native birds such as the Kaka, the Kea, and the friendly NZ pigeon. They had talks on the different birds, and we even got to feed some native parrots.
As for caving, the Waitomo glow worms are amazing! If I were to do it again, I would take the relaxing boat ride to more thoroughly enjoy the glow worm aspect of this cave.
The redwoods tree walk was lovely all lit up at night. It's about a 40 minute walk in the trees and with your ticket, you can go as many times as you want for 24 hours.
Day 5: Whakarewarewa - The Living Maori Village, Kuirai park, and Kerosene Creek
Day 6: Stream Spa Park and Huka Falls (Stream Spa park was crowded, shallow, and out in the sun, so we opted out and took the hike to Huka Falls with our time instead). This rushing river is beautiful.
Day 7: Tongariro Alpine Crossing (aka Mount Doom) and Golum's Pool - It was sooo cold and windy as we headed up the mountain (freezing wind chills), but after we got over it, it warmed up and we were quite comfortable. Pack layers for this trip!
Day 8: Putangirua Pinnicles (aka Where Aragorn recruits the dead army). You have to walk about 40 minutes to get to the actual pinnicles, but it's an easy walk on rock by a small stream.
Day 9: Wellington: The Weta Workshop, Tepapa Museum, and Bluebridge Ferry (We could have spent another full day or more in Wellington! We didn't see everything, and there are many more LotR locations around Wellington that we didn't know about until we went to Weta Cave).
Day 10: Kaikoura Seal Colony and Coast (so many barking seals and their babies!). Church of the Good Shepherd (crowded and not like the pictures online at all - we left quickly). Lupin Fields (a nice surprise on the side of the highway).
Day 11 & 12: Mount Cook - It's possible to do all of the hikes in 2 days. The main attraction here is mountain climbing. In the visitor's center there are books and books of people who were bested by the mountain... And even a beautiful memorial structure with a mountain background. Don't worry about camping space. They say first come first served, but there are no marked spaces, so there is always more room.
Day 13: Changed plans due to the cold and amount of driving. We went through Queenstown and got some Fergburger (lives up to the hype, and the bakery is great too!). We called ahead, which helped us beat the line. We went and saw the river from LotR and watched bungie jumpers before heading down to Clifden for the night. We also admired the shark boat rides. They dive and jump out of the water. It's a short thrill ride for the money, so we decided not to do it, but maybe some day!
We camped overnight at Last Light Hotel, and really enjoyed our stay. We got to pick wild strawberries at our campsite!
Day 14: Clifden Caves and Possum Lodge - Clifden caves has glow worms in it and tight squeezes (so beware if you are claustrophobic). Bring your head lamps. Can you believe there is a cave under these soft, rolling hills? There is a sign that will help you find the entrance. Otherwise, I'd never find it. I would recommend continuing on to Milford Sound campsites - there is hiking and tree glow worms to be entertained by for the evening.
Day 15: Milford Sound - it was rainy, so be prepared, but rain is good here. There are only 2 permanent waterfalls here, but with the rain, it turns into Rivendell. At one point, I counted 22 waterfalls from where I was standing! We also saw the friendly Kea. Please don't feed them. They become beggars and then destroy cars to try to get to food (ripping off rubber seals and such). The hikes around the area are good and diverse.
Day 16: Juicy Cruise and Marion Lake (my husband claims it may be the most beautiful place he's ever seen. The blue water is surrounded by snowy mountains and waterfalls. It's pretty perfect.) Also, the Juicy Cruise was cheap, they gave us breakfast, and it was just as long as the other tours. I thought it was great!
Day 17: Mavora Lakes (Where Frodo saves Sam from drowning, and the forest definitely looks like the one in which Boromir died). It's an hour down a gravel road. There are a few hikes, but not much to do other than that. If we could do it again, we would bring an inflatable raft!
Day 18: Queenstown: Fergburger and bakery, Cookie Time (you can get scoops of cookie dough like scoops of ice cream!), the river site of the Arwen Nazgul chase, and River boarding (Really hard work! We only recommend it if you want to have sore arms the next day. Also, it's really difficult the first time down the river, but the second time is better).
Day 19: High Country Horses (2.5 hours of riding in LotR filming territory and around Aspiring National Park). Earnslaw Burns hike, Isenguard, and Glenorchy Lagoon Boardwalk.
Isengard Earnslaw Burns Trail
Day 20: Alpine Aqualand (shower and a hot tub), The Luge sky gondala (good fun and good views), and more Fergburger (during our experience we had the burgers, pies (meat and fruit), giant pretzels, and wraps - all amazing) and Cookie Time (the cookie dough shake was amazing!).
North and South Island
20 Days
New Zealand... A dream destination for lovers of nature, adventure, and of course Lord of the Rings!
Notes: Summer is the popular season, so prices are up! Also, summer season is Dec.-Feb. Book things well in advance.
If we were to do it again, we would get one of those LotR location guidebooks to help plan our trip.
Watching LotR and The Hobbit each night was awesome!!!
Here is the itinerary of when, where, and what my husband and I did as we travelled New Zealand:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/171vMbzKzN7k6hCvwrjkrEc4S5x3cFlvWdcn3dVYkSbg/edit?usp=sharing (names and location of Airbnbs have been removed, but if you plan your trip using these ideas, I suggest putting your hosts' names, phone number, and address in the notes section) We usually tried to use the evening to drive close to our next day destination.
Here are some photos and comments about our days. Details on things to do and how long to stay are in the itinerary.
Day 1: Arrive in Aukland. Catch regional Pokemon (we're nerds, we know).
Day 2: Karangahake Gorge - hiking around a historic gold mining area to learn a little more history.
Day 3: Wairere Falls and Hobbiton! If we could do it again, we'd book the Hobbiton Dinner. It's once in a life time. We may never be back, but by the time we decided, it was already booked up!
The falls Views from the top
Drinks at the Green Dragon Inn Hobbit Hole The Shire
Day 4: Kiwis, Glow worms, and Red Woods
Kiwi Tuatara Lanterns
The kiwis live in a nocturnal exhibit, so no flash photography allowed, but the kiwi statue had no problem with it! We also saw many other native birds such as the Kaka, the Kea, and the friendly NZ pigeon. They had talks on the different birds, and we even got to feed some native parrots.
As for caving, the Waitomo glow worms are amazing! If I were to do it again, I would take the relaxing boat ride to more thoroughly enjoy the glow worm aspect of this cave.
The redwoods tree walk was lovely all lit up at night. It's about a 40 minute walk in the trees and with your ticket, you can go as many times as you want for 24 hours.
Day 5: Whakarewarewa - The Living Maori Village, Kuirai park, and Kerosene Creek
These Maori people live on and utilize thermal features. We got a village tour by a local, ate the thermal feature steamed hangi meal, saw the show with traditional Haka dance, and hiked around.
Kerosene creek was free and amazing! The water was a great temperature!
Day 6: Stream Spa Park and Huka Falls (Stream Spa park was crowded, shallow, and out in the sun, so we opted out and took the hike to Huka Falls with our time instead). This rushing river is beautiful.
Day 7: Tongariro Alpine Crossing (aka Mount Doom) and Golum's Pool - It was sooo cold and windy as we headed up the mountain (freezing wind chills), but after we got over it, it warmed up and we were quite comfortable. Pack layers for this trip!
Gollum's Pool
Day 8: Putangirua Pinnicles (aka Where Aragorn recruits the dead army). You have to walk about 40 minutes to get to the actual pinnicles, but it's an easy walk on rock by a small stream.
Day 9: Wellington: The Weta Workshop, Tepapa Museum, and Bluebridge Ferry (We could have spent another full day or more in Wellington! We didn't see everything, and there are many more LotR locations around Wellington that we didn't know about until we went to Weta Cave).
We did the Weta Cave Tour, which was great for us nerds.
Tepapa has some cool stuff on the Maori People and on the war. Weta Workshop created war heroes that are larger than life, and it's amazing.
Day 10: Kaikoura Seal Colony and Coast (so many barking seals and their babies!). Church of the Good Shepherd (crowded and not like the pictures online at all - we left quickly). Lupin Fields (a nice surprise on the side of the highway).
Day 11 & 12: Mount Cook - It's possible to do all of the hikes in 2 days. The main attraction here is mountain climbing. In the visitor's center there are books and books of people who were bested by the mountain... And even a beautiful memorial structure with a mountain background. Don't worry about camping space. They say first come first served, but there are no marked spaces, so there is always more room.
Day 13: Changed plans due to the cold and amount of driving. We went through Queenstown and got some Fergburger (lives up to the hype, and the bakery is great too!). We called ahead, which helped us beat the line. We went and saw the river from LotR and watched bungie jumpers before heading down to Clifden for the night. We also admired the shark boat rides. They dive and jump out of the water. It's a short thrill ride for the money, so we decided not to do it, but maybe some day!
We camped overnight at Last Light Hotel, and really enjoyed our stay. We got to pick wild strawberries at our campsite!
Day 14: Clifden Caves and Possum Lodge - Clifden caves has glow worms in it and tight squeezes (so beware if you are claustrophobic). Bring your head lamps. Can you believe there is a cave under these soft, rolling hills? There is a sign that will help you find the entrance. Otherwise, I'd never find it. I would recommend continuing on to Milford Sound campsites - there is hiking and tree glow worms to be entertained by for the evening.
Day 15: Milford Sound - it was rainy, so be prepared, but rain is good here. There are only 2 permanent waterfalls here, but with the rain, it turns into Rivendell. At one point, I counted 22 waterfalls from where I was standing! We also saw the friendly Kea. Please don't feed them. They become beggars and then destroy cars to try to get to food (ripping off rubber seals and such). The hikes around the area are good and diverse.
Day 16: Juicy Cruise and Marion Lake (my husband claims it may be the most beautiful place he's ever seen. The blue water is surrounded by snowy mountains and waterfalls. It's pretty perfect.) Also, the Juicy Cruise was cheap, they gave us breakfast, and it was just as long as the other tours. I thought it was great!
Day 17: Mavora Lakes (Where Frodo saves Sam from drowning, and the forest definitely looks like the one in which Boromir died). It's an hour down a gravel road. There are a few hikes, but not much to do other than that. If we could do it again, we would bring an inflatable raft!
Day 18: Queenstown: Fergburger and bakery, Cookie Time (you can get scoops of cookie dough like scoops of ice cream!), the river site of the Arwen Nazgul chase, and River boarding (Really hard work! We only recommend it if you want to have sore arms the next day. Also, it's really difficult the first time down the river, but the second time is better).
Day 19: High Country Horses (2.5 hours of riding in LotR filming territory and around Aspiring National Park). Earnslaw Burns hike, Isenguard, and Glenorchy Lagoon Boardwalk.
Isengard Earnslaw Burns Trail
Day 20: Alpine Aqualand (shower and a hot tub), The Luge sky gondala (good fun and good views), and more Fergburger (during our experience we had the burgers, pies (meat and fruit), giant pretzels, and wraps - all amazing) and Cookie Time (the cookie dough shake was amazing!).
Goodbye New Zealand! You've been amazing!
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