My boyfriend Jack and I were drawn to New Zealand to escape city life and see the rolling green hills and snow-capped peaks. We recognized that two weeks in New Zealand would be challenging, but we both had limited time off from work. We wanted to see both islands. We were determined. We looked at blogs, news articles, Tripadvisor, and everything we could find, and at the end of our trip, we were quite satisfied with our planning.

Note: We included costs in USD for most activities of our trip.

Avoiding tourist season

We booked our flights ($990/pp for SFO → Auckland and Queenstown → Auckland → SFO) for Nov. 25 – Dec. 10. Peak tourist season falls between late December and end of January. This was perfect timing; during our trip, we did not encounter heavy tourism. The weather was also unseasonably sunny and warm while we were there; this time of year tends to be rainier than we experienced.

Planning around a Great Walk

There are 10 Great Walks across New Zealand, and each of these multi-day, lengthier (ranging from 32–145km), and well-maintained hiking trails take you through diverse, stunning scenery. We heard that Milford Track (52.5km), Routeburn (32km), Kepler (60km), and Abel Tasman (60km) were the top recs.

To secure a spot, you book huts and/or campsites for each night of the walk. You can only do this through the New Zealand Department of Conservation booking website. When we looked at availability, Routeburn Track was the only Great Walk that had more than one night available, so we chose that one. (There are tons of other hikes that aren’t categorized as a Great Walk; you can hike and stay in over 900 huts, most of which are free.)

Researching and booking in advance

About four months before our trip, we began the rest of our planning by marking all the places that interested us on a custom Google Map. We added images for the locations to help jog our memory throughout the planning process.

We each highlighted the areas we really wanted to visit, and as a solo traveler, this was a great way to discuss compromises. We then put those spots into Roadtrippers to gauge the travel time to and from each destination. This helped us plan our timeline and book most of our activities in advance. (Since it was near peak tourist season, we wanted to make sure we booked as much as we could to ensure a spot for each activity on the right date.)

Debating camper van or rental car

Definitely no camper van. Jack nor I wanted to spend 17 days in a tiny space (and we wanted to meet more locals), so we opted to rent a car and stay at Airbnbs along the way. We later met folks who rented camper vans and regretted it due to the high cost of petrol (at roughly $8.10/gallon).

Most rental car agencies don’t let you rent a car on one island and return it on the other. (The 3-hour Cook Strait ferry takes you to/from Wellington and Picton and is known as one of the most scenic ferry rides in the world, so if you have a camper van, go for it.) We decided to fly across to Christchurch and skip the north part of the south island. We did miss out on a few spots, including Nelson, the West Coast, and Abel Tasman National Park.

Day 1: Hot Water Beach, Cathedral Cove, and Otorohanga

Jack and I arrived in Auckland at 6:00 a.m. NZDT. We hadn’t planned anything for that day since we figured we’d be exhausted after the 12-hour red-eye. We picked up our rental car from About Rentals and excitedly drove three hours to the Coromandel Peninsula.

Playing in warm waters at Cathedral Cove

The walk from the parking area to the cove took about 40 minutes. Once we arrived, we saw the jaw-dropping cove. We walked around the cove to a beach area (officially named Te Whanganui-A-Hei Marine Reserve) where we splashed in crystal clear, turquoise water. We swam out to a nearby rock and started a trend of jumping off it.

Digging holes at Hot Water Beach

From 3:00–4:00pm (in November, anyway), hot springs above the beach flow underneath the sand near the ocean. Once you dig into some sand, a natural hot tub reveals itself. (No jacuzzi jets, sorry.) Dozens of people rent shovels on the beach and begin digging. We found holes that others had dug, but after touching our toes in and feeling cold water, someone told us that the water varies in heat day-by-day. We dug another, which was way too hot. We eventually found one that was just right.

Lunch: Hotties (Hot Water Beach) for fish and chips and fish tacos
Dinner: Paradise Pizza (Paeroa) for super cheap pizza. Go to nearby bank of Ohinemuri River to hang out and eat.
Accommodation: Otorohanga

Day 2: Waitomo Caves and Hobbiton

Spelunking to find glowworms in Waitomo Caves

From Otorohanga, we drove 30 minutes to Waitomo for our previously booked glowworm tour ($118/pp). The guides, who started the family-run business, provided us with clothes: hilarious PJ-like underclothes, shorts, fleece jacket, boots, and a headlamp for the cold, wet, and dark caves.

We made our way over rolling green hills and down into the caves, not an activity for claustrophobics. We made our way into a cavern area, about 50m beneath the surface, turned off our headlamps, and gazed up at thousands of glowworms. We heard of other tours that take you on a 45-minute boat ride through other caves, but this experience was clearly better.

Finding precious views at Hobbiton

Jack nor I are obsessed with The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings, but we saw the movies and figured when in New Zealand, you visit Hobbiton. We booked our 3-hour Hobbiton tour ($85/pp) about a month in advance. We didn’t realize until the day of that you can’t actually drive to Hobbiton; your tour includes a bus ride from a nearby town (i.e. Matamata). Our Scottish — and serious Tolkien fan—tour guide educated us about the 42 hobbit holes and the filming of the movies. The tour neared its end with a complimentary beer at the Green Dragon Inn, which was both tasty and delightful.

Fooled by “fires” in Rotorua

As Jack and I drove into Rotorua that night, we saw a fence on fire; the fence was black on the bottom, and smoke rose from behind it. We drove by later, and it was still on fire! We realized later as we saw more things “on fire” that Rotorua is known for geothermal activity. It was only steam. (Facepalm.)

Accommodation: Rotorua lakeside

Day 3: Whakarewarewa and Rotorua

We ate our breakfast with an awesome view of Lake Rotorua. We didn’t have many plans for the town and heard about a nearby Maori village offering on-site tour bookings.

Going back in time at Whakarewarewa

Pronounced “Fah-kah-ree-wah-ree-wah,” the Whakarewarewa Village is a 300-year old village built on top of geothermal springs. Also known as the Living Maori Village, 60 resident natives live here and use the bubbling hot pools for cooking and bathing. We watched the Maoris perform dances including the Haka, an intimidation chant used before battle and now a ritual completed by the All Blacks before their games. Behind the village, we walked 20 minutes throughout the small valley containing blue pools and boiling mud pools, where they used to lay the dead to rest.

Hiking through the redwoods of the Whakarewarewa Forest

We drove 15 minutes to the Whakarewarewa Forest, where we walked the Pohaturoa track (7.5km, 2 hours round trip) to view the Maori village from a higher elevation. In New Zealand, hikes take as long as (or sometimes, even longer than) the given time. The Pohatura track takes two hours; it took us over three. We literally ran the rest of our hike to make it to Ogo before their closing time.

Zorbing at Ogo

Zorbing is a New Zealand creation involving you (and a friend, if you desire) in a giant ball filled with warm water that rolls down a hill. Two companies fight for customers: Zorb and Ogo. While Zorb came first, the founder actually started Ogo, too.

Hot tubs at the bottom and top of the runs helped us get warm in the chilly, 60ºF weather. We dove inside our ball, were zipped inside, and started rolling. We did both runs — the straight and the curvy — and ended up purchasing the footage from our Ogo-provided GoPro, too.

Dinner: Splurged on Atticus Finch (Rotorua) for healthy, shareable plates. Reserve a table online or via phone; otherwise you’ll have to wait ~30 minutes at dinner time.
Accommodation: Rotorua lakeside

Day 4: Tongariro and Foxton Beach

We woke up and checked the weather for that day’s hike at Tongariro Crossing. It was predicted to thunderstorm and hail all day. We decided to go anyway.

Not seeing anything in Tongariro in November

The weather was misty and gray when we arrived at the Tongariro trailhead. We thought, “Wow, this is going to be a fitting scene for a glimpse of Mount Doom.” The dense greenery protected us from the rain as we made our way up dozens of sets of stairs until we found ourselves on an uncovered hill with a non-stop slight incline.

We had walked for ~90 minutes, it was still misty and windy, and we could only see 30m away. We had hit our first day of subpar weather; we had been blessed with sunny, hot days until then. Hikers walked from the other direction and told us they hadn’t been able to see, either. We thought, “Do we give up now?” We had made it over halfway to the peak. We decided to err on the side of saving our day and see something else, so we turned around to go back to our car. In hindsight, it was the right move.

Chasing sunsets at Foxton Beach

We made it to Foxton beach after a four-hour drive through rainy and then yes!—sunny weather. Foxton is a thriving metropolis with a population of 2,000 people. We stopped at the only non-residential place we saw, a convenient store that happened to sell ice cream. We bought a scoop of Hokey Pokey: vanilla ice-cream with crunchy bits of honeycomb. While everywhere else in New Zealand accepted credit cards, this place did not.

Our Airbnb host recommended heading to the beach for sunset, so we took his word and walked three minutes to our destination. We took dozens of photos that night and finally enjoyed some relaxation time after a few eventful days.

Dinner: Kapadokya (Palmerston North) for kebabs and falafel
Accommodation: Foxton Beach

Day 5: Wellington, Christchurch, and Lake Tekapo

We woke up at 5:45am in our Foxton accommodation and grabbed our stuff to head to Wellington. We hit Wellington rush hour traffic (which was the only time we encountered real traffic in New Zealand) and zoomed to return our car before heading to the airport. Luckily, the Wellington airport doesn’t have security, which we found fascinating and convenient.

Chowing down in Christchurch

We made it to Christchurch, grabbed our next rental car from About Rentals, and headed to a much-needed brunch in the city before embarking on our 3-hour car ride.

Finally finding the lupins of Lake Tekapo

As we neared Lake Tekapo, we realized why we had had such a hard time booking a space near the town — there wasn’t much around! Lake Tekapo was home to relatively few houses and shops.

We also realized this place is incredible. The crystal clear, blue glacial lake looks unreal. Lake Tekapo was #1 on my list because lupins, a purple flower that’s actually an invasive (but beautiful) species, bloom in New Zealand during November and December. Jack and I attempted a dip in the lake, and it was chilly. “Chilly” … meaning it made our feet go numb.

Brunch: Black Betty’s avocado smash toast and waffles with maple ice cream
Accommodation: Twizel (~1 hour drive from Tekapo and Pukaki)

Day 6: Hooker Valley Track and Mount John Observatory

Jack and I woke up early and drove an hour to Lake Pukaki.

Wobbling over swingbridges at Hooker Valley Track

Multiple people had recommended the Hooker Valley Track (10km, 3 hours round trip). The track took us through uncovered and relatively flat land, and it was hot that day. (Pro tip: Always have a bottle of water with you.)

While wooden boardwalks covered much of the trail, we did cross a number of swingbridges. Swingbridges are exactly what they sound like — bridges that swing with any amount of weight. It was nerve-wracking and a little bit exciting, but that was enough of those.

Observing from the observatory

After finishing our hike, we drove to the University of Canterbury Mount John Observatory, which sits at the top of Lake Tekapo. The road was one-lane and incredibly windy, so catch up on your driving skills before you go! The observatory closes at 5:30pm, so we made the most of our 30 minutes at the top. Again, lupins covered the land around us, and ginormous clouds rolled over the mountains.

Dinner: Tin Plate for chicken caesar salad pizza and gelato
Accommodation: Twizel

Day 7: Aoraki Mount Cook National Park

Flying like Gandalf over the Tasman Glacier

We booked our Glacier Highlights scenic 45-minute helicopter tour ($370/pp) with Mount Cook Ski Planes and Helicopters, which had decent availability for only booking a day in advance. We paid significantly more for this activity compared to any others that we did, but it was worth it. For all you skiers: you can hire these planes to take you up to ski on the glaciers. Crazy, I know.

We took off around 8:15 a.m. since morning light tends to present better landscape photos. (Dusk lighting is also great, but tours weren’t offered for that time.) The captain flew us over the Tasman Glacier and landed at the top so we could throw some snowballs at each other and take photographs. On our return flight, we saw Mount Cook, New Zealand’s tallest mountain at 12,000 feet.

Hanging out in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park

After landing, we drove over to the DOC parking area and walked the short trip to Kea Point (2.8km, 1 hour round trip). We got back and needed to kill some time. The areas are beautiful, but there’s not much to do besides hiking. We hung out at the Old Mountaineers’ Cafe, Bar and Restaurant. While we weren’t intrigued by the expensive food, we did take advantage of a decent cell signal to catch up with friends and family. You don’t need to eat there to hang out there, either.

Eating the local food

Our Airbnb host mentioned he worked as a salmon farmer at a nearby man-made channel created from the lakes. We found Mt. Cook Alpine Salmon Shop, near Lake Pukaki and picked up two salmon fillets for dinner, along with some veggies from a nearby Four Square (which is the main grocery store, along with Countdown, throughout New Zealand).

Accommodation: Twizel

Day 8: Wanaka

Peaking sunshine at Roy’s Peak

We arrived in Wanaka around noon, the perfect time for a the Roy’s Peak hike in sunny 85º weather. (Kidding. Avoid peak sun hours if you can.) We zigzagged through switchbacks in a relentless incline to the 1,200m peak. This hike was more mentally and physically challenging than being down 16–17 in a squash match tied at 2–2. (Any squash players out there?) It was brutal. But, we made it to the top after some crankiness and were enlightened with amazing views of the lake and hills. Needless to say, the hike down felt much easier than the way up.

When in Wanaka, visit #ThatWanakaTree.

This infamous tree grows alone in Lake Wanaka. You’ll find it by starting at the town area and moving west along the lake to find dozens of people photographing it. For the best photos, go at sunrise when the water is calm, or go at sunset with takeaway (not “takeout”) from a restaurant downtown.

Dinner: Big Fig
Accommodation: Lake Hawea (~15 minutes from Wanaka)

Day 9: Wanaka and Queenstown

Shopping ’til we drop

In the morning, we stopped by shops in Wanaka to buy Christmas presents. We avoided some of the typical tourist shops and found quirky gifts at Wonder Room.

We ventured to Queenstown and continued our shopping spree. Queenstown is a small city; you can easily walk through most of it in an hour. We found handmade pottery and jewelry (amongst many other items) at Vesta Design Store and punny, New Zealand themed t-shirts at Global Culture.

Each Saturday at Earnslaw Park, two dozen local artists come together at the Queenstown Market. The items differ from paintings to mugs to wooden bowls to photography. If you buy unframed art, head to a bookstore for a small tube so it doesn’t get damaged throughout your travels.

Dinner: Fergburger for Mr. Big Stuff and Tropical Swine burgers
Accommodation: Frankton (~15 minutes from Queenstown) in the best Airbnb of the trip

Day 10: Routeburn Day #1

Getting to the trailhead

Routeburn is challenging to plan because you start and end the hike in two different places, a drive that takes four hours. We decided to leave our car at the Queenstown Gardens and booked a Tracknet bus for Queenstown → Routeburn, The Divide (end of Routeburn) → Milford Sound, and Milford Sound → Queenstown. We ended up calling them to book because their site was a bit overwhelming. We added in a boat tour of Milford Sound, which brought the total to $145/pp. Alternatively, we heard of runners who you pay to drive your car from the start to end of the trail for a similar price. No matter what, planning ahead is key here; there is no cell service within an hour of each end of the Routeburn Trail.

Limiting our packing and feel good about it

Besides some changes of clothes and sleeping bags, we brought peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for our lunches and Cup Noodles for our dinners. We made friends with someone who lent us a match and a saucepan. (The huts provide cold running water.)

Taking our time

We discovered that the “Great Walks” are just that – they are more walks than hikes. That means we could leisurely walk through the woods and stop to photograph the area; we only walked four hours our first day.

Breakfast: Fergbaker for a breakfast wrap
Lunch: PB&J on Vogel’s Fruit & Spice Bread (seriously try it when in New Zealand), trail mix, and an apple
Dinner: Cup Noodles

Day 11: Routeburn Day #2

We departed Routeburn Falls hut at 7:30am and started our 20km journey to Howden Hut. After an hour of incline in the morning sun, we reached Harris Saddle, and from there, it was all downhill (in a good way). It was now early December, and while the chilly winds blew, it was sunny enough to need only a light jacket and pants. Since it was a long hike and we fortunately had Airpods with us, we listened to the How I Built This podcast to pass time. (We highly recommend if you’ve never listened to it.)

Walking, walking, and more walking

We reached the Mackenzie Hut at noon and enjoyed our day-old but still delicious PB&J by the turquoise waters and then continued on our journey. We shockingly weren’t too tired and enjoyed surprises along the way, including an insanely perfect waterfall and swimming pool. We didn’t bring swimsuits and regretted it. We trekked on to Howden Hut and made it there within a few hours. The ease of this all made us realize why they’re called Great Walks, not Great Hikes.

Embracing the sunshine on Key Summit

Jack and I already hiked about 8 hours that day, but because the sun still shined, we left our things at Howden Hut and climbed up to Key Summit, where you get a 360º view of the mountains around you. The view shocked us; we could see where we hiked from and had a sense of the huge glaciers that once covered the land.

Lunch: PB&J, trail mix, and an apple
Dinner: Cup Noodles

Day 12: Routeburn Day #3

We woke up to rain pelting the hut roof and were relieved we hiked Key Summit the prior day. Within an hour, we made it out of the eery, moss-covered forest. While waiting for our Tracknet bus, we finally saw a Kea, a native New Zealand parrot that danced on a nearby bench.

Almost seeing Milford Sound

Our driver arrived early, and we made our way to Milford Sound. As we passed through giant mountains, we looked up through the mist to gaze at the waterfalls.

We made our way through the Homer Tunnel and towards Milford Sound, where it was still raining and visibility was pretty low. We hopped on our Mitre Peak tour boat, and while we couldn’t really see the beautiful green colors and pristine blue water, we did see the eery misty mountains. These mountains were created by an glacier from the Ice Age that was 1,500m thick, and their sides are incredibly steep. We boated up to the waterfalls to see them up close, admiring the millions of mussels lined against the rocks at water level. Although it was still a great experience, we recommend taking a tour company besides Mitre Peak Cruises; the tour guides were not especially passionate and didn’t offer much information.

Dinner: Atlas Beer Cafe for steak and veggie tacos
Dessert: Patagonia Chocolates for dark chocolate hazelnut ice cream

Day 13: Wanaka

Our plans were a bit scattered because we needed to fit Routeburn in on specific dates, so we went back to Wanaka for a second time. Luckily, Wanaka is only one hour away from Queenstown.

Kayaking on the Clutha River

Jack loves kayaking. I don’t. The water itself was quite beautiful; at even 30m deep, we could see the bottom of the river. However, that day, a dam released 250 tons of water to help bring up river water levels from the recent dry spell. Needless to say, water moved too quick for my comfort levels. (I ended up tipping, too.)

Our guide stopped our small group for a picnic on the riverside with tea and brownies and gave us a brief history of New Zealand, teaching us about giant Haast eagles and cannibalism that happened only 400–500 years ago. Overall, Jack had a great time. I enjoyed the picnic.

Dinner: Burrito Craft in food truck area

Day 14: Wanaka

Skydiving from 12,000 feet

We arrived at Skydive Wanaka ($256/pp) around 10am. Recently, a larger Australian business acquired Skydive Wanaka, and it definitely felt like a business. People in, people out. The front staff really pushed the video packages (from $145-$245/pp), and we politely declined multiple times. We agreed to spend that money on something better and to be each other’s witnesses.

Our pilot took us up into the perfect blue, cloudless sky. The tandem jumpers jump 5–10 times a day, so we felt pretty good about the situation. My tandem jumper led me to the side of the plane, and without a chance to say “Don’t jump!” we were already falling. She pointed out landmarks in the beautiful scenery — we could see everywhere from Lake Wanaka to Mount Cook. The whole process took less than an hour.

Being a kid at the Toy Museum and Puzzling World

We headed next to the nearby Toy Museum shop, which had lots of unique toys to purchase. We decided to skip the museum portion ($14/pp) and go to Puzzling World ($17/pp), where we were illuminated with puzzles, various kinds of optical illusions, and an outdoors maze.

More shopping for handmade goods

Back in town, we found the Wanaka Artisan Market, held every Thursday from 3–6 p.m. New Zealand’s art scene is quite good; the mountain and lake scenery influence everything from mugs to illustrations.

Lunch. Doughbin for award-winning veggie pot pie
Dinner. Big Fig for everything

Day 15: Blue Pools Walk and Queenstown

Avoiding sand flies at Blue Pools Walk

We backtracked on our trip to Queenstown and visited the Blue Pools Walk. The walk itself took ~15 minutes to reach the pools. A few brave souls jumped off the main bridge into the freezing water beneath it while we tried our best not to get eaten alive by the sand flies. (Seriously, bring bug spray if you go here.) The pools were lovely, but there wasn’t much to do here besides snap a few photos. We only spent 20 minutes here before heading back and driving to Queenstown.

Looking like absolute fools at the Skyline Luge

We felt a light drizzle and weren’t sure what to do with our time; we had seen much of Queenstown already. After many recommendations for the Skyline Luge, we bought tickets for 5 luge runs at The Station Information and Booking Centre. Here, you can purchase tickets for nearly every activity in New Zealand. We rode the gondola up to the base of the track, hopped on our luges for run #1, and zoomed down the track. You can go as fast or as slow as you’d like, but Jack and I clearly raced. (He won best of 5, of course.) We even purchased three photos for $20US before leaving.

Day 16: Queenstown

Letting the swings drop

In the adventure capital of the world, we wanted more adventure. We booked tickets for the Nevis Swing the day before and headed to our bus pickup for our 90-minute journey to the gorge, where we’d be jumping. The gravel road up was steep and windy, requiring four-wheel drive for our bus. At the top, the employees attached our harnesses and sent us to the suspension bridge. (Dare I say there was a lot of suspension on that suspension bridge?)

Only one jump happens at a time, and since we were swinging together, we asked someone else to take a video of us on our phone. For a more frightening experience, hang upside down so you can see the gorge nearing you as you fall. That’s what we did, and we’re still alive.

Eating way too much sugar

We had seen Cookie Time cookies on airplanes and in gift shops, so we visited their store in Queenstown. They sell cookies (obviously), along with scoops of cookie dough, ice cream, milkshakes, and every sweet concoction you can imagine. We entered our email addresses on an iPad in the front of their store for a chance to win something, and we got both a free cookie and a free cookie milkshake. Free stuff for the win!

Kind of playing disc golf

Although it was raining, we wanted to be outside to work off all the sugar we consumed and headed to the Queenstown Gardens to play disc golf. You can rent frisbees from the nearby ice rink, but we didn’t know that at the time. We played stick golf instead. Basically, we threw sticks at the holes until we hit the chains. (Tips: Don’t forget to remove the sticks, and don’t play this while people play disc golf.)

Onsen Hot Pools

Jack and I are not luxurious people by any means. About 6 weeks before our trip, we came across the Onsen Hot Pools online. It looked epic, and we decided to book “The Ultimate Relaxation Experience” ($159/pp) at 7:00p.m. for our last night in Queenstown. The evening included an hour in the hot pool with champagne, chocolates, and an incredible view of the Shotover River, followed by an hour massage and then an hour relaxation with chocolates, cake, and tea. We felt like royalty.

Breakfast: Fergbaker for Boston Creme Donut
Dinner: Fergberger (again; we couldn’t resist)

Day 17: Queenstown

Spending our last few hours in Kiwi land

Our flight didn’t depart until 2:30pm, so we took a stroll downtown. At the Underwater Observatory at KJet ($8/pp), we watched little kids feed rainbow trout, brown trout, and eels swimming in the Queenstown Bay. We wandered around town, bought sandwiches at Fergbaker, dropped off our car, and hopped on our flight, gazing out the window at our last views of New Zealand.

TL;DR:

Day-by-day highlights

Day 1: Coromandel Cove, Hot Water Beach
Day 2: Waitomo Caves and Hobbiton
Day 3: Living Maori Village, Redwoods, OGO Zorbing (Rotorua)
Day 4: Tongaririo Crossing, Foxton Beach
Day 5: Wellington → Christchurch, drove to Lake Tekapo
Day 6: Hooker Valley Track (Aoraki Mt. Cook National Park)
Day 7: Helicopter ride over Tasman Glacier (Aoraki Mt. Cook National Park)
Day 8: Roy’s Peak and Wanaka Tree (Wanaka)
Day 9: Queenstown
Day 10: Routeburn (stayed at Routeburn Falls Hut)
Day 11: Routeburn with Key Summit addition (stayed at Howden Hut)
Day 12: Ended Routeburn, saw Milford Sound, and returned to Queenstown
Day 13: Kayaking the Clutha River (Wanaka)
Day 14: Skydiving and Puzzling World (Wanaka)
Day 15: Blue Pools Walk (Wanaka) and Skyline Luge (Queenstown)
Day 16: Nevis Swing and Onsen Hot Pools (Queenstown)
Day 17: Underwater Observatory

If we could have stayed longer, we would have explored:

• Ninety Mile Beach
• Wellington (maybe one full day)
• Abel Tasman National Park
• Arthur’s Pass
• Milford Sound on a sunny day
• Stewart Island

Pro tips

• Renting a camper van can be more expensive than staying in hostels and renting a car due to the price of petrol in New Zealand.
• Be careful driving. A lot of tourists crash because 1. the roads are windy, 2. you drive on the left side, and 3. the roads aren’t well lit at night.
• Look into other walks/hikes that aren’t a “Great Walk.” There are about 1,000 huts in NZ — most are free. Typically, you bring a sleeping bag, and if there’s room, you get a bunk. If not, you sleep on the floor. (Not bad.) You have to pay for every Great Walk.
• Use bug spray and sunscreen. Sand flies bite you endlessly near water, and the sun is strong here.
• Be smart, but relax and know that New Zealand is a pretty safe place. People are very nice and welcoming.
• Don’t take out a ton of NZD. We took out $100NZD at the airport, and that’s all the cash we needed throughout our trip.

Fun facts

• There are no predators in New Zealand. The only animals that came here naturally were birds and fish; humans introduced all other animals, including those 30 million sheep. There are also 40 million possums.
• Great Walks were the routes explored by Maori people to search for greenstone and other precious materials.
• You can drink from most rivers, streams, and definitely waterfalls.
• Most houses don’t have window screens, so be prepared to encounter some bugs.

Going on an adventure far away can seem challenging whether you’re a planner or not. New Zealand is a huge area with diverse climates and environments; if you have a short amount of time to go on holiday, try to plan out major places you’d like to go and be flexible with the rest.