The Epic New Zealand Itinerary — 4 Weeks Around Aotearoa

I landed at Auckland Airport at 7:30am after two days of flying from Barbados — tired, slightly dazed and immediately hit by Auckland’s famously changeable weather. It was raining. My outdoor plans evaporated immediately.

I grabbed a coffee, waited for things to open and improvised. By mid-morning the weather started to shift and I bought a ticket for a harbour cruise — the best possible introduction to Auckland from the water. The Waitemata Harbour, the Harbour Bridge, Rangitoto Island sitting perfectly in the middle of it all. The weather turned again as we came back in, which gave my Harbour Bridge photos a certain dramatic atmosphere. Very Auckland.

That evening I caught the bus to Rotorua, arriving around 9:30pm. One day in Auckland is not enough — give it two or three if you can. Read the full guide: Arriving in Auckland and Things to Do in Auckland.

Rotorua smells like sulphur. You adjust within an hour and then it just smells like Rotorua. Two days here were two of the best of the entire trip.

Day 2 — Hobbiton

Any Lord of the Rings fan knows exactly what the first activity in Rotorua has to be. Hobbiton — the actual film set from The Hobbit and LOTR trilogies, preserved in its entirety on a working sheep farm in the Waikato — is everything it promises to be. I finished the day with a long walk around the lake and then slept for twelve hours. No regrets.

Full post: Stepping into Middle Earth — Hobbiton Movie Set.

Day 3 — Wai-O-Tapu and Tamaki Village

The second day started with Wai-O-Tapu Geothermal Wonderland — and I was not prepared for what I was about to see. Neon green lakes, the famous Champagne Pool, mud pools bubbling like something from a prehistoric landscape. There is no geothermal activity in Barbados and nothing in my experience had prepared me for the colour and scale of it. One of the most visually extraordinary places I have been anywhere.

That evening I headed out to the Tamaki Village Māori cultural show and hangi dinner — traditional food cooked in the ground, an extraordinary performance and a short bush walk with glowworms in the forest. The perfect way to end Rotorua.

Full post: Rotorua — Geothermal Wonders and Māori Culture.

I arrived in Wellington off the overnight bus at 8am with zero research done and twelve hours to fill before my flight to Christchurch. It turned into one of the best days of the trip.

Waterfront walk, the i-SITE for planning (these are free tourist information centres dotted across New Zealand and they are genuinely excellent), the Beehive and Parliament, the cable car up to the botanical gardens and then the afternoon at WETA Workshop in Miramar — the film effects studio behind Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and Avatar. Number 2 bus from the city centre, 40 minutes, worth every minute.

Wellington is a genuinely brilliant city and I wished I had given it more time. If your itinerary allows, add a second day. Full post: Wellington — One Day in New Zealand’s Coolest Little Capital.

I flew into Christchurch late and surprised my sister who had been living here for ten months without any idea I was in New Zealand. She took a very long time to register that I was actually standing in front of her. It remains one of my favourite travel moments of all time.

The next day we walked around Christchurch together — beautiful even with the construction still ongoing from the 2011 earthquake rebuild. The bones of the city’s history were everywhere and the determination of its recovery impossible to miss. Full post: Christchurch — A City Rebuilding.

Kaikōura sits about two hours north of Christchurch on one of the most scenic coastal drives in New Zealand — the road hugs the Pacific coastline with the Kaikōura Ranges rising steeply behind the town on one side and the ocean on the other. The drive alone is worth the day trip.

We booked a seal colony tour and spent the morning at the Ohau Point seal colony — one of New Zealand’s largest New Zealand fur seal colonies, where hundreds of seals haul out on the rocks and in the rock pools along the coast. Young seals play in the freshwater streams that run down from the hills above. It is extraordinary wildlife viewing and completely accessible from the road.

Kaikōura is also famous for its seafood — particularly crayfish — and the seafood chowder from one of the local stalls along the waterfront was one of the best things I ate in New Zealand. Fresh, rich and the right thing to eat on a cold autumn day on the Pacific coast.

The town itself is small and genuinely lovely — a single main street, mountains behind, ocean in front. One day is perfect for Kaikōura. It does not need more and it absolutely earns the detour from Christchurch.

• Seal colony tour. The Ohau Point fur seal colony is the main wildlife attraction — easily accessible and genuinely impressive. Book a guided tour for the best experience or self-drive along the coast road and stop at the designated viewing areas.
• Whale watching. Kaikōura is one of the best places in the world for whale watching — sperm whales are resident year-round and the tours have a very high success rate. We did not have time for this but it is the thing most people come here specifically to do. Book in advance.
• Seafood chowder. Get it from one of the roadside stalls or the Kaikōura Seafood BBQ on the waterfront. Do not leave without eating something from the sea.
• The Kaikōura Peninsula Walkway. A two to three hour circular walk around the peninsula with seal sightings, rock pools and Pacific Ocean views throughout. One of the best free walks in the South Island.

Several days back in Christchurch — wandering the city, spending time with my sister and using the base to recover from the intensity of the North Island. The unhurried days were genuinely good. Not every part of a long trip needs to be structured.

The most significant day was spent going deep into Christchurch’s earthquake history — the Cardboard Cathedral, the 185 Chairs memorial and Quake City. An emotional and completely necessary day. I sat alone in the dark at Quake City watching an hour of survivor stories and cried. I would do it again. Full post: Christchurch — A City Rebuilding.

The big week. Bus to Queenstown, pick up the rental car when my sister joined, and a full week exploring the deep south together. This section of the trip was where New Zealand stopped being impressive and became genuinely life-changing.

• Queenstown. The adventure capital of the world — surrounded by mountains, buzzing with energy and the kind of place that makes you want to stay indefinitely. We did the Nevis Bungy (134 metres, I am scared of heights, I have no regrets) and the Nevis Swing. A full guide: 20 Things to Do in Queenstown.
• Milford Sound. A five-hour drive from Queenstown through Fiordland National Park. The most spectacular place I have been in my life. No photographs do it justice. Go. Full post: South Island Road Trip.
• Mount Cook. New Zealand’s highest mountain, first seen from Lake Pukaki in that extraordinary milky blue glacial water. The fog cleared as we arrived and it was a perfect day. The Hooker Valley Track if you have time.
• Dunedin. The European-feeling university city at the bottom of the South Island — beautiful old buildings, the extraordinary railway station and a creative energy that surprised me completely.
• The Catlins. The deep south. Nugget Point, Purakaunui Falls, McLean Falls and Curio Bay — a 180-million-year-old petrified forest on a beach at the bottom of the world. One of the most underrated regions in New Zealand.

Full road trip post: South Island Road Trip — Mount Cook to the Catlins. Also check out this South Island guide for another perspective on the route.

The last few days back in Christchurch making final memories with my sister. Some down time after the intensity of the road trip, some wandering, some good food and the particular bittersweet feeling of a trip that has been everything you hoped it would be and is now coming to an end.

For my next New Zealand trip I want the great hikes — the Milford Track, the Routeburn, the Abel Tasman Coast Track. I missed the glaciers this time. The South Island gives you more than you can fit in four weeks and that is exactly why you go back.