Our New Zealand Itinerary

How we spent 3 weeks travelling around New Zealand

By Pavli a Macko

June 13^th, 2017

Day 1 - CHristchurch

We landed in Christchurch in the afternoon, so we just picked up our car (from Apex Car Rentals, highly recommended!), went to our hostel (Southward Apartments, also had no problems), and then went for a walk to Christchurch botanic gardens. Well worth it! Then we just went to bed and slept like babies :)

Day 2 - Kaikoura

We had breakfast at Black Betty Cafe, and you just have to go there. Maybe the best food, and one of the best coffee of the entire trip! Plus very nice atmosphere and service. Then we drove to Kaikoura, the road there is perfect for getting used to drive on the left side :) Once we got there, we walked around the Kaikoura peninsula and spent the night at Kaikoura Peketa Beach Holiday Camp.

Day 3 - Dolphins

3rd day we swam with dolphins! This was definitely the best activity we've done on New Zealand (and one of the best of our lives!)! Dolphin Encounter is an awesome company, very professional and at the same time very friendly. The care deeply about the nature, most of the profit goes to preserving the Kaikoura marine reserve. They don't train the dolphins, they don't feed them, dolphins just play with you because they want to and that is an awesome feeling. Absolutely fantastic day. Also be sure to have a lunch there, the food was very good. After the swim we hiked up to Mt. Fyffe, quite steep hike, but the views are astonishing. There is a DOC hut near the top, we were the only ones staying there.

Day 4 - Lake tekapo

We woke up early (still fighting the jet lag) so we could enjoy this beautiful sunrise. We are right in front of the hut. We walked down and then spent the rest of the day in the car. We took walks near Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki. We found Lake Pukaki much nicer (with the Mt. Cook in the background) and less crowded. We spontaneously stayed in the White Horse Hill DOC campsite. It was super full, but our little tent can always fit somewhere :)

Day 5 - Hooker Valley

We woke up early-ish to make sure the Hooker Valley hike was not yet full of people. Beautiful track, even though the weather was moody. Still very photogenic. Then we continued to Wanaka, took a obligatory picture of That Wanaka Tree, and had a delicious brownie and a flat-white at Relish Cafe :) We camped at Kidds Bush Reserve. It can be quite windy there (will-break-your-tent-poles-and-you-have-to-buy-a-new-tent kind of windy :)

Day 6 - Mt. isthmus

We hiked the Mt. Isthmus, from the top one should be able to see both Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea. Sadly, our top was cloudy and rainy, so we couldn't see anything. We found the hike a little bit monotonous, but the pictures look nice :) Afterwards we went for another brownie with flat-white, and slept in a cheap and spartan Albert Town Campground. Be sure to have a swim in the Hawea river :)

Day 7 - Mount Aspiring

This was a funny day. We headed to Mt. Aspiring National Park, to Raspberry Creek Carpark. On the way there you have to go through 30km of a bumpy gravel road, and then cross more than 10 fords! Our Toyota Corolla survived, but I wouldn't risk going there after few rainy days as the fords were already quite deep when we were there on after a series of sunny days. We walked up the valley for few hours, to the Aspiring Hut and then a little more, and then did the Rob Roy track as well. It was a long day (27km). After a brownie with a flat-white we returned to Albert Town Campground.

Day 8 - Punakaiki beach

New Zealand is too big to stay on one place for long. Day 8 was the driving day. We left our beloved Wanaka and drove to the west coast. Driving was fun, we checked many beaches, had a burger with coffee (We called it the New Zealand style lunch. Burger and coffee. And no, they don't fit together. But we had it anyway :), and finally made it to the Punakaiki Beach, by many worshipped as the most beautiful beach of New Zealand. Well it was indeed impressive :) We stayed in the Punakaiki Beach Camp, and it was very nice. Big kitchens, hot showers, and a beach with stunning sunset only few meters away. We took over 2000 pictures this day.

Day 9 - bad day :)

We wanted to make some more pictures of the beach, but the weather turned brown. We had overpriced pancakes (at Pancake rocks, haha :) and continued north. Then I got my first ever speeding ticket :) I felt tiny in our Corrola when this huge truck stopped us :) We visited Karamea, but we were quite disappointed. There's not much to see, and the hikes around are quite far and the roads are bad. And the 'Moria Gate' as they call the cave is not the one from the Lord of the Rings :) So we left Karamea and stayed in Lyell Campsite, that night under heavy coordinated mosquito attack.

Day 10 - Nelson lakes

Rainy day again, but we decided to go hiking anyway :) We went to St. Arnaud and asked in the National Park Office. There was a nice option for an overnight trip around the Lake Rotoiti and that's was we did. After 10 km you reach the Lakehead Hut, but we were still motivated to continue. There were 2 options, to go 10 km more over a bridge, or to go 2km across the river. The water was freezing cold but we survived :) And the Coldwater Hut is just amazing, you see the whole lake straight from the bed :)

DAY 11 - NELSON LAKES, MOTUEKA

We finished the hike, had a obligatory swim in the Lake Rotoiti, and continued to Motueka to buy supplies for the next trip. We stayed in this nice hippie camp, Kina beach camping ground.

day 12 - Abel tasman Kayak

Friends told us that we should go seakayaking in the Abel Tasman National Park and we listened :) We didn't want a guided tour, we are both quite good whitewater kayakers, and we wanted something longer, not something an average retired german can do. Abel Tasman kayaks had exactly this. After obligatory safety training we were left alone and we could cruise the sea to our liking :) We visited few beaches, circled around an island, and finally arrived at Anchorage, where we would stay over night. We brought the watermelon, and we just devoured it on the beach right away :) We left the kayak there and Abel Tasman Kayaks picked it up on their own. Completely trouble free. And yes, don't forget to go swimming to Cleopatra's pool!

day 13 - abel tasman hike

On the second day we hiked north through Bark Bay to Onetahuti Beach. We were quite fast so we could relax a bit on the beach before Abel Tasman Kayaks water taxi picked us up and brought us back to the base. It was an awesome trip. Since this was our last day on the south island, we had to drive a bit to get closer to the Picton, where the ferry was departing from the next day. We stayed at Aussie Bay, quite small, but convenient campsite.

day 14 - wellington

After a short ferry we arrived at Wellington, the coffee capital of the world. At least they say so :) We visited The Hangar and we must say the coffee was indeed fantastic! We had Flight of the Flat White. And a burger :) We wanted to see Mount Taranaki the next day so we drove some more and stayed at Ohawe Beach Camp, lovely quiet campsite with a super nice owner and a beach near by.

day 15 - taranaki

We wanted to hike somewhere, but the weather decided otherwise. Strong winds were knocking us from our feet the second we ascended from the forest. So we returned to the coast and went to see the Elephant Rock. The beach is only accessible during low tide, so plan accordingly. It was a lot of fun to explore all the little caves and pools. And the black sand. Sadly, the elephant is no longer there, his butt collapsed few months before. We slept at Ohinepane Camping Area. Watch out, this camp cannot be paid on the spot, only online.

day 16 - ohakune

On this day we wanted to start the Tongariro circuit, but the lovely ladies in the national park centre said the weather was just impossible. Fogs, rain, cold, definitely not the conditions you want for the most picturesque hike of the New Zealand. And we needed to find an ATM. So we visited a little town of Ohakune and tried their burgers and coffee. Their city park is also worth visit :) We slept in the Mangahuia Campsite.

day 17 - tongariro northern circuit

Finally the hike I was looking forward the most. Tongariro Northern Circuit is planned for 4 days, we wanted to do it in 2. But we didn't have a reservation for the hut. Ladies in the national park centre suggested we just go to the Whakapapa Hut and ask the ranger to check via the radio whether the Oturere Hut had some availability. We brought a tent just in case and started hiking. The weather was still quite ugly, we couldn't see much until the afternoon. The ranger on Whakapapa Hut was quite unpleased that we didn't have a reservation and gave us a speech on how hundreds of thousands of tourists do this hike a year, and how big logistical and environmental problem this is. Then he checked with the Oturere Hut and we got lucky, big group cancelled, and there were 24 (!!) free beds. We happily continued and enjoyed the moon-like landscapes :)

day 18 - tongariro crossing

Oturere hut has one huge present for its visitors - the sunrise. The whole hut woke up before 6 in the morning and watched the Sun rising and illuminating Mount Ngauruhoe with dramatic red color. Magical moment. Then we quickly packed our stuff and commenced the hike. We were doing the Tongariro Crossing, and if the circuit is the most beautiful hike of New Zealand, crossing is the most walked one. We made it all the way up to the crater when people coming from the other direction started showing up. And shortly after masses arrived. I'm not exaggerating when I say we met 10 000 people that day. One big, continuous crowd starting at the parking going all the way to the crater. I've never seen anything like this before. It definitely made the day less unique than it deserved to be. It was still awesome though. We don't have many of volcanic areas like this in Europe. Anyway, we made it all the way back to the Whakapapa Village (so doing the circuit in 2 days is definitely doable). On the way to our next campsite, Lake Okareka we stopped to see the Huka Falls, and then enjoyed evening swim in the lake and a calm night.

day 19 - rotorua

We went to see Waiotapu thermal world, but the price and the tickets queue made the decision for us to run away. Instead we visited Rotorua and its majestic Whakarewarewa forest. Even though it was raining like crazy we enjoyed the trees and had fun building small dams on the pathways :) And how could we miss another NZ combo in Sequoia Eatery :) The rain was persistent, so we slept in the Paeroa Motel, not the nicest motel we have ever seen, but it has style and we managed to dry our gear.

day 20 - karahange gorge

Our honeymoon was coming to its end, and we kept the plans for last 2 days relaxed just in case we needed to move Tongariro Circuit few days later. But we found this nice historic mine in the Karahange Gorge, drove a bit up the Coromandel peninsula, saw one of the oldest Kauri trees, and most importantly, we walked around gorgeous Rapaura Watergardens - be sure to stop by if you're around. And we drove to Auckland (with a short stop for Cafe Melbourne), where we stayed in Allenby Park Hotel. It wasn't too bad, but other guests were quite loud and the pictures on the webpage look much better than the reality.

day 21 - Farewell

And here it is, our last day. The plane was leaving early in the afternoon, so we just had our breakfast (at L'oeuf, one last amazing flat white, and eggs on probably every way possible) and the last flat white, returned the car (Just by parking by the Apex office and handing the keys to employee. All together 3 minutes. I was quite impressed there was no examination, no signatures, no nothing. Interesting :) And we took off.

So that was our New Zealand trip. There were some better days, some worse days, but all together we were quite surprised with how it all worked out. New Zealand is just beautiful, we've never seen such density of beautiful places. So if you want to go, go as soon as you can. Number of tourists increases exponentially every year. As of advices, get a sim card with data plan, and install Rankers Camping NZ app and CamperMate app, there are very helpful when you need to find a camp. If you can plan your trip few months in advance, try to book the Routeburn track, it was fully booked when we wanted to book it 2 months in advance. We also didn't go south from Wanaka, because, well, NZ is just too big :)