I have a conference in Rotorua the first week in September and I was looking to do a week (or more) beforehand in New Zealand doing all that I can do. I’d like to do a ~3 day hike somewhere and as much as possible for the other days. Driving distances are not a problem-especially if they are worth it!
I believe that the conference will restrict tourism to very small trips in the Rotorua region.
So a couple of questions first:
Is the Campervan the way to go?
Would you recommend flying into Christchurch and out of Auckland?
Use the ferry to get to the North Island?
Omitting my wish for a hiking trip, what percentage of time would you dedicate to each of the two islands?
Would anyone have a good proposal for an itinerary? (other than just skipping the conference?)
The South Island is where ya want to be for hiking- if you can fly into Christchurch, I would do so. It’s a lot closer to the hiking country.
Campervans are great there, you’re fine to camp anywhere that doesn’t specifically forbid it, and no-one seems to mind, whereas there’s not many places to stay in the most scenic spots otherwise. Definitely the way to go.
I’d try to spend all the time you can in the South- I went for a 10 month trip a few years ago, split it 2 months North, 8 South… and came back two years later for another month in the South.
There’s loads of amazing hiking places- I would personally recommend the Kahurangi national park- on one of the lesser known trails. I spend two days up there fairly near high season and saw two people. That’s busy. It’s also an easy day’s drive from the ferry. It’s the second biggest national park in the country, and my guide book gave it less than half a page. I think the Kiwis are trying to keep it quiet…
The ferry’s as good a way as any- but not too exciting… There’s nothing as amazing between Wellington and Rotorua as you will find between Christchurch and Picton, so you wouldn’t miss out if you did fly regionally. The nicer bits of the North (IMO) are north of Auckland, or way off the track, and not worth it if you only have a few days.
There are some great treks I believe very close to Rotorua, it’s a very interesting area. Just get used to everything smelling and tasting of sulphur.
Have an awesome time, I’m sure you will. I did.
and can I come…?
You’ll be arriving at the tail end of winter so if snow sports are your thing all the skifields should be open. As a New Zealand resident I’d say a week isn’t long enough to do either island justice, so personally I’d recommend just sticking to one, probably the North as that’s where you’ll end up anyway. For that reason I’d say no to the arrive Christchurch depart Auckland idea, you’ll waste too much time driving that way. 4hrs 50 from Christchurch to Picton, 3+ hours on the ferry, 6 hrs 30 from Wellington to Rotorua (driving times from the rather conservative AA distance calculatorhere.
For a three day hike I’d recommend the Lake Waikaremoana great walk. It’s about 2 hrs 30 from Rotorua (on a pretty rough road though), magnificent scenery and certainly doable in three days. I did as a school trip in 4 counting a rest day when I was 12 in mid winter. Note you’ll have to book in but as the last week in August doesn’t coincide with school holidays you should be fine.
If mountains are more your thing then the Tongariro Northern Circuit is about the same length and also about 2 hours away from Rotorua. Actually on second thoughts that might not be an option in winter. You could go skiing instead I guess.
As for what to do with your remaining days
I’ve always been a fan of Orakei Korako, for my oney it’s the best of the thermal sites. You’ll probably have something similar in your conference itinery but this ones the best.
-the ITM cup will be in full swing, while the schedule’s not out yet you should be able to catch a Bay of Plenty game and see some real heartland rugby.
-go round East Cape to Gisborne as a road trip.
Excellent suggestions- Thanks Filbert and lisiate. One question about roads and tramping- how much snow is there going to be? I was looking at Milford Track (obviously the easiest to find info on) and Kepler Track and they aren’t recommended between April and October, but why exactly? Lake Waikaremoana and Tongariro Northern Circuit also have seasons (longer) associated with them. I just can’t find information about what the trail conditions would be in August. I’m an avid snowshoer and am not intimidated by snow, rain, cold, and wind within reason so is there just an elevation cut-off where snow should be expected or will the whole trails be potentially snowy?
Or is there a good resource to check trail conditions (historically)?
April to October is cold and wet basically. The Milford and Kepler tracks are in Fiordland, the wettest part of New Zealand. Having said that, the DoC website is currently reporting that both tracks are in winter conditions at the moment - we’ve had a crap summer.
The Tongariro Circuit in winter:
Lake Waikaremoana is much lower and while snow does happen from time to time its unlikely to settle. You’re almost guaranteed to have a day or two of rain on your trip though.
Did you decide on an itinery in the end? Hopefully you aren’t hoping to do the Tongariro crossing, as thevolcano has had a small eruptionand a larger one might be on the cards…
Word of warning:
If someone invites you to come over to their house and sit on their dick, it is not what you think.
Chances are they are talking about that nice wooden platform with perhaps a BBQ grill on it.
(Spelled “deck”, but pronounced quite differently there…).
I am just finishing up my trip now. It morphed into a mad dash around the western pacific due to additional meetings I had to pick up. So just sticking with the New Zealand part, I had only 4 days of extra time so I did a long day hike (with a couple of smaller jaunts to other sites) around Tongariro. They opened some of the tracks a week earlier as I encountered no closures. Absolutely beautiful country although I was a bit unprepared to hike too much in the snow and ice so I didn’t try to push too far.
I was also able to do a three day walk around Lake Waikaremoana which was awesome (not quite as unusual as Tongariro. Thanks for the recommendations (especially Filbert and lisiate). Ironically because my trip got shortened so much, I have no qualms about coming back again in a better season and in the very near future and visiting the southern island.
The birds are the most striking part for me as their songs are so different and clear and the birds themselves so colorful! I am already trying to figure out how soon I can come back as the island I was so impressed by was the “bad” one
I’m happy to learn you had an enjoyable trip. Your comment about being “unprepared” rings bells for us because every year visitors get lost and die in our mountains. It looks like a small country on a map but NZ is large and easy to become lost in.
Generally the South Island is preferred because it’s larger, more remote, and has a smaller population. Alpine mountains, dry desert plains, fjiords, glaciers, icy lakes.
Nevertheless the North Island is dynamic and beautiful with volcanos, more lakes, hot springs, mountains, beaches, wineries, and most of the population. You can get lost and die there too without much effort.
Kahurangi is indeed worth the effort. I spent time anchored offshore when I was doing oceanic research. We did a few little expeditions to shore and marvelled at the scenery - when the mist comes over the hills in the morning you start expecting dinosaurs to show up.
Abel Tasmin Park’s not far away and as a kid ( about 9 y/o), I walked to Split Apple Rock (clambered over rocks bigger than our campervan kind of ‘walked’) with my family for a picnic. There are much longer tracks available. From memory, we spent a month based out of Nelson and did something new just about every day. We could have done a lot more hikes, but kept getting distracted by things like hand feeding the eels and travelling through the marble mine.
The Tongiriro walk would be almost completely different in summer. When I looked it up as a summer day trip, the advisory noted that sneakers were acceptable footwear.
Seconding lisiate’s recommendations of February and Orakei Korako.
I think this was a good plan. A week was way too short for much of a tour of the islands. The islands are small, but driving from place to place takes a long time. The best bet was to stay in one place and enjoy it.
Depends on your definition of ‘small’ though. As islands they’re pretty big - with the North Island 14th and the South Island 12th by area. Judging solely by land area misses the fact that both the North and South Islands are long and skinny (about 1,100 and 840km respectively), with pretty rough terrain so feel bigger than their areas might suggest.
The distance from end to end would easily be covered in a day in the US. It is a small country. That is what fools a lot of US travellors there. In reality, it would take a very long three days to get from Auckland to Milford Sounds, and you would not be site seeing along the way. The roads are hilly, windy, single lane and often obstructed. If you are going to be in NZ for a week or less, I recommend finding a place nearby and enjoying it.
I did.