NZ for 12 days with 2 tots - Nth or Sth island?

[Lenny]

OK, if we did both islands, I need to know what is a must see, and what I can miss.

- Personally, don't do both. You wouldn't be doing yourself any favours. It'll still be there in a few years time - do the other island some other time. It's just too much travelling otherwise. If you like the snow, you could do the South Island in winter. Beautiful.

* Am I right in thinking Rotorua is THE place to go to experience and learn about Maori culture plus see a concentrated number of hot springs/mud pools etc? So we SHOULD go to Rotorua, right? Is there some other location where there's a great Maori cultural centre etc for visitors? Ditto, is there another place where we can experience what you get at Rotorua?

There is actually a really awesome thermal area around Taupo too. That whole area. Yep, Rotorua is where all the bus loads of (mostly Japanese) tourists go, but you can spend a day at Orakei Korako and avoid too much commercialism. Mercury Bay is AKA Hot Water Beach. You can dig a hole in the sand and it fills with warm water. Fun. You can do this in places around Lake Taupo too.

* Wineries - Napier or top of South Island? Where are the better wineries for tasting/scenery/etc

Napier has beautiful wineries too (The Mission), but the South Island is probably far more famous and beautiful. Napier was flattened by an earthquake in the early 30's and rebuilt in the art deco style of the time. Quite nice if you like that sort of thing. There are nice but smaller wineries in the Wairarapa too. (Near-ish to Wellington)

* Bay of Islands - really just a hole in a rock, right (er, don't mean to sound trite for those Kiwis who may read this). Something we could miss?

Actually we are spending 2 weeks in the Bay of Islands in March. Can't wait!

* An expat Kiwi told me Auckland is very ho-hum. Wellington is far more interesting. Can we give Auckland a miss?

Give Auckland a miss. Give Wellington a miss too, really. But Wellington is much easier to get around. Windy, and the beaches are rubbish.

I hear you gals about the Christchurch earthquake, but am happy to still go there. NZ is a volcanic island, isn't it. These rumbles are to be expected - just hopefully we're not in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I think i'd give Chch a miss, just because it would be a shame to visit there and find that lots of the beauty is spoiled by the rebuilding process etc.
I'm not spruiking the North Island. Just answering your questions.

Confused?!

[AndiE]

Confused?!

Yep! But thanks heaps for your help. And sorry if my Bay of Islands remark was a little distasteful - I've no doubt there's plenty to see there ... hope you have a lovely couple of weeks.

Sigh - decisions, decisions

[Artechim]

I agree about sticking to just one island, otherwise you will spend all your time rushing around and on the road.

Rotorua does have the highest concentration of mudpools, but there are some other areas that are less touristy like the Craters of the Moon walk just north of Taupo. There are numerous places with thermal vents/hot pools. I can't think of anywhere else that has a Maori culture centre.

As for North Island wineries, there are a few in Martinborough (on the other side of the Rimutaka ranges from Wellington). I haven't been there but I hear good things about it.

You can also do the Tongariro Crossing which is possibly the best day walk in NZ. It is 6ish hours though so you have to be reasonably fit and it would only work if the kiddies are happy to go in backpacks (with breaks). It is about an hour south of Taupo and crosses the bottom section of Mt Ngauruhoe which was enhanced to be Mt Doom in LOTR. This is the area that I live in.

Good luck deciding.

[Lenny]

And sorry if my Bay of Islands remark was a little distasteful

I am SO offended!! No, just kidding. I thought it was kinda funny.

Have you considered tossing a coin

[AndiE]

Have you considered tossing a coin

Brilliant idea I swear it's starting to do my head in ... One minute DH and I say "North, definitely". Half an hour later we're like "But the south island sounds good". And we're generally good decision makers!

All the comments from BB plus friends IRL lead us to think the south may well be the place to go this holiday.

How hair-raising is the driving in the south given the country is so mountainous? Are we talking windy (as in lots of corners, not breezy!) roads with sheer drops over the edge? We should be able to drive a circuit around the island, right?

Thank you all SO MUCH. You're all helping to put this trip into some perspective for us. God forbid if we ever decide to travel Europe - eek, it'd take us a year just to work out our itinerary !

And finally - should we go all the way to Milford Sound or is Doubtful Sound just as speccy?

Thanks again.

[Visitor7]

To drive around the South Island is just magical! DH & I found it really cruisy. We were there for 12 days and that was plenty of time in the campervan to see most of the Island.

[Artechim]

I don't think the driving is too windy but it is what I grew up with so I don't tend to notice it. There is a bit on the way to Queenstown called The Devils Staircase, that is quite windy and hilly. There are usually metal barriers on the the side if it has a steep drop off. But the best plan is just to stay on the road lol.

You can definitely drive a circuit around, cheapest to fly into Christchurch and go from there. I would personally cut Southland out of the tour, so go straight from Qtown/Wanaka/Te Anau over to Dunedin (via Milton). If you are feeling adventurous you can go via Alexandra and Ranfurly to come out at Palmerston, beautiful countryside but last time I was that way the road wasn't entirely tar sealed -although it may be now. Unless you like to look at sheep and cows, then Southland would be good.

Milford Sound is totally beautiful. IMO it is the prettiest place in the entire country. When you are driving down the road to get there and the rain is making all the rock face turn into waterfalls... amazing. It isn't that much further from Te Anau than Doubtful Sound and totally worth it.

[AndiE]

Quick update - we've decided to postpone our trip to NZ till possibly November 2011. Reason being, it seems most of the less expensive accommodation or 6-berth motorhomes (which we'd prefer over a 4-berth) are booked fairly solid.
Seems silly to pay top dollar to go in January (with school hols in full swing in both countries), when we could go in November. This will give us time to save a bit more $$ and get some better deals on fly/drive/accomm or a motorhome.

Thanks to everyone for your help in giving us some good ideas on where to go. Can't wait to finally get to NZ.

Bring on November (... that is unless we DO end up TTC#3 successfully. Hmmmmm!)