Suggest the best route to tour the north island of New Zealand for 2 weeks by car?

Question

where are the best places for any nightlife and any must see things or places

what is the best value car hire

Answer 1

best route is to drive in circles, or you'll drive into the sea.

Answer 2

breeski - 02:18pm Jun 29, 2005 EST

We just returned from a fabulous 2 weeks in NZ with our teenage boys ages 14 and 17. Many of the folks who use this site were very helpful with tips for us in planning our trip. Thought I'd add a brief trip report for others travelling with teens. We flew from roundtrip LA to Auckland on Air New Zealand. Couple of quick tips: each town no matter how small, has a tourist center or "i center" where you will find very helpful and friendly people to guide you during your stay. Definitely stop in at these during your journeys. Take the time to stop in little cafes because you will meet the most wonderful characters who will tell you tidbits of info, or really great stories. Splurge on a couple of tours because many are really well done, with very knowledable guides who make it all worthwhile.

We spent our first day (very jet lagged, but excited to be in NZ) exploring Auckland. We did the touristy Sky Tower, Kelly Tarleton's underwater world and just walking around the city. Stayed at the Hilton--a beautful hotel right on the water.

Drove to the Waitomo Caves the next morning and spent the day on the Black Abyss adventure. The kids loved it! Rappelling, zipline, jumping into a very cold pool of water, exploring the caves and glow worms and ending with a climb out via a couple of waterfalls was just the ticket for our two very adventurous boys. We had a blast as well. Spent the night in Rotorua at the Silver Fern Inn. We had a spotless one bedroom unit with a small kitchen that was just perfect for the four of us. There was a very large hot tub on our private patio and it was a great place to relax after the caves. There are laundry facilities on site.

Explored the geothermal areas of Rotorua the next day and spent the evening at the Tamaki Village Mauri Hangi feast. Very well done. My oldest son was the "chief" for our bus.

We had planned to visit White Island and the volcano the next day, but winds were too high for the trip. We spent the day exploring more of Rotorua at Te Puia and driving out to the buried village. Recommend the Te Puia geothermal area if you have limited time. h**l's gate, while heavily promoted, was rather disappointing.

Day 5 we drove to Napier and spent the day exploring this really delightful art deco town. Definitely do the walking tour (we did the self guided one) because you learn a lot about the architecture and history of the area. Spent the night at the County Hotel. Absolutely stunning hotel and Kay (who runs the place) was a wonderful hostess. She arranged for us to have dinner there that evening and breakfast the next morning. The next day we spent the morning at a couple of the vineyards sampling some wines and learning about the area. That afternoon we took a flight to Christchurch.

We spent the afternoon exploring Christchurch. Again really wonderful architecture and history. We had dinner at the Raj Mahal restaurant. Food was excellent. Stayed at the Chateau on the Park Hotel (disappointing, small drab rooms and hotel).

Drove from Christchurch to Kaikoura the next day. The boys slept most of the way, but we enjoyed the scenery. We thought this ride was beautiful, but I have to say that Kiakoura simply took our breath away! We spent two days here, but could have stayed much longer. Polly and Victor who run the Miharotia B&B were gracious and friendly hosts. Their place is beautiful and has wonderful views from every room. We spent our first afternoon on a horse trek with Fyffe View. Great fun and Sue and Peter McInnes who run this place are real characters. We had planned to try a swim with the dolphins, but it was really too cold. We did go on a whale watching trip which was incredible. We saw 5 spem whales--such impressive creatures! We then managed to find a large pod of dolphins (easily 500 according to the boat operator) who just swam and jumped and danced all around our boat. It was incredible! It made me wish that we had braved the cold and jumped in with them.

We very reluctantly left Kiakoura the next day to fly to Queenstown. We spent the remainder of our time in Queenstown. We stayed at the Point apartments. Very nice, clean and plenty of room for the four of us. Fabulous views of the lake from every room in our two story unit. Washer & dryer in our unit.

We are very avid snow skiers and had hoped to ski while in Queenstown. Unfortunately, we were there a little too early in the winter. However, Queenstown and the nearby areas provided plenty of adventurous opportunities for us. We took a hair-raising ride on the Shotover jet boats, the kids finally got to bungy jump off the Kawarau bridge (definitely not for the faint of heart)and we did drive up to the Remarkables and Coronet ski areas.

We did a side trip to Milford Sound by driving to Te Anau early one afternoon. Spent the night at Radfords lakeview motel (very nice, clean and great views of the lake). The next day we spent on sea kayaks exploring Milford Sound. This is definitely the way to see Millford Sound. Forget the boat trip--with the kayaks you are closer to the water and can really appreciate the majesty of the area.

On our last day we watched the first rugby test match between the All Blacks and the British and Irish Lions on the big screen at Memorial Hall in Queenstown. It was a blast being there watching the All Blacks win very decisively!

Two weeks went by very quickly and we fell in love with New Zealand. The people we met were just delightful and the slower pace of life was a very welcome respite from the non-stop bustle of our lives in the States. Definitely suggest that you get the Frommers guide if you plan to go. The tips and suggestions are "spot on". We flew Air New Zealand roundtrip from LA to Auckland. While the airfare was an unbeatable deal, they must have the most uncomfortable seats of any plane we've ever been on. However, they flew us to a place that was, oh so very comfortable, and we can't wait to go back again!

Answer 3

One of the answerers seems to think that you are including the South Island in your trip, so I'll give a rundown on North Island only as you requested.

Don't go to Waitomo Caves, far too touristy.

Have a day in Auckland getting your bearings and your breath. There's a few good places to see.

Head to Helensville, State Highway 16, then up to Glorit and Wellsford, Bryndyrwyn, and then the Matakohe Kauri Museum. On to Dargaville, Waipoua, Opononi, to Omapere, thence to Paihia. (You follow?? If not check it out on a map as you read this answer.)

Don't attempt to take the car to the North Cape. In fact the car rental company will have this road excluded in their contract.) If you want to go there take the bus on the all day trip. You'll get to see some glowworms on this trip.

Spend a day also around Paihia checking the Marsden Cross, Keri keri, the Hole in the Rock and Russell.

Heading south out of the Bay of Islands is Kawakawa and 2 km south of there is the Waiomio Glowworm Cave. Apart from the Te Anau Cave this is the best in the country, and no tourists because it's an unknown place internationally.

Back down Highway One to Auckland and onto Rotorua. Be aware that this is the country's biggest tourist trap. Mike and Doug Tamaki's Cultural experience is pretty good, but full of tourists. The one run by Rotoiti Tours is just as good and in a far more pleasant setting. The Agrodome is the world's original sheep show, all others are copies. The most colourful thermal area is Waiotapu (The geyser goes at 10.15 -allow about 40 minutes from town).

See White Island if you can. This should be done by boat or helicopter so that you can actually get down inside the active crater, and both operate from Whakatane.

You can go on to Gisborne via the East Cape or through the Waioeka Gorge (all day and  2 hrs respectively). If you go East Cape you can do the tour of Whangara Marae where 'Whale Rider' was filmed and the historical aspect of the legend is given to you. (This is a guided tour, any attempt by you to look around without you official guide will see you trespassed.)

South of Gisborne is the Eastwood Hill Arboretum which holds the largest collection of northern hemisphere trees in the southern hemisphere.

Napier was leveled by an earthquake in the 1930s and has been rebuilt in a characteristic style that you may find interesting.

At Mount Bruce is the National Takahe Breeding Centre., then on over the Rimutakas to Wellington.

You can head north back to Auckland in 2 ways. Up to Bulls then to Taranaki and Hamilton, or from Bulls to Taihape and Taupo. Both ways are very scenic.

Through Taranaki your view is dominated by Mount Egmont, and the other way takes you past the 3 volcanoes of the centre North Island, plus Lake Taupo - itself a large crater. (Last erupted 2000 years ago and over the last 12000 years has erupted on every 2000 years.

If you have time try the Napier/Taihape Road for isolation and wilderness, (all day) and likewise the Stratford/Taumarunui Road (all day).

What I've outlined should give you enough ideas to plan a route.

"Nightlife" is really only available in Auckland, Palmerston North, Wellington, Hamilton, Rotorua and New Plymouth. Check the Yellow Pages. (In NZ brothels are legal if that be your thing.)

Check the Yellow Pages for car rentals. The big 3 (Avis, Hertz and Budget) will give you near new cars at around $100 or so per day. Others offer older cars at anything from $28 per day up. Be aware that you get what you pay for.

I haven't really given you much detail here, it would make the answer far too long.

Check out the AA's website for the finer details, or ask a further question on these pages.

Have a good trip!

Driver T