David in Dallas Loc: Dallas, Texas, USA

Stunning photos, Dennis!

ColonelButler Loc: Niagara-on-the-Lake ON Canada

New Zealand is not a small country so if you have an eight day time budget for both the north and south island, you will have to target perhaps two areas on each island and consider flying between destinations. We visited there for 45 days a couple of years ago and were hard pressed to hit all of the hi lights and spend some quality time "exploring" and taking photos. Forget trying to drive both islands. We did 6500 km on our tour with 95% of the time on roads that Lewis Hamilton would have difficulty in maintaining the speed limit!

Hotels/motels are mostly "mom & pop" operations with no recognizable chains except in the major cities. All of the ones we stayed in were good with friendly owners and good amenities. Usually you get a half kitchen which is handy for fixing breakfast and a lunch for on the road.

We used booking.com for most of our accommodations.


Recommendations:

South Island - TeAnu and Queenstown, Arthurs Pass and Franz Joseph Glacier. Forget Christchurch, still a disaster area.

North Island - Auckland is nice for a big city and is where you will probably arrive. North of there is the Bay of Islands, really nice area. A lot of folks are talking about Rotarura. Didn't impress me.

For photos, check out my blogs of north and south island

https://www.flickr.com/photos/64797692@N02/albums/72157659041214859

https://www.flickr.com/photos/64797692@N02/albums/72157658240760350

DrBobMaher

Been there twice. Very nearly stayed. Gorgeous country. Preferred the south island. Stunning scenery on either island. Great restaurants. Friendly people. Rent a car and just follow your interests. It's been a while but we didn't plan ahead either time. Just followed our instincts and interests. We did have the advantage of having three friends who live there and they were very helpful. We ran into Astronaut John Glenn in a restaurant on the south island and spent a bit of time with him. A memorable experience. NZ is about the size of California and very similar geographically but upside down.

Bottom line: Go there and don't sweat the details. Rent a car. Play it by ear. Don't forget your camera. You will take LOTS of photos so plan for that.

Cheers, here's to ya matey!

nhastings Loc: Telluride, CO

Thank you everyone for your great information. I have printed out everything and believe me, all your input will be put to good use. I tend to like to drive so I have the freedom to stop at will and not be concerned with someone else's agenda. Milford Sound is high on the agenda so I will figure out how to work around that. Again, thank you all. What a great forum to be part of where I feel I have so many friends around the world ready to lend experienced and knowledgeable information. Look for images sometime in June.

All the best, Neil

DrBobMaher

Neil,
Please update us as you tour this great country and it's stunning scenery.
Thanks and Cheers!
Sunny and in the 60's in Napa where we are currently camping.
Cheers!
Bob