I flew into New Zealand with a very loose idea of what I wanted to do and I wasn’t even sure how long I was going to spend here. Instead of creating an itinerary beforehand, I wanted to figure things out as I went by talking with locals, other travelers, and playing things by ear because I had the luxury of time. Now as I am waiting for my flight out, here’s a look back on the itinerary I ended up with during my month in New Zealand.
Auckland: 2 Days (September 19th - 21st)
- Walked around the city, learned the public transportation, got settled
- Mount Eden
- Devonport Ferry to Mount Victoria for sunset and photos of the Auckland skyline
Coromandel Peninsula: 3 Days (September 21st - 24rd)
- New Chums Beach
- Cathedral Cove (underwhelming)
- Hot Water Beach
- The Pinnacles Hike
Raglan: 4 Days (September 24th - 28th)
- Mount Karioi Hike
- Surfing at Ngarunui Beach
- Stargazing and Milky Way Photos
Rotorua: 3 Days (September 28th - October 1st)
- Te Puia Maori Cultural Area and Geothermal Park (felt very touristy)
- Waiotapu Geothermal Area
Tongariro National Park: 3 Days (October 1st - 4th)
- Mount Ruapehu Hike
Hamilton: 2 Days (October 4th - 6th)
- Slow down, rest, recover, recenter
Queenstown: 5 Days (October 6th - 11th)
- Milford Sound
- Ben Lomond Hike
- Walk around and enjoy the surprisingly urban lakeside city
- Rest
Wanaka: 6 Days (October 11th - 17th)
- Bike to Diamond Lake for the Rocky Mountain Peak Hike
- Rest, recover, recenter. Especially because I had injured my leg from doing too much walking/hiking/biking.
- Enjoy taking it slow by the lake and hanging out at the hostel, I played board games with hostel mates and made chocolate chip cookies.
- Walk around the small town and take photos of the popular Wanaka Tree in the lake
- Look ahead and plan next ~2-3 weeks: Australia/Singapore
I started out doing a lot and gradually slowed down, setting aside larger chunks of time in one place in order to rest and recenter myself. I wanted to find the right pace of travel where I get to explore a good amount lot of new places but don’t get drained and burnt out.
To be continued in Australia!