Can't believe no one has mentioned the Waitomo Caves, north of Taupo in the North Island. Great even if you aren't adventurous, though they have various levels of difficulty. Get a campervan if you can and dawdle round the South Island. Amazing scenery. Make sure you break down, just so you can experience the infinite hospitality the Kiwis have to offer! - Nick Price, Fulham, London
Can't add to the suggestions below as ALL of NZ is fabulous, interesting, exciting, scenic, driveable, lovely people etc.A practical suggestion is to do the trip in the reverse of the usual North then South Islands as hiring a car in Christchurch is cheaper because the car has to be left at the ferry terminal, therefore it's handy for them if cars are returned to Picton instead of left at Christchurch. Itinerary would be Christchurch, Dunedin, Te Anau, Franz Joseph, Greymouth, Nelson, ferry, Wellington. Napier, Rotarua, Coromandel, Auckland, Bay of Islands - Barbara Bowcock, St Helens, Merseyside
Having spent several holidays touring New Zealand I endorse many of the comments and would like to add a couple more. On the Coromandel as well as the Driving Creek Railway (not for vertigo sufferers) visit the Waiau Waterworks, a fun place for all ages with hands on water driven sculptures. Also on the North Island, at New Plymouth, the Marsland Hill Observatory has a public night every Tuesday. With a planetarium programme and an opportunity to look through a six inch refractor telescope it is quite a magical experience. On the south Island at Wanaka don't dismiss Puzzle World as something just for children - I went very unwillingly and then didn't want to leave. The best way to tour NZ is with a campervan, there is very little traffic on the roads and the campsites are fantastic. One word of warning go well equipped with insect repellent: sand flies are worse than mosquitos - Jo Darkin, Bridgnorth, Shropshire
We went there for our honeymoon in 2004 and the Kiwi hospitality was fantastic. Highlights included relaxing by the lake in Wanaka, kayaking and walking in the Abel Tasman National Park and heli-hiking on Franz Josef glacier. Also, Wai-O-Tapu at Rotorua and the Tamaki Brothers Maori Village show. We loved the seafood (the BoatShed in Nelson was excellent) and the Japanese restaurant Minami Jujusei in Queenstown was very good. Have a great time! - Jenni Coleman, Haywards Heath, West Sussex
I'm a Kiwi and I spent two weeks doing a driving tour of the South Island, down the West Coast, up the East with quite a bit of a stop in Queenstown. The South Island is much more interesting then the North. Highlights in the North Island are Coromandel, Roturua, Bay of Islands. The cities aren't much, I doubt you'll need more then a day in each. Highlights in the South Island, the Great Walks (look at www.doc.govt.nz), Queenstown and the Southern Alps. It's a magnificent contry and the biggest mistake people make is not giving it enough time, enjoy! - Emily Rowe, Oxford
Definitely do a half day hike on Franz Josef Glacier, a full day if you can. It poured with rain when we did it, but it was so amazing, and hearing chunks of advancing ice fall off the blue glacier below you into the riverbed is surreal. Would also reccommend the drive between Taupo & Napier on North Island for the fantastic scenery - lush green rolling hills give way to deserted beaches, and you never know what's going to be behind the next corner - Joanna Moore, Halstead, Essex
My wife and I have had two, three-week trips to NZ, one to the South and one to North Island. Hire a six-berth camper van (even for 2 people). Start in Christchurch, visit Scott Arctic Experience. Drive to Dunedin and Moraki beach boulders, then onto Albatross reserve, Lanarch Castle and Pancake Rocks. Day 5: drive Papataui to Te Anau for Milford Sound, then Te Anua to Queenstown. Day 9: Queenstown to Fox stopping at Wanaka and Arrowtown, helicopter to top of Fox Glacier then on to Punakakiki and drive to Abel Tasman, where you take a water taxi to deserted beaches. Day 13: Abel Tasman to Picton, lunch at the famous Mussle Boys at Havelock. Wellington to Napier, then Rotoroa - Huka Falls at Lake Taupo, lunch at Prawn Farm. Find the rapids jet boat - not so slick as the Shotover Jet in Queenstown but boy, is it better. Day 17: Rotoroa to Mt Manganui - Whaka Thermal reserve, walk round Mt Manganui then swim in thermal pools, onto Hahei for hot water beach. Day 19: Long drive Hahei to Whangerei passing Auckland, then to Pahia/Russell. Day 21: Auckland, ferry to Devonport lunch at The Cod Piece. Fly home - Kevin Rook, Poole, Dorset
Milford Sound is rightly getting the attention it deserves in these comments. Staying in Te Anau allows a leisurely drive to the Sound through spectacular scenery. You can arrive mid afternoon when the crowds are leaving, get the 4.30 Mitre Peak cruise (small boat, Sound deserted), drive back to Te Anau on empty roads. The Milford ferry terminal in the middle of the day has been compared to Gatwick in midsummer - Paul Williams, Banstead, Surrey
I spent a month travelling round New Zealand last year, and the highlights for me were Rotorua; Lake Taupo; Christchurch and trips on the Taieri Gorge Railway from Dunedin and the TranzAlpine from Greymouth to Christchurch. Travelling on the Newman's coaches was an interesting, informative and inexpensive means - most drivers will give a commentary on the area that you pass through - my favourite was up the West coast of the South Island from Queenstown to Greymouth - Dave Prentic, Wolverhampton
Having recently visited New Zealand I would, strongly recommend the Trans-scenic train from Christchurch to Greymouth via Authur's Pass - the scenery is for ever changing and often spectacular. Follow this with a drive down the coast towards the Franz Joseph Glacier and through the Haast Pass. Another must is the Carter's Observatory in Wellington expecially if the sky is clear enough for viewing the stars through their telescope. Hamner springs with its hot spa pools is a great place to urelax and unwind - Jeanie Underwood, Coleorton, Leics
We have just come back from NZ. My must sees include overnight trip on Milford Sound (too busy with tourist boats during the day). Shotover Jet, Earnslaw steam ship and Kingston Flyer steam train near Queenstown. Penguins coming ashore at dusk to go to their nests on the Otago Peninsular also albatrosses. Scenic train journeys Christchurch to Greymouth and Christchurch to Picton for the ferry to Wellington. The quirky Driving Creek Railway and Pottery at Coromandel. Through the rock boat trip Bay of Islands. Auckland Sky Tower and ferry to Devonport for great views of Auckland. For arts and crafts the Christchurch Arts Centre especially at weekends when there is an outdoor craft market. Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers, Lake Taupo and Craters of the Moon thermal areas - Roger Justice, Ashford, Kent
Do not miss the Royal Albatross colony at Otakou just outside Dunedin; the Pancake Rocks and blowholes at Punakaikion South Island and the little Maori church on the lakeside in Rotorua with the etched window of Christ walking on the lake - Yvonne Balchin, Bristol
