Sunset on Lake Tekapo (one of the few free campsites in NZ)
While planning our trip, a survey of friends led us to believe that no amount of time in NZ was enough. Because of that, we booked our camper for a month and hoped to cram in as much as possible.
"New Zealand is great but, as a whole, it’s a little overhyped"
Here's the reality - and at the same time an unpopular opinion - New Zealand is great but, as a whole, it’s a little overhyped. If it's hikes you're after, I guarantee there are just as good ones in the Rockies or the Dolomites. If it's fjords, Norway is close by AND has a much more lenient camping policy (ahem, hence the name of the blog). If it's food, well pretty much any other country has them beat.
For those of us on the other side of the world, having seen NZ portrayed as otherworldly in movies and tv shows, we’ve long dreamt of getting enough time off work to properly immerse ourselves in the Lord of the Rings landscape. It’s one of those destinations that you plan long in advance to use a year’s vacation on. So how did we find ourselves killing time?
First, we spent too long in the North Island. We had terrible weather and many of the northern destinations are weather dependent so fall and winter aren’t a great time to visit. Weather issues aside, the north just isn’t that unique. We often found ourselves comparing it to places we’d been before, and it just wasn’t the New Zealand we’d been expecting.
So we decided to cut our allotted time in the North short and beelined it to the South Island. We spent a day in the Marlborough region where we had some incredible wines but, outside of Cloudy Bay, the vineyards are a little lackluster. If you’ve been to Napa, Stellenbosch, Tuscany, Bordeaux etc. you’re going to be a little disappointed by the experience. Also, the tax on shipping wine to the US is prohibitive which means you’ll be tasting a lot of amazing wine you can’t afford (or won’t want to afford) to ship home. Bummer.
Another thing people don’t talk about is the distance between destinations. If you’re driving, it’s nearly 13 hours (in a camper) from the Marlborough region to Queenstown. That’s the equivalent of driving from New York to Savannah. But we figured there’d at least be life altering things along the way, right? There weren’t. Don’t get us wrong, it’s a beautiful drive through lush farmland and there are things to see including Franz Josef, a glacier located in a scenic mountain range. But the best of the area is Mount Cook which you have to reach from the other side of the range, essentially going south to Wanaka and driving back up north - a 10 hour road trip to get from one side of the mountain range to the other. And when you’re watching your precious vacation hours tick away you’re going to be slightly anxious to just get there already.
"2 weeks is a great amount of time...for NZ"
The “There” in NZ is Queenstown and the surrounding area. THIS is the NZ you’ve been dreaming of. From here you’ve got Wanaka, Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound, Mount Cook and plenty of incredibly unique things to see and do in between. This region is full of fantastic destinations for hiking, biking, camping, kayaking and every other adventure sport you can think of. Depending on the activities you want to invest in, 2 weeks is a great amount of time to get into any or all of them and get to know this unique part of the world. And if you’re a hiker, don’t forget the multi-day treks, like the Milford or Routeburn Tracks, which will add 3-5 days to your trip.
For details about destinations we recommend we pulled together a guide with the best things to do and the time to spend in each location which you can check out here.
If you find yourself with other secret spots you want to share or think we’re crazy for suggesting two weeks is plenty of time, let us know. We love to be proved wrong!
