Road Tripping Through New Zealand in 14 Days

When I started researching New Zealand and its rugged surf coastlines, rainforests, rolling hills lined with sheep, volcanoes, urban cities, mountain ranges and fiords, I knew there was only one way to truly experience this country: a New Zealand road trip. The only problem with doing a road trip across an entire country like New Zealand is that I have a full time job outside of this blog, so my vacation time is limited. The great thing about New Zealand is that, even though the country's geography changes so constantly, it still isn't a very large place.New Zealand is made up of a North and a South Island. You could drive from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island in a little more than 24 hours (including a three hour ferry between the two of them). The only tricky thing is that you're realistically not going to drive the country in a straight 24+ hours without stopping; you're going to stop along the way, take detours, and end up at sights beautiful enough for you to slam on your brakes, turnaround and get out of your car.  That's what happened to my friend Greg and I, at least.

So, can you drive through the entire country of New Zealand and complete an epic road trip in two weeks? We did, but we didn't see everything. But I will say that we saw a hell of a lot of that country. There were a few spots that I could have stayed at for a bit more time, and there were a few spots where I could've stayed at for less time. We only really ended up driving about three hours a day (only a few days pushed towards five), so it wasn't the most taxing road trip of all time. The roads are beautifully paved, windy and scenic with lookouts and hikes clearly marked along the way, which makes being on the road almost better than being at the destination throughout the entire trip.

Now, I'm not typically one to strictly plan a trip, but, with a road trip as extensive as this, some decent research is required. I've outlined our trip day-by-day below to provide an example of a 14 day trip from pretty much the top of the North Island to pretty much the bottom of the South Island (with a flight from Queenstown back up to Auckland at the end). Will you see everything New Zealand has to offer on a road trip like this? No. Will you have an unbelievable time and see a good chunk of one of the most beautiful countries in the world? Yes. You also don't need to take a route like this to heart. Greg and I had a pretty set plan going into the trip, and even we deviated from it along the way. So, if your vacations are time-constrained like ours, take a look at what we did below, do your own research, and plan your own epic road trip across New Zealand.

Day 1 - Auckland and Piha

We landed in Auckland at around 7 AM, and our rental car pickup wasn't until 10 AM, so our cab driver drove us to One Tree Hill. After we visited the monument, our driver dropped us off at a restaurant towards the entrance of the park. We ate pistachio-crusted chicken sandwiches, drank coffees and sat in Auckland's sunlight.After we picked up our rental car to start our New Zealand road trip, we drove to our hotel (The Pullman), which was in the Viaduct Harbor area of Auckland. Viaduct Harbor is one of the city's trendier areas. It includes bars/patios along the harbor front, boat cruises to Waiheke Island, art exhibitions along the walkways, a pedestrian drawbridge, and sailboats throughout the bay.

After we checked in, we drove 45 minutes to Piha, which is a little surf town on the west coast. The beach boasts a massive rock formation right on the water that you can hike up, black sand, and constant surf. We rented surfboards for the afternoon, ate at the Surf Rescue club, and hiked up the rock formation. Afterwards, we drove back to Auckland for the night.

Day 2 - Paihia

The next day, we got up and started the three hour drive north of Auckland to a little town called Paihia. Paihia is considered the gateway to the Bay of Islands. It is also considered a pretty big party town full of backpackers and tourists, so, considering it was New Years Eve, we thought this would be a good place to travel to. The area also offers turquoise beaches, boat/helicopter tours of the Bay of Islands, and plenty of bars and restaurants to keep you occupied. The drive, for the most part, goes through rolling farm land, which in its own right is beautiful, but, once you start getting closer to the coast, views of turquoise water guide you into Paihia.

We decided to stay at a hotel here for three nights so that we could have a base in Northland and go on day trips to explore some of the other areas. After we checked in, we walked around the town, grabbed a ferry ticket to Russell, which is another small town on the other side of the bay, and ate Thai food for New Years Eve dinner (since we were both in Thailand for last New Years Eve). After a few drinks, we took the ferry back to Paihia, as the New Years Eve fireworks went off over the bay.

Day 3 - Tutukaka Coast and Sandy Bay

We drove about an hour and a half south the next day to the Tutkaka Coast, which is on the east coast of New Zealand and is considered to be one of the Top Three Coast Lines in the World according to National Geographic Traveler (perfect road to add to any New Zealand road trip!). There isn't a lot of options for food once you get out of Paihia (we stopped at one of the only cafes we saw along the way to Tutukaka), so i'd grab something beforehand or bring snacks.

The road along the coastline curves around cliffs, overlooks turquoise beach breaks and provides views of jagged rock formations. We stopped at a small beach in Sandy Bay where some clean, three foot, left to right waves were breaking. If we hadn't gotten there so late in the afternoon, we probably could have surfed there all day. After we road for a couple of hours, we headed back to Paihia for the night.

Day 4 - Ahipara and 90 Mile Beach

We started our hour and a half drive north to Ahipara early the next day. Ahipara is a western town situated right where 90 Mile Beach starts (90 Mile Beach is actually a highway along the sand!). It is also home to some impressive sand dunes. We signed up for a sand dune tour, which allowed us to drive across the sand and rocks along 90 Mile beach, climb up giant sand dunes, and sandboard. The dune buggying was one of the craziest things I've ever done. Once you get into the dunes, it feels like you're driving through the Sahara Desert. The crazy part about it is that, one minute you feel like you're in the desert, and the next minute you're on top of a massive dune overlooking the Pacific Ocean's incoming surf. This took up a good 3-4 hours of our day, but it was well worth it.

After we returned our dune buggies, we rented surfboards from a local hostel. The waves rolling into Ahipara were some of the cleanest left to rights I've ever seen. One tip though for this place: there are very few places to eat food around here, so bring enough snacks to get you through the day, otherwise you may end up begging for food from the local food truck as they're closing like us.

Day 5 - Raglan

Raglan is probably New Zealand's most famous surf town, and is considered to be one of the Top 20 Surf Towns in the World according to National Geographic. It's also a good 380 KM south of Paihia. After a seven hour road trip journey down New Zealand's North Island, we arrived. This place can get pretty busy, and we struggled to find a hotel, so I'd suggest booking well in-advance (unlike us). We ended up walking into the Raglan Harbour View Hotel, which was in an old house right in the centre of Town. Rain fell throughout most of our journey, but we decided to go and check out the beach anyways. As we arrived at Raglan's black sand beach, the clouds cleared. One of the most spectacular pink and yellow and orange sunsets I've ever seen passed over the breaking waves. We played Frisbee for a while on the beach, watched the sunset, and drank wine for the rest of the night.

The next day, we rented boards from Raglan Surf Emporium, which is on the way to the beach. The surf in Raglan is powerful and quick (or, at least it was that day). We surfed for a while, and then headed out in the afternoon, but I will say that Raglan is one of the spots I could have stayed at longer. It's a cool town with a great coastal vibe, lots of craft-based restaurants, and endless surf.

Day 6 - Rotorua

Rotorua was not on our original plan. We'd actually planned to head over to Hobbiton after Raglan, drive to the Tongariro Crossing afterwards (where Frodo walked towards Mordor and where Mount Doom is located), and stay the night. The day we were leaving Raglan, however, we found out that Hobbiton needs to be booked months in advance, otherwise you are shit out of luck. We also found out that they don't let people into the Tongariro Crossing after heavy rain. A massive storm was rolling across the entire North Island, so hiking the crossing seemed slim.

That's when we discovered Rotorua, which is only a 2 hour drive east of Raglan and home to New Zealand's Volcanic Valley. Rortorua, as it turns out, is one of the most popular vacation destinations in New Zealand. Finding a hotel was nearly impossible (I've never seen so many hotels with so many No Vacancy signs in my life). It also wreaks of Sulpher from all of the volcanic activity. After we managed to find a room at a Holiday Inn, we ate dinner in the downtown area, had a few drinks, and went to sleep.

The next day, we went to the Polynesian Spa, hung out in the hot baths, which are right on Lake Rotorua, and headed out towards Volcanic Valley (now smelling slightly like Sulpher). The Volcanic Valley trail traverses through one of New Zealand's jungles, and leads towards a number of volcanic lakes within the area. We saw two substantial ones: Frying Pan Lake and Inferno Crater Lake. Frying Pan lake looks like a typical lake, except for the large amounts of steam billowing out of the cliff walls beside it and the bubbling water. Inferno Crater Lake, however, is a vibrant turquoise lake that is both equally stunning and boiling hot. We grabbed one of the buses back towards the parking lot after Inferno Crater Lake, as we were heading to our next stop after this, but the walk continues on for quite a while past this point if you are really into seeing volcanic lakes and active geysers!

Day 7 - The Three Sisters, Mount Taranaki and Dawson Falls

The next day, we drove back across the North Island and down the west coast. The west coast drive towards Taranaki provides dramatic views of rugged coastlines, turquoise waters and crashing waves. When we were about an hour outside of Taranaki, we spotted three rock pillars jutting out of the ocean. A sign for the Three Sisters appeared on the side of the road. The trail to them was just on the other side of the bridge. We stopped the car. A black sand beach led down along a brown river towards the ocean. When it's low tide, you can literally walk straight down the black sand towards the Three Sisters. When we were there, the tide was just starting to come back in, so we had to walk a hundred or so yards through the brown river water. The Three Sisters stood just left of the mouth of the river. The three rock formations towered above the crashing waves, black sand and debris.

After we waded back to the car, we drove the last hour towards Mount Taranaki. We stayed at Dawson Falls Lodge, which is about 900M up Mount Taranaki (an active volcano). The road up to the lodge was a single lane road enclosed by massive jungle trees and bushes, and by this I mean it was literally a one lane green tunnel. The weather shifted to rain and it was pretty late when we go there, so we couldn't see the volcano, but we ate Fettucinne Alfredo and drank wine in the lodge all night, which was outfitted with ancient books, a wood stove fireplace, and arm chairs, so it could have been worse.

The next day, I awoke to sun creeping into our room. My eyes gaped. I threw my covers off, ran to our balcony and peered towards where I thought the mountain should be. And there it was. Mount Taranaki rose into the blue sky literally just to the left of us. Patches of snow covered its cone shaped peak. Clouds hovered around it. I told Greg to get up, grabbed my camera, and went outside to photograph it. Greg did get up to see it and, luckily he did, because as soon as we finished our breakfast clouds covered the entire volcano. We stayed there for most of the day and even hiked another couple hundred or so meters more up the volcano, but the clouds never moved. We did, however, do a short hike to Dawson Falls (where our lodge gets its name), and that was well worth the trip. It'd probably be better to go early in the day or in the evening, as it is a pretty densely packed tourist spot. After checking out the falls and trying to wait out the all encompassing cloud, we decided to hit the road towards our final spot on the North Island, Wellington.

Day 8  - Wellington

Now, we unfortunately arrived in Wellington at around 9:30 PM because we spent all day back in Taranaki trying to see the volcano again, but this city definitely deserved more time. The city sits right on the coast at the bottom of the North Island. It provides a sort of Newfoundland meets Vancouver vibe, as a lot of the houses sit up on the hills and cliffs. All we really got to experience, though, was a place called Library Bar, which was a pretty hip drinking establishment filled with board games and, yes, books, and breakfast at our hotel (James Cook Hotel). Wellington is a place I would stay at longer for sure. We had a ferry to the South Island leaving at 8:30 AM, though, so that would have to wait until another time.

Day 9 - Marlborough and Saint Arnaud

We took the Interislander Ferry between Wellington and Picton. The ride offers views of Wellington and its surrounding cliffs, turquoise waters leading into the South Island, and mountains covered with green trees, as you travel into Picton Sound. I am a big fan of wine (white wine specifically), so I knew from the start of this trip that we needed to make a stop in Marlborough (home of arguably the best Sauvignon Blanc in the world). Luckily, the drive from Picton to Marlborough was less than half an hour. We picked up our new rental car (a Suzuki Swift, which was amazing for all of the tight, windy roads on the South Island), started the second part of our New Zealand road trip, and ventured through the grass-covered fields and mountains.

As soon as we turned onto Rapaura Road, rows and rows and rows of green vineyards sprouted across the flat ground. Mountains framed them. We drove down the road until we reached Wairau River Wines. The vineyard included an old stone house that fitted out with a restaurant, a back, sun-sheltered patio and some of the best Sauvignon Blanc I've ever had. We ate lunch on the patio and drank a glass of wine, walked through the vines, and then continued on our journey.

We arrived in Saint Arnaud about an hour and a half later. Saint Arnaud is a very tiny village that includes a hotel, garage and convenient store. It also includes a lake that looks almost identical to Lake Louise in Banff, Canada. The pier on the lake offers the best place to view the sunset in town. We had some wine down on the dock too, which really enhanced the experience. The next day we rented mountain bikes from the hotel. There are several trails (ranging from intermediate to advanced), and the local guide at the hotel can tell you which ones to take. The chain on my bike ended up breaking 45 minutes into the ride, which provided an interesting story, but I will save that for another time. After we managed to get back to the hotel with my broken bike, we acquired a refund, ate lunch, and then headed towards the South Island's famous West Coast drive.

Day 10 - West Coast Drive and Punakaiki

The West Coast drive on New Zealand's South Island is not only considered one of the best drives in the country, but also one of the best in the world (and should be added to any New Zealand road trip itinerary). The drive offers turquoise waters, crashing waves, jagged rock formations, roads along cliff edges, switchback turns and mountains for miles. The main attraction on the drive is actually in a small village that we stayed at called Punakaiki. Punakaiki is home to the pancake rocks, which are massive rock formations carved by the Pacific Ocean. They literally look like hundreds of pancakes stacked on top of each other. We also hiked down the Truman Track, which requires a short trek through the jungle and provides views of the coastline, ocean caves and a massive rock wall, for sunset. There is a resort right in town and a couple of motels in the area. There's also a pub and cafe. If you're looking for more of a populated area to stay for the night, Greymouth (about another 45 minutes down the coast) offers more hotels, bars and restaurants.

Day 11 - Arthur's Pass and Christchurch

Once we reached Greymouth, we veered back inland towards Arthur's Pass and, ultimately, Christchurch. You could, at this point, continue your New Zealand road trip down the west coast and see the Franz Josef Glacier and still end up in Queenstown, however we decided to head back inland and see what the central mountain ranges were like. As soon as we started to head east back into the centre of the Island, rain drizzled on our car, clouds formed, and large, tree-covered mountains grew from the earth. We stopped at the Otira Viaduct Lookout along the way, which is a massive bridge constructed in a mountain valley. When we first stopped, the fog in the valley was so dense that you couldn't see the bridge from the lookout. Luckily, after we ate lunch in Arthur's Pass, we returned to the bridge, headed back up to the lookout, and received a five minute window where the fog had cleared enough so we could see the bridge.

Arthur's Pass itself is a small village in the middle of the mountains. It offers a few cafes, souvenir shops and the chance to see Keas, which are the local birds in the area. The Kea essentially looks like a cross between a parrot and a falcon. After we ate, we continued through the mountains.

The land flattens out about forty five minutes past Arthur's Pass. Farm fields littered with sheep guide you pretty much the rest of the way to Christchurch. I will say that, once you get close to Christchurch, you do need to drive up and over a mountain, and that drive is probably the most nerve-wracking drive we did on our New Zealand road trip. The road is narrow, full of switchbacks, and has no guard rails on the cliff edges. The view from the top of the local lakes provides a worthy reward, however. Christchurch is only a short jaunt once you start descending on the other side of the mountain.

Christchurch has been rebuilding since the devastating earthquakes in 2011, and some of the new architecture, restaurants and bars are incredible. We arrived on a Tuesday and the city seemed a little quiet, but on a weekend it might be a different story.

Day 12 - Lake Tekapo and Mount Cook

We arrived at Lake Tekapo a few weeks too late, but this is the place that hosts the classic New Zealand photograph of the turquoise lake surrounded by pink and purple lupins. Even without the lupins, though, the lake is still turquoise and very photogenic. The village itself provides a fair amount of restaurants, souvenir shops and the last liquor store before Mount Cook. Pro tip: fill up on gas here if your plan is to go to Mount Cook after.Now, Mount Cook was probably the most disappointing place on the trip for us, but that's only because the weather was so cloudy that we couldn't see even an inch of the mountain, and it felt like we were driving through a desert, but Mount Cook is New Zealand's tallest mountain, and the drive in along a massive turquoise lake with an alpine backdrop is worth checking out.

The drive up Mount Cook Road to the village takes about fifty minutes. The village provides lodging (for a price), restaurants with views of the mountain and (as we found out the hard way) the smallest self-serve gas station I've ever seen. We stayed in Glen Tanner, which is about 20 minutes south of the village. The Glantanner Holiday Park offers cheaper rooms that feel like cabins in the middle of the mountains, or camping / RV sites. They also have a private walkway down to the turquoise lake, so you can trek out there and find a piece of complete seclusion in one of New Zealand's most beautiful areas. And, if you do get to Mount Cook and it's too cloudy to see anything, there are several other hikes in the area that are still worth doing. We did one that led to a glacier. When we were there, there were even a few glacier icebergs floating in the water!

Day 13 - Wanaka and Queenstown

I'll start off by saying that Wanaka is one place that I do really wish we had stayed at longer. We passed through Wanaka on our way to Queenstown so that we could see that famous Wanaka Tree that you've probably seen on Instagram a thousand times, but there is so much more there. The lake itself is surrounded by large, sharp-peaked mountains and beach front. The town is full of tourists, locals, cars, bars, restaurants and stores. Wanaka is probably one of the busiest places we visited. We only stayed for an afternoon, but you could tell that that place gets busy on any given night of the week. If I were to do it again, I'd probably stay in Wanaka for three or four days, enjoy the nightlife, wake up early with a hangover to hike around the surrounding lakes and mountains, and watch the sunset with a glass of wine behind that famous Wanaka tree.

We did not, alas, do that, but rather we continued on to the destination I was most excited for: Queenstown. Queenstown is another place that is worth staying at for a while, and thankfully we spent two nights here. The town is surrounded by some of New Zealand's larger mountains, and right at the centre of them is a massive lake. The sun also set right behind them, so walking down the lakefront boardwalk, watching the street performers and eating at one the harbours many lakefront restaurants while watching the sun come down is a must. We stayed at the Heartland Hotel, which has A-Frame shaped rooms perched up on a hill so you can see views of the lake and mountains. They also all have balconies so you can truly experience what this great town has to offer.

Day 14 - Milford Sound

Before we went and the entire time we were there, we were told that you can't go on a New Zealand road trip without seeing Milford Sound. This is a fact. The only problem is that there is really no shortcut route to get there. Your only options are driving from Queenstown, which is about a four hour drive one-way, or Te Anau, which is about an hour and forty five minute drive away. As mentioned above, we loved Queenstown, so we decided to stay there and do the long haul day trip to Milford Sound, which totals around eight hour of driving. This seems horrible, but the drive to and from Milford Sound was probably one of the most spectacular drives I've done not only in New Zealand, but also in my entire life.

The first hour of the drive takes you on windy, cliff-edge roads around the lakes and jagged mountains surrounding Queenstown. Once you get through there, the mountains start to grow larger and larger and larger. The roads narrow. Civilization vanishes. By the time you are within an hour and a half of Milford, the roads wind through giant trees, zip past valleys of long grass surround by mountains, and pass lakes that mirror the surrounding landscape. The real highlight (and nerve wracking point) of the drive is when you reach Homer's Tunnel, which is 1200 metre, one-lane tunnel straight through a mountain. An electronic sign tells you how much time is remaining before the oncoming traffic has cleared, warns you to turn your night time lights on even though it's the middle of the day, and advises you to start driving into the mountain. Driving through a tunnel that has clearly been chipped away literally from the insides of a mountain is an experience that is hard to describe, but once you come out the other end and daylight hits your windshield, the massive cliff walls and mountains and switchback roads of Fiordland National Park will engulf your vision. From this point forward, nothing on the drive seemed real. The valleys were so deep and the mountains were so high that every green plant, grey mountain peak and blue sky seemed painted in place.Once you drive through the final stretch, along with all of the other drivers looking up at the mountains while trying to stay on the road, you will eventually pull into the parking lot of Milford Sound.

Now, Milford Sound is considered by some to be the Eighth Wonder of the World, and for good reason. All of those seemingly unreal painted cliffs and mountains that I just described are here, except they are sitting in a Sound on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. Water falls from some of the cliffs. Sea Lions swim and sunbath throughout the Sound. There are two ways to experience it: either by sea kayak or by boat. We chose to view it by boat.

Milford Sound is also considered to be one of the wettest places on earth, so be prepared for rain. We were lucky and witnessed it on a sunny day. I guess that made up for the day we had at Mount Cook! After our tour, we started the long trek back to Queenstown, stopped along the way for more pictures, and then partied all night before our flight back to Auckland to end our New Zealand road trip.

Conclusion

So road tripping across a good chunk of New Zealand is entirely possible in a two week period if that's what you're into. Yes, there were a few places we missed (Tongariro Crossing, Nelson, Abel Tasman National Park, Franz Josef Glacier, Kaikoura, to name a few) and, yes, there are a few spots I wish we could have stayed at longer (Raglan, Wellington, Wanaka and Queenstown), but it was one hell of an experience. The landscape in New Zealand changes constantly, and I think driving around it is one of the best ways to see those changes happen. So if your vacay time is limited and you want to see a huge chunk of a country in a two week time period, here's an idea for an epic 2-week New Zealand road trip.

Check out my New Zealand page to view more travel ideas and stories to help you plan your own New Zealand road trip. For more content like this and for post updates follow, me on YouTube.