New Zealand - Self Drive 14 Days Itinerary (North & South Island)

If you are planning to visit New Zealand, you have made the right choice. It is a beautiful country with endless scenery and nice people. To enjoy both island you will need at least a 3-4 weeks to enjoy both island at the fullest.

As for us, we had only 2 weeks  to tour both North & South Island in New Zealand. But, we had to, as we flew into Auckland via Airasia (back in 2018), fyi: Airasia no longer fly NZ as of now.

We had a bittersweet experience during our New Zealand trip.

1. We flew our 1st transit (stop at Gold Coast)
2. Our 1st camper van experience

3. We got robbed in a safe country like NZ (more on that later)
4. 1st time eating the yummy Bluff Oyster

5. Witnessed the Milky Way & managed to get a picture of it with our humble mobile phone (HuaWei), of course cannot compare with those taken with professional cameras ya, this is taken with mobile phone and a simple mini tripod.

6. I fell down twice at camp site, due to my own careless-ness, luckily my backbone is still alright
7. We rode the Sky Swing at Rotorua, North Island

Before I go into the details for our NZ Winter trip, below is the itinerary for our 14 days New Zealand North & Island winter trip:

Total Spent for 1 person: RM 7,100

Cost breakdown (2 person):
Flight to KL-Auckland                                 = RM 2,800+  [2x30kg & quiet zone seats]
Domestic Flight Auckland-Christchurch)    = RM    752
Hotel (Jucy Snooze Christchurch - 1 night) = RM    285
Camper van 13-days (5 seater)                     = RM 4,100*
Camp sites, grocery, petrol, etc                    = RM 6,100

Camper van costs include full excess & ship from Christchurch-Auckland

Our 14 days self-drive itinerary

We missed the Milford Sound & most of the hiking trails, as we are not fit & lazy. Also, our itinerary is quite packed as we covered both islands in the span of 14 days. Some of the travellers we met, spent 14 days touring only the South Island.

Day 1: Reached Auckland in the evening & stayed at Jucy Snooze Christchurch Hotel
Day 2: Take Camper van (Wilderness Christchurch) - Castle Hill- Arthur Pass
Day 3: Arthur's Pass - Fox Glacier - walk to Lake Matheson (1.5 hours walk)
Day 4: Fox Glacier - Wanaka - Rippon Vineyard (wine tasting)
Day 5: Wanaka - Queenstown
Day 6: Wanaka Snow Farm - Lake Tekapo
Day 7: Lake Tekapo - The Church of the Good Shepherd - Astro Café - Christchurch
Day 8: Christchurch - Hanmer Springs
Day 9: Hanmer Springs - Picton
Day 10: Picton - Wellington
Day 11: Wellington - Taupo
Day 12: Taupo - Hobitton (Matamata) - Rotorua
Day 13: Skyline Rotorua
Day 14: Auckland - KL