totobell

I am from the US and will be traveling the end of March 2025 to Wellington, NZ to take a class for 7 weeks. The class will only encompass 2-3 days per week, so I plan to do sightseeing over the weekends, and I plan to extend my stay a couple weeks beyond the end of class. I have lodging secured in Wellington north of the CBD as my base for my entire stay and will pay extra for accommodations on my long weekends. I do not plan to rent a car at least not for the entire time. If I need one for a long weekend, I may do that but hope to rely on public transportation as much as possible. Around Wellington, it appears that the best way to get around will be by getting the Snapper pass. I see that there is also Rail New Zealand but it seems pretty pricey and may not fit with my long weekend travels. Does anyone have any suggestions for multi-day trips outside of the general Wellington area to explore the North Island? I hope to get to the South Island but that will be with a flight and possible day tours and will be dependent on the weather. I have been to New Zealand years ago, so I do not have FOMO to try to see everything but rather want to travel at a more leisure pace and see what I can. Any other general suggestions about weather, food, and any particulars that would be good to know about living in New Zealand would be greatly appreciated.

Diamantina

For domestic airfare sales sign up Air New Zealand’s Grabaseat deals. For weather, check Metservice. Their forecasts are reliable for one or two days in advance. Check out your local farmers’ markets for fresh produce. I see there are a few in the Wellington area.

What parts of NZ did you previously visit?

magsrose

Last November I spent a few hours in Raglan on the North Island west coast and vowed to go back for a few more days someday. You may want to consider using one of your long weekends to fly from Wellington to Hamilton and renting a car. You can head to Raglan and hike Bridal Veil Falls, which is a short and very scenic pencil-straight waterfall that falls in a lush green hole surrounded by fern trees. You can hike from the top to the bottom. Raglan is a colorful beach town with the best fish and chips I've ever had. Ngarunui Beach is stunning and easy to visit by car or probably bus too. There are lots of fresh fruit ice cream places to try in that area. I spent about 10 days between Wellington, Hamilton, and Auckland last November. You can read my trip report here: Kia Ora – First Visit to New Zealand Nov. 2023. I was there for work but still fit in a few fun excursions. I spent the last 4 days on my own in Queenstown and Milford Sound. That area is worth a visit at the end of your time there. I did that area entirely with public transportation and tours booked through Real NZ.

Tarakona

You can get to the South Island by ferry.
There are 2 ferry operators - Interislander and Bluebridge. The latter offer cabins so you could save a night's accommodation with a night sailing but then you do not see the scenery so much. Take the Coastal Pacific train to Christchurch from Piction, have a look around there and fly back.

totobell

Thank you for the information Diamantina. I have uploaded the Air NZ Grabaseat app. I am glad to hear about the farmers’ markets. I was afraid these would not be operating in March - June. Previously….(many years ago) I did a very quick 10-14 day whirlwind tour of mostly the South Island (Milford Sound, Christ Church, Queenstown, but very little of the North Island. I would love to go back to the South Island to see Doubtful Sound as I have read great things but not sure Fall going into Winter would be a good time to go.

totobell

Thank you for the great ideas.I hope to get to Rotorua and the Bay of Islands. I have read about the Explorer Bus Hop on Hop Off pass but I am concerned it will not get me in a reasonable amount of time to where I want to go and also that this is for the very young. If anyone has personal insights into this I would greatly appreciate it. I would prefer not to drive as I did that last year in Scotland and even though it was fine I spent more time concentrating on my driving than enjoying the passing scenery.

Diamantina

Thanks for listing the NZ places you previously visited.

I would avoid traveling during the school holidays, Saturday 12 April to Sunday 27 April, and over the long weekend that includes the King's Birthday, Monday 2 June. If you're still here in late June, there's also the national holiday, Matariki Day, on Friday 20 June. By June, it'll be much colder and the days will be shorter (the winter soltice will be on June 21)..Daylight savings ends on 6 April 2025 (at 3 a.m.).We'll set the clocks back an hour and overnight the days will have suddenly become shorter. "Over the northern and central areas of New Zealand more rainfall falls in winter than in summer, whereas for much of the southern part of New Zealand, winter is the season of least rainfall." In winter, on the South Island, days are often clear, crisp, sunny and very cold.

Rotorua and Bay of Islands are good ideas of places that you might explore over a long weekend. For Rotorua, you could probably get around on foot or by local bus. You could even take a tour to Waitomo Caves. For Bay of Islands, you'd have to fly to Kerikeri Airport, then rent a car to explore other areas. Or you could catch a taxi to Paihia and just stay there a few days. You could walk to Waitangi Treaty Grounds, or take the ferry to historic Russell, or take a cruise. You could even take a tour to Cape Reinga. The Intercity bus goes from Kerikeri to Paihia, but I don't think it picks up from the airport. You might want to read about the Intercity FlexiPass.

What are your interests? Do you like to tramp/hike? If so, you might want to consider visiting Kapiti Island, which is not too far from Wellington. I've been meaning to get there myself. If "mlgb" sees this, maybe he can tell you about it. You'd need to catch the ferry to Kapiti Island from Paraparaumu Beach. The train goes from Wellington to Paraparaumu, but the train station is not close to Paraparaumu Beach. The ferry doesn't sail in rough conditions.

Or you could consider flying to Nelson. Explore the city for a day, then take a day tour to Abel Tasman NP (or stay here a night or two). If you rent a car, you can explore the Tasman area more extensively. Golden Bay is also interesting.

The Wairarapa Coast to Cape Pallliser is also scenic and not too far from Wellington, though it would be best to stay a night or two in the area. Wairarapa is a major wine region so inexpensive accommodation is limited. You'd need a car to visit the Wairarapa Coast.

totobell

Wow Diamantina! So much great information. I will definitely avoid the holiday days for my mini-adventures. I do like hiking and joined a Wellington Tramping Facebook group. I hope to connect with these folks when I arrive. I also enjoy going to farmer’s markets, and I am so happy that Wellington seems to have several. I do wonder if there will be any local produce from March-June or if everything will be shipped in. I enjoy cooking and will have facilities in my rental to do so. I will have to get a large NZ wall map to start pinning all of the great places I need to try to see. Thank you again for all of the amazing information.

totobell

Thank you Tarakona for the tip. This looks like a great way to see some of the South Island.

Diamantina

Totobell, you have to check which markets run year round. I know the Harbourside farmers' market operates every Sunday morning year-round (with the exception of major holidays like Xmas). Here in Dunedin, if Xmas falls on a Saturday, the farmers market for that weekend will be held earlier, on a weekday.. It'll be the busiest market of the year, with many people waiting to get in as soon as it opens. This is also when farmers' markets burst with summer fruits! You'll find more variety on the North Island. You won't be here then, of course, but I thought you'd find this interesting as you seem to enjoy farmers markets as much as I do. There's plenty of locally grown, seasonal produce year round. In winter, we have apples, pears, avocados, lemons, mandarins, root vegetables, pumpkins, broccoli, cauliflower, and more. This will give you an idea of what will be available. March through May is kiwi season; you'll find green-, gold-, even red-fleshed ones.

With respect to food, NZ, an agricultural country, is capable of being self-sufficient, but much of our food is exported, which affects prices and availability.You can't so easily or cheaply find capsicums or other summer produce in winter, you'll find these in the supermarket imported from other countries in North America and Europe, but if you eat seasonally, you can find plenty of produce. We're also lucky to be able to find reasonably produce exported by neighboring countries, Australia and the South Pacific in our supermarrkets. In the recent past, we've seen a rise of prices of dairy and eggs, dairy and chocolate, and at one point as the egg producers were required to ditch their cages and switch to free-range eggs, egg shelves at the supermarkets were often empty. Here in Dunedin (and in Chrischurch), crews from large cruise ships were buying out the eggs! However, our local egg poducers always had eggs to sell at the market, though they sold out early. The early farmers market-goers get the best stuff.

That's fabulous that you've joined the Wellington Tramping Facebook group! I'm sure you'll meet some like-minded people. As you are a hiker, definitely visit Abel Tasman NP and spend more than one day exploring the park, It's worth the time, trouble and expense, but, anyhow, you can ask for more opinions from the Wellington Tramping Facebook group.

totobell

OMG...I finally got to read your read your report and WOW! What a wonderful read with so much helpful and interesting information. What an amazing adventure you had! I hope to get to the Hamilton area and Raglan and hike Bridal Veil Falls. this sound wonderful. Thank you for taking the time to share your adventure and photos!