Jerseygirl

We will be in Auckland towards the end of October. As we have been there before, our intention is to hire a car and drive to Wellington for a couple of days. Can anyone please suggest a preferred route/places of interest/hotels etc.

cym

what's your time span, days / hours ?

rogercruse

Have a look at the the train.

We did Auckland to Wellington in 2010 when we arrived. It was a older and slower train then. The journey was advertised at the time to take twelve hours. However, it arrived in Wellington two hours.

Plenty of room on the train to move around, talk to other travellers and to see the countryside, especially the Spiral https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raurimu_Spiral

Jerseygirl

Just 4 days, including travel back and to W.

Interesting. The train is something we hadn’t considered...but 2 hrs? Isn’t the distance around 400 miles on the highway?

Edit: Hubby really wants to drive down, possibly staying around Taranaki overnight. We will fly back to W.

rogercruse

Oops! Just re-read my post and realised that its confusing!.

The scheduled time was 12 hours but it actually took 14 hours!

Why? The train has to stop and drop off / pick up passengers at stations along the route. But it managed to 'miss' a station and then had to reverse back to the missed station to resolve the issue. Much assumement in the train once this was explained.

I believe the trains are much nicer now and the schedule more accurate!!!

cym

if you have the time to drive slowly, ie 2 days I'd take the road south out of Auckland, turn east on to SH2, at Mangatarata follow the SH27 towards Matamata (hobbit land).
From there take the 24 and 28 as a back road....lovely driving to cut into the SH5 at Tapapa. Stay on the 5 into Rotovegas as a potential overnight stop or keep on the 5 until you reach Taupo for an over night stop. Both have heaps of motels and both have sufficent bars and restruants to satasify any taste.
Next day leave Taupo on the 5 and later the 2 into Napier. Fantastic drive.
Now keep on the 2 until you get to Waipakurau. Here you divert off the main SH on travel on an old SH past east coast villages long since forgotten.....but fantastic beaches. (you have to make a few diversions but none are more than a few k's. Porangahau - so long, as is Herberville, and Akitio, a bit further but oh so special.
Stay on this old SH all the way into Masterton. You come in the back way so to speak.
Now back on the SH2 it's follow the yellow brick road all the way to Welly.
You'll either love the Remutaka - or hate it. A clear road ahead is a driver's dream.
Following down the Hutt valley on the motorway is not half as bad as it sounds......well its certainly not Auckland motorway.
And that's it, you're there.
About 800km's in total.....passing history, senic beauty, small town NZ, art deco, forests,hills, beaches kiwiland at it's best.

Justcol

I did it on a motorcycle earlier this year, just stayed on SH1 all the way. it took me 2 days each way.
while it can be done in one day it will be pointless as you wont have time to stop and see anything, even two days doesnt leave much time for anything more than a quick look and selfie.

Jerseygirl

Thank you for the replies everyone. So far hubby was to drive and stay overnight around New Plymouth, then carry on down to Wellington. Last year we went on a few tours on the NW of the island.

Any suggestion on things to do and see in Wellington please?

carcajou

Four days inclusive of the drive, or four full days in Wellington? If the former - it's a long drive that will take a whole day. I would fly there (AKL-WLG is not a particularly expensive flight) and hire a car in Wellington instead.

Jerseygirl

4 days inclusive unfortunately. We intend to drive down and fly back.

scrubbedexpat094

I don't think there's much to do in Welly tbh JG. I suppose you could go to the Weta Workshop. There's Te Papa museum but we didn't rate it, prefer Auckland museum. You could do a tour of the Beehive, our parliament. There are some lovely eateries about and some nice little shops.
So have you done Rotorua, Taupo and Waitomo already?
If you want to meet up for a meal in Akl for a coffee or wine let me know.
Did you do a day out on Tiritiri Matangi island last time you were in Auckland? That's a lovely day out.

Jerseygirl

We thought taking a walk around the Wellington harbour May be nice...and driving out SE a little.

We have went to Rotorua same time last year.

We are only in Auckland overnight, then fly back to Canada. Shame, it would have been nice to have met you.

scrubbedexpat094

That is a shame. Another time.

Walking around Wellington Harbour will be nice, but have layers on and a scarf! The wind doesn't half whip round down there and when you're out of the sun it's bloomin freezing!
If you've done all the touristy stuff before then I'd be inclined to just fly Akl to Welly.
We are in Welly mid-October for WOW (world of wearable art). I can let you know if Te Papa has anything interesting on. Our friend wants to look at the Gallipoli exhibition whilst it's on there. We are staying with friends on the Kapiti Coast. Have you got a hotel booked in Welly? OH stays there a lot for business, so I can ask him which one he thinks is the best.

Jerseygirl

I do intend to take some warm clothes for NZ...but hadn’t reckoned on a scarf. We are cruising from Vancouver, so lots of hot weather until we hit NZ. Did almost the same cruise last year but LA to Sydney.

Sorry I forgot you asked about Tiritiri Matangi island. No we haven’t been there, we took the ferry to Davenport one lovely sunny October afternoon.

BEVS

I'll take a punt at this. 4 days? = 3 nights. One way?

TBH I am with most others view here in that a drive south via Taranki ( oil town) /Hamilton won't be all that interesting really. New Plymouth is OK I suppose but a lot of driving for that. Think 'A' roads.

Cym's suggestions are the most sound for interest if Mr JG is adamant to drive . You would be better off with the desert road IMO. I would agree with Taupo lake onto Napier for the art deco or vice versa. Beware of small side trips as the roads may not be all that and take quite a long while, especially if the weather is not so clear. The Remutaka is lovely if the weather is good and the road is clear. Remember to check via an App that roads are open and clear.

Wellington itself is small. You can walk harbourside , weather permitting. BigSticks gives good thoughts. Take warm clothes , scarf, hat, gloves as it can be cold and windy. October is not very settled weather really IMO.

I think you will be too late for the WOW which is a shame. TePapa is the usual and the trip up the cable car for the view.

I thought the Museum Hotel was the place to be. Or perhaps the harbourside Copthorne.

The Pukaha National Wildlife Centre is good IMO but may not be your thing. There is the Weka tours and workshops if that would be of interest. That's Spielberg stuff.

Question is really. What do you both like?