Hubby and I travelled around New Zealand in a camper van for our Honemoon, in May 2007. It was absolutely awesome. We also picked up our camper in Auckland. We went for 21 days, travelled all around the North island, then for the last 4 days, took a ferry to the South island. You'll be pushed to see a lot in both islands if you've only got 2 weeks. I felt dragged around everywhere, and felt we couldn't really appreciate the place we were in, as we had to rush off to go somewhere else, and we had longer than you. My advice to you, is to concentrate on 1 island first. We did the 90 mile beach trip, black water rafting (in waitomo caves), Jet boating and prawn fishing in huka falls (awesome)!! Best place we found for the maori night, was in Rotorua, we had a really great night. Hubby got in a big tank full of stingrays to feed them, in sealife in Auckland (I was too chicken)! Well worth going there, they have a penguin enclosure where they make the snow, and you can take a ride through there in a little truck. Hubby did a sky dive in taupo, again I was too chicken . The place where you'll pick up the camper, will give you loads of maps, and also info on the top 10 caravan parks to stay. Hubby and I used to stay on side of roads e.t.c, then just book in to a caravan park every 3 nights, so we could empty the loo, and fill up with water. Be careful on the speed restrictions, as hubby got a speeding fine, when we returned the camper in christchurch.

Don't try and see everything. Two weeks isn't a lot and apart from the motorway around Auckland most of the roads are just two lanes (and often very hilly) so it takes a long time to get anywhere. When I visited NZ I had to cut down on a lot of what I had planned to see as it would have meant spending too much time driving.Have you already decided how much time you are going to spend in each island? March is still pretty much high season so the you may want to book the Inter Island Ferry early if you haven't already done so.
Marlou has pretty much described the North Island. In South Island the main place for adrenaline sports is Queenstown with a new sport being developed practically everyweek. The scenery in South Island is awesome, very majestic. Very few people live on South Island so you can drive for miles and miles without seeing another car. Milford Sound or Doubtful Sound are two areas in the South East worth a visit for the scenery, though it can rain a lot. I wasn't particularly taken with Christchurch though most people really líke it. North of Christchurch you can go whale watching in Kaikoura.
Like Marlou we often camped wild, it's acepted there and we overnighted in some lovely spots.
If you look on the Australia/New Zealand board index you will find quite a few posts with tips and information about using campers in NZ.
I hope you enjoy your trip, I have been to many countries throughout the world but New Zealand remains my favourite.

There's a post further down this page calles "must sees and dos in New Zealand".

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=92&t=112827

I echo the other's advice - don't try to do too much. We spent 3 weeks driving in New Zealand and tried to plan 2 or 3 nights at each place to ensure we had some days without driving, so we got to see more than the roadside. Both islands are beautiful and different, the scenery in the north is gentler, in the south (my favourite) is more rugged and spectacular. We saw a good selection of places with the split 1 week on North Island, 2 weeks on South Island. There is still plenty I'd like to return to see someday, which we fully intend to do. I'm sure you will have a great time, where ever you go.

Whilst I kind of agree with what others have said, I wouldn't necessarily be put off by doing too much driving. It's the best country in the world to drive around with scenic view after scenic view around every corner.

The difference between NZ and say the USA or Australia is that there is little to get excited about in the cities themselves. For me Christchurch was nice, and the boat trip at Lyttleton Harbour was outstanding but you might not find it that different to England (Cambridge being a good example of what to expect). For us, we'd been away for 5 months, so it was quite nice to have a place that reminded us of home.

We both really loved Queenstown but it's a one/two night stay at most, with the major attractions being outside the town. It's a good place to unwind though, the bar scene is excellent in Queenstown.

Auckland was Auckland. A wannabe Sydney and your more typical city destination. After the highlights of driving around the South and North Islands we actually found Auckland to be fairly dull. Believe me, you don't go to NZ for the city aspect, most are very small and are pretty similar to each other (Auckland being the one exception).

For me it was the smaller towns that had the most appeal. In the South Island, Wanaka has a lovely lake/mountain setting and Puzzling World (well worth an hour or two to do the maze), Kaikoura has has great fish and chips and whale watching, and the area around Mt Cook is just stunning. We had to miss out Milford Sound due to bad weather so if that is an essential must see, make sure you allow more than one day just in case because the road up there has avalanches all the time which block it.

In the North Island, Wellington is just about worth a stop for the stunning Te Papu museum and the cable car that takes you up the moutains for great city views. Lake Taupo is stunning, my favourite place in the whole of NZ, a lovely lake setting and plenty of activies for the adrenalin junkies (Huka Falls already being mentioned) and don't forget to drive the Volcanic loop for some awesome scenery and great pictures. Somebody mentioned the Waitomo Caves which are well worth deviating off course for, and the Coramandel Peninsula for Hot Water Beach and Cathedral Cove (seen Prince Caspian, that is the start of the film location).

So much to see and do, and in two weeks it is going to be tough (we had 3 weeks). My advice, don't dilly dally too much in Auckland, you will regret it if you do when you get out in the countryside and see the stunning vistas.

Have a great trip.

All,

Many thanks for the responses. We are planning to spend the majority of the two weeks in the south Island. From Auckland to Bay of islands and back down to Wellington within about three to four days. I know that's a lot of driving in short time but I don't really mind that to be honest.

Would love to be spending longer there but we're moving on to Rarotonga for a week. Also before NZ, we have a few days in Hong Kong. If anyone has any suggestions on these, I'd appreciate them too.

Thanks again......

Make sure your short time in the North includes at least some time around Lake Taupo and the Volcanic Loop area. You won't regret it.

I honestly believe you have made the right decision to spend more time in the South Island, it truly is stunning. Distances are not major and you can cover a lot of ground with early starts. I never got bored of the driving at all. In terms of overnight facilties, we often found the Top 10 group of holiday parks were the best bet, slightly more expensive than some of the independent operations but overall far nicer. One exception to this was in Queenstown, where this place was lovely, and also easily walkable to all of the attractions.

http://www.holidaypark.net.nz/

On the same trip we did HK and Rarotonga as well. Let me just start by saying you have done well to avoid Fiji which I hated, and although the Cook Islands was not my favourite place either, it will be nice and relaxing after your NZ travels. The good thing for you is that you will be hitting the Cooks at a better time of the year than we did, believe me September in the Cooks is not the beach paradise people are looking for. We were there for 4 nights (reduced from 8 and then 6) and the weather was awful, raining every day and just a hint of sunshine on one day. Pretty depressing. To overcome the weather we did get out and about more than we would have done, and the bus journey that circles the entire island (in about 40mins, it's not big) was a nice way of seeing it.
Avarura (the major city/town) was a nice place for a stroll with some good restaurants plus there are hiking trails to the centre of the island and up some pretty steep hills.
Whereabouts are you staying on Rarotonga?

As for HK, loved it. We stayed on HK Island as opposed to Kowloon and found this to be more like real HK and less touristy. Head up the Peak, visit the big Buddha on Lantau Island (bit of a trek but worth it) or just wander and experience the city itself. We had 5 nights and felt we didn't see half of it. Good nightlife and restaurants in Wan Chai on HK Island btw.

Sounds like you have a decent trip, enjoy!

The advice given so far is spot on. If you do decide to use mainly top ten sites, which on the whole are very good, you can save 10% per booking by buying a 'Top Ten' club card. We bought one before we went to NZ and pre-booked most of our sites for peace of mind. You can also save 10% on the inter island ferry crossing.
http://www.top10.co.nz/club.html
I would say that the only park we weren't keen on was Holdens bay at Rotorua, wish we'd stayed at the one nearest the town.
As mentioned earlier the area around Lake Taupo is lovely with lots of things to see and do. Our favourite thermal park was Wai-O-Topu Thermal wonderland which we visited en route between Taupo and Rotorua. It was recommended to us by staff at the Top Ten park in Taupo as the most colourful and it was STUNNING. Never seen anything like it before and would definitely revisit there if we ever got the chance.

You'll have a fantastic time there

I've mentioned it before on another link but well worth a vist for geyser activity is this place:-

http://www.orakeikorako.co.nz/

The best thing about this place is that it is so well hidden you get the whole place to yourself!!! Just follow the road directions carefully and you'll be alright, we found it first go. It is also between Taupo and Rotorua.

I appreciate that the OP has limited time in the North but it would be a shame to miss out on seeing a thermal park. My advice would be to miss out Rotorua although there is a lot of geyser activity in the town, but instead head to one of the less touristy places which you can then explore at your leisure and away from mass tourism.