I have been busy planning my road thrip through New Zealand in the past weeks, and I think I am pretty close to sorting it all out.

It’s prime travel time in NZ, the backpackers are everywhere and the hotels and hostels are pretty full, that’s why it took some time to plan it… It’s all nicely mapped out in my spreadsheet.

I don’t want to drive too much every day, I think about 250 km are good for me, not making me too tired and leaving some time for stops and to see some stuff.

Still, it is impossible to see everything. I have to leave tons of sights aside, but I’ll take care of that with Sabine on our trip in.. 2016? 2017?

I also might rent a car from Auckland in the next couple of weeks and drive up that northern finger, maybe stay a night some place… There’s plenty: Bay of Islands, Whangarei, the 90-Mile-beach… and Cape Reinga, the furthest you can go.

A friend told me that from there you can see the meeting of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean: where the two meet, the currents create a line out in the ocean…

I doubt I will get that far, it’s 420 km from Auckland, definitely no day trip. But some of that might be possible. I’ll see about that as I go.

Then, on the 17th of March, I’ll get my car, and drive to Wellington, taking four days and stopping at Hot Water Beach, Mount Maunagui, on to Rotorua and its hot springs and mud baths, over to Lake Taupo, then down either straight or with a little detour through Tangariro National Park, and on to Wellington.

In Wellington, I’ll have a weekend, I’m staying in this central place, found on airbnb, and then on the 24th of March, I take the ferry to the South Island.

Once in Picton, I rent another car and drive down to Blenheim and Kaikoura where I’ll stay a night, then on to Christchurch and further down to Mt Cook National Park. Now that was the toughest bit, because there was simply no affordable accommodation free, except bunk beds in a backpackers lodge in Mt Cook National Park.

However, that would be quite a detour, and I don’t want to drive too much on a given day, so I might not make it into the park proper. On to Queenstown, where I’ll stay a night, then off to Milford Sound. Back to Queenstown, from where I’ll take my flight back into Auckland, and, after a night in an airport hotel, fly on to Tokyo.

Again, I will miss a lot of things. Nelson, the Abel Tasman National Park, the west coast of NZ proper, etc, etc. You can’t do it all…