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Étaperia

New Zealand in 12 days: Arthur's Pass, Golden Bay and Kaikoura, day by day

Twelve days from the west coast to Kaikoura: the Hokitika Gorge, Cave Stream, the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks, the Oparara arches, Te Waikoropupū, the Abel Tasman Coast Track, the Queen Charlotte Track and the Kaikoura sperm whales.

Sequenced by Kylian Updated on 20 September 2026

The Auckland skyline and the Sky Tower at sunset, yachts moored in the bay
  • 12 days
  • 24 places
  • 11 nights
  • sustained pace
Start
Franz Josef, west coast
End
Christchurch (Christchurch Airport)
Main transport
Rental car throughout, returned in Christchurch on day 88; water taxis for Abel Tasman and the Queen Charlotte Track
Recommended season
December to March: the day 84 Abel Tasman Coast Track is walked around the summer tides, and the day 88 whale watching is cancelled in heavy swell, so it is set early in the morning before the flight

What you get

  • The complete itinerary: 12 days sequenced Morning / Afternoon / Evening / Hotel
  • The card of every hotel, with the address and a direct booking link
  • Quota tickets, fixed-date tickets and surcharges flagged in advance
  • The country quick guide: weather, transport, formalities, budget
  • A PDF file of 23 pages

What the price does not include

  • Flights
  • Hotel nights
  • Tickets and admission fees
  • Travel insurance
  • On-the-ground assistance during your trip

The travel book preview

The free day in full, with its hotel card. This is the sample.

Day 11

Kaikoura, between mountain and ocean trench

Morning

Road from Picton to Kaikoura and the Ōhau Point lookout

Two hours along a spectacular coast, rebuilt after the 2016 earthquake that lifted the shoreline by several metres and cut the road for a year. The Ōhau Point lookout overhangs a large seal colony.

Afternoon

Kaikōura Ziplining and forest trail

Ziplines set in a valley of regenerating native forest, with an interpretation trail on reforestation. About two hours.

Kaikōura Peninsula Walkway and Point Kean Seal Colony

A two to three hour loop on the peninsula: cliffs, a foreshore lifted by the earthquake, seabird colonies and a view of the Seaward Kaikoura Ranges that fall almost into the sea. At Point Kean, the seals sleep on the car park itself. Keep twenty metres away, and never cut off their access to the water.

Hotel · Night 11

Hapuku Lodge + Tree Houses

An architect's lodge north of Kaikoura, on a deer farm, with its famous cabins perched ten metres up in an olive grove, facing the sea on one side and the mountains on the other. A restaurant of local produce. The finest address on the circuit, chosen to close the trip.

Address
· State Highway 1 at Station Road, Hapuku, Kaikoura 7371
Website
· hapukulodge.com (new tab)
Check-in
3:00 PM · Check-out 11:00 AM
Book this hotel (new tab)

Buy this itinerary

€39 incl. tax

that is €3.25 per day of travel

The buy button becomes active once the box is ticked.

  • Secure payment through Stripe, bank card, Apple Pay and Google Pay
  • Available immediately in your customer account: online reading with clickable booking links, downloadable PDF for offline use
  • Method: what is checked, and when

A hotel in the itinerary closed or impossible to find, a place to visit permanently closed?

Within 12 months of purchase, email contact@etaperia.com

Itinerary corrected within 7 days, or refunded in full. Terms in article 12 of the T&Cs, on top of the legal warranty (new tab)

€39 incl. tax · 12 days

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A question before buying? Email Kylian, reply within 48 working hours.

The day-by-day rundown

12 stops, 700 km as the crow flies

  1. Day 1 Hokitika and the climb to Arthur's Pass Hokitika Gorge and Hokitika Beach Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  2. Day 2 Cave Stream, Castle Hill and the Hawdon Castle Hill Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  3. Day 3 Punakaiki and the Pancake Rocks Pancake Rocks and Blowholes Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  4. Day 4 Cape Foulwind, Denniston and Karamea Cape Foulwind Walkway and Tauranga Bay Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  5. Day 5 Honeycomb Hill and the Oparara arches Oparara Basin Arches and Moria Gate Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  6. Day 6 The long drive to Golden Bay The long drive to Golden Bay Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  7. Day 7 Golden Bay, springs and the end of the world Rawhiti Cave Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  8. Day 8 Abel Tasman Coast Track Abel Tasman Coast Track Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  9. Day 9 Nelson, aviation and the vineyards of Marlborough Nelson Provincial Museum, Queen's Gardens and the cathedral Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  10. Day 10 Queen Charlotte Track and Marlborough Sounds Queen Charlotte Track and Marlborough Sounds Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  11. Day 11 Kaikoura, between mountain and ocean trench Road from Picton to Kaikoura and the Ōhau Point lookout Free
  12. Day 12 The whales, then the journey home Whale watching with Whale Watch Kaikoura Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF

Found an error in this itinerary? Report an error

Country quick guide and logistics

The essentials of the country, scannable in ten seconds.

Weather and when to go

  • The west coast is the island's wet face: Punakaiki and Karamea get frequent rain, and the Pancake Rocks blowholes only really blow at high tide in a big sea.
  • Golden Bay and Nelson are the opposite, the sunniest corner of the country: this is where the stage breathes, and where Abel Tasman is walked in swimwear.
  • Kaikoura backs onto 2,600 m mountains that drop into an ocean trench: the weather turns fast and open-water swell alone decides whether boats sail.

Transport and permits

  • Rental car throughout, returned in Christchurch on day 88: allow time for the return and its inspection before the international flight.
  • The Karamea road on day 80 and the Oparara road on day 81 are long, narrow and partly gravel: this is the end of the road, there is no shortcut.
  • Abel Tasman and the Queen Charlotte Track are walked one-way with a water taxi at one end: booked the day before, and it sets the finishing time.

Formalities and safety

  • Cave Stream on day 78 is waded on foot, head torch compulsory, and closes as soon as the flow rises: check the DOC board at the entrance.
  • The Honeycomb Hill caves on day 81 can only be visited with a licensed guide, limited places, by booking.
  • Kaikoura whale watching on day 88 is set as early in the morning as possible to keep a margin before international check-in.

Budget and meals

  • The New Zealand dollar, roughly €0.55 to 1 NZD, card everywhere. Karamea and Golden Bay have few shops: buy food in Westport and Takaka.
  • Heavy items: the day 88 whale watching, the guided Honeycomb Hill caves on day 81, the Abel Tasman water taxi on day 84 and the Kaikoura ziplining on day 87.
  • The Pancake Rocks, Te Waikoropupū, Wharariki Beach, Castle Hill and the Hokitika Gorge are free: the heart of the stage costs only fuel.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly do I receive?

Your Étaperia itinerary, available immediately in your customer account after payment: readable online with clickable booking links, and downloadable as a PDF for the trip. Every day is sequenced Morning / Afternoon / Evening, with the hotel for each night, its address and its booking link, and timed-entry tickets flagged in advance.

How is this better than what an AI gives me?

A generative AI composes a plausible list in seconds, without saying what was checked or when. At Étaperia, every itinerary is sequenced by hand, place by place, with the booking constraints spotted before it is too late to get them. The Method page says what is checked, against which source and on what date.

Can I adapt it to my dates and my pace?

Yes. The days are self-contained blocks: you can shift the departure, stretch a stage or skip a day without breaking what follows. Only timed-entry tickets require adjusting the dates accordingly, and they are all flagged.

What if a hotel or a place in the itinerary has closed?

Email contact@etaperia.com within 12 months of your purchase. If a hotel in the itinerary is closed or can no longer be found, or a place to visit has closed permanently, the itinerary is corrected in your customer account within 7 days, or you are refunded in full. A hotel fully booked on your dates, a seasonal closure or a change in opening hours or prices is not covered. This guarantee comes on top of the legal warranty of conformity; details in article 12 of the terms and conditions of sale.

Who is selling you this itinerary

  • Kylian, sole trader, SIRET 927 587 709 00035
  • Consumer mediator: ANM Consommation
  • Payment handled by Stripe: Étaperia never sees your card number
  • Publisher, not a travel agency: you book flights, hotels and tickets yourself

In the same country

This module is one leg of the full itinerary: Complete New Zealand itinerary: 88 days, hotels and bookings

The complete itinerary

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