NZ North Island Suggestions?

I'm going to NZ in December, with a long pre-paid itinerary on the
South Island, including the Milford Track. I've looked on the
web and in past posts to this newsgroups, but have not really
found a (recent) answer to my question, which is:

I'm arriving in Auckland at 6 AM on Sunday, Dec. 16, and
have to arrive in Christchurch by fairly early Dec. 18, and
am pretty much constrained to flying out of Auckland due to
my main ticket, but times are changeable. I could do the
flight late on the 17th or early the 18th.

What should I do on the North Island? Rotorua looks like a
standard tourist place to visit, but is it the best place to
go, not driving? I'm looking for, if possibly, outdoorsy
sort of things. Do remember that on Sunday I'll be getting
off a long flight from the US and may not be in shape for
a long hike, though this is not certain.

Or should I forget the North Island entirely and go
directly to Christchurch?

Doug McDonald

.. wrote:

Outdoorsy - what are you looking for: fishing, boating, hiking etc?


hiking, nature gawking (e.g. geysers), short kayak trip or a river raft, etc.


Have a look through:
www.purenz.com

www.aaguide.co.nz

Perhaps a quick trip up to the Bay of Islands?

Also check the change fee on your ticket if you want to stay in AKL
for the day or so.


That's no problem ... I've budgeted for paying it.

Doug McDonald