Where should I go while in New Zealand?

You definitely would want to go north to Auckland. Three days is not enough time to see much of South Island and most of the good attractions are south and west of Christchurch and thus would not be on your way there. The drive from Picton to Christchuch would be six hours of flat farmland.

Driving north you could choose between going up the Kapiti Coast or driving over the hair-raising Rimutaka Road to the Wairarapa region. I would suggest going first to Napier in Hawke's Bay. The little city is famous for it's art deco architecture and it has lovely black rock beaches and is surrounded by one of NZ's best wine-growing regions.

From there drive across the ranges inland to Taupo and Rotorua. These cities are known for their geothermal activity. Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland is awesome place to visit in this area as well as Craters of the Moon. You'd have to stop and see the amazing Huka Falls, and while there try the jet boat ride. Incredible fun! In Rotorua there is a place called Skylines Skyrides that I recommend. A gondolla ride up the mountain gives great views of Rotorua and the lake it is on. Then there is a luge you can do that is amazing, like nothing else I've ever done, a bit like bobsledding on pavement but safe enough that little kids are allowed to do it. (Though I doubt they'd be allowed to in the US)

An alternative route to Taupo would be to drive straight up the desert road across the Tongariro National Park past Mt. Ruapehu. This area was where they filmed Mordor in Lord of the Rings. Shocking scenery, like nowhere else in NZ, but it would cut out Napier.

I would avoid doing any of the Maori-related cultural activities in Rotorua, the place is called Roto-Vegas because it is such a tourist trap and the Maori stuff is mostly quite fake and overpriced.

From Rotorua you would again have two choices. North to Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty region or west to Waitomo. Tauranga is a hip young city and has a cool extinct volcano called Mt. Maunganui nearby. Climbing it only takes an hour or so and offers spectacular views of the city and harbour. Waitomo is an area of glow-worm caves. These only exist in the Southern Hemisphere. If you go here it will be expensive but there are a number of cool tours to do. The most exciting is Black Water Rafting where you jump down a small waterfall into an underground river on an inner tube with only a helmet light to guide you. There are also walking tours of the caves or climbing/repelling tours. Again this is a big tourist trap with coach-loads of people coming daily.

From either Tauranga or Waitomo it is about 3 hours to Auckland. There is a lot to see on North Island but with only 3 days you'll have to make some choices. You could spend a couple days just seeing Auckland.

Drive times: Wellington to Napier (4-5 hours)

Napier to Taupo (2-3 hours)

Taupo to Rotorua (1 hour)

Rotorua to Tauranga (1.5 hours)

Rotorua to Waitomo (1.5 - 2 hours)

In the south island I guess you could walk the Queen charlotte track, cruise or walk around the Abel tasman, go whale watching in Kaikoura, take the scenic train from Greymouth to Christchurch and maybe do somethings of your choice in Christchurch. You'll catch the ferry to picton then from there either go to Queen charlotte walk > Kaikoura > Christchurch. Or Abel tasman > Greymouth > Christchurch. But if you go to the North island you could do something like, 5 hour drive to Rotorua, on your way you will pass Mount Ruapahu for some nice scenary, the once in Rotorua spend the rest of the day there doing things such as seeing the thermals (,http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g2551... , http://www.geyserland.co.nz/) action and adventure such as going zorbing, shweebing, bungey jumping, jet boating, ( http://www.agroventures.co.nz/ )the luge, etc. Moari culture experience (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g2551... ), kiwi encounter, ( http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g2551... , http://www.rainbowsprings.co.nz/ ) etc etc,The next day you can spend the first 4 hours still in rotorua- so much to do there. Then head to Auckland, on your way stop at the waitimo caves (near Hamilton) and have a guided tour of them ( http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g6163... , http://www.glowworm.co.nz/ ). Then head up to Auckland. And you could do whatever you want in Auckland the next day, but you could do something like this http://www.viator.com/tours/Auckland/Auckland-Grea... .

There just the main things to do that i recomend, but there might be some other things that take your fancy.

The south island you will mainly see great scenary and theres not really anything must see in Christchurch. North island you will get to see some must see sites, experience maori culture, experience NZ's big city life in Auckland, have some fun doing action and adventure activities, you'll get quite a broad range of things. I think you will get more out the North Island, and the South Island will be a different and longer trip in it's own.

The harbour-side city of Auckland is New Zealand's correct city and the vivid economic center of the nation, know it with hotelbye . Auckland can be called the "City of Sails" and it sprawls out in helter-skelter style between Manukau Harbour (to the west) and Waitemata Harbour (to the east) with the small main town region proper beside the waterway. For many guests to New Zealand, Auckland is the purpose of arrival, and several days washing up the ethnic and outside attractions here must be on every tourist's to-do list. The monuments, museums, and art galleries here are some of the finest in the country. The suburban coastline of the town is speckled with great beaches, and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf supply a taste of New Zealand's spectacular national park landscape right on the city's doorstep. Auckland is definitely a city worth seeing.

if u only have 3 days, stay on the north island. so a separate trip to the south island

enjoy

B