Trip Itinerary

Our detailed itinerary was as the following:

Day 1 : Saturday, October 25, 2014 - Flew from Houston to LA and then to Auckland, NZ

Day 2 : Sunday, October 26, 2014 - Lost a day during the flight from LA to Auckland

Day 3 : Monday, October 27, 2014 - Flew from Auckland to Sydney, Optional self touring in Sydney

Day 4 : Tuesday, October 28, 2014 - Royal Botanic Garden, Mrs. Macquarie's Chair, Opera House, St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral, Rock, and Sydney Harbor Dinner Cruise

Day 5 : Wednesday, October 29, 2014 - Featherdale Wildlife Park, Three Sisters Sandstone Rock Formation in Blue Mountain National Park

Day 6 : Thursday, October 30, 2014 - Flew to Cairns, Tjapukai Cultural Park, Skyrail to Kuranda

Day 7 : Friday, October 31, 2014 - The Great Barrier Reef

Day 8 : Saturday, November 1, 2014 - Flew to Melbourne, Royal Botanic Gardens, Phillip Island for watching Little Penguins

Day 9 : Sunday, November 2, 2014 - Great Ocean Road, The 12 Apostles

Day 10 : Monday, November 3, 2014 - Ballarat Tour, flew to Christchurch, NZ

Day 11 : Tuesday, November 4, 2014 - KiwiRail to Arthur's Pass National Park , Shantytown

Day 12 : Wednesday, November 5, 2014 - Walked the Trail to Lake Matheson to view the reflection of Mount Cook and Fox Glacier, Cromwell, Arrow Town, Queenstown

Day 13 : Thursday, November 6, 2014 - Miflord Sound Scenic Cruise, Te Anau Glowworm Caves 

Day 14 : Friday, November 7, 2014 - Drove to Queenstown, flew to Wellington, Weta Workshop, Mount Victoria, Parliament Buildings

Day 15 : Saturday, November 8, 2014 - Tongariro National Park, Taupo Lake, Huka Falls, Polynesian Spa in Rotorua

Day 16 : Sunday, November 9, 2014 - Lady Knox Geyser, Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, Champagne Pool, Agrodome Farmland 

Day 17 : Monday, November 10, 2014 - HobbiTon Movie Set, Mount Eden, Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium, then flew back to Houston

We did cover a lot of grounds by visiting many attractions, however this itinerary with bus tour was too aggressive.  Instead of spending much time on bus rides, I wished that we had more time enjoying attractions by adding more days to this trip or visited less attractions on the whole trip.  Some people may enjoy the experience of being there; however I am definitely enjoying to have sufficient amount of time to take a closer look at every attraction.