You have identified your own delema.

Now there is absolutley nothing wrong with tourism in the North Island. It has all the normal experiences, fishing, boating, diving, beaches, exciting place blended with a very strong Maori heritage. More than half NZ total populatin lives North of Hamilton, so it cant be all bad.

It seems that the attraction to counter the atractions of the NorthIsland is two fold.

1 very strong marketing

2 places with few people, awesome scenery, the worlds first commercial Bungy Jumping.

Now my completely unbiased view may well be challenged by many on here, but I live live on the West Coast South Island and enjoy the challenges our environment offers.

where ever you travel in NZ, you will notice huge differences or changes in scenery in very short travel distances and time so what ever you decide, then I hope you enjoy your holiday.

PS maybe you need to allow yourself more holiday time in NZ like two weeks each Island and let you be the judge

RailWarrior !!

From what I have read and reviewed in various publications, together with discussing this with friends in NYC, it seems the South Island has more of a pristine and dramatic landscape, and the North Island may have the great swimming beaches. A matter of choice !!

I think every place you go in NZ would be beautiful. Enjoy !!!

My wife and I have just returned from a month touring the North Island by campervan, and we LOVED it. We had initially planned to see both islands but decided that cutting out the South Island suited our way of travel better (using backroads and looking at the details), and we wanted warm beaches as we live in the middle of high mountains. We will probably go back to the particular North Island regions we enjoyed the most (Coromandel, Bay of Islands and Northland) before we see the South. If you'd like to see the details, we blogged our trip (with lots of photos), starting at http://www.explorenorth.com/wordpress/?p=200

Murray

While I admit that I am strongly biased towards the magnificent scenery and rugged adventurism of the alpine and fjord filled South - I honestly believe the North has a wider diversity of attractions. Greener, warmer, volcanic, a stronger Maori cultural base, there's plenty to explore and do in the North.

Its scenery is stunning in it's own right - with a broad mix of wide and/or cozy beaches; coastal mountain ranges; verdant fields and ridges; hot springs, volcanoes, and geysers; brooding, mysterious, inland national parks; Mt. Taranaki, Mt. Tongariro, Mt. Ruapehu, etc.; and sailing paradises such as the Bay of Islands and the Hauraki Gulf. I'm not a big fan of citylife, but Napier is an amazing art-deco coastal center in the midst of dozens of wineries, and Wellington a vibrant capital city with a landscape that San Francisco wishes it still had.

This is the eternal NZ tourist dilemma, which island to concentrate on? We've been fortunate enough to solve that problem by continuing to come back - and eventually explore every nook and cranny. Oh, we still spend most of the time of each trip in the South - I can't get enough of the West Coast rainforest, the Alps, and Fjordland - but our itineraries are somewhat predictable (but, far from boring!): A week in the North (finding someplace new to explore), a couple of weeks in the South, and always ending the trip with a sailboat charter in the Bay of Islands - ain't life grand? :)

Go ahead, spend your two weeks in the North, you certainly won't be disappointed. And, on the NEXT trip, see what the South has to offer!

Hi.

I'd agree with NJXJ.

Don't change you plans now. There is lots to enjoy in the north. When you have completed your trip, I'm sure you will want to return. And when you do, you will find the South Island really enjoyable.

From our observations over the years, the average holiday is slightly longer in the South island. If people ask how should they divide their time between the two islands. For starters If you have 15 days or less, I wouldn't. One Island or the other. If you had 3 weeks then I would suggest 2 weeks in the south, 1 in the north.

Have a good trip.