If you’re planning a shortish trip to one of the world’s most beautiful countries, it’s best to plan your trip down to not the last detail – but not far from it; otherwise, you’ll miss out on things you really shouldn’t.

So, first off, a fortnight might be a bit too short a time if you’re flying direct from the UK. Don’t forget just how unsettling the jet lag can be. You’ll need a time to adjust so you might want to extend it a bit.

I’d recommend three weeks as a minimum trip if you are fling straight here to give you a decent trip and a good feel for the place, in terms of seeing the extremes; mountains, beaches and everything else.

So, on the presumption that you’ll be flying directly into Auckland, here are a few things to think about:

First off, a car is the best way of getting around these beautiful islands. So you’ll need to organise car hire. But when you do so, please have a think about hiring a Hybrid car or any form of eco cars the hire company have available.

New Zealand will inspire you more than any other country in the world to want to go green – and you’ll really appreciate just how important and how delicate the world’s natural environment is; perhaps more here than anywhere.

Now you’ll probably want to spend a couple of day recuperating – so you may as well do that in the country’s largest city and get to see it while you’re at it.

So take it easy, but do try and include a day trip to Waiheke Island, a trip up the Sky Tower, maybe a drive out to the West Coast beaches (Piha, Muriwai – where the gannet colony is and Karekare – where they filmed the opening to The Piano) and the Waitakere ranges.

Then you could either go up North if you have a bit more time and go to Bay of Islands and Cape Reigna – but this takes a minimum of three days really. It’s a good four hour drive to Paihia and then the Cape Reigna visit is a day trip from Paihia.

The next day you could head back south to Auckland. After that it’s always cool to travel south to Rotovegas. The Lakes around Rotorua, which are a little 20 min drive out of the main centre, are stunning. Lake Tarawera and the Blue Lake and Green Lake are incredible and well worth a visit. They are hidden gems; few people go there.

Then continue south aiming for Wellington and the inter-islander ferry to Picton to start a South Island exploration this is one of (the most spectacular ferry rides in the world by the way).

You could then drive down the coast from Picton to Christchurch and take in Kaikoura, or go the other way and do the West Coast to Wanaka over a few days, then make your way across to Queenstown and maybe fly from there back to Auckland. Howzat!?