Hello all!

We are a family of 4 (adults) planning a visit in early September.

First, what kind of weather can we expect in September? We know that this is the beginning of spring in NZ (we're from New Jersey, USA) so weather is a bit different. We would love to see Bay of Islands and / or Cathedral Cove, but we don't know if that's worth it in September when we have 9-10 days max, and ideally would like to see both the North and South Islands. We are wondering if this is even feasible? We would most likely be flying into Auckland.

Some of our must-sees / do's include:

• Lord of the Rings (Hobbiton / WETA Tours)
• Waitomo Caves
• Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Park
• Whale Watching (is this only South Island?)
• Stargazing Tour
• Glaciers and / or National Parks

A little about us:

Two early 20's, Two Early/Mid 50's. We're not the biggest hiking family ever, but we're open to is based on the incredible photos we've seen online. One of us kids (Me!!) is an enormous LOTR fan, which is why that's even on the list. The other is a professional photographer, and would love to take some amazing photos while there.

We would be open to doing some of these multi-day private tours that we see online, but we were looking for any suggestions in order to try and fit most of these in over 9-10 days. We know that there is a lot of driving involved and that some of these to-do's we're looking into may take an entire day, which is why I'm here asking for some help.

We'd really appreciate any input before we get too far into the planning.

Thank you!