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It can, and two to three weeks is the length most first itineraries are built around. The islands have no road between them, so the plan has to absorb either a domestic flight of about an hour and twenty minutes between Auckland and Christchurch, or a drive to Wellington plus the Interislander ferry to Picton. Shorter than a fortnight and something usually gets cut, most often Fiordland, which sits furthest from either gateway.

Yes, and it is worth planning around. The Milford Road passes through the Homer Tunnel, which runs 1,270 metres with its eastern portal at 945 metres and moves vehicles in light-controlled one-way sections. The road closes an average of about eight days a year in the colder months, and avalanche control above the route is triggered by helicopter. Between Te Anau and the sound there are long stretches with no townships, so check the road status before setting out.

Both are normal. Flying is the default for the Auckland to Christchurch leg, at roughly an hour and twenty minutes in the air. The ferry exists for people who want to keep a rental car and see Cook Strait: drive to Wellington, cross to Picton on the Interislander in about three and a half hours, then drive on. The strait is open water with no bridge or tunnel, so treat the sailing itself as offline time.

Self-driving is popular and normal within each island, and plenty of visitors do it without prior left-hand experience. What to plan for is time rather than difficulty: the roads wind, and real drive times run well above what straight-line distance suggests. Christchurch to Queenstown is about 485 kilometres and takes five and a half to six hours. For the longer legs, and for anything crossing between the islands, domestic flights are the usual choice.

It depends on what the trip is for. Christchurch is the wider gateway, flat and central, and the natural start for Canterbury and a longer South Island loop. Queenstown is the alpine base, on Lake Wakatipu beneath the Remarkables, and the sensible starting point for the Milford Sound day trip at about 290 kilometres each way via Te Anau. The two are roughly 485 kilometres apart, or an hour by domestic flight.

Seasons run opposite to Europe and North America. December to February is the warmest window and the one beach days are planned around; swimming is broadly December to March, though the water stays cool by tropical standards. June to August is the coldest stretch, and the ski season around Queenstown and Wanaka runs June to September. November and March are the shoulder months, with good conditions and fewer crowds.

Yes, and it is the standard short North Island section. Rotorua is about 230 kilometres from Auckland on a direct road, roughly two and three-quarter to three hours, which makes a two- or three-night pairing easy before flying south. Auckland covers the city, the museum and the Waiheke ferry; Rotorua covers the geothermal parks at Te Puia and Wai-O-Tapu, the Whakarewarewa village and the lake. Both sit on the main North Island touring route.