The people are wonderful but the government will make you jump through many hoops. Sister in law lives in Australia and wanted to do the same kind of trip. Took almost six months of NZ looking into her finances and bank accounts, a complete list of every place they were going to stay so the reservations could be verified and a complete list of every place they wanted to see. SIL wanted to visit in summer but it was winter before the visa was issued. She cancelled the trip and then had to explain to the NZ authorities why she wasted their time.