A suggestion I can make, seeing that you are new to fly fishing.
Some of the NZ rivers are very big and room for back cast is not always available, a small spinning rod could come in handy in some of the rivers when they are flowing big and fast. You might not have all the lines required etc.
It is also easy when the going is good to give the spinning rod to the wife and get her into a fish or two. She might be more tolerant once she has caught a fish or two.

A word of advice, if you decide to take a fish for the pot, not to kill it in front of her, I know of an instance or two, where the other half have stopped fishing when they saw the fish being killed.