trip to NZ

nice_guy80

hello

myself and girlfriend are planning a trip to NZ next January/Feb/March from Ireland

we have only been looking very generally about an itinerary. and finding out about the unbelievable scenery.
we're very flexible in our dates of travel and where we can fly into/out of (we'll be going to Australia after)

I would like suggestions of places to go on both islands, things to avoid, car or motorhome hire? options for camping.

thanks

CatFromHue

I'd say go and get a Rough Guide or Lonely Planet for NZ and have a read through it, you should be able to get rough itinerys and prices from it. There really is loads and loads to do.

Also have a look at the 100% Pure NZ website. It's got a good list of things to do and more importantly pictures!

http://www.newzealand.com/ie/

spank_inferno

I'd recommend picking up the Lonely Planet guide to NZ, terrific book.

In 12 hours we will be departing for Auckland!

nice_guy80

so i've followed the advice and had a good read of books and online travel blogs

our plan is to fly into Christchurch and 'do' the south island. Maybe take 4/5 weeks there.
so Christchurch for 2/3 days, hiring a car, then onto banks peninsula down the coast to Dunedin and Invercargill
inland to Queenstown and do some fun stuff there
out to the fjords walking the milford track
up the west coast seeing the glaciers, and alps, up to farewell spit
maybe walk the Charlotte track,
enjoy some wine in marlborough country
back to Christchurch

what do you think of the time needed to get around?
we don't want to be rushing from place to place.
the travel agency has said 3 weeks is enough. we're not convinced.
any advice greatly appreciated

DoctorEdgeWild

I spent three weeks South island and two weeks North and got done all I wanted to do without it feeling rushed at all.

I was travelling on my own though so if you both have different aims/interests, that's worth considering.

I bought a car when I got there and sold it when leaving but was probably working off a smaller budget than yourselves. Might be worth considering though?

Hope you have a fantastic time and enjoy it as much as I did.

nice_guy80

DoctorEdgeWild wrote: »

I spent three weeks South island and two weeks North and got done all I wanted to do without it feeling rushed at all.

I was travelling on my own though so if you both have different aims/interests, that's worth considering.

I bought a car when I got there and sold it when leaving but was probably working off a smaller budget than yourselves. Might be worth considering though?

Hope you have a fantastic time and enjoy it as much as I did.

buying and selling the car sounds like a good idea. I mean its pricey to hire a car.
what sort of car did you get? and money wise what did you lose on it?

the two of us are in no rush back, so that's why we said we'd like to take our time getting around - camping, hiking whatever else needs to be done

pclancy

Lots of travelers do this. You often see for sale signs on Hostel noticeboards.

Kiwis love second hand jap cars so there are tons of good value Toyotas, Hondas and Nissans going around, often in great condition. If you only put a few thousand Ks on it you might sell it for same/more then what you bought it for!

www.trademe.co.nz has lots of options.

Turner Auctions are also excellent for second hand jap imports but might be more then you want to spend.

I'd avoid Subarus and european brands.

Cookie_Monster

If march then WOMAD is on in New Plymouth, massive festival, if into that kinda thing
http://www.taft.co.nz/womad/womad-home.html

nice_guy80

here is what I have come up with for the south island...

day...
1 fly into Christchurch
2 chill in christchurch
3 pick up rental car and drive to banks peninsula, stay overnight
4 drive to arthur's pass, stay night, maybe 2.
5 drive to lake tekapo, stay night
6 drive to mount cook, stay night (maybe 2)
7 drive to cromwell, stay night
8 drive down to palmerstown and oamaru, stay night
9 drive to dunedin, stay night
10 explore otago peninsula, drive to balclutha (or thereabouts), stay night
11 catlins, drive to invercargill and stay there
12 drive to tuatpere and walk some of south coast track. stay in port craig
13 hike back, drive to manapouri
14 doubtful sound day trip
15 drive to Glenorchy via Queenstown and camp
16 queenstown (why you might ask, when the Milford track is just in Te Anau? Answer: recharge batteries, stock up on food, wash clothes etc)
17 Milford Track, car parked at milford sound and bus to te anau downs
18/19/20/21 milford track
22 milford sound, drive back to queenstown to recover
23 onto Wanaka stay night (maybe 2)
24 Wanaka to greymouth, via glaciers
25 greymouth to Nelson
26 drive up to farewell spit and back to abel tasman for overnight hike
27 hike back, drive onto queen charlotte sound staying in mistletoe bay
28 explore queen charlotte souns
29 catch ferry to North Island...

few questions
are we being too optimistic?
overloading?
we've nothing booked except flights and the Milford Track. We can kinda make it up as we go along

pclancy

Cool trip!

My thoughts:

Christchurch is a building site and will be for some time. Yes I know some parts are open again and some pop up shops etc but I would avoid, used to be such a lovely city with parks, rivers, gardens, nice CBD, but now, I wouldnt bother stopping on your way out to Banks. Just my opinion, no offence meant to any Christchurch locals on boards!

Excellent backpackers in Banks Peninsula/Akaroa called Halfmoon Cottage, also really great Dolphin tour on a sailboat there, well worth doing.

Dont bother with Dunedin, Invercargill, Cromwell, Palmerston, Oamaru, they're nothing special or interesting at all in my view, especially Invercargill. . Focus on the good scenic stuff down there like Glenorchy, Wanaka, Queenstown, Milford, Doubtfull sound, Te Anau, Haast Pass, Mt Cook etc.

Check out the Paradiso Cinema in Wanaka! Great chairs and couches to watch movies on as you dine on great food.

In my opinion, Hokitika is way better to visit then Greymouth, which is a real west coast dump, much nicer scenery and nature related stuff to do like walks, rivers, waterfalls etc.

Bealeys Hotel in Arthur's Pass is in an incredible location, have stayed there a few times.

Nelson to Farewell Spit is a long, long windy drive, suggest you stay up there overnight in a lovely little village called Collingwood (great backpackers here called Sunset Lodge http://www.backpackerscollingwood.co.nz/) and visit the many local attractions including WHARARIKI beach which is one of the best in the country! Great Kayak and Walking trips around here too. The clearest water in the world apparently is here in a small lake, nice to visit.

Abel Tasman and Nelson are amazing and both worth several days if you can, Motueka is a good base to explore and stay in hostel or camper park, amazing kayak trips here too...Marlborough Sounds also gorgeous, great boat trips, kayaking, snorkeling etc, one of my fave places in NZ to spend summer days. Usually great weather and lots to see and do.

If you doing this trip soon, BOOK YOUR FERRY NOW as its getting very expensive already for this years summer season, most of the country quits work and goes on holiday around Xmas/NY so the ferry gets very expensive.

nice_guy80

pclancy wrote: »

Cool trip!

My thoughts:

Christchurch is a building site and will be for some time. Yes I know some parts are open again and some pop up shops etc but I would avoid, used to be such a lovely city with parks, rivers, gardens, nice CBD, but now, I wouldnt bother stopping on your way out to Banks. Just my opinion, no offence meant to any Christchurch locals on boards!

Excellent backpackers in Banks Peninsula/Akaroa called Halfmoon Cottage, also really great Dolphin tour on a sailboat there, well worth doing.

Dont bother with Dunedin, Invercargill, Cromwell, Palmerston, Oamaru, they're nothing special or interesting at all in my view, especially Invercargill. . Focus on the good scenic stuff down there like Glenorchy, Wanaka, Queenstown, Milford, Doubtfull sound, Te Anau, Haast Pass, Mt Cook etc.

Check out the Paradiso Cinema in Wanaka! Great chairs and couches to watch movies on as you dine on great food.

In my opinion, Hokitika is way better to visit then Greymouth, which is a real west coast dump, much nicer scenery and nature related stuff to do like walks, rivers, waterfalls etc.

Bealeys Hotel in Arthur's Pass is in an incredible location, have stayed there a few times.

Nelson to Farewell Spit is a long, long windy drive, suggest you stay up there overnight in a lovely little village called Collingwood (great backpackers here called Sunset Lodge http://www.backpackerscollingwood.co.nz/) and visit the many local attractions including WHARARIKI beach which is one of the best in the country! Great Kayak and Walking trips around here too. The clearest water in the world apparently is here in a small lake, nice to visit.

Abel Tasman and Nelson are amazing and both worth several days if you can, Motueka is a good base to explore and stay in hostel or camper park, amazing kayak trips here too...Marlborough Sounds also gorgeous, great boat trips, kayaking, snorkeling etc, one of my fave places in NZ to spend summer days. Usually great weather and lots to see and do.

If you doing this trip soon, BOOK YOUR FERRY NOW as its getting very expensive already for this years summer season, most of the country quits work and goes on holiday around Xmas/NY so the ferry gets very expensive.

ok. the main reason for two nights in Christchurch was to get rid of jetlag!
thanks for the advice. The above itinerary is just an outline. nothing booked except flights and Milford Track...

I'm not sure what date we'll be going to the North Island!
And I still have to plan 2 weeks up there!

CatFromHue

Have you thought about what you want to do in all the places you intend to visit?

For example you say you're going to go to Arthurs Pass and stay a night or maybe 2. Arthurs Pass is tiny, it's pretty much a place to go hiking from so if you're not hiking there's nothing else to do. Then if you are hiking, again from memory, there's a few small hikes of maybe an hour and then the next ones are 5-6+ hours of hard walking.

Also no Kaikoura? It's the best place in NZ to go swimming with Dolphins/Seals and go Whale watching. I'd rank it as a must do to be honest.

nice_guy80

CatFromHue wrote: »

Have you thought about what you want to do in all the places you intend to visit?

For example you say you're going to go to Arthurs Pass and stay a night or maybe 2. Arthurs Pass is tiny, it's pretty much a place to go hiking from so if you're not hiking there's nothing else to do. Then if you are hiking, again from memory, there's a few small hikes of maybe an hour and then the next ones are 5-6+ hours of hard walking.

Also no Kaikoura? It's the best place in NZ to go swimming with Dolphins/Seals and go Whale watching. I'd rank it as a must do to be honest.

yep, hiking. lots of it.
we intend to drive somewhere, get out of the car and walk to see and enjoy the scenery. camp for most of the trip with a few hostels thrown in.

seals? whales? everyone's tastes differ
to be honest, we've got a lot of time, and we could easily drive down from Picton before we get a ferry, and do the sawcut gorge too.

Seanie_H

I'm getting jealous... Lived there for 2 years. For the South Island I say do visit Dunedin. It has the Speights Brewery and Cadburys (which is fun to do but only if you're there). It has a nice vibe around. Also, there's a company called Elm Eco Tours (can't link it right now, working off the phone) which do small group one day tours in private lands to visit a cool wild seal colony and access to a beach with a penguins and sea lions also. Strongly recommend that.

Apart from that, agree that you should give more time to seeing Golden Bay & Able Tasman kayak.

Kaikora is immense on the right day for whale and dolphin spotting.

Hamner Springs is very close to Christchurch and Kaikora. Nice relaxing thermal spa resort/village - they've a YHA there.

Buying a car is good and bad. You don't legally need insurance but can be sued. They have a WOF - warrant of fitness, just like the nct with fines for not keeping one. Consider juicy rentals and ace rentals too, they're aimed at backpackers.

On the north island, aim to get the Tongariro Crossing in.... Great one day trek from Taupo. Super cheap sky diving in Taupo too. Napier for wine, Welly for a Fri & Sat night out, Rotorua hasloads to do, the Coromandel is worth a few days and stay in Parnell when in Auckland.

4 weeks South Island, 2-3 North would be my tip.

nice_guy80

Seanie_H wrote: »

I'm getting jealous... Lived there for 2 years. For the South Island I say do visit Dunedin. It has the Speights Brewery and Cadburys (which is fun to do but only if you're there). It has a nice vibe around. Also, there's a company called Elm Eco Tours (can't link it right now, working off the phone) which do small group one day tours in private lands to visit a cool wild seal colony and access to a beach with a penguins and sea lions also. Strongly recommend that.

Apart from that, agree that you should give more time to seeing Golden Bay & Able Tasman kayak.

Kaikora is immense on the right day for whale and dolphin spotting.

Hamner Springs is very close to Christchurch and Kaikora. Nice relaxing thermal spa resort/village - they've a YHA there.

Buying a car is good and bad. You don't legally need insurance but can be sued. They have a WOF - warrant of fitness, just like the nct with fines for not keeping one. Consider juicy rentals and ace rentals too, they're aimed at backpackers.

On the north island, aim to get the Tongariro Crossing in.... Great one day trek from Taupo. Super cheap sky diving in Taupo too. Napier for wine, Welly for a Fri & Sat night out, Rotorua hasloads to do, the Coromandel is worth a few days and stay in Parnell when in Auckland.

4 weeks South Island, 2-3 North would be my tip.

thanks
some nice tips in there!