New Zealand trip

[caribbeansun]

Hi there - just wondering if anyone out there has any advice on a trip to New Zealand such as must do's, places to avoid etc.

We have put in for an exchange in Queenstown through DAE as we understand the South Island is the place to be but unfortunately we have to land in Auckland so an inter-island flight will be necessary.

Any help would be appreciated

Cheers!

 

[Keitht]

I am also in the very early stages of planning a trip to NZ and would strongly recommend getting hold of the Lonely Planet or Rough Guides to New Zealand. There is so much to see and do, the length and breadth of the islands that you will have to cherry pick. From what I have already read you will have plenty to see and do on South Island, but it time permits there is a lot on North Island as well.

 

[Elli]

Since there is so much to see on both islands, I would recommend renting a car on the North Island, then take the ferry over to the South Island and rent another car there. That's what we did quite a few years ago, and it worked out great.

 

[kamloops]

New Zealand

We purchased a time share four years ago In the Bay of Islands area on the North Isnland. Over the past four years we have made two trip to the North Island and one to the South Island. Both the North and South are very beautiful. You next at least 2/3 weeks to travel each Island. School holidays Mid Dec to end of Jan is the busy time. You need car rental and hotel reservation during this period.

Rather than a major rental car firm I would recommend firms such as Omega Rental Cars. Ltd. We used then three times and no problems. The cars are one to three years but much lower price. Except for hwy # 1 if the driving time says one hour it will take one hour.

The North Island ( Bay of Island area) is very pretty and has the best weather. On the North Island we toured the east coast Whakatane, Gisborne Napier and Taupo inland.
All very nice.

On the south Island we flew into Christchurch ( we only had 12 days) stayed in Christchurch a couple of days drove south to Dunedin over to the West to Te Anua, a day trip to Milford Sound, then up the west coast to Queenstown Fox Glacier Greymouth , Hammer Springs and back to Christchurch.

The people on both the North and South are very friendly. Our dollar is good. You will find meals a little expensive, but not when you consider the exhange rate, price includes all taxes and tipping is not expected in NZ>

 

[caribbeansun]

I've been looking into B&B's on the North lsland for a few days after landing just to recover from that marathon flight (I don't do long flights very well as they seem to really mess up my internal clock).

Elli - Isn't the drive to Wellington a long one from Auckland?

Keith - thanks, I'll pick those books up

Kamloops - any feedback on which areas of the South Island you liked the most? I'm trying to divide up our time there - I figured spending 4-5 days at the TS in Queenstown with the idea of running day trips from there to Milford Sound and perhaps a heli trip over the Alps and then perhaps south.

BTW my SIL lives in Kamloops!

Thanks all, keep the ideas coming!

 

[MaryH]

NZ is beautiful

caribbeansun,

I worked in Auckland, NZ for 6 month on a project last year. It is a beautiful country and lots to see and I did not see enough of it since I was working weeks and only had some weekends and most I spent in Auckland with some in NZ and Australia.

There are often flight sales on Qantas or Air NZ for Auckland-Queenstown periodically and I think I paid around NZ$129++ tax each way (not sure I got miles for it or not - maybe yes for QF but no for Air NZ for the cheapest fares). Those are viable options if you are pressed for time. I think I see a similar sales with QF that had prices fairly similar to it.

Queenstown is absolute fabulous. I did the flight to Milford Sound and the cruise since I had only 2 days there and while expansive, it was well worth it since there are thing you see that you would not see driving. They tried to take us over a route which we can see the glacier but there was a little too much mist/fog over the glacier to see much.

I am pretty sure the one I used was Glenorchy Air since I had wanted to do the Lord of the Ring one but there were not enough people in the 1 day I could do it so I did the milford sound one instead and glad I did.
http://www.glenorchy.net.nz/
I did the Fly-Cruise-Fly and would recommend them highly (but I like flying itsy bitsy planes) but if you prefer a lower price option and already have a car, I would drive there and do the cruise...

The gondola gives you some great views. There is also a Maoia (sp?) show up there while a bit touristy was interesting. But if I had a choice in what best to do to understand the culture, I would go to Roturua and go to the Cultural center there.

How much time are you planning to spend in NZ? What time of the year? That might gives us a better idea what to recommend.

Mary

p.s. If any of you want some photos of NZ, PM me and I would send you an invite to my NZ yahoo photos.

 

[MaryH]

For Auckland, if you like sailing, a 2 hr cruise on the American cup yacht NZ 40/41 is definitely a great way to spend a nice sunny afternoon. I think it was NZ$ 120-125 when I did it last year..

www.sailnewzealand.co.nz..

Auckland is definitely worth a few days. Another option you might want to consider if you are flying air NZ (not sure if doable for QF) is to price an open jaw into Auckland and maybe out of Queenstown.

 

[caribbeansun]

We're not sure how long at this point but I'm going to guess about 2 weeks +/- since we are doing this as a stopover on a flight through to Sydney where we are likely going to spend between 3-4 weeks.

I'll PM you for those pics - sounds awesome!

Thank you!

 

[MaryH]

If you are doing NZ as a stopover to OZ, then Auckland is the most likely although if you are doing it with Air NZ, you might be able to do stopover in Wellington / Christchurch as well. Not sure about QF since my client has a discount with Air NZ so I was flying them for the international trips home, and personal trips to OZ I tend to do QF so I can get AA miles even for the cheap trips where NZ tend to be no miles for the cheapie fares I go for for personal trips.

Do you know the time of the year yet?
Mary

 

[caribbeansun]

Hmmmm....

We're on a *A reward tix from YYZ-LAX-AKL-SYD and using AKL as the stopover. I tried to book YYZ-LAX-AKL//CHC-SYD but was told it wasn't a "legal" routing and that I couldn't openjaw from CHC - that would have been ideal and saved me an additional flight back to AKL - this is Errorplan so what can you do? At least I was able to get J class on NZ which should be one of the refitted planes with the full recline seats.

I'm going to try the old phone back and ask someone else thing in a few days.

I hadn't thought of sailing but we did a day tour when we were in St. Thomas a few years ago with snorkle stops around St. John which was amazing. Do you know of any day sail outfits worth looking into - we're more into relaxing than racing.

I was thinking of heading north to Warkworth to stay in a B&B for a few days and do some wine tasting.

Time of year is going to be early Dec/06 (yes, I'm a bit obsessive complusive but I'd like to think of it as being in a good way )

 

[kamloops]

Nz

Caribbeansun

We used the same route you have planned, we had stop overs in Auckland and on to Sydney or Perth. If you have the points I recommend Business Class it is well worth the extra points for the long trip. They have redone the interior of the planes. Read the reviews on FlyerTalk for all the information on Air NZ new planes. NZ lounge in Auckland is outstanding. LAX fair .

On our trip in 2003 we purchased a separate ticket from Auckland to Christchurch directly from the Air NZ, New Zealand web site ( not the International/Canada site). The New Zealand site states you must live in NZ but this was not a problem and the price was much lower than the Canadian site. It is 657 KM from Auckland to Wellington, plus time on ferry.

On our trip to the south island we did not use B & B , did on the North Island and they were excellent. They are a lot of B & B in NZ at all price ranges.

We stayed in Te Anau and drove to Milford Sound for the day cursie. A must do. There are hundreds of bus trips from Queenstown and TE Anau to Milford Sound every day., but it a easy drive in the beautiful mountains, it will rain.

We stayed in Qeenstown two days, interesting toursit town. Many plane/boat etc tours can be purchased in Queenstown.

 

[MaryH]

caribbeansun,

Great that you were able to get a *A J award with Errorplan. You would not have be able to do YYZ-LAX-AKL//CHC-SYD but might be able to do YYZ-LAX-AKL (stopover)-SYD//MEL/BRI(-AKL)-LAX-YYZ. The open jaw would need to be in Australia since SYD is your destination one way.

I heard good things about the new J class on air NZ and congrats on getting one. I was on air NZ paid C last year and it was a little disappointing to get J with 2-3-2 when a month before I did LH angled flat bed YYZ-FRA. Fortunately I was not in the middle seat or I would really be unhappy.

Dec is a good time to go with nice weather. I was there June-Dec and it was often rainy till mid-late Oct.. and Dec weather were great. A big shock going back to Canada for Xmas which I cushioned with a brief stop in Hawaii for 4 days.

Send you the link to the photos of NZ and OZ. Sorry it was not as extensive but I did not buy my nice camera (S60) till half way during my stay in NZ.. If you are more into relaxing sail, I would recommend the tall ship ones if one happens to be in town. There were pictures of Spirit of NZ of the spririt of Adventure trust in the albums and we did the sail for NZ$ 35 per person for 3 hrs although I believe the price would have gone up a little and schedule is only available till Apr. A friend's wife liked it so much that she volunteered for 2x 10-day sailing as chaperon but she is a sailer and qualified as a teacher.

http://www.spiritofadventure.org.nz/home/day_sails.html

If you like wine, I would suggest Waiheke Island as a day trip while in Auckland and you can join a organized tour or just take the ferry over (I think 40min-1hr ride).

Other area that might be intersted is Napier for Art Deco architecture and Gisborne or Hawk's Bay for wine in the North Island.
http://www.winesofnz.com/hb.html

Just some ideas and thoughts

 

[caribbeansun]

Thank you so much Mary!

Wonderful pics!!! I'm going to show those to my DW when she gets in.

I had actually looked at some B&B's on Waiheke Island - one was absolutely drop dead gorgeous but WOW was it expensive - I almost booked it until I realized the price was $830 per person NOT per day (that included breakfast, dinner, the room and a massage each) .

I didn't realize it was a hot wine region as I hadn't done much research on the actual area itself - although that's going to change as of now.

Kamloops - yes, definitely in first class. Actually with the refit of the NZ planes they eliminated first class and now everything is considered business class which saved me 80K Aeroplan miles.

You said that you didn't use B&B's on the South Island - did you stay at TS or something else? In your opinion am I aloting too many days in Queenstown? Should we just keep on moving around the island? I had planned on flying into Nelson from AKL and driving down the west coast to Queenstown before continuing on through to CHC for our return flight to AKL. The Nelson-Queenstown drive might be a mistake since it's so long ie. almost 700km as I understand the roads aren't exactly our standard so the trip could take a very long time - perhaps we should break it up over 3 days???

 

[kamloops]

Nz

Caribbeansun

We are in our 50's and like to see the country, but in my opinion 2/3 days for Queenstown is lots in view of you short time in the area and if you want to see the sights in other areas.

We used the site www.newzealand.com (go to Driving routes) to help with out planning. You will note they recommend 6 days for the trip Nelson - Greymouth. You are in the outback on this route.

On the North Island we stayed in B & B for $ 80/ $ 90 NZ per night for the unit. Very nice, one in Gisborne on the beach, private suite. I agree with Mary that Napier/Hastings is an interesting area.

 

[MaryH]

You can get very nice B&B on Waikiki for about 200-300$ per night but not sure if that is still true since Dec. is summer season and I looked in fall.

Some good hotel in AKL I stayed at are Crown Plaza, Hyatt (on a steep hill), Ascott Metropolis(have kitchenette), etc. and other decent ones I heard about are Stamford plaza, Duxton, and Langham ( the old Sheraton) is okay but not that central. If you are a member of Hyatt Gold Passport, Hyatt was a great deal at cat 1 5K award that I used some to keep my status and use the lounge even though I had a studio and later 1bdrm suite at Ascott Metropolis.

one site you can check into is www.wotif.com and they can have some really good last minute deals for Australia and NZ and if you looked for now, get an idea of price range for different cities.

Some NZ wine I like that are available in LCBO are: Oyster Bay, (not sure if Cloudy Bay is available too), Sacred Hill, etc. NZ white is better than the reds since the vines are still young but there were some decent ones but they were not cheap i.e. 30$ bottle purchased from vineyard.

I will check my notes and post a couple of restaurants I really like...

 

[caribbeansun]

Thanks again for the information!

I've got 5 pretty solid choices for places to stay on Waikiki that won't break the bank. Too bad that the reds are as good as the whites since we are both red drinkers - we'll just have to give it a shot

Thanks for the hotel suggestions - we will likely need to spend 1 or 2 nights in AKL before flying to the South Island and then again prior to flying on to Sydney.

I'll definitely check out that site you suggested.

Cheers!

Edit to add - What is a reasonable estimate of the travel time to Hawke's Bay from AKL by car? The site I found suggests 5 hours but is that realistic?

 

[kamloops]

NZ Driving Time

Napier to Taupo Hwy 5 is 139 Km allow 1.5 hrs no stops. Taupo to Auckiland Hwy # 1 is 275 KM a easy 3 hrs unless you hit a major traffic jam close to Auckland which is normal.

 

[MaryH]

There are some decent reds but you are in the higher price range. You can get decent whites in the mid to high teens in NZ$ but the nicer reds I tasted are in the NZ30+ range which I tasted/bought in the wine festival and Waiheke. For that price range, I far prefer a Chateauneuf de Pape.

I am primarily red drinker but in NZ have gone half and half and often the reds are not NZ but Australian...

If you end up staying at Crown Plaza or Hyatt Regency, hopefully you have Plat with priority club or Diamond with Hyatt to get the upgrade but if not, the club level at say $50 more might be worth the price for 2 people.

Crown Plaza club has a decent breakfast with smoked salmon and a very nice cocktail hr with hot and cold appetizers and free drinks. Hyatt Regency Club is also very nice with a decent view (although some cranes still I think) and a pretty good breakfast spread (but smoked salmon not guaranteed) and hot / cold appetizers and free open bar for the 2+ cocktail hour.