jmbay

I am travelling to NZ in Feb (16-24) with my 14 year old son. After a two night stopover in Auckland (flying in from California), we will fly down to Queenstown and make it our base for the next 7 days. We are after adventure, and want to Jet Boat, Bungee, do canyoning, river rafting, river surfing, luge, fly to Doubtful and Dusky Sound, fish, etc. My question is this, do I need to reserve all these activities in advance, or just wing it once we get there with one of the tour operators? Also, should we rent a car?. Also, what are the best day hikes around Queenstown?

Thanks,

Mark

Melnq8

Hi Mark -

In my experience, there's no need to book activities such as bungy jumping and the Shotover jet boat (not even sure they accept bookings).

You'll probably want to book your Doubtful Sound flight well in advance, just guessing though.

Highly recommend the Dart River Jet Boat Safari, which begins in Glenorchy, about 40 minutes from QT. We booked the night before for a morning safari, but then it was off season.

I've found that renting a car is the best way to see NZ. If you just don't want to drive though, you can certainly arrange transportation through tour operators.

As far as hiking goes, Glenorchy is the gateway to many great tracks including the Routeburn, Rees-Dart and Greenstone.

The NZ DOC site is packed with walking ideas:

http://www.doc.govt.nz/

thit_cho

If you have seven days, you should be able to make all your arrangements when in Queenstown. We were there over New Year's and the bungee jump was fully booked, but we were able to jetboat (we went with the company that departs from right near the statue of the man with the sheep). The jet boats go all day (so each operator, and this is a guess, may run 20 or more boats per day). There are also large offices throughout Queenstown that serve as central locations to book all your tours, and they offer combination packages. If you walk into one of the larger offices (I don't recall the names, but they are unmissable), they can put together a week's worth of activities for you, and may be able to get a combination discount.

jmbay

My flight to Doubtful and Dusky Sound departs from Te Anau. Should I rent a car, is the drive tough, or should I take a bus? Is it 2 1/2 hrs?

Thanks for your help

Mark

Melnq8

Te Anau is about a two hour drive from QT (170 km)). As I recall, it's an easy drive.

The drive from Te Anau to Milford is more challenging, but sounds as if you won't be drivig it.

I'm not familiar with bus transport in NZ, but I know it's there. Suggest you check bus schedules to see if you can meet up with your flight, otherwise you might consider renting a car.

Alternatively, you might check to see if the flight operator offers some sort of transport option.

jmbay

Thanks again,

Mark

Grcxx3

We did the Dart River Jet Boat and really enjoyed it. We went 3 years ago and my sons were (well, still are) big Lord of The Rings fans. So, we did a LOTR jeep safari. Basically, like any jeep safari, but it included stops at places used in the filming of the movies. Also spent some time panning for gold. Scenery was spectacular!

And on top of Bob's Peak in Queenstown is a great luge. We all did it several times, the DH and I sat and drank some wine while we watched the boys do it.

We loved Queenstown! Have fun!