indiancouple, sue,

Thanks a lot for your help.

So far our comfort zones for travel had been USA and India. Venturing into new territory is one of the pleasures of travel which we hope to discover in NZ.

indiancouple, sue, others,

Indancouple and Sue trip reports are great. I have a question though. We will have two kids with us (6 and 8 years old). I want to see if its possible to not overdo the outdoor scenery sightseeing. I am guessing my kids will reach a point where they will say, "a lake is a lake after all and we do not want to see any more lakes or mountains".

So in my situation, is it better if I spend few more days in cities like Auckland, Wellington etc. and do some touristy stuff so kids are not saturated with "nature".

In that case, in which cities can I spend more time ? My kids would love theme parks, rides, interacting with animals in zoos etc.

Please advice.

Thanks

The main attraction of NZ is the nature golfdude. I'm not aware of any theme parks in NZ, but there are plenty of touristy things to do in/around Queenstown, which is the adventure capitol of NZ. Jet boat trips, water activities, you name it. Puzzling World near Wanaka might interest the kids. There's also Zorbing, but I'm not sure of the current locations or the age limitations, you'd have to do a search.

The kids might also enjoy the TSS Earnslaw and Walter Peak farm tour:


http://www.realjourneys.co.nz/Main/TSSEarnslaw_WP/

golfdude, the people of NZ have mastered the art of coming up with things to do! Melq8 mentions 'zorbing' - which you can do in Rotorua if you are so inclined:

http://www.zorb.com/zorb/prices/

I note the photo appears to have a young child in it, so I think they have a 'modified Zorb' for children.

Both Te Papa and Auckland museums have 'hands-on' exhibits designed for all ages.

They will also enjoy the thermal parks but you WILL have to watch your kids, those pools and boiling mud are very, very hot (fatally hot).

I get what you say about kids not just liking to 'look', they need to 'do' stuff. Don't underestimate the power of something simple (and inexpensive) to entertain. The thing is, in my experience, kids can be entertained just by clambering over rocks, or having time to play imaginary games in different places. Also, for some quieter activity, bring drawing materials and have them draw pictures of what they see.

Try to find room in your luggage for something like 2 plastic buckets and spades, so that they can amuse themselves at the various beaches you will find along the way.

Your kids will surprise you - they will figure out their own 'trip' as long as you plan enough 'down time.'

Hello,

Indiancouple writes in his trip report, that looking back he would have omitted Auckland all together. Is the city that bad ? From the images I have seen, it looks like a nice city where one can spend couple of days doing these things:

1) Skywalk
2) Ferry to Devenport
3) Auckland Harbor Bridge
4) Skytower
5) Kelly Tarlton's Antartic Encounter
6) Auckland Zoo

I was going to keep 3 days for Auckland and then follow indiancouple's itinerary for the road trip. And since I have more days, I was planning to add 1 night in Wellington, 1 night in Dunedin and 1 night in Christchurch in indiancouple's route.

Since we will have two small kids with us, I thought spending couple of days in Auckland might be a good start to the road trip.

Please advice if I can skip Auckland altogether and add days in other spots.

Thanks.

I certainly can't speak for Indiancouple, but we don't care for Auckland. Cities just don't appeal to us, but that's just us.

Sorry,I was traveling the last few days, and could not respond to some of the queries posed.

First of all, thanks to Sue for citing me in her trip report. I am really glad that I could be of some help to a fellow traveler from Fodors.

Regarding golfdude's query about things to do for children. I still would budget for max 1 day in Auckland, during which you could do the Skytower, ferry to Devonport etc. Really not much else to do. It is the largest city of NZ no doubt, but not really of tourist interest.

I don't think you need to be worried about kids getting bored on this trip at all, or the scenery getting repetitive. There are a load of different things to do at each place. For instance, when you drive from Auckland to Rotorua, you should make a stop at Waitomo, where the kids will enjoy the stalactite & stalagmite caves, plus the glow-worms, plus the display of angorra rabbit shearing etc. At Rotorua, there are tons of things to do, and you could add an extra day here (making it 3 nights instead of 2). There is the Wai-O-Tapu park which is unique, as is the Te Puia park/museum, the Maori village visits, the Polynesian spas with their thermal pools etc, plus opportunities to do zorbing, boat rides on Rotorua lake etc. The variety of things to do is enormous, so nothing will be repetitive.

You could possibly add a day to Wellington, as the kids may like to see the Te Papa museum in detail, which can take up most of a day. That is, you could spend 2 nights in Wellington instead of the one night that we spent. You could also add a day to Nelson area, and spend an extra day in Abel Tasman Park, where there are a ton of excellent walks and water taxi rides.

Finally, you could easily add 1 or 2 days to Queenstown, which is the most beautiful part of NZ, and has the max number of interesting "adventure" activities. Each activity is very different from the other, and I cannot imagine kids getting bored there even if you spend a fortnight there.

Hence I do not approve of spending 3 days in Auckland. Limit it to just one day max. Spend more time in Rotorua,Nelson, Queenstown, and maybe Wellington. Rather than add an extra day to Christchurch, consider going to nearby Kaikoura for a night (I have not been there but I hear it is very pretty). Cannot comment about Dunedin since I have not been there.

The "action" in NZ is outside the cities, not inside them, even for kids. Least of all in Auckland !

Hi indiancouple,

Thanks a lot. That clears my confusion.

Regarding getting NZ dollars, did you get the $ in India through a bank before you left or in NZ on arrival ? Do all accommodations, rides, etc accept Indian credit cards ?

I have both a USA license and an Indian license. But my wife only has the Indian driver's license. Can I put her as a driver on the rental car ?

Thanks

golfdude

golfdude, you may have difficulty getting NZ $ from an Indian bank. I carried US $, and got them changed in NZ. Incidentally, you get excellent conversion rates at the airport (which is rare in most other countries). Alternately, you can get them converted at Sky Tower or at any foreign exchange currency counter in Auckland. Credit cards issued in India are now internationally valid, and I had no difficulty using my credit card in NZ.

Indian drivers license is valid in NZ (provided it is of the smart card variety), and you do not need an International Driver Permit in NZ. So your wife's Indian license will work fine, provided it is a smart card variety. We rented a GPS along with the car, which was a great convenience, and useful gadget to have. Driving in NZ is easy and enjoyable.

Hi indiancouple,

One more question and I hope I am not bothering you too much.

I have my own business and so it is almost difficult for me to shut down everything for 3 weeks and take off. I can conduct my business online, so I am hoping if I choose accommodation which has wifi/internet access, I should be fine with my laptop. Will this work specially in remote areas in South Island ? I just need internet access Mon-Fri for couple of hours every day.

Thanks

It is no bother at all, in fact a pleasure to help a fellow traveler.

When I traveled to NZ, almost 3 years ago, I had not carried my laptop, so I do not recollect whether most lodgings had wi-fi or not. You could always e-mail them and check in advance. In most parts of the world nowadays, wi-fi has become a standard feature in lodgings : some have free wi-fi and some have a small charge for it. But it is generally available. I remember going to an internet cafe in Nelson, and also in Queenstown; I recall that my host in Punakaiki had broadband connection at his home. So internet availability is not a problem at all, anywhere in NZ. I would expect that most places will have wi-fi. At worst, you may have to step outside to an internet cafe, but I doubt if that will be required.

Another suggestion : try traveling without your laptop for a change ! You might discover that your business functions better without your "interference" !!

indiancouple,

thanks a lot for all your help. i will post my trip experience here.

golfdude

We got back from 22 days in NZ. My heartfelt thanks to indiancouple and other folks here. Without the travel tips, we would have missed lot of stuff.

Indiancouple's recommendation for the farmhouse in Nelson was amazing. We stayed in Sunshine cottages in Harris Hill. One of the best accomodations. Also the B&B in Twizel facing Mt. Cook was gorgeous.

Plus we tried most of the restaurants recommended by indiancouple. Never went wrong. Few I can think of.

Thanks again.

golfdude in Pune

We got back from 22 days in NZ. My heartfelt thanks to indiancouple and other folks here. Without the travel tips, we would have missed lot of stuff.

Indiancouple's recommendation for the farmhouse in Nelson was amazing. We stayed in Sunshine cottages in Harris Hill. One of the best accommodations. Also the B&B in Twizel facing Mt. Cook was gorgeous.

Plus we tried most of the restaurants recommended by indiancouple. Never went wrong.

Thanks again.

golfdude in Pune

Hi golfdude. Glad you had a nice trip to NZ, and very happy to note that you found our TR useful. The Harris Hill property at Nelson and the Omahau Downs at Twizel are unforgettable even for us; so nice to hear someone else having a good experience there.

Indiancouple,

Yours is a really great report! I made notes in my Lonely Planet book while I was reading it. I am planning a trip to Australia & New Zealand for September & October of this year. By the way, India is a magical place to visit. I was there in 2005 and loved it.

Hi Marsh, glad you liked the TR. It has been close to 3 years since I wrote it, and any comment like yours popping up just brings back wonderful memories.

Not surprised that you enjoyed India !

amazing trip report and extremely helpful In the process of planning for next January/Feb and will be in Australia before and after Melbourne for 6 days and then upon return sydney for 3
We will be doing 13 days actually in NZ not including our travel days to and from OZ
I am only doing north island and would pick up your trip around day 8 as we will be starting out from CC.. what I am wondering is did you feel at any time that you really wanted more time in one place than you had --we have one plan that circles back to CC and another that has us flying out of Queenstown giving us more time to spend in that area. Life is full of choices but since this may be my one and only trip to NZ I am trying to make the best one for us.
Everything in the LP guidebook sounds so great but there must be some things that are not to be missed like some of the things you said you were so surprised that were top trip items
ie drive to Glenorchy and the town.. not too much mentioned about that .. also I have heard about Arrowtown.. is one better off staying there than QUeenstown when hanging in that area?

Just in case Indiancouple doesn't see this right away...

Glenorchy is a 40 minute drive from QT and is absolutely beautiful - we often spend 3-4 nights in the area as we love to hike, but there's not much there in the way of services. Glenorchy is all about the scenery. It makes a very good day trip from QT. You can drive there and back in a few hours, but if you plan to hike, you can easily spend a full day there.

Arrowtown is a short drive from QT in the opposite direction - easy to do from QT in about half a day, unless you plan to hike, in which case you'd need more time. Some info on Arrowtown here:

http://www.arrowtown.com/