kayaklady80

Hello,

I had a post about a month ago requesting help on our 3 week itinerary to NZ in Feb. I had some good responses, and have since had responses on other sites, and have changed it up a bit. We are planning on renting a car for the entire trip. Will Feb weather be okay for this? Looking for your advice (and we love the outdoors!):

3N Wellington- mostly to rest after two days of travel, also planning a trip to Kapiti island.
2N-Marlborough Sound (should we stay in Picton here?)
2N-Kaikoura
3N- Abel Tasman National Park (activities in the park all day, then sleeping in Kaiteriteri)
3N-Queenstown
1N-Milford Sound Observer overnight
2N-Te Anau
1 more night in Queenstwon, then flight home

so, it's about 19 days with travel, giving us a couple of days to recoop after we return. Thoughts? Advice? Thanks so much!

mlgb

I did an overnight on Kapiti with the "kiwi spotting" (successful).

Given that you have 3 nights available around Wellington it might be possible. It would be compatible with a 'rest up' itinerary, I think.

kayaklady80

Thanks mlgb, did you use a tour company? I don't sleep well on planes, so I think realistically, I will need a couple of days to get on NZ time and relax into vacation mode! But maybe an overnight to Kapiti on the third night would work, and then we could come back to Wellington to pick up a rental car. Is one half day of jetlagged sightseeing enough for Wellington? Not too interested in seeing big cities on this trip. Thanks again!

mlgb

All you need to know about an overnight stay at Kapiti.

http://www.kapitiislandalive.co.nz/

I contacted them directly by email. If you spend the night they will take care of the DOC permits. I spent the prior night at Paraparumu Beach, which is not far from Wellington.

Yes, Wellington can be done in a short visit. The major sights are the waterfront, Botanic Gardens, & Te Papa (I'm not as in love with it as I was when the displays were old school). There is also a nature sanctuary near Wellington called "Zealandia" which I have not been too but it gets pretty good reviews.

BTW I don't have bad jet lag coming from California to NZ. Just want to get up early which works pretty well with the Kapiti Island visit since the "dawn chorus" is a highlight.

kayaklady80

Thanks mlgb, I've bookmarked that page to show my husband later, it looks like a wonderful introduction to NZ in our first few days. I typically am not too terribly jetlagged when we travel to Europe from the US, but need a day or two to rest up, so by the third day we should be ready for a night on Kapiti. We definately want to go to Te Papa and the waterfront, I think a day will be plenty of time for that. Did you/have you been to Abel Tasman? We were planning on staying in Kaiteriteri, but have seen others posting on this site that staying at a lodge inside the park is preferable. Any opinion on this? Thanks!

HLucy

If you intend to spend 2 nights in Kaiteriteri and travel into Abel Tasman National Park each day, you might want to look at an overnight trip into the Park with Wilsons Abel Tasman. They take care of the details, leaving you more time to relax or explore the National Park, and stay overnight in beachfront lodges within the boundaries of the Park.

mlgb

I stayed in Nelson, and did a daytrip. Drop off one bay, hike, pickup another bay and return to Nelson. But I'm guessing as Kayak is in your screen name, you will want more days inside the park.

The company that runs the water taxis can pick you up in Nelson, I believe. It didn't seem necessary to start my car rental that early and drive to Kaiteriteri just to catch the water taxi. At the end of the visit I returned to Nelson and picked up the rental the next morning. I can't recall my itinerary when I visited Abel Tasman, though. I think I may have continues via Buller Gorge to the west Coast.

As far as Picton, it isn't all that interesting to me. And since the Marlborough Sounds look too much like the Bay Area, I haven't spent much time there. But one of the other Fodorites is a big fan of the north half of the South Island so I think she will be along in a bit and answer your questions.

I asssume you are taking the ferry from Wellington to Picton. You'll get a good look at the Sounds on the trip across.

kayaklady80

Thanks Lucy, I have heard from other posts on this forum that Ocean View Chalet is a good option for staying in the park, have you ever stayed there or do you know anything about it? I will be comparing them and Wilson's- those are the two I have heard the best reviews of so far. We don't minbd rustic or basic, as long as there is a food view!

Yes, mlgb, we are pretty outdoorsy (my husband is more outdoorsy of me- he would rather camp out the entire stay in the Park, but I prefer at least a cabin) so kayaking and also hiking will be a big part of our trip- we are hoping to sea kayak at least two of our three days in Abel Tasman. Our reason for wanting to stay in Marlborough Sound was partly to be able to do a kayak tour of Queen Charlotte Track... and then a hike the next day. We are also wine lovers- maybe a couple days to relax after our adventures in Abel Tasman in the wine country on the east coast would be better than Queen Charlotte?...sometimes my legs and sense of adventure move more quickly than my 50+ year old body!

mlgb

Ah..wineries. Not to throw another wrench in the plans, but the Martinborough district east of Wellngton is perfect for biking or walking between wineries. If you are REALLY into wines I would recommend staying at Oak House in Martinborough which is run by a winemaker (Chris Buring) with 40? years of experience. He does contract winemaking for a lot of the boutique vineyards in the area, and Polly can direct you to the best. Two nights is about right. If you have dinner there they will probably crack open one of his own Pinot Noirs. And the breakfasts are superb, with a tray of a dozen or more home made preserves including lemon curd.

They do have cats in the main part of the house, if allergies are an issue.


http://www.burings.co.nz/

carolhitchie

You don't need 3 nights in Wellington...and depending on your budget, a 3 night/2 day Abel Tas is spectacular. If you want a custom trip, I can put one together. I specialze only in travel planning to NZ and Australia...been there many times, everywhere you're planning...
Carol www.koalakiwi.com [email protected]

mlgb

I don't think advertising is permitted on Fodors.

PJTravels

While you don't need 3 nights in Wellington, it is a nice, small city with good restaurants and a decent place to get over jet lag. We have found that we don't suffer as much from jet lag going to NZ from the US west coast - don't know why. You won't need a car in Wellington so that will save some rental expense. See my trip report for a great place to stay.

I don't recommend spending the night in Picton when it is not far to go to the Marlborough wine area and where there are lovely places to spend the night.

When we visited Abel Tasman NP, we spend several nights about an hour's drive away in the little town of Tasman - near Motueka. We found this was a great way to spend time in the park, but also to tour that wine area and to go into Nelson.

I have 2 trip reports detailing our accommodations.

Have a great trip!

kayaklady80

Thanks PJ I will take a look! So, is Marlborough or Martinborough a better place for wineries and biking through them? I have heard Blenheim is a good option in Marlborough...

PJTravels

We just briefly touched base in both areas. My sense is that Martinborough is easier, in fact, we walked to several. Caveat is that we spent our time in Marlborough at the wine and food festival so didn't need to travel from place to place. I'll have to pass this one to the experts.