Good Day. In March 2008, we will attend a meting in Auckland. We will take 2 - 3 weeks and try to see some key parts of the region. We are considering the North or South of NZ and various parts of Australia. My husband loves water and wild life. My interests are in local culture - people, food, lifestyle. We would like to have a base in each region as we aren't good hotel hoppers. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Cheers.

Hi Child,

with only 2-3 weeks travel time you will not be able to do both countries. Resign yourself to that fact and concentrate on New Zealand. You will still have an awesome vacation and you'll just have to plan going back to that part of the world for Australia, that's all!

You can still attain all your aspirations of water, wildlife, local culture, food and lifestyle in New Zealand.

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Kiwi Specialist

Here are my thoughts:

We spent 3 weeks in NZ, and saw most of what we felt should be seen. But it required a lot of driving and 'hotel hopping'.

If you want to stay in a minimum number of hotels, consider 3 bases: Auckland, Christchurch, and Queenstown, flying between each one. If you spent 2 weeks doing this, with day trips from each, you could see a lot of NZ. I think any more time <i>in these 3 areas</i> would be overkill. You could even spend 2 nts on the West Coast as a trip from QT during this time, but this would require another unpacking.

Thank you for your thoughtful responses. The reality is that I do not know that I will ever get back to this region. And I realize that I could spend months and still not see the wonders of OZ and NZ.
But Australia is definitely part of the plan for this short trip. We do not intend to spend much time in Auckland beyond my meeting there. We are considering SI and then Sydney and GBR. We will skip Melbourne and Brisbane. Any suggestions on sites and lodging would be helpful.

I think your mix is a good pick childlife if that is what you want to do and I would stick to that because, as you say, you may never be back and they are the highlights in any case.
For lodging in Sydney then anywhere near Circular Quay is preferrable as you can walk to the important things and the ferries are at you fingertips. If you want a boutique hotel then The Russell is in a wonderful spot but do ask for a room away from the front and on the first floor preferably because they do not have a lift. In Cairns there is everything from backpackers to 5 star accommodation to rainforest accommodation and that then depends on what you prefer.

Childlife -

The SI of NZ is difficult to see using the base city concept. Having said that, if this is your preferred method of travel, suggest you base yourself in/around Queenstown. From QT, you can reach Milford Sound (as a very long day trip), Glenorchy (40 minute drive from QT - great walks, some LOTR sites, Dart River Safari, etc), Arrowtown (short hop from QT - a few good walks, some shops, great Indian restaurant, some wineries), Cromwell (wineries, fruit growing area) and Wanaka (90 minute drive from QT, beautiful lake, great walks in area, etc).

Christchurch might also be a good option. From there you can reach Akaroa on Banks Peninsula in about 90 minutes, Kaikoura (whale watching) in about two hours, Hanmer Springs (thermal springs, good walks) in about 90 minutes, the Waipara Valley (wineries) in about 40 minutes, and of course Christchurch itself (Tranzalpine train, cathedral square, gondola, Sumner, Lyttleton, etc)

Dunedin is also a possiblity as a base city - Otago Peninsula, Albatross Colony, penguin viewing, train trips, Cadbury chocolate factory, Baldwin Street (steepest street in the world) Speights brewery tours, etc.

Lots of options....