Lee Ann, I think the Rob Roy glacier walk is the must do free activity in Wanaka. So get there by any means possible. We did it in a new Hertz (I didn't read any fine print) with no issue, other than the flat tire that resulted two days later. But then again, I drove that road just a bit faster than most people do so that I could "float" over the washboards.

We did a nice glacier walk in Norway a few years ago...and I have a feeling that ms_go is going to really want to do that again. But maybe we should probably wait and see how our legs are feeling after a 4-day trek.

BTW, I just ordered an ITM map of New Zealand to facilitate planning. That's in addition to the Fodors New Zealand guide book that ms_go won at some Fodorite GTG a couple years ago (I knew that would come in handy some day!). Does anyone know of a good online information resource I should be reading...besides here, of course?

Ace used to be really generous in their discount codes. I think FBPROMOCODE will get you 5% off. Not much, but something.

www.doc.govt.nz for all your outdoor activities. I also like Lonely Planet for ideas.

Melnq8, I've seen pictures of the Skippers Canyon road on a couple of Lord of the Rings tour websites, and I said nope nope nope.

Paulg, I'd really like to do that walk as long as the weather is halfway decent. If not, we'll have to stop at Franz Josef or Fox Glaciers.

Lee Ann

Why nope Lee Ann? It's spectacular. Only took us 12 visits to the SI before we finally got around to Skippers Canyon. The drive really is a piece of cake with a professional at the wheel, lots of fun when passing drivers coming from the opposite direction on that skinny little road. And the views from the side overlooking the sheer drop offs - fantastic!

For mr-go - check out this one as well as those already mentioned:

http://www.newzealand.com/us/

And as you're a tramper: Lonely Planet Tramping in NZ is a great resource.

And that should be tyre paulg. Silly, silly man.

Thanks again!

Melnq8, when we got it fixed at Tyreland I made sure that they were able to fix tires, too.

Mr_go, we've enjoyed many of your travel experiences, especially in the Dolomites. And your pix of Singpore & Bali are wonderful. Could enjoy a Singpore Sling right now!

In regard to your NZ trip, there are plenty of good suggestions above. In prepping for our trip, we received a lot of valuable info from Melnq8, as well as from reading other TRs.

FWIW, one disappointment we had was not having time to see the outstanding harbor in Auckland. In our case, we had planned to utilize a very long layover returning from Christchurch, en route to Fiji. But we encountered complications, and missed seeing the harbor.

So. . .if you do have a day in Auckland, we'd suggest getting a tour of the outstanding harbor. Happy planning!

There is so much information on this thread I can use for future planning that I just want to say "Carry On!"
Have a great time in NZ.

Thanks for your kind words, tom...and for the Auckland Harbor tip. We're looking forward to this trip!