stan

Can anyone tell me the most direct route from CHCH to Cairns. I would love to make the trip on a direct flight, but can't seem to find one. Is it easier to go through Sydney or Brisbane? I would also like to know if we can drive South Island in March without making any lodging reservations in advance?

John

Dear Stan: <BR> <BR>We just returned from where you're going. We flew from Sydney to CHCH. About a 2 1/2 hour flight. Cairns to Sydney about 3 hours non-stop. <BR> <BR>John

Dick

My wife and I tried to fly that route last November. At that time there were no non stop flights...we had a choice of flying via Auckland or Sydney. Although goinng via Auckland offered a red eye flight ..we wound up changing the order of our vacation and took an early AM flight from Sydney. <BR> <BR>

Scott

Stan, the other replies are pretty much right, there is no direct flight, you must go thru a gate way city before connecting to Cairns. You can probably get a very short stopover making it almost a direct flight. Look into flights from Auckland to Cairns. Re. your other question, the Americas Cup finishes in Auckland in early March. I would STRONGLY SUGGEST that you make reservations at this time as a lot of tourism is expected to spill over from the Cup celebrations. Good luck. Enjoy Chch it's a fantastic city ( I grew up there ). Scott.

Chuck Schwartau

Re: South Island travelw/o reservations <BR> <BR>I was in NZ in March a couple years ago and found lodging quite easy. The key at that time for me was to check some of the smaller travel motels. They were clean, comfortable and affordable. Not fancy, but I was looking for a place to shower and sleep. If you want real fun, check the hostels. Great way to meet people from all over. You will need to rough it a bit, but really on the cheap and fun.