Our place was outside of town: http://www.westwoodlodge.co.nz/

We all agreed the Westwood was one of our favorite stops. You can see the living room on the website and imagine how great it was just playing board games while it poured there.

Our rooms were simple but had a luxury feel to them. We ate breakfast at the lodge but ate dinners in Franz Josef.

And we also loved our stay in the rain forest at the Wilderness Lodge Lake Moeraki:
http://www.wildernesslodge.co.nz/wil.../lake-moeraki/

Our rooms there were comfortable but spartan, fitting for an ecolodge. There was always some walk or kayaking or whatever to do. We were fascinated by the rain forest. And we all reported for afternoon tea, too!

Dear AZ,

i can see why the Westwood would be a nice place to stay, however it's a bit ! outside our budget. [I think I remember looking at it before and discounting it for that very reason].

however, you prompted me to have another look at the accommodation in Franz Joseph, and i found the Alpine motel which will be ideal for us [parking, nice room, a kitchen, and a balcony, AND in town so that we don't have to drive in the evenings - all for under £100 per night, which is about our limit]. Hence the lovely wilderness lodge is way outside out budget - very sadly as it looks fantastic. but also to get the most out of it we'd need to stay at least 2, preferably 3 nights, which i don't think I could fit into our itinerary.

anyway, thanks very much for both these recommendations and your descriptions - really useful, even if we don't end up staying there!

Greetings from the South Island annhig.

Until today, we've had pretty good weather for the past two weeks, but man, the sandflies have been fierce! Don't forget to pack your repellant.

Hi Melnq - greetings to you too!

NZ will be about the 3rd or 4th place in a row where we've been warned to take repellant and each time, no flies! so you can be assured we'll be bringing it as insurance.

where are you now?

That's my theory for carrying snow chains too, if you have them you won't need them. So far, so good, fingers crossed.

That said, I'd forgotten that sandflies are also found in Mt Cook and they were out in force. Loads of them in Fiordland as expected, but they gathered on the screens of our accommodation so thick that I thought for sure they'd come in and eat us alive.

Not to be confused with Aussie black flies, which are incredibly annoying, but don't bite. At least not in WA.

We're currently in our all time favorite B&B in Glenorchy...third stay here and still loving it. Cold but clear weather expected tomorrow, so hoping to take in the Paradise walk and then maybe head to the Routeburn.

lol, Melnq - are we going to need snow chains in December???

seriously, what are the flies likely to be like then?

have a nice walk in Paradise! [care to share its location?]

you shouldn't need snow chains in December - but weather is very fickle!

Sandflies, midges, assorted bitey things - YES!

Snow chains, very unlikely.

They're not just flies. They're sandflies. The females bite. They itch like the devil. They continue to itch long after you've clawed the bites into bleeding ulcers. Don't scratch! Absolutely expect them, especially in summer. Fortunately, not everywhere. They like the taste of my husband more than me, but that's probably because I'm not shy about slathering myself in 100% DEET. Seriously, be prepared.

Paradise - short drive from Glenorchy. I've posted about it before. Google Paradise Trust.

Ann I didn't want to hijack the other thread, but going to Hokitika via the Lewis Pass from Kaikoura looks to be a reasonable drive, ie not too long in a car.

I found this link, you might have already seen it.

http://www.theroadtrip.co.nz/nz-self...nz-self-drive/

thanks, nelsonian. I don't think I had seen that link, so double thanks.

That tour is almost our route so the driving distances and times [though I'd already researched them to some degree] as well as some of the sightseeing tips, are very useful.

I'm just going to comment on insects:

We were bitten alive on the beach on Punakaiki New Year's Eve.

We did not get one bite further south in the rain forest--mainly because it was pouring rain, I'm thinking. :)

thanks, AlessandraZoe - I'm definitely going to be stocking up on insect repellent.

Hello Ann,

Just go with the venues match by match. You will cover almost all happening places in Australia and NZ in this limited time of 3-4 weeks. Besides, you will have your diving craze fulfilled as ODIs are either day or day-night. Have a nice and safe trip! Don't miss out any T20. Its worth watching.

Hi allan.

thanks for chiming in. We actually went to the T20s in Sri Lanka - difficult to top that i think. The noise was incredible.

We are going to the 1st test in Brisbane then making for NZ. we decided that we weren't keen enough to follow the team round the country, but hopefully we'll be able to keep up with the action on the TV! Before the 1st test we're going to Cairns, so that should get diving the GBR ticked off DH's bucket list. And then we'll be home to sunny Cornwall in time for Christmas.

The cricketers have arrived in Sydney - and we're making them feel like home.

We've not had a drop of rain for months and now it's bucketing down - and it's got a lot cooler!

the weather - our secret weapon.

I see that you've picked young Mr Johnson again - the barmies will just love that. and D. Warner - I'm sure they've got a song about him too.

I notice that it's hot in Brisbane at the moment but stormy - let's hope the storms are on the pitch, not over it!

G'day annhig and welcome to Oz.

Mr Johnson is not quite so young any more - so should cope better with the Barmy Army aggro.

Dsvy Warner is said to have turned over a new leaf. If only he'd thumped Kevin Petersen he probably would have got an award, rather than getting into strife.

Fun and games begin soon. I'll miss a good bit of it - for the Boxing Day test I'll be in the wilds of Scotland, with my cricket-hating and tv and internet-free friends.

Back for Sydney, though.

Enjoy Brisbane.

hi margo,

what, no cricket in Scotland? a previous skipper of England [Mike Deness] was scots, so they have a serious cricket pedigree but they did just get beaten by Afghanistan so they've got some reason to keep quiet about it at the moment.

I''ve just sat down to watch the RL Q final between England and France that was played last night. it's a recording of course so I've had to be careful to avoid spoilers.

I hope that you enjoy Scotland despite the lack of cricket coverage on the TV - but you do know don't you that BBC Test match special will be broadcasting every ball on Radio 5 extra [digital] Radio 4 LW/MW?

so all you need is a radio and the ability to stay up all night listening to it!

I hadn't thought of Test Match Special - great suggestion, thanks. Just need a radio and somewhere away from cricket-hating friends!

Expecting even less cricket in Germany and Switzerland, where I'll be for the pre-Christmas tests. Perhaps I can pick up ABC streaming on my tablet (although I thought I heard somewhere that ABC wasn't streaming these tests.) :(

Enjoy the cricket in Brisbane - due to start tomorrow.

I'm loving the result after the first day's play.

And wondering how the press are dealing with it, after most of them vowed never to mention Stuart Broad's name ever again.

Just like Voldemort, eh? He who shall not be named...