Liz

We are planning a much anticipated 3 week trip to New Zealand in Feb/March. We will be beginning our trip in Christchurch and need some help with hotel information as my husband is disabled and uses a wheel chair for distance/needs accessible showers. <BR>1) Has anyone stayed at Hotel Grand Chancellor or at another hotel which would be close to transportation? I can call about accessibility but would first like some idea of location or if you know that a particular hotel may be off limits due to steep hills , numerous steps to the entrance , no elevators, etc. <BR>2)If you have any other recommendations about hotels/b&b's in other areas of the country it would be most welcomed. <BR>Thanks in advance for helping to make this trip possible!

Patti

Hi Liz<BR><BR>In Christchurch we stayed at Rydges. The area was very flat and easy access. It was a nice hotel and we were pleased with it.

Patti

Sorry - I clicked myself off the message. Getting back to Christchurch, the whole area in the city seemed to be fairly flat and we had no difficulty getting around. In Queenstown it's a different story - the whole place is hilly - in fact steep hills. Millenium is very nice in Queenstown and so was the motel next to it "Hurleys". But you will need transportation in and around the town. We went on to the Glaciers and the area is not too accessible for someone in a wheelchair. We were also in Hokitika and it was quite pleasant there - an artist's colony really and quite easy to get around in. From there we went up to Greymouth and caught the Alpine Express back to Christchurch. The train was a great trip through many, many tunnels in the Southern Alps and we enjoyed it tremendously.<BR><BR>Have a great time on your trip - wish we were going again.

Prue

Liz,<BR>I can also recommend the Millennium Hotel in Christchurch - it is also right into city centre and very accessible.<BR>We were there in August this year and were very impressed with all aspects of our stay.

Liz

Thank you, Patti! It sounds as if you have fond memories. Great to get an idea of the terrain as we have never been to New Zealand and so far my reasearch hasn't addressed this. Did you travel by bus or rent a car? We plan on purchasing a 4-in-One New Zealand Travel and using taxis and local buses when possible. Did you by chance travel by bus? We also plan on riding the Alpine Express - do you remember it as being faily easy to manuver a wheelchair and a piece or two of luggage? Thanks for your input

Patti

Hi again,<BR><BR>We took local transportation from Christchurch to Mt Cook and on to Queenstown. They have buses that take most passengers and we had booked that ahead. The trip was fine as was the driver. As we headed down to Mt Cook the road became more mountainous and we were glad that we decided against a rental car. We sat back and let them do the driving for us.<BR><BR>I remember at Greymouth we went to the train station where they gave us a cart and we placed the luggage on it. Then we went inside and got our tickets to head back to Christchurch. From what I remember you should have no difficulty there and believe me, the people are so thoughtful and considerate - they'll be offering you help whenever you appear to need it!!<BR><BR>We found the people in Australia and New Zealand to be very courteous, thoughtful, helpful and a little reserved. We never had a moment's difficulty.<BR><BR>I can also pass on our biggests tips: first: travel light - we took carryon luggage as there are laundry facilities in every hotel and or apartment. Bring along a long distance card from Sam's or ?? as you will find that to be very inexpensive. You will find internet cafes /cyber cafes everywhere - we used the internet to get most of our messages and trip reports back to our family and friends. There were many ATM machines for easy access. We used Wotif.com and Needitnow.com.au for a lot of reservations as the rates were cheaper and the rooms were great. We then checked on our reservation using the cyber cafe. Food was fine - nothing unusual and the buses picked us up at our hotels. That might present a problem with getting aboard the bus.<BR><BR>Any other questions ask away...