We have timeshare and would like to stay for one week in one place but would like a place that will enable us to see as much as possible in day trips. Our choices are Auckland, Queenstown, Paiha, Taupo, or Turangi. If we only have one week in N.Z. which of these places will afford us the greatest "flavour" of NZ and give us most flexibility for sightseeing. Thanks.

What time of year? As long as it is not the winter, then I would vote for Queenstown. This will allow you to reach Fiordland, the glaciers, and all the outdoor activities around Queensland. If it is in the winter, then I would change my vote to Taupo, which will allow you to reach the N. Island volcanoes and Rotorua.

I agree with Alf - Queenstown has much more going for it.

It also has great skiing in the winter but since Alf has been there more often I'll let him have the chair.

We had planned for either mid-December or early January. Thank you Alf..so you would recommend Queenstown...have you heard of either Ridge Resort or Mercure Grand St. Moritz in Queensland? Are there nice day trips we can take? Any wineries? Any lovely towns we shouldn't miss?

The Ridge Resort sits on a low-lying ridge, not far from Lake Wakatipu. Many of the condos are in separate chalet-style buildings. This is a really nice area, and the furnishings are first-rate. Only problem - you will commonly need to drive a bit to get to restaurants, shops, etc.

I've never heard of the other place you listed. Is this an RCI exchange? if so, there are some other good choices in Queenstown, including Turner Heights (www.nz.com/queenstown/turner-heights)and The Lofts ([email protected]).

Don't know much about wineries, but we did visit a couple of nice ones in central Otago, near Queenstown: The Chard Farm Winery (http://www.chardfarm.co.nz), and Two Paddocks Vineyards (http://www.twopaddocks.co.nz
). I have not done this, but friends have gone on winery tours and loved it. They went with TiZ Wine (http://www.tizwine.com/regions/centr...ons_galleries/).

There are countless tours that you could take. One obvious choice is to go on a boat cruise to either Milford or Doubtful Sound, in Fiordland. Milford is more popular, Doubtful has more solitude. Another fine choice is to go to Franz Josef and/or Fox Glaciers, perhaps including a helicopter or plane ride to land at higher elevations for a spectacular hike. A trip to Mt. Cook is not very far, nor is a trip over to Dunedin to see the east coast and lots of wildlife (penguins, seals, albatrosses).

There are tons of things to do right in and around Queenstown as well, including hiking, river rafting, jet boating, bungy jumping, mountain biking, and rock climbing.

Alf..when you say you have to drive a ways to get to restaurants, shops etc. approx. how far would we be from "civilization"??With a timeshare we'll have a kitchen so can stock up but just curious how isolated we will be.

Not far at all - 5 minutes, 10 minute tops. I was just trying to point out that there wasn't much in walking distance.

Thanks Alf..I'm somewhat confused. My map is showing that the places you have mentioned (Milford Sound, Dunedin, Mt. Cook and Franz Josef) are all at least 300 km from Queenstown. This would be a six hour drive to and from with no stopping by my calculations. I can't see these places as day trips...are you suggesting that we can? Thanks for all your great info.

Topping..still trying to find out about these "day" trips....Alf?
Thanks.

I doubt that Alf was referring to 'day' trips but options of places to visit.
The only realistic day trip from Queenstown on that particular list is Milford Sound and a lot of visitors choose to take a coach trip as it is quite along and tiring drive.

Well, yes, you are right that it is a bit of a drive to some South Island destinations from Queestown, but I still think that it is the best choice, given the locations that you listed in your original post. There are so many things to do in the Queestown/Wanaka/Central Otago region, that you could easily spend the better part of a week without driving more than 1.5 hours each way. On the other hand, I would consider taking one or two very long day or overnight trips to nearby (3 hr drive) locations, such as Fiordland, the Glaciers, or Mt. Cook.

Topping to find out more info about the Ridge Resort in Queenstown. We have a chance to stay there in August.

We've been to Queenstown before but not in deep winter. We don't ski so I'm wondering if this is not a good time of year for us to go.

Also we prefer not to rent a car so wondering if it really much too far to walk from the Ridge Resort into town (we don't mind a walk of a few miles).

I'm sure you would be happy with Queenstown. It's THE place in NZ.

We stay regularly at The Lofts. It's an older property, and starting to show it's age, but the standard is still acceptable, and the location can't be beat. It's right in the middle of downtown Queenstown.

Turner Hights is also fairly central, but there's nothing closer that The Lofts.


You could spend a week in Qtn without going outside the town, but if you don't mind a bit of driving there are plenty of places within 2-4 hours.

Milford Sound is the obvious one. It's a long day - 12hrs or so, but quite doable. Since you are in a time share, and the accommodation is relitively cheap, perhaps you should consider a night away somewhere, like Te Anau, on the way to Milford. Or Fox Glacier, on the west coast.