I will be travelling with two friends to Oz and NZ in April. We have limited time, and understand that we'll have to miss a lot, but there's always the next trip! <BR> <BR>Our tentative itinerary is as follows. <BR>Whitsundays (Wilderness Lodge) - 5 days <BR>Sydney or Blue Mountains - 4 days <BR>New Zealand - 5 days <BR> <BR>The South Island seems to be very highly recommended in most forums. <BR> <BR>With only 5 days, any suggestions on where to go? <BR> <BR>We're not looking for museums or anything too touristy. We're adventure bound and want to experience the beauty of New Zealand. <BR> <BR>Any suggestions would be appreciated. <BR> <BR>Melanie <BR> <BR>PS- What's the weather like in mid April? <BR>Temp/Rainfall?

Dear Melanie: <BR> <BR>Queenstown. <BR> <BR>John

Like the man said: Queenstown. <BR>Fly into Queenstown direct from Sydney on a Saturday afternoon. Makes an ideal base to take a flight to Milford Sound, zoom up the Dart River, take a helicopter flight to the glaciers, and you have the best possible examples of New Zealand's scenery available in such a short time. Fly to Christchurch for one night, then depart New Zealand from Christchurch International Airport. <BR>Queenstown in April is lovely - very dramatic Autumn colours, and still not too cold. <BR>Happy planning.

Jo and John, First, Thank you very much for your prompt replies. <BR> <BR>Any idea what the cost is to fly from place to place in NZ. What we are planning on doing is taking advantage of the G'day pass for our travel from Cairns/Sydney/NZ. Are there other flying options for travel within NZ? Also, could we do your suggested itinerary by car? <BR> <BR>Our only glitch in this plan maybe that we can only fly out of Auckland within NZ. Do you know how long the flight is from Christchurch to Auckland? <BR> <BR>Thanks so much for your help! <BR>Melanie <BR> <BR>

Dear Melanie: <BR>The flight from Christchurch to Auckland takes about 1 1/2 hours. Don't know the fare. Our travel was in a package deal. Check out Air New Zealand's web site at www.airnz.com. Should answer some of your questions. <BR>Also, a web site that you will find very usefull is www.discovernz.co.nz. <BR>I love their map distance calculator. <BR>Very handy. <BR> <BR>Good luck, <BR>John <BR>

Loved South Island. <BR> <BR>Go look at Dart River Jet Safari. Owned by Shotover people but is better - last longer, has 360s, no comparison on beauty. Do Shotover but do not miss Dart River. My wife thought it was the best thing we did in NZ.

We did a one day tour of the Blue Mountains and was disappointed. Perhaps it was because it was the end of the trip and my husband was coming down with a cold. But everywhere we looked, we saw only large electrical poles and wires. We were in a double decker bus. I think the key would be to do a two day trip to the Blue Mountains and stay there and do some of the walks. Ours was a daylight to dark trip, but feel we missed a lot.

Hi - <BR> <BR>Yes, for wildernessy things, then I would sefinitely "do" South Island. The Abel Tasman National Park is beautiful - you can sail up the coast a bit (youth hostel organised this for us), and then spend a couple of days walking back. Also, doing the glacier hike at the Franz Josef glacier is definitely a highlight, though can be a bit more touristy. Milford Sound is good, but I'd recommend hiring a car and going out from Queenstown, as the bus tours just look horrendous, we counted 46 buses coming in! The sea kayaking was brilliant! Anyway, after 5 days, you'll just want to stay for the rest of your life!