New Zealand Itinerary - Feb . 2005
 

Hi all,

We have almost completed making all our hotel reservations but could use some suggestions for places in Queenstown and Christchurch.

A little background on us - we are a married couple in our 40's, who have been to all the islands in the San Juans and Gulf Islands in British Columbia so are used to beautiful scenery. We love to do day hikes and are in pretty good shape. We welcome suggestions for sights/restaurants that can't be missed or comments about our itinerary for 3 weeks in New Zealand.

Day 1 & 2- Traveling from Seattle, LA, Papeete, Auckland.

Day 3 - Arrive Auckland- Staying at Sebel Suites for 3 nights.

Day 7 - Rent car and drive to Waiheke Island- Staying at Aqua Sands for 2 nights.

Day 9 - Drive to Rotorua - Stay at Hotel Ibis for 2 nights.

Day 11 - Fly from Rotorua to Wellington.
Stay at City Life for 2 nights.

Day 13 - Drive to Queenstown - Need hotel suggestion for 2 nights?

Day 15 - Drive to Dundedin - Stay at Fletcher Lodge for 2 nights.

Day 17 - Drive to Christchurch - Need Hotel
suggestion for 2 nights?

Day 20- Fly from Christchurch, Auckland, Papeete, LA to Seattle.

We were in Tasmania this year and got used to driving on other side of the road so hopefully everything will go ok in New Zealand. We are used to long flights as we have traveled to Australia this year and have been to the South Pacific 3 times before.

Thank you in advance for your kind assistance.

We enjoyed the Mai Ora concert and hangi at Te Whakarewarewa, the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua. We also drove to the Ohinemutu section of Rotorua, which has a lovely old Anglican church and above-ground tombs, plus a nice craft center with a little gift shop.

When we were leaving Rotorua, we stopped at Waiotapu Geothermal Wonderland and hiked most of the trails there. A great place to see boiling mud and really cool mineral pools; it's about 30 minutes south of Rotorua.

Te Papa Museum in Wellington is a must-see. We spent most of the day there and really enjoyed it. Wellington has botanic gardens and a lovely greenbelt area where you can hike.

The Auckland Museum is very nice; we only had an hour or so there and would have liked to stay longer.

Lee Ann

I'm sure not an expert, since my frsit trip is just coming up in January. But How are you getting to the south Island from Wellington? Are you flying or taking the ferry?
In all the planning I've done, I'd suggest more than one day to get from Wellington to Queenstown. There is just so much to see along the west coast. Maybe cut out a night in Wellington and add it to the drive to Queenston.
Good luck with your planning.

We stayed at the Chateau on the Park in Christchurch. It was lovely,as well as the gardens surrounding it. Free shuttle into town,which was nice,but a nice lengthy walk through the Botanical Gardens going either direction. We stayed at the AAAAA's motel near the airport when we came back to the Christchurch area. It really isn't very convenient to town,but nice.
Hope this helps.

In Christchurch, we stayed at both Stonehurst and Chateau in the Park. Out of the two, I would probably recommend Stonehust - not as "upscale", but it is more in town, and very easy walking to shops and restaurants and cathedral square. we found the people exceptionally nice and the place was very clean and offers a lot of choices for room styles.
Good luck!

Hi. My husband and I traveled in New Zealand in 2002. We spent one night, a few hours southeast from Christchurch, on the Banks Peninsula in the village of Akaroa. It is one of the most magical places we have traveled. We stayed at the Loch Hill Cottages. It was a fully equipped cottage for I think $40US. It is on the top of places we want to return to and spend more than an overnight. We found all of the South Island on New Zealand spectacular. In spite of rain the first three days. But when the sun broke out on Easter Sunday morning lighting up Mt. Hood---.

Wellington to Queenstown is a long way to drive, will take more than a day.. I would suggest maybe fly from Wellington to Queenstown if you're only going to be there for a couple of days, or alternatively drive down and stay maybe at Kapitea Ridge at Hokitika which is about half way. The drive through the Haast Pass across to Wanaka is truly mind-blowing. And to be honest, I don't think you need to stay 2 nights in Dunedin..

as regards restaurants.. Gantley's, near Queenstown, and Sign of the Takahe in Christchurch are a must.. they're both a short drive out of town, but will arrange complementary transport for you if you're dining. Have a great trip !

Two small tips. We had a very nice dinner at the Skyline restaurant in Rotorua. The cost of a buffet dinner was about $48 NZ which included the gondala ride, plus an extra ticket to come back the next day and see the view in daylight.
My second tip - on the way from Auckland to Rotorua you will drive through the town of Hamilton. They have an absolutely beautiful public garden - well worth visiting. I think the road to Rotorua passes the gardens (which is how we found it). There is a nice cafe at the lake - makes a great lunch or morning tea break.

Thank you everyone for your replies. My apology for not responding sooner but the holidays kept me busy.

I need to clarify my itinerary. We are actually flying to Wellington and to Queentowns so not driving.

Should we bring hiking boots or can we get by with walking shoes? When we were bushwalking in Tasmania to Wineglass bay last year, we encounted a tasmania tiger snake on the trail, which I unknowingly stepped over. (My husband told me later). Since snakes are poisonous on Tasmania, and February is their high mating season, I was fortunate that I wasn't biten. I"m just wondering if I should bring hiking boots? I believe there are no poisonous snakes in New Zealand? but I'm wondering if the trails are rough? I would like to do the Waiotapu Geothermal Wonderland hike that Leann suggested.

Thank you in advance if anyone can respond.

Hi There,

Just a couple of things I noticed in your itinery.

You say you are going to drive to Waiheke Island. By this I assume you were going to take the car ferry from Half Moon Bay as there is no bridge.

This may be adding uneccessary cost to your trip. Far easier to take the foot passenger Fullers ferry from Downtown accross to the Island and pick up your rental car there.

Here are a couple of links.

http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~wrentals/rental.html

http://www.waihekerentals.co.nz/rental_vehicles.htm

As far as going walking is concerned, a good pair of walking shoes should be fine for short walks such as those around the thermal areas.

For more adventurous hikes into the bush proper tramping boots are recommended. However this is for walks where you would be catrrying your backpack and youy intend to be staying out a few nights.

There are no snakes in NZ poisonous or otherwise. Only one poisonous spider and they are so rare they are protected. Also they are not in the bush but live on secluded beaches. So you will be safe from nasties in the bush. However there are mossies and sandflies so remember your bug spray.

Hope this helps

Steve

Steve,

Thank you for your response. It's good to hear that I won't have to worry about poisonous critters.

I guess the reason why we are renting from a national car company in Auckland is so we can return rental car at Rotorua's airport. My husband said that the rental place he checked out in Waiheke indicated that we had to return the car in Waiheke.
He would prefer to continue driving to Rotorua. Not sure if it will be saving significantly if we rent car in Waiheke and then return on Ferry to rent another car from ferry dock to drive to Rotorua?? It does sound more easier to do your suggestion. I will check out these websites.

Thank you for all the information and advice on rental car.

Hi once again.

If you are going to take your car accross here is the link to the ferry service that you will need.

http://www.subritzky.co.nz/waiheketimetable.htm

This is their timetable page but you can also follow through the links to fares as well.

May pay to phone and book as sometimes the ferry can fill up. It would be a pain to have to wait for the next one.

Half Moon Bay is in East Auckland (Out near Howick in Manukau city) It is fairly easy to find though and there are directions on the website to get you there.

Cheers

Steve

Walking shoes will be fine for Waiotapu; we wore hiking boots in Tongariro and Egmont National Parks, but you might not need them depending on what other walks you're planning.

Lee Ann