Sue49

My husband and I are attending a seminar at the Royal Pines in Ashmore from the 19th to the 25th of April. We're planning on flying into Aukland on the 7th, flying to Christchurch on the 9th, renting a campervan until the 15th, flying to Cairns to see the rainforest and GBR for the 16th - 18th, then fly to Gold Coast or Brisbane for the seminar, afterward, fly to Sydney for a day, and back to LA and back home to Denver.

Any suggestions? I'd love to see Fiordland, he is a dedicated flyfisherman. Is there good fishing near Christchurch, or should we start this plan all over ? Thanks!! LOVE THIS SITE!! Sue

johhj_au

two comments..

as is often said here...you are trying to do too much.

your husband may be interested in fly fishing for trout in the blue mountains..there has been discussion of this (amongst other things) in the blue mountains excursion thread below.

Sue49

Thanks John, things are changing at work, and we may be able to add several days. . . hope so.

thanks again, Sue

Kiwi_acct

Sue

As John as mentioned you are probably trying to do too much on one trip New Zealand is deceptively large insofar as it takes longer than you think to drive from one location to the next. If you are able to extend your trip then extending the time you spend in the South Island would be, I think, the most rewarding.

In answer to you question regarding fishing oportunities near Christchurch, there are rivers north and south of the city with fish, both Salmon and Trout are fished for in the South Island. South of Christchurch and inland is an area called the Mackenzie country. This region is dotted with lakes and rivers and as such has some of the best opportunites for fishing in the South Island and conveniently for yourselves it is on the way to Queenstown , Wanaka and Te Anau (If you take the inland route).

The website flyfishing.net.nz has some good links and guides for fishing in New Zealand. Remember to obtain a fishing licence before you start fishing.

Anothe useful site is the purenz.com site of tourism New Zealand. It has some suggested travel itineries.

I hope this is of help to you. Sorry can't help with the Aussie leg as I have only ever been to Sydney and Melbourne in my hops over the ditch.

Steve

Sue49

Steve, thanks so much! and for the web sites. As I own a flower shop, I wasn't able to even log on for the week till Valentines Day was over. I'll check those sites out now!

Thanks again, Sue

Sue49

Steve, the sites you recommended were very helpful, even made my husband use the computer lookin at all those fish! I love the site with all the driving routes. Maybe the Christchurch to Queenstown and back (using a different route)would be a good basic plan? Guess we won't make it to Fiordland this trip, but we will have a few days after the seminar for Sydney now.

I'm planning on doing all my Christmas shopping in NZ, sheepskin slippers for all! Any suggestions on that anyone?

Thanks! Sue

stevew

Greetings Sue

I hope that you will have more time as your schedule is very aggressive. My wife and I have traveled to NZ/OZ for two 3 week vacations the last 2 years, the most recent was last April. We are going back in July for 6 weeks, 3 in each country.

Last April we took 10 days on the South Island and were able to take in 1/2 of the South Island. If we were to see the same sites again, we would extend it out to 14 days. You can email us at [email protected] if you want to hear about our itinerary etc.

Franz Josef and the Doubtful Sound are must see's if you can make it!

Cheers

Steve

Sue49

Steve, thanks so much.

I've decided to give up my quest to see the GBR for a longer stay on the south island. Relaxation wins out . . . We'll rent the campervan from the 9th thru the 18th, and fly directly from Christchurch to Gold Coast for the seminar. I know it's still not nearly enough time, but it's the most we can eek out for this year.

We hope to see Milford Sound as well as Doubtful and the Peninsula, but now I'll look into Franz Josef!

Thanks again, and I will be emailing you, I'd love to hear about your itinerary. Sue

Sue49

Wow! I can't believe we leave a month from today! How about clothing? What to bring for April temps? I live in Colorado mountains, so I always believe in layers, but what about the average temps and wind? rain?

Thanks again, Sue

stevew

Hi Sue

When we were on the South Island in April last year the weather was fantastic. We are from Florida and found that we had overpacked for the cold. Being from Colorado you will be surprised at how warm it is. We were lucky to have very little rain, and that was unusual. Also, if you send me that email be sure to put something in the Subject line about the trip, I get a lot of spam at that address and tend to delete anything with a good subject line

Cheers

Steve