NZ trip report - October 2006
 

The Journey - turning a mishap into an opportunity

We booked with Singapore Airlines, traveling from Manchester to Auckland via Singapore. Less than 48 hours before our flight, I checked to see if I could check-in online, only to find that the flight from Singapore to Auckland had been rescheduled leaving us with 15, instead of 3 hours in Singapore. This meant that instead of arriving at 11.30 pm, we would arrive at 11.30 the next morning, missing the first night at the airport hotel and arriving a couple of hours before our internal flight to Rotorua.

Fortunately I was able to cancel the airport hotel without cost and as the hand baggage size restrictions had just recently been eased, we were able to pack some lighter clothing and sandals into our had luggage in anticipation of a day in Singapore. Had we only found out when we arrived at the airport, it would have been much more of a problem. When we got to the airport, we complained (very politely) and were initially told that as it was not a delay but a reschedule, they did not have to provide anything for us. I explained that we'd not been told of the change and had needed to cancel a hotel and they said they would see what they could do. When we arrived at Singapore, my name was called on the plane and we were given a voucher for a hotel room and meals for the day, with transport there and back. We went to the hotel (which was half way between the airport and city) and checked in and found we had a spacious suite. We had some breakfast and managed a few hours sleep before lunch before getting a taxi to the Botanic gardens. We had a few hours to wander round the gardens an visit the orchid gardens, which are quite spectacular. Singapore was hot, sticky and there was a thick smog, apparently due to forest fires in Indonesia, we later learned that the pollution index reached record levels that day. We were glad to be able to go back to the room to get a shower and change before our 2nd flight.

Rotorua

Fortunately our flight was on time as we needed to collect our luggage, get from the international to the domestic terminal and check-in for our short flight to Rotorua - it was just as well I hadn't booked the morning flight, as I'd originally planned. After the 747, the little 19 seater aircraft was quite novel and we soon completed the short hop to Rotorua, where we were able to pick up a minibus direct to the Regal Palms Motel.

The highlight was our visit to the thermal village of Whakarewarewa. The entry price included a guided tour and a Maori cultural performance and you were then free to wander the village. The tour was fascinating giving an insight into how the Maori people lived (and still do) amongst the steaming vents and boiling pools. We saw wooden lined boxes over steam vents which were used as slow cookers and the hot water springs used to fill communal baths. At the short performance, traditional Maori songs and dances were performed. The children from the village play group joined in parts of the performance, ensuring that the traditions continued with the next generation.
We also enjoyed a pleasant to stroll by the lake front and the government gardens, which were very colourful with bright spring flowers.

Arthur's Pass

After an internal flight from Rotorua to Christchurch, we picked up our hire car and headed towards Arthur's Pass. The view of the snow capped mountains as we approached was stunning. We arrived at the Wilderness Lodge mid afternoon and decided to follow one on the way-marked tracks for a couple of hours walk, rather than go on the guided tour of the sheep farm - my other half declaring that his only interest in sheep was on a plate!

That evening a slide show had been planned at the lodge but as the sky was unexpectedly clear, we were asked if we would like to go star gazing instead. We wrapped up warmly and walked with flashlights for about 5 minutes, away from the lights of the lodge. Wow! I have never seen so many or such bright stars. The Milky Way was clearer than I've ever seen it, we had our first glimpse of the Southern Cross and we even saw a shooting star.

The next morning we witnessed a most beautiful dawn, where the fist rays of the sun turned the snowy mountain peaks pink. After beakfast the weather was starting to deteriorate. Gale force winds and showers were forecast, so after a brief stop at the visitor centre at Arthur's Pass village and at the view point at the top of the pass, where we encountered our first Kea, we headed down to the west coast.

Enjoying your report Maria. Glad to hear Singapore Air took care of you.

Go, girl, go!! ((*))

West coast to Wanaka

From Arthur's Pass, we headed down to the coast, through rain, grey cloud and with a bitterly cold wind. We'd decided to first head north as far as Pancake Rocks, passing rugged coastline with huge breaking waves that made the air misty with spray. We arrived at Pancake Rocks around high tide and the clouds were clearing. We were treated to spectacular views of the blow holes making it difficult to take photographs without getting drenched in salty spray.

I didn't think much of Hokitika but perhaps it was partly that by the time we got into the town, everything was shut and this gave it a deserted frontier town feel. The grey sand beach was strewn with drift wood and looked quite wild in the windy, wet weather.

We headed south towards Franz Josef on a damp morning, with low cloud and occasional drizzle. The road wound through thick forests and we stopped occasionally to take pictures at picnic areas by various still, reflective lakes. At least we seemed sheltered from the wind. We called in at the visitor centre at Franz Josef before following the short walk to the glacier face - or as near to it as you could get without a guided tour. Unfortunately with the low cloud and drizzle the view wasn't very spectacular but it was still worth the walk. Waterfalls ran down the steep sided valley and it was amazing to see the rocks, worn smooth by the glacier.

The next day was also low cloud, so we stopped only briefly at the Fox Glacier viewpoint before heading for Lake Matheson. We walked the hour and a half trail around the lake. Although the mountains were in cloud and there were no mirrored reflections on the lake, it was still a pleasant walk through forest full of tree ferns and mosses. The other thing we noticed were the birds - we saw and heard many birds unfamiliar to us, we identified the bell bird with it's musical song and the tui with it's strange calls but I never did get round to buying a guide book to identify them all.

At Haast, the road turned east, following the wide valley of the Haast river. The road rose over the mountain pass and we stopped several times to see waterfalls - Thunder falls, Fantail Falls and the falls beneath the bridge at the Gates of Haast. We followed the short trail over a rickety looking bridge to the very blue, blue pools. As started to come back down the pass, we came out of the cloud and into the sunshine. We stopped the car to take pictures as we came down to Lake Wanaka only to find that though the sun was shining, it was blowing a gale. We followed the road past Lake Hawea and on into Wanaka where we booked into the Moorings to find we had a wonderful Lake view.

Great trip report, Maria - keep it coming! :-)

Lee Ann

Good report Maria:

I did this trip in March of this year.

Iam waitng to hear about Queenstown,Arrowhead (maybe you even did the Bungee Jump!!

I am sure you went to Milford Sound and then to Mount Cook on your way to Christchurch.

Did you stop off at the Church of Good Shepard.?

Keep it coming ,I am anxious to read about your adventure.

Percy

Percy, click on Maria's name and check out her photos. She has some fabulous ones of Milford Sound.

Shame about the weather at the glaciers, but you can't have the good weather fair all the time.

Thanks mlgb I will do that and view the pictures


Percy

Wanaka to Te Anau

At last it was a sunny and fairly warm day, so we left the car for the day and joined various of the short local walking trails together. We noticed how different the vegetation was here, with more scrubby plants, broom, cabbage trees, pine and willows. We walked along the eastern lake shore to the Lake Outlet walk by the side of the Clutha river, then via roads though the outskirts Albert Town and back into Wanaka past Puzzling World - probably about 10 miles altogether. By the time we got back to Wanaka it had clouded up again and that evening we heard thunder as the rain started again.

The next day we checked out and headed towards Te Anau with more showers of rain, passing orchards and vineyards before heading along the fast flowing Kawarau river valley. We saw the sign for the AJ Hackett bungy jump and decided to go and have a look. We saw several brave/mad jumpers leap off the bridge and dive towards the icy water below - even the thought of it turns my stomach! One guy didn't go through with his jump and I can sympathise with him - nothing would have enticed me to jump off that bridge! Once we'd had enough second hand adrenalin, we headed on to Arrowtown and spent a pleasant hour or so wandering round the gift shops in the interesting little gold mining town and grabbing some coffee and rather good carrot cake at one of the cafes.

When we arrived at Queenstown it was pouring rain with a gusty wind and low cloud. We headed past all the outdoor shops, advertising all manner of adventure sports and on to the lake front. I don't think we saw the place at it's best but didn't regret not planning to stay there. We walked along the lake front and round to the pleasant gardens and the rain started to ease.

As we headed towards Te Anau, the cloud started to break. We stopped at Kingston and photographed the steam train in the sidings near the station. As we drove on along the road, we saw steam in the distance and realised the train was on it's way are were lucky enough to see the Kingston Flyer in full steam. The sun broke through as we drove through lush green meadows full of grazing sheep with snow capped mountains on almost every horizon and we noticed how clear the air was. We arrived in Te Anau late afternoon in full but cool sunshine and checked into the Campbell Autolodge with wonderful lake views. We explored the small town with it's tourist shops and restaurants and were struck by the number of flower beds full of colourful spring flowers that brightened up the town. We walked round the park at the back of the town and along the landscaped lake front, with some huge eucalyptus trees and thought it a much more pleasant place to stay than Queenstown.

Apparently that Bungee jump at Arrowtown
is the same one that Tiger Woods did this past year!!!!

I agree it is scary jumping off the bridge with water down below.

I just stood on the side platform and took pictures of the people jumping !

Yes, it is too bad you got to Queenstown in pouring rain , because it is a nice place to walk about downtown.

Enjoying your report, keep it up

Thanks
Percy

I seem to be having trouble adding the next part

Something strange happening here, if the next part appears twice, I apologise in advance!

Milford Sound

We'd been reading one of the leaflets about the Milford Road and found that until November, it is compulsory to carry snow chains and you could get a heavy fine for not doing so. We checked at the motel reception and they confirmed this and told us we could hire some at any local garage - which we did for $25, despite my now growing concern about the conditions we might find on the road! We set off about 9am, planning to drive more or less straight to Milford sound, then take our time on the return journey. It had clouded overnight but the cloud looked like it might break as we drove, at first through a wide valley, then climbing up into the mountains. We stopped a couple of times for the views but in places, stopping was not permitted due to avalanche risk. We drove up above snow level and at times we saw a few flakes falling from the clouds but the road was totaly clear and safe. We went through the eerie dark tunnel and were thankful that nothing was coming the other way. We came out of the tunnel into a spectacular landscape of snow capped mountains, clouds swirling round the peaks and cascading waterfalls. The road then headed steeply down to Milford Sound and we were there in around 2 hours and in sunshine.

We parked up by a small flock of Keas, hoping our car wouldn't be eaten when we returned and went to the visitor centre to find a boat trip. After looking at the various options on offer, we decided to go on the 12.30 Nature Cruise on the Real Journey's, Milford Wanderer, a large boat with sails, also used for overnight cruises. We also booked the underwater observatory option. This left us with enough time to stop and take pictures, the shallow water at the edge of the Sound was flat calm and gave us some stunning reflections. We also had time for a coffee and snack at the nearby cafe.

The boat trip headed along the Sound and towards the open sea, passing waterfalls rushing down the steep forest covered mountains. We stayed outside at the front of the boat for the views, though it was possible to sit inside with a coffee, if it got too cold. We saw fur seals on the rocks but little other wildlife though the views were spectacular. We were dropped off at the underwater observatory near the end of the cruise and descended the staircase to see the observation windows out into the sound. At the base of these windows were ledges with "gardens" of sea anemones, corals, etc and the rest was open to the sea. We were surprised and the number of colourful fishes swimming into view. We had barely half an hour to look round, before we were told to board the next boat. There must be an agreement between the companies as we were picked up by one of the Red Boats, a huge modern catamaran filled with coach loads of Japanese tourists and nowhere near as nice as the Milford Wanderer.

We were relieved to find the keas had not eaten the car and set off back, up the Milford Road, stopping at various view points, including The Chasm, a waterfall into a deep chasm with weird water sculpted rocks and Mirror Lakes, though they were not still enough for reflections. We arrived back and dropped off the snow chains, which had (thankfully) not been needed.

Hi Maria,
What a great trip report. Am enjoying every escapade with you. We are scheduled to fly to Aukland via Singapore on the 11th of December and look forward to reading more of your report before we depart. How were the flights with Singapore Airlines? What special purchases, if any, did you make while visiting? Keep it coming!!

Thanks Tyger, the flights were pretty good - we flew 777s from Manchester to Singapore (14 hours) and 747s Singapore to Auckland (10 hours) and in each case we had booked the 2nd from back row, where there are only 2 seats by the window - unfortunately our budget doesn't stretch above economy.

We found the food, service and leg room were quite good. There is a good seat back entertainment system with over 90 channels - unfortunately on our last flight this wasn't working but as we complained we got a US $75 voucher each, that we can use in the mail order section of their shopping magazine (it could be used onboard if we were taking another flight). If anything goes wrong, complain politely and they will respond - those that didn't complain, did not get anything. Hope you have a great trip.

Doubtful Sound

It was a beautiful, if cold morning when we left Te Anau and drove to Manapouri, stopping at the viewpoint over the lake where a large boulder acts as a memorial to those that fought the original hydro-electric scheme that would have raised the level of the lake by around 30 metres. We carried on to the Real journey's boarding point at Pearl harbour, too early for the cruise, so parked up and walked through the woods to the lake front at Fraser's Beach. The Lake was calm with crystal clear water and backed by snow clad mountains, it was a fantastic view. We wandered back to the boarding point, with enough time for a coffee and snack before setting off for our cruise at 12.30. High thin cloud was starting to cover the sun by this time.

The cruise started with a 45 minute trip across Lake Manapouri, landing at the vistor centre near the hydo-electric power station (where we were mercilessly attacked by sand flies), then a 40 minute coach trip over the gravel road, built to service the power station. By this point we were in cloud, so our first view of Doubtful sound from the top of the road was not as spectacular as we'd hoped.

We boarded the Fiordland Navigator and were shown to our cabins - we'd opted for a double en-suite, which was compact but comfortable. Shortly after setting off, hot muffins and coffee were served in the lounge and the various safety briefings and itinerary explained. We spent much of the time up on deck, it was cloudy with a few sunny spells but pretty cold on deck, so we were glad of the extra layers of clothing, hats and scarves. We moored in Crooked Arm, where anyone who wished could go kayaking. We opted to go into one of the two tender craft with the nature guide, who took us along the shore and provided lots of interesting information. Back on board the Navigator, hot soup was served and the boat sailed out into the Tasman sea. We passed rocks with a few crested penguins and some fur seals. It was much rougher and windier on the open sea and though we were getting rather cold, we stayed on deck, determined not to miss anything. The boat headed back into the calmer waters of the Sound and we came inside to get ready for our meal.

The buffet meal was excellent and we shared a table with a nice couple, originally from South Africa who now lived on the North island and who were also exploring South island for the first time. After we were all well stuffed, we watched a short slide show about the wildlife of the fiords before retiring to bed.

We heard rain during the night and woke up early for a hearty breakfast at 7am, before going back up on deck. There were clouds swirling round the mountains with a few shafts of sunlight and showers as we headed into one of the sheltered arms of the Sound where still water give misty refections of forest, waterfalls and hanging valleys created by ancient glacial action. The sails on the boat were raised for a while as we sailed back towards the harbour, disembarking around 10.30 for the coach and boat ride back to Pearl harbour, arriving there about midday.

From Manapouri we followed the Southern Scenic route along empty roads, passing pastures full of sheep and lambs before finally arriving at the south coast. We stopped a couple of times to look at the beaches before getting to Riverton and finding our way to Nautical Haven, which overlooked a huge sandy bay. We walked into town, along the beach and across the river which was further than we'd thought and took about an hour. It wasn't exactly an inspiring place and we didn't see anywhere we wanted to eat, so we picked something up from the local supermarket to eat in that night.

Hi Maria_H

Great report we leave in 32 days for 2+ weeks on the south island. I have a question about the the short turn around you had in Auckland. I have 2 hours from my scheduled arrival from San Francisco before my internal flight to Dunedin. Can you give me an idea for how long it took you to get throught customs and into the other terminal for the internal flights?

Thank you very much
Have Fun
GP

We went from AKL to CHC on arrival, and did the 'turn around' in under 2 hours. It should not be a problem. And if you miss the first flight, which I assume is on AirNZ, there are more later, ((*))

Hi GP, should be fine - they seem pretty efficient at unloading the bags. There is a shuttle bus between the 2 terminals but it is only about 15 minutes walk, at most. The internal flights require you to check in 30 minutes before the flight and there is little security check to delay you.

Be aware of the tight bio-security entering NZ, our bags were scanned on arrival for illicit plant or food products and the entry forms asked all sorts of questions about any food you may have brought in, if you had visited a farm, were bringing in camping equipment, etc. We had to declare our hiking boots. We were wearing these and had given them a good cleaning before we set off. They glanced at them, saw they were clean and waved us through. Just be careful what you bring in.

South Coast and Catlins

It was sunny but windy, as we carried on along the Southern Scenic route from Riverton. We decided to visit Queens Park in Invercargill for a while, which has some nice formal gardens, rhododendrons and azaleas, a small pets corner and aviary, a museum and art gallery and a couple of cafes. We saw the tuatara, rare lizard like creatures housed in an enclosure at the museum and spent an hour or so looking round the gardens before continuing along the route. The weather had started to deteriorate and by the time we got to Fortrose it was blowing a gale with horizontal rain. We stopped at what looked like a small beach cafe and found it was serving rather good looking meals, though we only wanted a snack at that point.

We followed the Catlins Coastal Route, 13 km of which is still gravel road, though we found these well maintained and no problem, as long as you don't drive too fast. We took a side road to the lighthouse at Waipapa Point but the wind was so strong we could barely stand. At Curio Bay, the tide was in, covering most of the petrified forest, cathedral caves are only accessible at low tide and the Jack's blow hole path was closed for lambing. This was my low point, I'd felt a bit of an anti-climax after the boat trips on the Sounds and the weather didn't help. I felt a long way from home and also missing my 14 month old grandson - my daughter sent me a text to say she'd checked our house, watered our plants and he'd searched the house, looking for us (sob!).

The Catlins Road moved away from the coast and wound up and down though hilly landscape. The rain eased a bit, so we stopped off to take the short walk to MacLean's falls, a track through a forest full of tree ferns and mosses to an impressive waterfall. By the time we got to Nugget Point, the cloud had cleared and the sun came through. We checked into Nugget Lodge and felt much cheered by the better weather and our next 2 nights accommodations with beautiful beach views. We were advised to head up to the hide at Roaring Bay to see the yellow eyed penguins coming back to their nests and there, right on cue, 3 of the little creatures waddled up the beach, braying like donkeys and heading up to their nests. After we'd eaten at kaka Point, we sat in our apartment, admiring the view and saw a sea lion arrive on the beach, near the apartment.

The next day was sunny and bright. We did the short drive to Cannibal Bay, as we were told this was a good area to see sea lions. We walked along Cannibal Bay and over the path to the huge sweep of Surat Bay but didn't see any. It was as we made our way back that we saw a huge male sea lion, dozing on the beach. We stood and watched him for sometime, and he didn't seem bothered by our presence. Occasionally he would open one eye to check us out, yawn and flip some sand over his back. After a while a small group of people arrived on the beach and also stopped to look at the sea lion. Eventually, almost reluctantly, he got up, yawned and stretched for a while and made his way back to the sea. We drove back to the lodge, left the car and set off to walk to Nugget Point, about 90 minutes each way along the gravel road, passing pleasant beaches fringed with yellow lupins. At the lighthouse there was a viewing platform over the Nuggets, huge lumps of rock in the endless turquoise sea. These were home for fur seals, sea lions and sea birds and we were glad we'd brought our binoculars. On the way back we called again at Roaring Bay, to see another penguin returning home.

Otago Peninsula

We checked out of Nugget Lodge and headed towards Dunedin, where we spent several hours in the large Botanic Gardens. The rock garden was full of spring flowers and the azaleas in the rhododendron dell were a blaze of colour and fantastic scent. We then headed towards Otago Peninsula, the main peninsula road winding it's way right on the northern shore - drive too fast and you could end up in the water! We checked into our B&B in the small village of Portobello and headed along towards the Albatross centre at the end of the peninsula but the weather had deteriorated again by then. We looked round the visitor centre, saw some albatrosses flying in the distance and seabirds nesting on the cliffs but the wind was strong and bitterly cold and it started raining again, so we didn't hang about.

Next morning we explored the Peninsula further, on a more pleasant day. We drove via the upper road for some beautiful views and along some of the gravel roads on the other side of the peninsula, where large shallow inlets were the home to black swans and wading birds. We ended up at Allan's Bay, where we walked along the huge deserted sandy bay and saw another sea lion and penguin tracks heading off the beach.

Early afternoon we visited Lanarch Castle, not really a castle but a rather fine house, built in 1871. We took the free guided tour, rather than wandering around on our own and were glad we did. The guide was interesting and amusing and told us the story of the Lanarch family - with would make a good TV dramatisation, rivaling the Forsyte Saga! The site for the house was chosen for it's views and from the tower on the roof there is a fantastic 360 degree view of the Otago peninsula. The gardens are also worth seeing, with unusual planting and terrific views. We had lunch in the cafe, which was originally the ballroom built for one of the daughter's 21st birthdays. It is possible to stay at the castle and we saw the accommodation block which looked like it had great views.

We also paid a short visit to Glenfalloch Woodland garden, a small but pretty informal garden filled with rhododendrons and azaleas. There was a small cafe and a larger function room where there appeared to be a wedding celebration taking place - it must have made a pretty backdrop for their wedding pictures.

Back to North Island and the Bay of Islands

The next day we had a morning flight from Dunedin back to Auckland. We hadn't realised it was labour Day and a public holiday that Monday, the roads were empty and the garages shut, so we were unable to refuel the hire car before dropping it off. There was no-one at the Thrifty desk either and as yet, we have not been charged for the fuel. The flight took about 90 minutes and at Auckland a Thrifty representative was waiting for us to take us to their office at the international terminal. We set off in hire car number two, not checking the map carefully but following signs "north". The road did go north but deposited us in the sprawl of Auckland, near the city centre with little signposting to guide us. we took over an hour to get clear of Auckland and about 4 hours to get to Russell. The traffic going in the opposite direction looked horrendous as trippers returned to Auckland after the holiday weekend break. We crossed the passenger ferry from Opua and booked into the Triton Suites Motel, overlooking Russell.

Russell is a small and pretty town with old (by NZ standard) white wooden colonial style buildings. There are few restaurants, shops and a hotel overlooking the seafront and the road parallel to it has a few more but it's all very low key and unspoiled. There is a small wooden pier where boat trips and the passenger ferries to Paihia go from. While were in Paihia we didn't use our hire car - we'd considered driving up to the far north of the island and visiting 90 mile beach but decided we'd done enough driving and we'd prefer to spend a few days relaxing.

The next morning we walked up Flagstaff Hill, where we had a terrific 360 degree view over the Bay of Islands, then back through paths through the trees. We then took the passenger ferry over to Paihia which, though not a huge place, is a much more touristy, catering for coach tourists and offering all manner of boat trips. From the centre of Paihia it was about half an hours walk to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where we spent an interesting afternoon looking round the Treaty House, the Maori Canoe and Meeting house and walking along the coastal path. I found the wooden carvings in the meeting house quite fascinating.

We wanted to do some sort of boat trip, so the next day we booked a half day trip to Hole in the Rock, a rocky archway that the boats go through, if the sea is calm enough. The boat trip passed various little islands and pretty beaches in the calmer water of the bay. In one of these calm bays we spotted several dolphins, some of them swimming right up alongside the boat. Everyone snapped away, trying to get pictures - most of mine are of the top of fins, vanishing under the water!

Back to Auckland and home

We drove back towards Auckland on our last full day, taking the winding coastal route out of Russell, instead of the more direct route via the ferry to Opua. It was a slow but pretty drive, winding through forest and passing quiet sheltered coves. We briefly rejoined the main highway number 1, then headed left again towards Matapouri, a lovely curving sheltered bay with pale sand and shells. We stopped for a while to walk along the beautiful sandy beach before continuing towards Whangarei. We saw the sign for Whangarei Falls, and stopped to take the short circular walk to the impressive waterfall before driving into the town. We parked near the yacht basin, an attractive, redeveloped area with shops and cafes, where we stopped for lunch. We continued along highway number 1 before turning off onto the 16 at Wellsford, a scenic route that went towards the west coast. There was little difference in distance, this road was more slow and winding but there was less traffic. We drove through rolling countryside and past vineyards and unfortunately hit the outskirts of Auckland just after 5pm and got stuck in rush hour traffic. By the time we got to the Jet Inn, we didn't feel like venturing out again, so just ate our evening meal in the hotel restaurant.

On our last morning, though our flight wasn't until 3pm, we didn't want to risk driving to far or getting stuck in traffic. We decided to pay a short visit to Auckland Botanic gardens, a few miles from the airport. The gardens cover a huge area, so we just had time to explore a little of it. There was a lot of native planting and a particularly colourful African garden. I noticed many plants growing here (and in North Island generally) that wouldn't survive the winter in the UK. We also noticed how much difference there was from the South Island, both the type of plants and the difference in growth - the roses, for example, were in tight bud in South Island but were already in flower here.

All too soon we headed back to the airport to board our long and boring flights back to the UK, which were thankfully without problems. It took me several days to adjust back to UK time, not being helped by picking up a bad head cold, probably from the flight back. We loved the trip and have felt we have seen a good variety of New Zealand's landscapes - but with more than enough we haven't seen for any future trip.

I hope I haven't bored anyone with what I realise has become a rather long report. I've kept the accommodation and restaurant details separate to avoid it being even longer:


http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34895445

A selection of my trip photographs are on here:

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/317654/index.html

Thank you Maria for a nicely detailed and informative report - not the least bit boring!

Hi Maria,
our February itinerary is similar to yours, and we wonder where the 13 km section of gravel is that you encountered on the Catlins Route.
Roma

The road that is called "Catlins Heritage trail" is mostly gravel.

It's not a bad road, just slower going.

http://www.catlins.org.nz/heritage_trail.htm

Thanks, mlgb. I've already collected lots of useful info from your posts on this site.
Roma

topping

this is a great trip report...great info and insight....love the photos too...
thanks maria