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Our 3 week winter trip to the South Island of New Zealand

Our 3 week winter trip to the South Island of New Zealand

Old Jul 23rd, 2011, 04:23 PM
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So, did you have fun?
Melnq8 is online now  
Old Jul 23rd, 2011, 09:23 PM
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@melnq8 - we did have fun and we really enjoyed our trip. The weather cooperated for most of the trip although it did turn on us at the end. We thought New Zealand was beautiful although I think I probably had an unrealistic image in my head of some areas (like Milford Sound) where I was actually disappointed in what we saw. I think New Zealand is unique in that you can see glaciers, rain forests, fjords, beaches, etc... all in a relatively small country. However, I think that Norway has better fjords and glacier lagoons, Iceland and Alaska probably have more impressive glaciers, and Switzerland probably has better mountains (in my opinion of course). That's not to say we didn't enjoy our visit or think the country was beautiful. Some of our favorite views and experiences were those we weren't really expecting. Top of the list for the best locations for me were the drive down Mt. Aspiring Road toward the Rob Roy Glacier trail. It was a beautiful day and the scenery was amazing. We also loved Lake Tekapo. The amazing glacier-blue water against the large white rocks of the shore with the mountains in the background was impressive.

We also loved that New Zealand had 2 bedroom motels available all over the island. this was great for our family that usually does self-catering. In many countries, you can't find a self-catering accommodation unless you are staying at least 3 nights. We weren't particularly impressed with the food overall, and it was more expensive than I was expecting, but most people we met were very nice, it never felt crowded, the and roads were all in good shape. I came away with loads of beautiful photographs and memories.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2011, 11:41 PM
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Good to hear. I'm partial to the Mt Aspiring Road jaunt too, and many people never bother to go there.

I think there's a tendancy to buy into the hype and build-up about certain sites, so a bit of disappointment at the reality isn't all that surprising.

My favorite bits about the SI are the ones that no one else seems to bother with - their loss.
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Old Aug 24th, 2011, 06:59 PM
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Thanks for your journal - though we will go in Feb/March (with a campervan and bicycles), it was great to see some of your recommendations and experiences. We generally self-cater, but usually a week at a time and NZ just doesn't lend itself to that kind of travel. So we'll take our "self-catering" on the road with us.
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