JRL

A friend and I are planning a trip to New Zealand. Our plans are to go to Christchurch, Dundin, Queenstown, and Auckland. What are your favorite places to stay, eat, see, etc? If driving, how much time should we plan between places? What are things not to miss along the way? Only the arrival and dep. date are firm, all plans are able to change at this time. I would love to hear your suggestions of a great trip. (hotels/b&b in or close to town around $100-$150 with character) Thanks!

Christine

Jennie
What dates are you planning to be in New Zealand?
Which city are you flying into?
If Auckland it takes 1 1/2 hours to fly to Christchurch from there. It is a 6-8 hour drive to drive it. That is to Wellington. 3 hour ferry to Picton and 5 hour drive to Christchurch.
There are many things to do in all the places.
Have you looked up http://outside.nz.com/
or www.discover.nz
www.nz.b&b
Withoutgoing into them I think these were the sites.
It is a 4 1/2 hour drive to Dunedin from Christchurch. 6 1/2 hour drive to Queenstown from Christchurch or from Dunedin to Queenstown it takes about 4 hours.
Bay of Islands north of Auckland is an area to see as is the Coromandel area.
Rotorua in the middle of the North Island. See the whales at Kaikoura. So many things I could tell you to see.
Email me for more information if you like.
Christine

Hans Lapping

My wife and I spent a month driving around N.Z. two years ago on our honey and had the best time-- in fact we almost moved there permanantly we loved it so much! I would recommend starting out on the North Island in Auckland simply becuase that's where the international flights land and even though the North is wonderful, it does not compare to the South Island and it would be anti-climatic to end in the north. Auckland is nice and you can easily spend two days there. I would make sure you visit the Auckland Musuem in the Domanin-- amazing Maori art and history-- visit Parnell Village, Mt. Eden, Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Experience/Underwater world, Queen Street and the harbor. There are a number of palces to stayt-- we got a great deal at teh Hyatt for about $135/night for 5-star hotel-- it's located right in town and is quite nice. After Auckland i would fly to Christchurch (about 1 1/2 flight). I would spend two days in Christchurch exploring the beautiful city-- check out the Canterbury Musuem, the Cathedral, the Antarctic center, the Arts and Craft Center, the Botanical Gardens and the walking tours available through the tourist center across from Noah's Hotel along the Avon River. The walks are wonderful! We stayed at Noah's right down town-- a big hotel but, again, we got a great deal-- $100/night with breakfast in bed and a great room. It's located right in town along the river and serves as a great base for seeing the city. We next drove down to Dunedin stopping along the way in Omaru-- it's on the main road-- the town has some amazing art deco buildings and a great histroical old town-- well worth a stop. Dunedin is nice. We stayed at the Southland Hotel-- very nice although the Leviathan- a Best western looked nice-- both are in your price range. In Dunedin we checked out Otagao University, the town center, and then went out the penninsual to see the Royal Albatros community and the yellowed-eye penguin sanctuary-- an amazing day of bird watching that I would highly recommend. We the drove across the island to Te Anau but I would recommend going straight to Queenstown--Queenstown is amazing. Plan on staying for a couple of days because there is so much to do. definetly take a day trip to Milford Sound-- preferably the bus/boat/plane tour offered by Fiordland Travel- it's the best way to see the sound, then spend a day doing the quadruple challenge-- you start of by jetboating on the Shotover River, you then hop in a helicopter which flies you through the canyons to the top of the river where you hop into a raft and go through level 4 and 5 rapids, then you end up at the bungy jump and do a jump--I'm not sure what your thrill seeking level is but this was a great day! I would also recommend just aday hanging out in Queenstown or if you are a skier going to the Remarkables or Cornet Peak to ski for a day. There are great restaurants in town-- we especially liked "The Cow" on Cow Lane-- great pizzas and italian food and cheap, cheap, cheap! (The drive from Dunedin is a long one-- about 6 hrs to Queenstown). We then headed up to Mt. Cook and stayed at the Hermitage Hotel. If the weather is clear, Mt. Cook is spectacular. I would definietly recommend, at a minimum, taking a galcier helicopter tour-- we actually skied the Tasman Galcier- 21 km run! It was the best day of our 2 months down under. You ski down the galcier with a guide taking a tour of the crevaces and caves and learning about the galcier after landing at the top in a ski plen. Then they helicopter lunch up to you and you eat smack dab on the galcier-- amazing views. Then you get into the copter and fly back to the top and ski down again-- it is a skiiers dream and its not very hard at all. The only problem is that it is very expensive $600 from Mt. Cook per person and $800 from Queenstown--well worth it if the weather is good and you can swing it. We then headed to the west coast glaciers and then up the coast and to Nelson and the Wllington and through the North Island but it sounds as if you might head back to Christchurch from Mt. Cook/Queenstown for your flights home. If you have time, Abel Tasman National Park at the nothern part of the South Island is a wonderful spot that I would recommend. Driving in N.Z. is a pleasure-- just watch out for the sheep! The views are spectactular around every corner and the people could not be more friendly. We had a blast! One recommendation is to reserve your car here-- it's much cheaper than getting it there. We went with Avis and got a good deal. If you are concernd about weather (only an issue over the mountain passes and we had no problems at all) the rent Honda CRVs at the Christchurch Airport but I do not think you can book those from the States. If you have any other questions, please feel free to write-- have a wonderful time -- it's a spectacular place. (p.s. sorry for all the typos!)

Susan

The Lodges in Queenstown. A three bedroom condo with a view of the lake and two block walk to town. The best an in your price range. Three days in Queenstown at least. Flight see Milford sound, jetboat the Shotover. Have a blast.

sabita

We visited the south island for 10 days in February, and it was beautiful. We hired a car in Christchurch and drove all over. (Average 4-6 hours between important towns).

It may be worth making a day trip to milford sound from queenstown or Te Anau. the drive to milford/helicopter flight is really breathtaking. other delightful places are the glowworm caves at Te Anau, and Franz Joseph glaciers.

when in dunedin, dont miss the restaurant(?)/pu?) called Bacchus at the Octagon: they serve amazing food, and desserts to die for.

you can also check out the website www.nz-travel.co.nz for information on various b&bs/motels, etc.

Dick

My wife and I also stayed at the Lodges in Queenstown(last November)and were very pleased.. Short walk to town....fabulous view..and full equipped and wel maintained townhouse.
For a absolutely fabulous view of the town, we hiked about 2 miles, on a well maintained trail ( I have the exact name of the trail if you need it)...to a vantage point high above Queenstown. We had a 360 degree view including the Lake, the town, and the mountains behind us. It's a great spot for a picnic lunch.