Please help with our first attempt at New Zealand itinerary
 

Hello, everyone. We are active seniors going to New Zealand and Sydney in November. We'll have 29 nights there which we've divided into 24 in New Zealand and 5 in Sydney. We're flying into Auckland from the US then taking a short flight to Rotorua, since we found a good airfare on grabaseat.co.nz. We decided to not visit Auckland and Christchurch so we can spend more time in the rural areas. We're not into hiking much but love beautiful scenery, wildlife, museums, history, etc. So...........we'd love your suggestions and tweaking of how we're dividing up our time. So far, we have 21 of the 24 nights for New Zealand. Also would welcome suggestions for B&B's or motel/hotels, preferably not over $175NZ per night.
Here goes:
Rotorua - 3 nights
Napier - 2 nights
Wellington - 3 nights
Nelson - 2 nights
Wesport or Punakaiki - 2 nights
Franz Joseph - 2 nights
Wanaka - 2 nights
Te Anau - 2 nights
Queenstown or Arrowtown - 3 nights (Is Arrowtown a good base? We prefer to stay in smaller towns).
Flying from Queenstown to Sydney for 5 nights, then home.
Thanks for any help.

I forgot to mention that we haven't yet bought our tickets from Queenstown to Sydney so since we have 3 nights to use up we could possibly spend two nights in Oamaru to see the penguins etc. and one night in Christchurch then fly from there to Sydney. We want to see penguins someplace on our trip. Thanks a bunch.

As you say, you have 3 spare nights which makes the NZ part of your trip about a week longer than the one we did last year.

Based on our experiences, i would do this:

Rotorua - 3 nights [never been, can't help with whether this is too long/short/just right]
Napier - 3 nights [one day for the town/wineries, another for the gannets and wider exploration]
Wellington - 2 nights [we only had one, would definitely want a whole day here]
Nelson - 3 nights [a great base for touring, you need 2 whole days]
Wesport or Punakaiki - 1 night at most
Franz Joseph - 2 nights [you need a whole day]
Wanaka - 3 nights [definitely]
Te Anau - 2 nights
Queenstown or Arrowtown - 3 nights - you would probably prefer Arrowtown.

that's still only 22 nights!

if you want to see the penguins at Oamaru, which was certainly one of the highlights of our trip, then I would do this instead:

Rotorua - 3 nights
Napier - 3 nights
Wellington - 2 nights
Nelson - 3 nights - drive straight to FJ via Punakaiki -
Franz Joseph - 2 nights
Wanaka - 3 nights
Te Anau - 2 nights
Arrowtown - 3 nights
Oamaru - 2 nights
Christchurch - 1 night.

that is 24 nights, I think.

BTW, we had 5 nights in Sydney and if you're planning to spend them all in the city, that may well be one night too many.

Hi, Annig. Thank you for your suggestions. I particularly like your 2nd itinerary because of the penguins there. I also read about the penguin tours at Akaroa, out of Christchurch and was wondering if anyone knows how it compares with seeing them at Oamaru. Maybe a guided tour isn't necessary. For Napier, we're not into wineries so would we still allow 3 nights there? Also, your idea of shortening Sydney by one night sounds good. Where should we add the extra night? I appreciate your insights, Annig. You're always so helpful on these boards!

Also, I've been wondering about staying in Akaroa for one or two nights since we'll take one night off of Sydney and (maybe) 1 night off somewhere else.

Hi, jrjcollins

Just wondering what you are planning to do in Rotorua for three nights / two days - hopefully you will visit Orakei Korako, not far out of Rotorua, which could be done on the drive to Napier.

If you drop a night from Napier you will only have a day to visit the gannets, look around the city, visit Havelock North and Te Mata Peak (great for the views), visit the Museum, etc.
I would keep 3 nights for Wellington as there is plenty to do - Zealandia Sanctuary, Te Papa museum, Weta Workshop tour http://wetaworkshop.com/visit-us/the...workshop-tour/, wonderful coastline for driving around - just to name a few.
I would restructure the time thus:

Rotorua - 3 nights
Napier - 3 nights
Wellington - 3 nights
Nelson - 3 nights - drive straight to FJ via Punakaiki -
Franz Joseph - 2 nights
Wanaka - 3 nights
Te Anau - 2 nights
Arrowtown - 2 nights
Oamaru - 2 nights
Christchurch - 1 night.

I've dropped a night in Arrowtown purely because Wanaka, Te Anau and Arrowtown are in close proximity.

Oamaru has an interesting historical area that is worth time looking around. Make sure you've got plenty of warm layers for the penguin visit. http://www.penguins.co.nz/

However you allocate your time you have a reasonable coverage of New Zealand which will cover many of the main points of interest. Enjoy the planning, and the visit of course.
Dot

Thanks, Dot. I like your ideas of staying in Wellington for 3 nights and Arrowtown only for two. The itinerary is getting better all the time!

I like staying in Arrowtown, as it's easy to access QT w/o having to actually stay amongst the tourist fray - QT can be quite busy and overwhelming at times.better, IMO as one night doesn't give you time to do

I'd stay at least two nights though, three would be even anything, and I assume you'd want to visit QT and possibly Glenorchy from your Arrowtown base.

As you have extra nights, I'd suggest lengthening your existing stays vs. adding new locations. Three nights will give you two full days to explore a given area. There are exceptions of course, Punakaiki is all about the Pancake Rocks and hiking tracks, so as you're not a hiker one night is probably sufficient there - check high tide times and plan accordingly if possible.

Thank you, Melnq8. Since we're changing Sydney to 4 nights, we'll have 25 nights in New Zealand. Not sure if we should change Arrowtown to two nights so we can stay one night at Punakaiki. How does this itinerary sound?
Rotorua - 3 nights
Napier - 3 nights
Wellington - 3 nights
Nelson - 3 nights
Franz Joseph - 2 nights
Wanaka - 3 nights
Te Anau - 2 nights
Oamaru - 2 nights
Christchurch - 1 night.

Sorry, this is the corrected plan:
Rotorua - 3 nights
Napier - 3 nights
Wellington - 3 nights
Nelson - 3 nights
Franz Joseph - 2 nights
Wanaka - 3 nights
Te Anau - 2 nights
Arrowtown - 3 nights
Oamaru - 2 nights
Christchurch - 1 night

jr - the longest drive we did was from Nelson to FJ, and it took us all day with a very early start which meant that we had no time to stop and stare.

if you were going to put in an extra day, I think that I would put it in at Punaikaiki.

That sounds like a good idea, annhig. Perhaps we should add one night at Punaikaiki and change Arrowtown to two nights.

Sorry for my garbled post, I should have proofread.

Yeah, Nelson to Franz is a long haul, suggest you spend a night at Punakaiki as annhig suggests.

And just an FYI, if you're staying in Nelson primarily to visit Abel Tasman, you might consider staying closer to the park - (Kaiteriteri, Upper Moutere, Tasman, Mapua, Ruby Bay...) this would also shorten your drive day to Punakaiki by a wee bit.

<<Also would welcome suggestions for B&B's or motel/hotels, preferably not over $175NZ per night.>>

Franz Josef - 58 on Cron

Wanaka - Clearbrook Motel

Te Anau - The Croft (B&B), Birchwood Cottages, Assure Amber Court Motel

Arrowtown - Orchard Cottage

Christchurch - Roma on Riccarton

Thank you for your suggestions, Melnq8.

Not sure if you have any spare nights without taking away from somewhere else. If you do I would add a night in franz, the drive to and from franz will be your longest and if you want to do fox and franz glacier as well as lake Matheson you will have a jam packed single day. Or a heli tour if walking 1hr to each glacier terminal face is too much.

Just going to throw this out here for a first time South Island visitor. Re small towns, what is small to you? QT is only ~15k and you are travelling in off season - no school holidays, no skiing / winter sports, too early for summer hols - so it's not like you are travelling in high season to get the touristy buzz that you are trying to miss. Guess I'm just challenging what rural is in your decision to go with arrowtown. (I'm not saying arrowtown isn't a beautiful little town).

Melnq8 would you do arrowtown / QT after te anua or before?

Also, just making sure that your flight from akl to rotorua included checked luggage?

osteorach -

I'd do Te Anau first.

Arrowtown to Oamaru is about a four hour drive, whereas Te Anau to Oamaru is closer to six.

And while I'm the first to encourage visitors to slow down, I think two nights in Franz is sufficient if short on time. I did this last year with my brother (his first visit, time poor)and it worked out well.

In one full day we took the Lake Matheson walk, walked to the terminal face of both Franz and Fox and spent a leisurely night at the hot pools.

Having said that, if the weather is crap and you're set on a helihike or similar, more time is always better as it gives you more than one chance.

And just to confuse matters more, have you considered the very small 'town' of Glenorchy?

Incredible scenery, almost tourist free save the odd wandering visitor from QT or a backpacker here and there on their way to the Routeburn. It'd also give you more of a scenic mix than staying in both Wanaka and Arrowtown, which are relatively close together. Glenorchy is IMO the prettiest spot on the SI (don't tell anyone). I can also suggest a wonderful B&B there.

Osteorach, I guess my idea of a small town is under 10,000. And, yes, the airfare from Akl to Rotorua includes luggage. Thanks for asking. Melnq8, Glenorchy sounds wonderful. Would you substitute Arrowtown for Glenorchy? In that case, would the order be Wanaka, Te Anau, Glenorchy, and Oamara? What is the name of the B&B in Glenorchy that you enjoy? Thanks, again, for all of your input.

<<Would you substitute Arrowtown for Glenorchy>>

I would, yes, but with a caveat. I'm a hiker. A non-hiker might prefer seeing Glenorchy as a day trip from Arrowtown or QT.

The main attractions of Glenorchy to me are the scenery, the serenity, and the hiking tracks.

It's a town of about 465 people. There are very limited services, scant accommodation. Food options include one café and two pubs, of which only one might be open at a given time.

To me, Glenorchy is a getaway destination, a slice of paradise, a hidden gem. To others, it's a sleepy town surrounded by national parks with not-much-to-do.

By contrast, Arrowtown is a quiet place to stay on the outskirts of QT that provides easy access to all that QT and the Lakes District has to offer. I'm not a fan of the 'town' of Arrowtown, but I do like the surrounding countryside, the walking tracks and its proximity to QT.

The B&B in question is above your $NZ 175, but it includes a massive breakfast, wonderful host and hostess, fabulous views and privacy. The B&B is Precipice Creek Station. If you stay there, please give our regards to Vladka and Richard.

Should you decide on Glenorchy, as far as itinerary order, I'd just switch Glenorchy with Arrowtown. Yes, it will make your drive to Oamaru longer, but it still makes sense in the scheme of things. Franz Josef to Wanaka is a long enough day as it is.

I agree with everything that Melnq8 has said, including your itinerary order.

en route to Oamaru, do take time to drop down to the coast to see the Moeraki Boulders - they are really weird stones on the beach that look just like dinosaur eggs that are hatching! In Oamaru itself there are a lot of things to see besides the penguins - the Victorian Town including the newly restored opera house [we got a free tour from the barman in there just by showing interest in it ], and the botanical gardens. as for the penguins, there's no need to pay to see them at the over-priced penguin centre, just go down to the beach at dusk and watch them waddle ashore. Definitely the best show in town!

Thanks, Melnq8 for the information about Glenorchy. And the B&B sounds wonderful. Unfortunately, they are full on the dates we need so we'll probably do Glenorchy as a day trip from Arrowtown.

I have one last itinerary question. Our flight from Christchurch to Sydney doesn't leave until around 4PM. Would it be doable to not stay overnight in Christchurch but drive directly to the airport from Oamaru? If we got to the airport by 1PM that should leave us enough time to drop off the car, etc., then we would have one more night we could put someplace else.

Thanks, annig, for the information on Oamaru.

hu jr - I can see no reason why you shouldn't go straight from Oamaru to Christchurch airport if you aren't interested in seeing Christchurch itself. We left Oamaru after breakfast, stopped off at Timaru where we discovered the most wonderful old fashioned rose garden, and got to Christchurch about lunchtime.

We stayed at the Villa Lago apartments in QT; we liked the apartments but we were less keen on QT itself. Arrowtown OTOH we liked quite a lot though we only spent a couple of hours or so there - long enough to see the chinese settlement, do some shopping at the village hall [crafts made in NZ, may have been a Christmas thing as we were there in early December] and have some lunch.

Hi, jrj,

I agree you should be able to make Christchurch easily from Oamaru in plenty of time to check in. It's a while since I was down that way, but I think it is a 3.5 - 4 hour drive between the two. And do stop at the Trevor Griffiths Rose Garden in Timaru, at Caroline Bay.

I forgot to say about the Moeraki Boulders, so glad that annhig mentioned them. Also, if you go into Moeraki check out Fleur's Place. It's a quaint restaurant by the inlet, serving lovely food - and just coffee, I hope.

If you do decide not to stay in Chch for a night I would add the extra night to Te Anau. We did a trip to Doubtful Sound from there several years ago in January - it was wet but the sound was beautiful. I took many photos. Lots of amazing impromptu waterfalls, but only a couple of seals which was a little disappointing. However, I was very pleased we had gone. We have also been to Milford Sound on another trip which was quite different. Just driving to Milford you will see some great scenery.

When I first visited Arrowtown 40 years ago we took a trip to a little goldmining village called Macetown. I see it has now been restored, which is good, and there are several companies offering tours into the site. (We went on a little 4 x 4 bus) Not sure if this is where annhig went, but it was worth a trip when we went all those years ago.

Dot

Hi, annhig and Dot. Your information helps a lot and I think we'll not stay overnight in Christchurch. I think I have the itinerary now, thanks to all of you. Now the fun part of deciding what to do at each place!

<<<Would it be doable to not stay overnight in Christchurch but drive directly to the airport from Oamaru?>>>

Absolutely doable.

The chinese settlement that we visited was the one at the far end of the main town - [the southern end I suspect as we were coming from Wanaka, parked near the Library on the outskirts of the centre without driving through on our arrival, and we walked through the town to get to it.

so no need for a bus. it was reasonably well-signposted [we found it!] and there was a lot of good information about it on the information boards when we got there.

interestingly, one of the people we met through the wonderful lady who ran our B&B in Wellington was a very elderly lady of chinese extraction whose family had arrived in NZ in the 19C. She was very interesting to talk to - I had had no idea about that part of NZ history before we met her. Then seeing the chinese settlement helped bring it all together.

We'll definitely see the Chinese settlement. What was the name of your B&B in Wellington? Would you recommend it? Since Wellington is a larger town, I'm wondering if the B&B was relatively easy to find. Thanks.

lol, jrj, our B&B was delightful as was our hostess there, but the only way we found it was by following her car up the never-ending hill to the top! We only stayed there for a night and the whole thing was a hoot from start to finish - a couple of days before we were due to arrive we got an e-mail from her to say that very old friends of hers were due to arrive the same night as us [at this point I was expecting a cancellation] and would we like to join them all at a restaurant in the centre of Wellington for supper?!

We were a little taken aback [well, more than a little to be honest] but we couldn't see what not, so we duly arranged to meet her and her guests there instead of going to the B&B when we arrived in W'ton. We had a very interesting evening with Peggy and her guests and at the end of it, she guided us up to her B&B which is right at the top of the hill overlooking W'ton with wonderful views from the panoramic windows. Her friends were staying with her too so we had a very jolly evening, and had the opportunity to meet some real kiwis. ok it was blowing a hooly, but we still had a great time.

so long as you are up for a bit of kiwi informality, and have a good satnav, you'll be happy here:

http://www.wellingtonpanorama.co.nz/

we can also thoroughly recommend the B&B we stayed at in Wanaka where the two girls who own it run it on "chalet" lines so you have a communal breakfast and afternoon tea with them and the rest of their guests.

http://www.criffelpeakview.co.nz/

That's a great story, annig. But it's those kind of things that make trips memorable, isn't it. Thanks for the recommendations.

Hi There

If you are still looking for help with your NZ trip, please feel free to call me with any questions.
I'm a Kiwi living in Wisconsin, and also a travel agent specializing in NZ (for obvious reasons!) so happy to answer any questions you may have.
Cheers
Geoff
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