Steven

We are planning a vacation in New Zealand for end of Nov for 2 weeks in the South Island travelling with 3 kids aged 4- 9years and my wife will be in her 2nd trimester of her pregnancy.I would like to make some enquiries and hope that this forum would provide me some feedback as I am rather skeptical in respect of some of the information that has been furnished to me by travel agents.<BR>(1) Is it necessary to make any advance bookings for trips/cruises for Milford Sound/Doubtful Sound?What about the Transalpine train from Christchurch to Arthur's Pass?<BR><BR>(2) Do we require bookings for accommodation for that time of year?<BR><BR>(3)Is it advisable to heli-hike to the glaciers with the kids and pregnant wife? If not, what is the alternative?The kids would like to play with snow for a while as well as enjoy a helicopter ride?<BR><BR>(4) Would it be advisable for my wife to go horse-riding in her state?She has a little experience and used to do a bit of it during her school days but have not for many years.<BR><BR>(5)Is it also safe for her to swim with the dolphins?<BR>What about Dart river jet-boating?<BR><BR>(6) Is Nov the right season for whale-watching?<BR><BR>(7) We are thinking of hiring a campervan of 6-7 berth but would that be too large to manoevre on the mountain roads?What about Baldwin Street(the steepest road in the world)?<BR><BR>Thank you to all who responds.

John

Can't answer many of your questions (I personally would ask most to a doctor), but I hope the following tidbit helps: I just got back from a mid-September trip to New Zealand, where I had no trouble obtaining bookings for the Fiordland Travel (Real Journeys) Doubtful day trip and the Milford overnight 3-4 days in advance. Things might be somewhat different in November, however. I'll also go out on a limb and recommend choosing one or the other, i.e. either Doubtful or Milford, but not both. Many say that the two fjords are "completely different"; but I found the trips rather repetive and wished I had devoted the day I spent at Doubtful (I had 2 weeks in NZ) somewhere else (Karamea or Stewart Island, perhaps?).<BR><BR>I also made my bookings for accommodations generally about 24 hours beforehand and had few problems. But I generally stayed at low-end motels (NZ$90/night or so); the fancier places and B&Bs might have required more of an effort in advance.<BR><BR>Don't know where you're writing from, but I'm from the states and was very happy I chose not to rent a campervan. Between the left-side thing and NZ's narrow, winding roads (especially those in the northern part of the South Island, full of curves and one-lane bridges), I found NZ driving to be a harrowing experience, one better undertaken in a compact car.

steven

Thank you John, for your useful reply.<BR><BR>If you did the Sounds again,which would you have chosen? Doubtful or milford? Would you have done the overnight on Doubtful or do you think the day trip on Doubtful would have sufficed?

ALF

1) You should probably book Milford or Doubtful Sound cruises at least a week in advance. The same for the TranzAlpine at that time of year.<BR><BR>2) You will generally be able to find accommodations without advance booking in November.<BR><BR>3) A short heli-hike is not at all strenuous for small kids or a pregnant wife. We took a helicopter ride up onto the upper part of Fox Glacier, then romped about for around 45 minutes before returning.<BR><BR>4) I'm no doctor, but I would think gentle trail riding would be OK. Lake Matheson Stables is not far from the glaciers and had a nice trail ride suitable for kids.<BR><BR>5) Don't know much about swimming with dolphins. Have been on the Shotover River, and the jet boat ride can be a bit rough at times.<BR><BR>6) November is the beginning of the high season for whale watching at Kaikoura.<BR><BR>7) Some roads are narrow and winding and will be challenging to drive in a large motorhome - the narrow switchbacks east of Arthurs Pass in the Southern Alps come to mind. I would get the smallest possible campervan and park it in a holiday park each night to use their ablution facilities, kitchen, and dining room.

Steven

TQ ALF for your msg.Unfortunately, we need the space for the kids and the comforts of a larger campervan.Is it not possible to park by the roadside sometimes overnight rather than hunt for a campsite?We have never driven a campervan before so forgive my ignorance but is there a generator in the campervan for lights at night?

ALF

You can park along the road in some places, but it has been my experience that it is generally easier and more convenient to stay in holiday parks, which are ubiquitous across NZ. I have never hired one of the large motorhomes in NZ, but I have in Oz - the shower and bathroom facilities are not necessarily ideal, we preferred taking longer hotter showers in an ablution block, and I wasn't too enamored with dumping the waste from the toilet. Some of the better-equipped motorhomes have generators. My family has always hired the smallest possible campervan in the interest of economy and drivability.

Steven

I have booked a 6 berth motorhome Sovereign from Cruise New Zealand but I'm a bit concerned with the fine print which states that allinsurance would be negated if the campervan travels on the following roadsBR>• Skippers Road Queenstown<BR>• Crown Range between Cardrona & Arrowtown Queenstown<BR>• Ball Hut Road Mt. Cook<BR><BR>Does one need to travel on these roads to get to the main destinations of Queenstown, Arrowtown or Mt Cook or are these roads off the beaten track?<BR><BR>

Jo

Hi Steven<BR>Don't worry about those roads. They are well off the beaten track, and I wouldn't want to drive them in a car let alone a campervan. This clause is standard with most if not all the hire car places in NZ.<BR>I think there is a bungy jump on the Skippers Canyon road, but you can see the AJ Hackett one without leaving the main road.<BR>Jo.

Steven

Thank you, Jo for your reassuring reply. We're not into bungy-jumping so I wouldn't really worry about that.My main concern is getting to the must- sees so if these roads can be avoided, so much the better.I'm just a bit worried about manoevring a 6 berth campervan on mountain roads-I suppose I have to go real slow.

John

Steven,<BR><BR>re: Milford vs. Doubtful: If I had to do it over again, I'd do only the Milford overnight. Milford, in my view, was better because (1) the drive from Te Anau to Milford is beautiful (we took a bus) and (2) the fjord is, in my view, just a bit more scenic at Milford, though Doubtful has a seal colony and Milford does not. Our guides in Milford were also substantially better than they were at Doubtful.<BR><BR>My guess is that the overnight trip, whether to Milford or Doubtful, is more enjoyable than the corresponding day trip. The overnight gives you the option of kayaking as the sun sets; the chances of wildlife-spotting may also be slightly greater at dusk and dawn than at mid-day. The food was quite good, and it's always fun to spend a night on the water.

Steven

Apart from kayaking, is there anything else to do on board in respect of the overnight cruise?We do not have any experience in kayaking and I am also concerned that my 3 very young kids and pregnant wife would be bored if they are unable to kayak, even if I could try for the novelty.How many does the kayak sit as that would determine whether I am able to take any kids with me on the kayak?<BR>