Diamantina

Paragkask, I'm excited for you, too!

I forgot to mention if you choose to drive from Queenstown to Arrowtown by way of SH6 and Arrowtown-Lakes Hayes Road, then you'll pass two lovely wineries, Amisfield and Mora. They both make terrific wine. Please note there are two ways to get from central Queenstown to Arrowtown. The other way goes through Arthur's Point. As I mentioned before, the wineries of beautiful Gibbston Valley are also close to Queenstown, just a bit beyond the turn-off for Arrowtown.

FYI: Narrow and winding, the road from Wanaka to Queenstown (Cardrona Valley Road-Crown Range Road) is the highest main road in NZ--and also highly scenic.

I hope you'll enjoy the scenic beauty of Australia and New Zealand, as much as you have enjoyed the ancient culture, architecture and civilizations of the previous 48 countries you have visited.

Diamantina

Paragkash, I just want to remind your group to bring a good rainjackets and umbrellas as they are predicting warm but somewhat rainy weather for Waitangi Day and the following days. The Queenstown Airport is located in Frankton, a suburb of Queenstown. If you've forgotten to pack anything that you might need for your trip, you'll likely find what you need in the small shops and large department stores around Frankton. Te Anau doesn't have as many shops.

Paragkash

Diamantina,
we are having a great trip.
Sydney was warm and good. Didn't have rains, luckily.

We got a Hyndai SantaFe which is larger but less fuel efficient than RAV4.
Te Anau was pretty and compact.
We had 3 nights there and could enjoy it leisurely.

We liked the Glow worm caves. Milford Sound according to me a slightly overhyped. This was supposed to be the highlight of our tour.

Road to Milford was scenic.

Te Anau to Twizel was a very long and bit strenuous drive.
some parts were without any greenery. I had to get down and splash water on my fcae twice. It was hot and sunny throughout. We started at 10 am and reached by 5 pm. We are 2 drivers.
Bought sweet cherries on the way.
Twizel is hot till 6 am.

We are off to Mount Cook area today
Next 2 days Wanaka and 4 days after that will be queenstown.

Your tips are helpful. Thanks again

Diamantina

Paragkash, thanks for letting us know how your trip has gone so far. How nice to hear you are having a great trip!

I'm delighted that you enjoyed fine weather in Sydney. I was wondering how your group was doing as I'd read they'd had rain lately. I'm glad you avoided the showers and were able to enjoy that beautiful city in the best possible conditions.

It sounds like Te Anau was a good, relaxing place for starting off your NZ road trip. You were absolutely right to spend three nights there. I'm sorry Milford Sound was a bit of a letdown. You're not alone in finding Milford Road, with its many impressive views and places to stop, more of a highlight than Milford Sound itself, but the two generally go hand-in-hand for first-time visitors. You might have enjoyed Doubtful Sound more, as it's three times longer, has a sea surface roughly ten times larger, and is way less busy than Milford Sound, but getting to Doubtful Sound from Manapouri is more involved (45-minute cruise across Lake Mananpouri, then 45-minute coach ride through Wilmot Pass, before finally boarding the Doubtful Sound cruise). The trip also takes longer and costs more, and offers no chances for a self-drive through native forests and glacier-carved valleys, as can be done on Milford Road.

I enjoyed the Te Anau glow worm cave, too, more than I expected to. It's amazing that the public only sees a fraction of this vast subterranean cave system.

Yes, the often-twisty drive from Te Anau to Twizel is long and demanding. Unskilled, inconsiderate and inattentive drivers can cause added stress. I hope you didn't encounter any of those!

Quite true, that the drive from Te Anau to Twizel passes through areas nearly devoid of greenery. Parts of Central Otago often remind me of the kind of scenery you might see in an Old Western movie: dry, boulder-strewn, desertlike, with rocky outcrops and golden tussock grasslands. This year's drought has probably made it more arid; it's certainly raised the region's wildfire risk. It's a bit mind-boggling that you can, within hours, go from lush and green Milford Sound—one of the earth's wettest inhabited places—to such a dry region. Surprisingly, this region's wineries and vineyards are among NZ's most beautiful, and pop up like verdant oases in the dry landscape.

I hope you had good weather for your visit to Aoraki Mt. Cook. After this weekend, the days are forecast to be sunny and dry.

I look forward to hearing about the remainder of your trip. You've very welcome for the travel tips.

KarenWoo

I look forward to hearing about the remainder of your trip, too! We have a trip planned to Australia and New Zealand for October/November of this year.

Paragkash

Diamantina,
we got great weather in Araoki Village and Mount Cook area. The lakes are of unreal turquoise blue. We could see mount Cook all throughout the drive. The information centre has a great design and display. It became cloudy and started raining after we left. We had a great time at a Lavender Farm close to Twizel. We all loved Twizel. It's a pretty small town. It still has a lot of villas. Our apartment was great value.
Our drive to Wanaka was good. The mountain pass was dry and rugged but scenic. It felt much better as we were fresh and had only 2 hours drive till Wanaka. The same road felt tough when we were tired because of a long drive.

Just before reaching Twizel, I was driving on a straight road at a speed of 98 km/ hr. I saw in my rear view mirror, that a car was probably driving at 110 kmph speed and suddenly a Police car with lights from behind him and fined him.
So a small advice to all the tourists " Please follow all the rules and speed limits perfectly" Never take it lightly. The cops can suflrface from thin air. More than the fine, it dampens your spirit and confidence.

Our Wanaka apartment is a fabulous modern and sleek 2 bed apartment with a private lawn on all 3 sides. The lake is 5 minutes walking.

Wanaka looks a bit larger but pretty. Will experience it by evening and tomorrow.

A surprising thing I noticed is that, most of the 2 and 3 bedroom villas and apartments have only 1 toilet. Our requirement is 2 bed and 2 toilets. I had to book a 4 bed apartment in Twizel. 2 separate rooms with a kitchenet in Te Anau. We are lucky in Wanaka.
In queenstown, we have a 2 bed apartment woth 1 toilet for 4 of us. Couldn't get a good central place with 2 toilets.
There are no rooms or apartments available in the whole of queenstown for the next 3 days. Only 2 ' 5bhk apartments available at a whooping 20k Nzd for 3N.

We did go to one Lavender farm at Wanaka on our way. The winery only offered wine tasting but not winery tour. Am looking for a winery tour now

Thanks again for the wishes and help

Diamantina

Paragkash, how truly lucky you were to get great weather in Aoraki Mt. Cook! Even in summer, this can be a chance occurence. Mt. Cook Road is gorgeous, isn't it? Yes, that extraordinary blue of the Mackenzie Region's glacier lakes is due to the fine silt particles ("glacial flour"), caused by glacier erosion, that remain suspended in the lake's waters.

I'm glad you enjoyed Twizel and that you were pleased by your accommodation. You definitely would have paid more for something comparable in Aoraki Mt. Cook village. (In fact, there might not even be anything comparable in the village.) Twizel is especially lovely in April, when the leaves change color. Thanks for the travel tip--I'll try to get to that lavender farm someday.

I'm happy to hear the police are cracking down on law-breaking drivers along the Tekapo-Twizel Road, as there have been a lot of accidents along there. In fact, there was a crash there 4 days ago; two people were taken to Timaru Hospital with moderate injuries.

Your Wanaka apt. sounds perfect! I think Queenstown is likely booked out because of Chinese New Year/Spring Festival Week. Was it easy to find accommodation in Melbourne? I think Taylor Swift is about to perform there.

Gibbston Valley Winery in Gibbston Valley (near Arrowtown) offers winery tours. Nearby Peregrine Winery also offers winery tours, but charges much more. The Cardrona Distillery (which sells spirits) also offers tours. They're on Cardrona Road. It's interesting that not many of the region's wineries offer tours. I think this must be because most of them are relatively small and have small staffs. Nearly all of them have tastings (at their "cellar doors")--though some require appts., and many of the wineries have restaurants.

I look forward to hearing more about your trip and, again, have a wonderful time!

Paragkash

Diamantina,
the weather at Wanaka is perfect yesterday and today.
We had a nice 1 hour stroll on the lake side.
We have ruled out Winery ( no winery tour available), Lavender farm ( to avoid Deja Vu feeling. clicked some pics from outside) and puzzling world.
Am short of ideas.
Planning to drive down to Fantail Falls, Haase Pass lookout, Blue pools, Lake Hawea
Cherries are double the price here @20 nzd per kg. Will look for some on the way.
We will walk to That Wanaka Tree in the evening.
We love shopping grocery like locals, interacting with them. We are getting a small slice of the life here.
What we love here is ofcourse the breathtaking scenery and clean unpolluted air but a very open and crime free environment. Almost feels like heaven.
In Melbourne, we have a cousine who has recently upgraded to a 5 bed lavish pool villa. Seeing that is one of our agendas.

Paragkash

Diamantina
I am trying to figure out why we feel so much at ease and comfortable here. It is surely that fact that we feel that we have a local friend and advisor in you, who has given us a first hand information and insight that no book or website can give

Diamantina

Paragkash, as you're a resourceful, highly organized and experienced world traveler, I'm sure you would have managed this trip quite well on your own, but thank you for the compliment. It's a nice thing to hear.

Wanaka is known for its great summer weather. The scenic drive you mentioned, past Lake Hawea and "the Neck" to Mt. Aspiring National Park is beautiful and a must-do. Though, the swing bridges at Blue Pools might still be closed for repair. I also like the drive on Wanaka-Mt. Aspiring Road in the direction of Diamond Lake. The circuit walk around the lake is easy (45-minute loop), but the rest of the track to the Wanaka Lookout and Rocky Mountain is steep. Beyond Diamond Lake the Wanaka-Mt. Aspiring paved road becomes a gravel road. A few car rental companies will not allow their cars on this road past the "Treble Cone" turn off; their cars should not be driven beyond this point For the most part, the gravel road is fine, though if you drive far enough, there might be some shallow streams to cross, but maybe not this year as we've had a drought.

I enjoy grocery shopping as well, and visiting food markets and food halls on my travels. It's a pity you won't have a chance to visit a NZ farmer's market. They're wonderful at this time of year, absolutely bursting with fruit, flowers, and plenty of local specialities, but at least you visited the fruit stands in Cromwell. That's astonishing the cherries cost twice as much in Wanaka, but Cromwell is a main source for these succulent cherries--I might have told you the majority of the region's cherries are imported, mainly to Taiwan, China and Vietnam. We've also reached the end of the cherry season, so this might be another reason why the price has gone up, but you'll still find plenty of apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, pears and apples. In Melbourne, you'll probably love Queen Victoria Market.

Your cousin's Melbourne villa sounds grand! I hope this is where you will be staying.

Paragkash

We are at Queenstown since the last 3 days. Our last destination in New Zealand. We loved each town that we visited in the south island.
We have slowed down more towards the end of the trip. We will take our flight tomorrow night 8 pm. Looking forward to Melbourne 4 n and reaching home now after 20 days.
Queenstown is the biggest amongst the ones we visited, but it has a small town feel. The lake side is wonderful. Scenery became more dramatic due to dark clouds last evening. We got some great photos.
Our Indian dinner at Bombay Place near the lake was very sumptuous and quite reasonable. We tried getting into Ferg berger. But there was a queue of 40 people even at 9.30 pm.
We have dropped that idea now.
it has been raining all day today. It was probably a blessing in disguise for us as we didnt have the harsh sun for our Jetboat ride.
my tips to anyone who visits Queenstown...
1. Decide and book all the activities minimum 2 to 7 days in advance. Everyone is very particular about the max. number and they do not exceed that at any cost.
2. Skippers Canyon Jet boat has been our most thrilling, exciting and scenic experience in the entire trip. One should not miss it. There are some deals available in the shops. We booked it with Russel from Happytravels. He was very good.
The drive to skippers canyon by bus was very interesting and scenic and also breathtaking for the last 30 min of the 1 hour drive. One should not try to drive there. I have driven on some of the most breathtaking roads in the world including the Transfargassan in Romania, Sela pass in the Dolomites, COL De vence in France, Furka pass in Switzerland, Alpine Strasse in Germany, Khardungla pass in Ladakh, India. This one tops them all, rivalled only by Khardungla pass on Ladakh.
The drive itself is worth the money spent. The expert driver gives you information and tells stories all along the way. Also stops at some Lord of the rings shooting spots.
The jet boat for 30 minutes has been the most exciting, thrilling experience of my life. It's perfectly safe for all age groups. The boat rider has been riding the jet boat since last 28 years and he is the best and most experienced one in the world. He drives the boat at 85 kmph though narrow winding canyon and spins the boat 360 degrees atleast 6 times.
Ideal clothes to wear .. light quick drying pants and full length shirt and a jacket. Sunglasses, Beenie or monkey cap. Leather gloves would be great as the Steel pipe that you hold is very cold. You can take a video if you hold the camera or phone tightly with the bar. A GoPro tied to the forehead would be an ideal thing to do if you have one.
3. Gibbston Valley Winery tour for 38 nzd is probably the best deal and and interesting activity. It includes wine tasting worth 25 nzd. They have 2 slots at 12 and 4 pm. It lasts for 45 min. Wear a hat and sunglasses and carry an umbrella as you need to walk through wineyards.
4. The sun hits very hard in New Zealand even if its 18 degrees C. Temperature. There is no Ozone layer above New Zealand. There is no pollution so no filter. Carry adequate protection like sunscreen. Wear a hat and light full sleeves top or shirt. Follow basic rules like layered clothing. Carry and umbrella or a jacket. We needed only a light jacket from 6th to 16th Feb. We didn't need a sweater.

5. Glow worm cave at Te Anau was great and unique to New Zealand. Milford Sound is ok but slightly overhyped imo. Fjords in Norway are much better. You may do it for ' been there, done that" feeling.
6. Mount Cook area is very far and is susceptible to fragile weather. You may skip it if time doesnt permit. Franz Joseph glacier is worth if you fancy a helicopter ride over it.
7. Visiting bigger cities in south island like Christ Church or Dunedin is upto individual choice. We are happy we skipped them.

One general observation is that, after some time everything looks alike, every lake looks similar. They are extremely beautiful and scenic but lack variety. Think carefully, do a lot of research, decide what you want from this visit and plan. Allow some extra days for bad weather.
Finally
Follow advice of fellow Fodorites. I did and I am happy.

Paragkash

We have an 8.20 pm flight tomorrow on 16th Feb.
We will checkout from our resort at 10 am.
Our car Renter has been gracious to allow us to return the car 3 hours late.
We will drop off the car at 4.30 pm
​​​We have 6 hours around Queenstown and a car at our disposal. Planning to drive to Glenorchy and spending some time there. Any other suggestions?

Diamantina

The road to Glenorchy is stunning. Definitely do it!

I've never done this, but there is also a gondola from Coronet Peak, one of Queenstown's two ski areas. I think you would have driven through some of this area on the way to Skippers Road, so maybe it would be redundant.

Paragkash

Yes, drive to Glenorchy is amongst the most scenic drives in New Zealand. We enjoyed it.
Back with loads of happy memories.
Now in Melbourne. Sunny warm weather here.