Thanks for answering my various questions posted when I first learned I could stay on for 5-6 days after a conference in Auckland for my first look at NZ. With so little time I am having to make hard decisions about what to see on my trip. I'm a 50-year-old female who will be traveling on my own to get a look around at nature, culture, etc. while I've got the chance. So, I've decided to skip the adventure sports and the glacier, emphasize the wildlife and fiords, maybe Maori culture.

I think I've decided that I will stay at same hotel in Auckland the night after conference ends just in case of any changes there, then:

Day 1-7am fly to Dundein, walk town, take 3pm Elm Wildlife Tour to see penguins, birds
Day 2 - morning in town, 2pm Intercity bus w/change in Gore to Te Anau, evening glowworm tour
Day 3 - Trips & Tramps tour with 2 hr Milford Sound cruise and Key summit hike
Day 4 - 10am bus to Queenstown airport and flight back to Auckland
Day 5 - open for day trip choice--Rotorua (plus Waitomo) or Waitakere Ranges-Arataki Centre or Parry Park Reserve-Waitangi National Reserve.
Day 6 - stay in Auckland to see museum, zoo, etc. until go to airport for 7:40pm departure. This also gives me day in Auckland in case I have business to attend to before departure.

I've played around with staying another day in Te Anau to do some tramping or stopping a day/night in Queenstown to see the sights, or flying to Rotorua first for the crafts, all of which would eliminate the day 5 as yet unscheduled day tour. Any thoughts? I'd also appreciate any feedback on specific tour providers I've chosen or missed.

I'm a budget traveler. The lodgings I am looking at are:
In Te Anau,
Explorer Lodge
Cats Whiskers B&B
Bella Vista motel

Dunedin
97 Motel Moray Place
Hulmes Court
Bella Vista (not sure of location)
755 Regal Court

If I do end up overnight in Rotorua:
Tresco B&B
Lake Plaza
Ibis

Or if end up overnight in Queenstown:
Bella Vista
Chalet

Considering your circumstances, the itinerary looks very good. You will see a lot of SI in a short time.

For day 5 - I would choose Rotorua and Waitomo.

For day 6 - Do you really want to go to the zoo and see animals which you can see anywhere? Go to the skytower and walk along Queen St. or take the Link bus to Ponsonby.

A day in QT would be a reasonable idea.

In Dunedin, we stayed at Hulmes, which was in the center of town, and which we liked. But we had a more expensive room.

The tour to Rotorua that appeals to me most is with Green World:
Bus to Matamata morning tea break,
Rainbow Springs (kiwi?), Te Puia and Maori Concert and Whakarewarewa Thermal area and Pohutu Geyser. Then if I didn't get enough glowworms in Te Anau, continue to the Waitomo Caves.

The other day tours I mention with New Zealand Tours to the north of Auckland give the opportunity to see Kauri trees.

I really mean to see the museum in Auckland. Zoo listed in case I haven't seen the native birds and last chance to see the aviary, kiwi house, and penguins. Is Victoria Park market interesting? I expect to see the Queen St area during my conference days.

We spent a night at the Lake Plaza in Rotorua; the room was spacious and quite nice.

Lee Ann

Regarding your accommodation choices - I can vouch for The Explorer Lodge in Te Anau and Bella Vista Motel in Queenstown. I'd happily stay at both again.

In fact, we stayed at three Bella Vista motels on our last visit and they were all very nice - a bit small, but nice.

The Lake Plaza in Rotorua is in a great locatation - close to the waterfront and the Polynesian Pools. This hotel has a regular 1/2 price - $95 NZD - special deal on the back of some of the supermarket dockets - worth looking out for when you staying at the conference, or something that a NZ based contact could pick up for you. The current deal expires on 31/01/06 but it seems to regularly feature on the dockets - particulary the Pak'N Save ones.
I think your itinerary is very good and picks out some of the best locations for such a short time. Out of your listed options for day 5, my vote would be Rotorua, however it is such a shame you can not spend more time in Queenstown. If you can re-jig the itinerary to include Queenstown - do it.
I think

Check out <b>http://www.wotif.com/</b> for great prices.

I can vouch for Hulmes Ct. and Tresco. Suggest you do some training for the Key Summit hike. I have not done it personally but looked into it, and you definitely need to be fit. It looks to be worth the effort, though.

The Key Summit walk is very easy, but obviously the fitter you are the easier it will be.
You climb about 2000 vertical feet, from The Divide, to the Key Summit. The track is well graded. In other words, you climb steadily, rather than some steep parts and some flatter parts.
If you find the going tough you can just turn round and come back, it's all down hill, so quite easy.
Trips N'Tramps run a great tour. Best choice you could make.

I , too, would vote for going to Rotorua for day 5. There is so much to see there. WE really enjoyed the Wai-o-tapu thermal wonderland NOt too far south of town) and took all the walks through the area. We actually prefered it to Whakarewarewa.

also, if you really are a budget traveller, don't shy away from the small BBH hostels. I was hesitant, but they were really great ( and I'm a senior!). The small independent ones affiliated with BBH are actually more like B&amp;b's, but without breakfast. But there is a kitchen. We had never stayed at hostels, but I was very impressed. I was on my own much of the time and had no problem getting a single room. You don't have to share! It's much cheaper than B&amp;B's or motels.

I loved Elm wildlife tours.

In Auckland, the museum is great. I also went over to Devonport on the ferry. I also advise skipping the zoo. YOu'll see the penquins in the wild on your tour in Dunedin.

You've planned a great tip, given your short stay. Have a wonderful trip!

You guys are great.
I've been convinced to do Rotorua, so it fits better at the beginning rather than the end of my trip. Now:

Day 1-fly to Rotorua for independent day and maybe touristy show by Tamaki -no trouble finding accomodations under $100.

Day 2-fly to Dundein, 3pm Elm Wildlife - no problem with motels

Day 3 - bus to Te Anau, evening glowworm tour - fewer motel choices so will either have to go above $100 or else check places I don't have specific recommendations for--I'll check AA.

Day 4 - Trips &amp; Tramps tour (Haven't gotten confirmation. I do alot of walking, but do slow down going uphill. Last trip was October in Bryce Canyon where I did a 3-mile loop with 500 ft gain in half the time posted, but I know 2000 ft is alot more. At home I walk 3-5 miles a day, but flat. Will decide on that day--they have option for valley walk.)

Day 5 - bus to Queenstown airport and flight back to Auckland - haven't looked at hotels yet

Day 6 - stay in Auckland to see museum, etc. or business.

The Bella Vista Motel in Te Anau has mini studios listed at $98 NZ

http://www.bellavistamotelteanau.co.nz/

The Explorer Lodge has rooms listed for $90 and up.

http://www.explorerlodge.co.nz/explorer/tariff.asp

I'm sure there are many other options as well, and as mentioned previously www.wotif.com is a wonderful resource for last minute bookings.

Have a great trip!

Melnq8,
Availability of the least expensive units is the problem in Te Anau as I will hit there over a weekend and places such as Bella Vista and Explorer have all their smallest units booked so are at $115-120. But not a big problem.

Kay, if you can find a hill or inclined treadmill, just a few weeks of walking uphill and figuring out your correct pace should be enough. As long as you don't go faster than you should, uphill is much easier than the downhill.

Personally, I would not spend the extra night in Te Anau. Roturua has a lot to see, there are some tours to some of the geothermal areas as well as the &quot;Whaka&quot; reserve which includes the Maori Cultural Center. You can get to the latter on your own by bus or taxi. Also I always loved the stinky water outdoor pools at the Polynesian Spa (or whatever they are calling it these days). Bring an old bathing suit.

I'm back--thanks for all the help

I got to experience the big storm in Auckland, so not much sightseeing around my meeting, but it cleared off and was very hot for the vacation part of my trip.

Stayed at Crowne Plaza in Auckland for meeting--very nice and I would recommend to anyone--a ways off the water, but easy to access Queen street.

Rotorua--Super shuttle nice folks. I stayed at Geyserland Hotel (2* quality but great view os geyser) and walked next door to Maori Center and thermal area--great experience with knowledgeable tour guide, wonderful show, interesting crafts, and kiwis! I spent 3+ hours there and could have spent some more to watch the kiwis again. Went to Tamaki for hangi dinner--spent an hour on the bus picking people up, then the recreated village and show (not as good as cultural center or one I saw in Auckland), then dinner which was very good. Desk clerk said they are recommending Tamaki for food, but another hangi for show. A local I met took me on driving tour of gardens and nearby lakes.

Flight down coast of SI to Dunedin was like sightseeing with mountains in full view.

Dunedin--Elm Wildlife Tour half-day penninsula was fantastic. Again I was first on-last off the van, but more interesting drive around town. Saw two albatross flying and there were two chicks on nests. The penguins were amazing along with sea lions and seals. You do walk down and up two headlands/cliffs--not tough, but it was hot and some people didn't wear hiking shoes so were slipping alot. Did the Cadbury Chocolate Tour just for grins and walked around train station, etc. Stayed at 755 Regal Court--fine motel about 20 minutes walk from center.

Intercity bus trip to Te Anau was very boring, as expected. Driver does a good job of getting tourists where they want to go.

Te Anau--glowworm cave tour was interesting. A little more rushing than I care for from the Japanese tourists to get into the cave first, but the narrow passages, water everywhere, and pinpoints of light across the top of the cave while in the boat was a real experience. Boat ride back at night was great star gazing. Trips and Tramps did the day just I would have if my husband and I were on our own. Seven of us and Dave in a van, stopping at viewpoints, picnicing on rocks in the river, hiking up to Key Summit (not a problem at a slow pace, but it was hot and I got sunburned nose from the day), boat on the Sound (maybe 20 people on the Mitre Peak boat) up into the waterfall, running with the dolphins. Stayed at Antler Lodge B&amp;B--clean simple place with friendly hosts about 10 minute walk from center. I did decide to spend the next morning in Te Anau and take the afternoon bus to Queenstown Airport. I walked around the lake to the wildlife center to see the birds and further along just to sit on a rock awhile and chill out. I would have liked to have gone on the beginning of the Kepler Track, but that was too far in my time frame.

Atomic shuttle to Queenstown Airport ontime. Another scenic flight north past mountains and on both islands.

Back in Auckland spent night at Carlton Hotel--would not recommend, too many service problems and too hot. Ended up doing business all day so never made it to museum or other tourist attractions. Maybe next time.

Welcome back, and thanks for the interesting report.

Thanks for the report! Hope you had a good time.

Thanks for reporting back, your details are much appreciated. It sounds like your trip planning paid off and the weather gods blessed you!

Other details that might be helpful to others:

In Auckland I used the airbus from airport to Crowne Plaza--very easy if you can handle your own luggage and hotel is next to a stop. I'd choose a slightly more expensive hotel convenient to their stops to get the $22 roundtrip airport transportation compared to $24 each way Super Shuttle or $50+ taxi.
I just walked out the door of the terminal, turned left and could either purchase ticket from machine or driver.
Stood at stop and flagged down bus to return to airport.

I used the mall back entrance to Crowne Plaza to avoid that hill thanks to tip from this board.

I used the free shower at the Auckland Airport before boarding my flight home. I couldn't get a late checkout at the Carlton and it was hot, so I needed it. Florist shop in Arrivals area asks for $5 deposit for key. You can buy soap and towel or bring your own. You access a small locked private shower with small dressing area. Room to take a rollaboard or similar suitcase in dressing area with you. Seemed clean. Lots of hot water.

$2 coins come in quite handy for washers, dryers and other machines. I starting not using them for other purchases so I'd have them when wanted.

Welcome back Kay2. I'm glad you had a good time. I'm so glad you enjoyed the ElmWildlife Tour. It was a real highlite for me. The pnguins were delightful to see.

ALso, I agree, the Cadbury was great fun. Mmmm and so good.