My husband and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary by touring the South Island for 19 days 23 Feb to 13Mar. This was a first time I've convinced him to take this long for a vacation. Maybe in 35 more years I'll get him to try a month. Amazingly, most everyone we met while we traveled was staying longer. We loved every minute of it.
It's an incredible country. Picturesque beyond decription and such wonderful, interesting people.
Here's what we did:
Flew Premium Economy on Air NZ from LA to Auckland, then flew to Nelson
(Loved Prem Econ, we were actually able to get some sleep and weren't jet lagged either way.)
3 days in Nelson area. Stayed at Bronte Lodge, highly rec. suite on the water, beautiful gardens and fabulous breakfasts.
Dinners: the Smoke House, great view, simple and good. Flax (which was highly rec) had very poor service and an ok meal, but again a great view.
Drove to Abel Tasman one day, used the Aqua Taxi and hiked to Awaroa Lodge for lunch. Would love to have had more time there.
Next day we drove to Golden Bay. It's a rather long ride over a squiggly road there and back. We hiked over to the beach at Farewell Spit; but, wish we had done the tour.
Drove through Buller Gorge to the West Coast. Did the Truman Track ( a great suggestion I got on this Board) and saw the Punakaki Rocks-really, really neat. Finally finished our long day of driving at Arthur's Pass Wilderness Lodge. Out of the way, but, I really wanted to see it.

2 nts at Arthur's Pass
great hikes, guided walks, did an early AM kayak at Lake Pearson and spent one day with a fishing guide.\

1 nt at Hokitika. Kapitea Ridge Lodge. Beautiful view over the Tasman Sea. Shopped for Greenstone in town.

2 nts at Lake Moeraki Wilderness Lodge
Had planned to see Fox Glacier on the way to Lake Moeraki; but, unfortunately it was pouring and our helicopter trip was canceled so we drove on to Moeraki. As soon as the rain stopped or should I say paused we dashed out to hike to the beach there through the rain forest. The Lodge provides slickers and you need them.
The next day the weather cleared briefly so we drove back to the glacier and did the helicopter trip through threatening skies.
The Lodge here provides guided hikes here too; but, none appealed to me as much as those at Arthur's Pass.

2 nts Queenstown,Shotover Lodge B& B. Located outside of town overlooking the Shotover River. Very nice, rooms and fabulous breakfasts. (I actually took pictures of my breakfasts they were so pretty.)
The drive over Haast Pass, through Wanaka and over the Crown Range was one of the high lights of our trip. The weather was beautiful. The views were incredible. Lakes, waterfalls, mt peaks. IT had it all.
I actually think I would like to spend some time in Wanaka. The lake side setting was sooo picturesque. Had a great lunch at Relish's there.
Queenstown I liked more than I thought I would. I'd heard many comments about how crowded and crazy it was; but, that wasn't our experience. Spent one morning wandering around Q"town and shopping. Drove to Glenorchy. Another incredibly beautiful drives. I must have gotten out of the car a dozen times to take photos. Did the Dart River Safari and loved it. Even though it was unusually cold for late Summer, we thoroughly enjoyed it.
Took the Gondola up to the top of Q'town and watched all the bungy jumpers and para gliders and enjoyed the wonderful view.
Had two great dinners: Gantley's ( near the Shotover River) Small, elegant, delicious.
Wai ( on the waterfront, with great seafood) Tried out Bardeaus a small bar with a fireplace.

1 nt on the Doubtful Sound. Drove to Te Anau to meet the tour. It's definately an adventure. Bus/boat/ bus/ boat. We were lucky enough to get one of the few private rooms on the boat. Our weather was less than perfect; but, cleared enough to get out and do a little kayaking and get some photos from the deck.

2 nts Te Anau. Mt Prospect High Country Sheep Station. This was suggested by a friend and we really enjoyed it. It's a working sheep station and we got to see the working dogs herd the sheep.
Had to amazingly good meals in Te Anau. La Dolce Vita (no atmosphere, closely packed tables and a little rushed;but,incredible food) and Red Cliffs small and quaint with really nice food)

2 nts in Akaroa. This might have been my favorite. We drove back to Q'town, dropped our car, flew to Christchurch where we rented another car. Drove into town to see the Botanic Garden. It was wonderful to see clear, blue skies and we thought the Garden was wonderful. Had lunch outdoors at the Curator's House on the edge of the Botanic Garden. After wandering around the Art Center we drove to Akaroa.
What a beautiful spot!! A glorious harbour sculpted by a volcano. Boats bobbing in the water and a little light house perched on the side.

We stayed at Maison de La Mer. Really a perfect B & B. White clapboard with a verandah overlooking the harbour. Vases filled with flowers, artwork everywhere and extremely thoughtful hosts. They made reservations that night for themselves and the three other couples staying there and we had a ball. It was a tiny, quirky little French restaurant Cest La Vie that turned out to be very good.
We did the dolphin cruise, wandered up to Linton to see the artist's unique garden and just relaxed. It was a great little town for walking. I wish we had had another day here.

1 nt in Kaikoura. Drove north of Christchurch and had lunch at Pegasus Bay Vineyard to Kaikoura. Stayed at Miharotia House which is on the ridge above Kaikoura next to the scenic overlook and WHAT A VIEW. We had our own small terrace where we enjoyed a bottle of wine, Had dinner at the White Morph ( a little past it's prime)
Got up early for the whale watch which was very interesting. Lots of racing around and waiting for the whales to surface. We actually saw three whales and learned lots about them.
Shopped downtown and had lunch at Hislops Cafe. Great little brunch/lunch menu. Drove north along the coast to Blenheim. Saw several Crayfish shacks or vans along the way. Wish I had known to hold out for this.

2 nts in Blenheim. The Bell Tower. There are 80 wineries in the area. Great location, elegant B & B, wonderful hosts. It was like being on a house party with old friends. Maria cooked a gourmet dinner. Invited us to go boating on the Marlborough Sound for a picnic lunch for our last day in NZ.
Had a fabulous dinner at Herzog's our last night. This was a rec from this board too and a great one.
Visited several wineries our last morning.Especially liked Serensins where we bought some flavored olive oils. Hey, it was a little to early for wine.
Now we're home and reliving our trip. There are so many places I still want to see and some I want to see again. What a great place and I feel like the New Zealanders know that and plan to keep it that way. Which is great news for all of us.
Thanks to so many of you for answering my questions and giving me advice. Now if I can answer any one else's questions let me know.

Thank you for posting! We're glad you had a great time.

Thanks for posting; it sounds like a lovely trip!

What is the difference between regular economy and premium economy on Air NZ?

Lee Ann

Lee Ann, I think Prem Econ is close to what business use to be. We were upstairs in the same cabin with First Class. Our chairs were wider, had foot and head rest and we had first class check in, food and entertainment. Air New Zealand was just introducing it on the LAX and San Francisco flights into Auckland. They may go into Christchurch by now. There is a video on their website.

We'll be in Q'town for 3 nights. What exactly is the Dart River Safari? I am not wild about thrill rides and getting wet. Our friends may want to check out some wineries but with 2 cars, we can go separate ways--Any other activities we should consider?

Glad to hear you enjoyed Akaroa. I had a hard time deciding if we should spend an afternoon or an overnight. I was torn between staying one night at Maison de Mer and one night in Christchurch or two nights in Christchurch. I finally decided to spend 2 nights in Christchurch so we will have one full day for sightseeing in CHC. But after reading your post, I am disappointed we will only have a few hours in Akaroa--should we try to squeeze in the dolphin cruise?

Thanks for the information, Pawleys. I'll have to take a look at the website.

Lee Ann

Glad to read your report Pawleys.

I just got back 2 days ago...yawn..trying to get back in the groove.

I loved the South Island more than the North Island

Percy

Hello, Pawleys
My husband and I are heading over for a New Zealand/Australia celebration of our 25th! We don't have alot of time, and will only be near Christchurch, not Queenstown, and wanted to hear your recommendations for that area, when you can. Thanks
John and Deb

Judy A- The Dart River Safari was wonderful. Not just a thrill ride like the Shotover jets seemed to be; but, it gave you about 1 1/2 hrs on the river seeing unbelievable scenery. We did spin around a bit; but, didn't get wet. We then did a brief guided hike through a forest and rode back to the starting location in Glenorchy. We drove ourselves to Glenorchy ( a gorgeous ride) since we had a car;but, you could ride a bus from Queenstown as well.
We saw a group that did the Dart River boats then returned by funyak and that looked great as well. You're going with the current so it's not too strenuous.


Debusa, I would suggest: Kaikoura for whale watching, In Akaora the Dolphin trip, the quirky garden at Linton, or just walking around.

Thanks for your detailed post. We are thinking of going to the South island in December 2006 but can only spend about 12 days. We have an 8 yr old son and some of the stuff you described sounds great with him in mind. If we had about 12 days what is your recommendation on where to go and what to see? Is December a good time to visit? and finally is there snorkeling in the south island? Thanks for your input.

Monsoon, I think Dec would be a perfect time to visit the South Island. We hit a cool period at the end of Feb. I think the Queenstown area would be great with your son. The Dart River Safari with the funyaks would be fun for all of you. The gondola ride and luges from the top would be a good idea as well.
I didn't see any areas where there seemed to be snorkeling; but, you could certainly swim, sail, kayak and do other kinds of water sports.