I am traveling to New Zealand in Feb 1999 for 10 days. I have already purchased my airfare, but am now trying to plan out my itinerary while I'm there. I fly into and out of Auckland, but definitely want to see the South Island as well. What is the best way to travel from Auckland on down to the South Island and back? Must do's for me include the glow-worm cave, whale watching, and seeing a glacier. I also would like to check out some wineries and do a little tramping and other outdoor activities. <BR> <BR>Thanks, <BR> <BR>Mark

Mark <BR>10 days is not long enough to see and do what you want to do in our country. <BR>There are glow worm caves at Waitomo in th North Island south of Auckland. <BR>You can fly, train, bus down to Wellington, get the ferry across to Picton, bus to Nelson when there you can walk in for a couple of days on the Able Tasman Track and either walk back out or catch the boat back. You can also sea kayak the same area. There are wineries all over the country. You would either have to catch the bus or train from Picton to get to Kaikoura to see the whales. To see the whales you have to book the trip in advance. <BR>From there get the same transport again to Christchurch and there again either fly or catch the bus to Mt Cook to see the glaciers. <BR>If you would like more information email me. Christine <BR>email address is [email protected] <BR>

Mark, I must agree with Chris. Ten days isn't even close enough to just get a good glimpse of New Zealand. <BR> <BR>My wife and I arrived in New Zealand on Sep 12 (Christchurch), rented a car and drove to the west coast to see the glaciers and Milford Sound. Then drove to Dunedin to see the penguins. Flew to Blenheim to visit some wineries. Then flew to New Plymouth to see the flower gardens and drove to Rotorua area to see the thermal areas. Drove to Coromendel Penninsula and then to Auckland. (Did not have time to see Auckland.) We departed for the USA on September 30th. See what I mean. <BR> <BR> <BR>If at all possible, try to extend for vacation time. Even if it costs a bit to change your reservations it will be well worth it. That plane ticket to New Zealand is an expense part of the trip. "Invest" in it wisely. <BR> <BR>Dick

Mark, <BR> <BR>You can see alot but not even close to everything. Be prepared to compromise. We went to NZ in May for 8 days. My favorite thing was the glacier landing and my wife's was the Dart River Jet Boat Safari trip from Glenorchy. Dart River is owned by Shotover but is a river/forest tour plus hotdogging. <BR> <BR>We flew into Auckland and immediately left for Queenstown. We used frequent flyer miles to get to NZ and then purchased a 3 pass on Air New Zealand. Plane fares can be expensive within the country. We used 2 legs to get from Auckland to Queenstown and return. We used the 3rd leg for Glacier Highlights Mt. Cook ski plane landing. <BR> <BR>Day 1: Arrived Queenstown drove to Arrowtown. <BR>Day 2: Dart River Jet Boat Safari; Skyline Gondola. <BR>Day 3: Coach/Cruise/Fly tour of Milford Sound. <BR>Day 4: Drive from Queenstown to Mt. Cook and take confirmed or first available glacier landing (stay at MacKenzie Country Inn in Twizel. Cleaner, nicer and cheaper than Mt. Cook). <BR>Day 5: Drive from Mt. Cook to Christchurch (Lake Tekapo, Church of the Good Shepherd, wineries). <BR>Day 6: Toured Christchurch and drove to Akaroa fishing village (we know a scary absolutely beautiful / dangerous route different than anything else you have ever done). <BR>Day 7: Trans Alpine Train trip (get off at Authors Pass and pick up train on way back to Christchurch. Last part of trip is not as pretty). <BR>Day 8: Christchurch to Auckland. See Devonport for sure, tour maritime museum, etc. <BR> <BR>We truly wanted to see Dunedin. Maybe next time. Christchurch itself is not so great. However, eat at Bon Bolli (sp). Gourmet food at take out prices. <BR> <BR>Duck

Mark: <BR> <BR>We just got back from 21 days in Au/NZ. They say it can't be done but we did it and had a great time. We spent 11 days in NZ. We flew into Auckland and stayed overnight in Parnell. We got up early and drove to Waitomo to see the glow worms then on to Rotorua. We stayed in the Regal Geyserland hotel and had a view of the thermal area from our room. The geyser blew a few times an hour and the mud pots bubbled under our window all night. We went to the Polynesian Spa and soaked in the hot springs. We also went to the buried village but probably would have been better off going to one of the Maori centers in town. The next day we flew to Christchurch, toured around town and went up the Gondola. We took the 9am Transalpine train across to Greymouth. We drove from Greymouth to Franz Joseph Glacier. We hiked to the face of the glacier. The next day we took a helicopter ride (8am) and landed on the glacier. We drove to Fox glacier, hiked around awhile, and drove to Haast. (This was a little disappointing. There is nothing there. We hiked 45 minutes out to the penguin colony and there were none.) The scenery on the drive was beautiful but if we did it again we would not have stayed in Haast, we would have pushed on to Queenstown. Queenstown was beautiful. We stayed in the Lodges for 3 nights. Our balcony was right on the lake with a view of the Remarkables and we were only 2 blocks from town. We did the jet boats on the Shotover which is not as bad as it looks and we heard that it is more exciting than the jetboats that stay in the lake. We did not bungy but we watched. We went to a winery. We took a flightseeing trip to Milford Sound. (The flight was almost more beautiful than the sail in the sound.) We wish we could have stayed an extra day in Queenstown. Then we flew back to Christchurch, rented a car and drove to Kaikoura. We had one full day of terrible rain and stayed in our room most of the day except to brave the rain to see the seal colony. The next day we went swimming with the dolphins. A great experience but the water was COLD (they give you a wet suit) and the water was murky from the storm. It could have been better, but I wouldn't have missed it. (Also the water is rough, bring motion sickness medicine). We left that afternoon and flew back to Auckland. We had 8 hours to tour Auckland but we chose to drive north. Unfortunately it was really raining hard and we spent most of our time laughing about how we couldn't see anything. But there you have it. A whirlwind tour with the best of the best. I don't think we missed much and would do it the same way again unless I could get more time.

Mark, <BR> I just returned from an 11 month around the world trip that started with 9 weeks in NZ in Mid Jan. Ten days is too short, (remember, you may have jet lag to fight) but at least you will miss the school vacations. <BR> You may find that the glow worms are not worth the day you will use getting down to see them in Waitomo. While there, you should opt for blackwater rafting or even "The Lost World Experience" (kind of pricy but worth it to me: a 100 meter free absail down into a cave system that is truly breathtaking). <BR> Then get down to the S. Island (about 8 hrs by train or bus), and on on to Picton (the plane is quicker than the ferry and only $1 more expensive ). You will still be 1 1/2 hr from Nelson, so you have used up another day to do this (and another day to reverse this on the way back). <BR> I hiked Tasman, but like the Kiwi said, it can be kayaked. I thought there were way too many people on the trail; I was seldom out of hearing and sight of others. Later, I heard many great stories from folks who'd done it by sea ( not the crowd, dolphins and seals coming up to them, etc) <BR> A heli-hike on the glaciers (Franz Josef) is well worth it. You get up to 'newer' ice than the land based hikes. <BR> If you are into the testosterone based activities, Queenstown's the place. Athough, almost everything (bungy, skydiving, hang-gliding, whitewater rafting, jetboat, canyoning, etc) can be done cheaper elsewhere on the island, you can arrange it all just by walking up the street, so it would be a time saver . <BR> I'll agree with the earlier post that swimming with the dolphins in Kaikoura is equal to seeing the tail of a whale. My fondest memory of NZ is floating in the water at sunrise and seeing a pod of over 500 dolphins swimming and jumping and flipping toward me with the sun behind them! (like she said, though, take seasick pills) <BR> If you are tight on funds, the backpacker (hostel) system on the S. Island is excellent, but you will hear so many stories and ideas of things to do, that you will be sick that you only have 10 days. However, 10 days in New Zealand is 10 days more than most peple get, so it will be a trip you never will forget. <BR> One last word: DO NOT SCRATCH THE SANDFLY BITES. <BR> Happy travels. Keith

Hi Chris, <BR>Glad to see you posting again. I am thinking of New Zealand in 12 - 18 months, so thanks for the above, will file it. Denise <BR>

check out two web sites for your visit to the West Coast of NZ <BR>. <BR>www.minidata.co.nz/breakers <BR>www.minidata.co.nz/wilderness <BR> <BR>Other correspondents say that there is nothing at Haast but sandflies - don't believe them.

Just returned from a month in NZ-travel time may be an issue for you- Air New Zeeland has a package allowing three flights within the country for @$258.00- I used it to go from Auckland to Christchurch- Christchurch to Queenstown and Wellington to Auckland-saving my self three days of driving. Activities that suited my demeanor included sailing in Russell, Nelson and the beaches surrounding, jet boating and rafting in Queenstown, Milford Sound with an overnight stay on a sail boat. Hope you enjoy your stay <BR> <BR> Terry Anderson CoBabe

I spent 2 1/2 weeks vacation/work so I really only had 8 days (2 of which we spent in Wellington - a fun town, beautiful botanical gardens). 10 days is tough but here's what I did and some thoughts: We started in Christ Church and drove the 6 hours to Queenstown. As New Zealand is the most physically beautiful place I've ever seen/been to, I disagree that driving is a waste. We drove the straight route along the eastern side of Mount Cook (which you can also make a detour at). I was fascinated at the way the landscape changed as you drove through with abundant lakes/mountains, etc, to view. In Queenstown, we did in a single day a variation of what they generally call the Awesome Foursome. We took a wild helicopter ride to the Pipeline bungy site (still the highest land-based one in NZ I think at 102m/340 ft), after that we arranged for a tandem paraglide (great for pictures overlooking the lake as well) and then we did the Shotover Jet boat ride mentioned above. After the other three, however, the Shotover was somewhat anti-climactic. As noted earlier, Queenstown is relatively expensive but it makes it easy with various groups so you can arrange any number of different itineraries/activities independently or in groups and they all have pictures/video services to go along with your own shots (he bungy video is still a favorite). The next day we drove (1 1/2hr) out to the launch site for a day at Doubtful Sound (transp.can also be arranged in town). Many people tend to go to Milford as it is more famous but the locals I met on both islands thought Doubtful was prettier (Take jacket/sweater). One note: the Jan/Feb/Mar time of year is dry season which is why we did not do the white water rafting. This also impacts the north island so that the Black Water Rafting in the Waitomo Caves to see the glow-worm caves was a disappointment compared to what it could have been. We then took a two-day drive along the west coast, stayed overnight in Franz Josef (hotels/hostels available), due to weather we couldn't do the helicopter trip to Mt. Cook, and then drove through the National Park in the middle of the south island on back to Christ Church-photo op's abound with easy places to stop off. We also drove from Wellington to Rotorua for the thermal springs/mud pools/geysers, etc., which was cool, did the Waitomo Caves (1 1/2 hr from Rotorua) and one white water-rafting trip on what they call 5+ because it has a 7m/21ft waterfall you go down (great photos/photo service). As the caves are a few hours from Auckland and farther from Wellington, the Rotorua addition would allow you to see a little more without spending as much time travelling, although not everyon cares for the sulfur smell. I did not have time for the whale watching/wineries (next time?) but I had fewer days. I would really think about the season when planning your outdoor activities.

Sorry to re-iterate, it's not enough time. I spent nearly 2 years in NZ and still did get to see it all, but made a valiant effort. The North is great for beaches, Coromandel,wonderful too, Southern Alps beautiful, a boatride to Stewart Island a must on am empty stomach most definately. There is so much, but most of all, just make sure you enjoy the people. They are surrounded by beauty but are very wonderful themselves. Have a great trip.

10 days is not a lot of time. You should try to extend your stay if you can as there is so much to see and do you will be overwhelmed. We spent 5 weeks there and did not see all of either island. We enjoyed the South Island more as it is less populated but it depends on what you like. DON'T FORGET TO BRING REPELLENT (A GOOD ONE)! The sand flies are vicious but you will find them most on the west side.