Tim_and_Liz

Hi all,
We will be arriving in CHC from SYD at 11:40pm. We'd like to swim with the dolphins the next day. Would it be better to rent a car or to take a day tour or operator shuttle? I am thinking we would rather have someone else drive.
Is it better to swim at a certain time of day (in January)? Are any tour operators better than the others? We definitely want to go with an environmentally responsible company that does not feed/abuse the dolphins.
Would a day tour to Kaikoura be better?
If we do not self-drive to Akaroa, we would need to pick up our rental car that night to head for the Glaciers in the morning. Any rental agencies that are close to downtown Christchurch? Any suggestions on where to stay in Christchurch for under US$150?
Thanks!

ElendilPickle

When I was looking into dolphin swimming in Kaikoura last year, I remember reading that the company who does them in Kaikoura is very environmentally responsible. Since we didn't make it to the South Island, I can't speak from personal experience.

Lee Ann

mlgb

If you're seeing any of Christchurch before taking off for the dolphins or glaciers, I would stay around Armagh St.(I stay at the Windsor but it has shared bathrooms, clean though, and you get a real English style breakfast). There are some others nearby eg Croydon House, Devon House. You can check them out on aa.co.nz.

There are auto rental locations in Christchurch, Central. Budget is on Lichfield, and I think there were a few others adjacent. Watch out for shortish weekend hours. The bus system is fairly good, but I could also walk from Armagh to Lichfield.

If you are not planning on seeing Christchurch, you could stay near the airport (its not that far out of town) at one of the zillions of motels. There should be one with some type of shuttle service back to the airport for a car rental. I would recommend at least spending a half day in Christchurch. The Canterbury Museum, Botanic Gardens, Dux de Lux, Arts Center are worth a look around.

Sorry I can't help on the dolphin advice. The trip to Akaroa is on a rather windy narrow road if that makes a difference.

mosthecat

I agree with the last poster, that staying on Armagh is a good choice. We stayed at Croyden House, and liked it very much.

The drive to Akaroa was surprisingly twisty - and foogy - but we like being on our own, and not set on someone else's schedule. if you are a fairly confident driver, you should have no problem.

Dolphin swims leave from the centrally located pier. When we were there last Feb, the water was too clear to swim with the dolphins - they'd get spooked and take off, so we did the cruise around the area, and loved it. dolphins swam alongside, we saw seals, other wildlife, and had terrific views of the town and the nearby cliffs.

Akaroa, itself, can be done fairly quickly. A day trip is plenty. Cute shops and cafes. We saw a few manta rays swimming in the shallow water right on the beach in town.

Enjoy!

Tim_and_Liz

Thanks, all.

mosthecat, I read in your trip report that you took the windy road into Akaroa and the other road back. I assume these were Summit Road and road 75, respectively? If you were to do it over (and hypothetically this was your first day driving on the other side of the road ;-)) would you take road 75 both ways?
What time of day did your tour depart, and do you think it was a good time?

mlgb

I agree with mos that unless you are doing the dolphin thing, Akaroa is cute but a (half day) trip. I took the bus out and it was fine, I felt there was plenty of time. Some of the people on the bus took a boat tour but I just wandered around. If you go to Kaikoura, you would be able to do a whale cruise if the dolphin thing doesn't work out. I recommend a stop at the Kaikoura Winery on the hill above town as you approach. Also, there is a wharf with a shop that sells freshly caught boiled crayfish (aka lobster) for a reasonable price. It's on the west side of town, and they mentioned that the season is yearround.

Tim_and_Liz

mlgb
Did you take a city bus or tour bus to Akaroa? If it was the city bus, was it easy to do?
Thanks!

wlzmatilida

Hi Tim and Liz,

It's very easy to get to Kaikoura from CHC, and I'd recommend that as opposed to taking a car in/out of CHC just for the day. They are very eco minded and it's a very well run operation; you will be required to view a short film about the dolphins, boat safety, etc.

As for Akaroa, I was there in December, and yes, on the very curvy, twisty road (that would be Summit). I got some great views / photos from there which are on the website), but Geez Louise I would NOT do that again. It's slow going!

As for Akaroa itself, it's a cute little town with some restaurants and not much else going on.

Hope this is helpful!

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Kiwi Specialist

mlgb

I'm fairly sure I took a morning Akaroa Shuttle (basic, no tour included). Here is the link: http://www.akaroashuttle.co.nz/.

It worked out just fine time wise.

Melnq8

Tim & Liz -

As for picking up your rental car.....

Many car rental agencies will drop your vehicle off at your hotel. Really convenient.

Tim_and_Liz

Thanks again everyone.

Melnq8
is there a car rental agency you would recommend? We definitely need an automatic transmission and big enough to fit my 6'4" husband. 12-day roundtrip from Christchurch.

mlgb

Hertz, Budget and Avis all have offices in CHC. You can check out their websites to see what type of car is usually offered in a class, and some of the models would be familiar to you eg Camry, Focus, so you might know if you will fit! There's never a guarantee that you will get the advertised car, though. That's why I would stick with one of the majors who are linked with manufacturers (eg Hertz or Avis) rather than someone renting older used cars which could be anything, really. Sometimes you get lucky but there are no guarantees. I did like Ace in Queenstown but it was potluck.

Melnq8

We've used Nova on 5 of 6 trips to NZ -www.rentacar-newzealand.com. They work with the big companies, quoting you the lowest price of these companies at the time of your enquiry. In almost every instance, our car has come from National. We've never had a problem with Nova or the National cars we've gotten. We usually get a four door, automatic Camry, which is roomy and has a large trunk.

On our latest trip to NZ this past April, we rented through Budget. The price was very similiar to that quoted through National, but we chose Budget as they offered a lower insurance excess (deductible). We don't have car insurance that covers us on rental cars, so we're always responsible for the entire excess if there's a problem. So, this year we decided to go with the rental car agency with the lowest excess. Budget was fine too -well maintained car, no problems. They even let us park the car free of charge in their lot in Picton while we went to the Marlborough Sounds for three days.

National/Nova delivered our car to our hotel on more than on occasion. We also had a car delivered to our hotel on our trip to Perth last week (local car rental agency though). It worked out great - the car was there waiting for us when we arrived at 2 am, so we were free to take off whenever we were ready the following day.

renforth

Akaroa is great, but if it's dolphin's you're after, head for Kaikoura.We swam with dolphins in Kaikoura in April and it was an amazing experience - hundreds of the creatures swam, dove and jumped around us. Check out Dolphin Encounters, and book the earliest trip they do each day.
We also loved Akaroa as a place to relax and enjoy good food and tranquil scenery, but you won't find the same expereience re dolphins.
From Christchurch Akaroa is a pleasant trip by bus: we highly recommend French Connection, which does a number of interesting stops enroute, then allowsyou much of the day to explore.
Enjoy!

Tim_and_Liz

Ok now I am thinking Kaikoura would be a better place to go.

And our flight changed so now we arrive at 1:50pm instead of 11:40pm.

My concerns are that it is much further away than Akaroa (3 hours instead of 1.5?) and may not be suitable for a daytrip. Also, are the seas more rough with higher chance of seasickness and cancellation?

Right now we arrive in Christchurch at 2pm on Day 1 and depart for the Glaciers on the morning of Day 3.
If we go to Kaikoura, should we drive up on Day 1, take the 5:30am tour on Day 2, and then return to CHC and see it the afternoon of Day 2?
Or just take a daytour to Akaroa on Day 2? Or do you recommend taking a daytour to Kaikoura?

Thanks for all of your help-- this will be the best vacation ever

Melnq8

Tim and Liz -

Perhaps I'm missing something (certainly wouldn't be the first time!), but is there a reason you're backtracking to CH? You could spend a night in Kaikoura, then drive to the glaciers from there along the west coast instead of backtracking to CH.

Franz Josef is 550 km (about 6-7 hours) from Kaikoura and 395 km (about 5:30 hours) from Christchurch.

Tim_and_Liz

Melnq8-
I was just thinking today that it is not logical to backtrack to Christchurch. I have read your trip reports about Hanmer Springs. What do you think about driving from Kaikoura to Hanmer Springs one night, and then to the glaciers (with a sidetrip to Punakaiki) the next day? Is that drive too long? We could drive a bit further from Kaikoura and stay in Maruia Springs (just over Lewis Pass) instead?
I can see the distances on my map but it's difficult to tell how long these drives will take.
Thanks so much for all of your help. And your trip reports!

Melnq8

That should work, assuming the timing is right for your dolphin swim.

Hanmer Springs is 141 km from Kaikoura - about a 2 hour drive. Franz Josef is 374 km from Hanmer Springs - about 4:35.

If you travel from Hanmer to Greymouth via highway 7 (197 km - 2:20), you'll need to head north about an hour or so to Punakaiki, then turn back to Greymouth and on to Franz Josef. It doesn't take that long to see Punakaiki unless you plan to do some walking in the area.

Another option is to take #7 from Hanmer, pick up 69 & 6 towards Westport, then head south along the coast on 6, which will take you right through Punakaiki. It's 198 km (2:20) from Hanmer to Westport, and 277 km (3:30) from Westport to Franz Josef. This will prevent having to backtrack.

We've found Hanmer Springs to be a good place to stop for our first night. It's only a 90 minute drive from CH, so an easy drive on our arrival day, when we're jetlagged and fuzzy.

If you arrive in CH around 2 and leave the following morning for Kaikoura, you might even have time to drive to Akarora and spend your first night there. It's only about an hour from CH, but it will add an hour to your drive to Kaikoura the next morning.

We haven't found the road to Akarora to be all that squiggly, but we've spent alot of time in NZ, so we're probably just used to the roads.

We looked into staying in Maruia Springs once, but there doesn't seem to be much there, so we've stuck to Hanmer Springs. I doubt it would trim that much time off your drive as it's not that far from Hanmer.

Hope this helps.

ANUJ

Stonehurst is a great budget option .. great rooms, extremely helpful staff.