Two weeks on the South Island of New Zealand
Mar 14th, 2011, 01:12 AM
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Two weeks on the South Island of New Zealand
We are just back from our first visit to New Zealand, two weeks touring parts of the South Island so I thought I would do a trip report.
I have been subscriber to Fodors for quite a few years and have submitted several trip reports but each has related to Europe; this will be my first for the Australia-New Zealand board.
We flew from Melbourne with Air New Zealand, a 3 hour flight to Christchurch. We were travelling in economy so a bit of a shock after recent business class trips but service and light meal was fine and staff very pleasant. We arrived about 3:30 pm, picked up our rental car, and headed for our first stop, Arthurs Chalet at Arthur’s Pass.
The township of Arthur’s Pass is small and the surrounding area had a rather run-down air, with lots of old industrial outbuildings along the railway line and high tension power lines running right up the centre of the valley. The mountain scenery around was nice but the surroundings tended to detract from it and overall we were a bit disappointed with our first impressions. This was always just an overnight stop and I think that a slightly longer stay, with time to do some walks into the surrounding area, would give a much more positive impression. Arthur’s Chalet was not luxury accommodation by any means but our room was comfortable, the staff were very friendly, they made good coffee, and served good pub food for dinner.
http://www.arthurspass.co.nz/arthurs_chalet/
The next day we drove through Arthur’s Pass to the west coast with a brief stop at Hokitika which was a pleasant town, right on the beach, where the remains of a recent driftwood sculpture competition were still evident. I was interested by the amount of driftwood, including the remains of large trees, on the beach. I guess they are washed down by the mountain rivers when in flood and then brought back by the sea. Unfortunately, the Museum of Sock Making Machinery was not open.
Continuing south through some nice forest scenery we stopped at Franz Joseph and took the 45 minute walk up to the face of the glacier. Quite spectacular, with a winding path across the valley floor leading to good views of the glacier face and the ice cave created by melt water flowing out from the base of the ice.
We then continued south, through the rain, to Fox Glacier where we spent 2 nights at the Mt Cook View motel, just out of the township. This motel was very comfortable and well equipped.
http://www.mtcookview.co.nz/
We started the next day with a coffee at Matheson Café and then followed the track to the lake itself and did the circuit for some spectacular views and almost perfect reflections in the still water. The clouds even cleared for a while so that we caught a glimpse of Mt Cook, our only one for the trip. The rain forest vegetation along the track had some really interesting plants – including a blue mushroom – and this walk was a highlight.
In the afternoon we took a walk to the face of Fox Glacier. While the glacier itself was similar to Franz Joseph, the scenery on the approach was quite different and we enjoyed this visit as well.
Later we drove down a winding gravel road to Gillespie beach which was strewn with driftwood and also had many ‘sculptures’ made from the polished stones that form the beach. We also walked to the ruins of a gold dredge but neither the dredge nor the walk was particularly interesting.
We returned to the Matheson Café restaurant for a lovely dinner – highly recommended!
http://lakematheson.com/
The next day we drove south through lovely rain forests to Haast, then headed east towards Wanaka.
On the way south we stopped at Ship Creek and decided to try the 20 minute forest walk. This was described as a remnant of ancient forest and it certainly had a primeval feel to it with trees growing from the swamp, draped in mosses and fungi, including some more blue mushrooms. This walk was another highlight of our trip. Interestingly, the creek got its name from the wreckage of a ship found on the beach around 1871. The wreckage was a part of the clipper Schomberg which was wrecked in 1855 near Peterborough in Victoria, Australia.
The drive through the Haast Pass and then along Lakes Wanaka and Howea was spectacular and we made many stops along the way to take in the views.
We enjoyed Wanaka. Our motel was good, with a patio looking over the lake to the mountains, and the town had a good range of shops and a lively feel.
http://www.themoorings.co.nz/
The next morning we had coffee in town then took the Crown Range road for Queenstown. This was another spectacular drive, with really good examples of glacial landforms as we got closer to Queenstown.
We detoured to Arrowtown, an old gold mining town, in a lovely setting, and with many restored buildings.
After taking a quick look around Queenstown in the rain we checked into our motel which was close to the town centre but up a steep hill. Our room was spacious and comfortable with good views across the lake & mountains.
http://www.gardencourt.co.nz/
We then returned to the town centre for a more detailed look around and strolled around the gardens ending up in the dock area where we tried the local fish & chips (very good) and followed with a delicious ice cream from Patagonia Chocolates.
The next day we drove about 45 minutes along Lake Wakitipu to Glenorchy and did a short walk around the lagoon. A nice drive but the town barely exists and the walk was just OK. After returning to Queenstown for lunch we took another drive, this time part way up the road to the Remarkables ski area where the sky cleared for some spectacular views back across the airport to the lake, Queenstown, and the surrounding mountains.
While checking emails in town I saw news reports coming in of a severe earthquake in Christchurch. We now know what a disaster that has been but at the time we just noted that we may have to modify our itinerary which had us spending our last 2 nights in Christchurch.
From Queenstown we headed for Te Anau, stopping for our morning coffee at the high recommended Lazybones Café. Unfortunately, this was the worst coffee we had in the entire trip.
Arriving at Te Anau we were able to check in to our motel early – another comfortable motel with a pleasant outlook and a quiet location.
http://explorerlodge.co.nz/
We then visited the tourist office to book a Milford Sound cruise for the next day. We had also planned to visit the glow worm caves from Te Anau but the afternoon trip was fully booked so we decided to visit the wildlife park suggested by the tourist office. We did see a couple of parrots but the wildlife park seemed to consist mainly of empty enclosures. The visit was free but still not worth the money.
We followed the lake road to the start of the Kepler Track and then walked along it for about an hour and that was excellent, with the track following the lake edge through a lovely rain forest.
I have been subscriber to Fodors for quite a few years and have submitted several trip reports but each has related to Europe; this will be my first for the Australia-New Zealand board.
We flew from Melbourne with Air New Zealand, a 3 hour flight to Christchurch. We were travelling in economy so a bit of a shock after recent business class trips but service and light meal was fine and staff very pleasant. We arrived about 3:30 pm, picked up our rental car, and headed for our first stop, Arthurs Chalet at Arthur’s Pass.
The township of Arthur’s Pass is small and the surrounding area had a rather run-down air, with lots of old industrial outbuildings along the railway line and high tension power lines running right up the centre of the valley. The mountain scenery around was nice but the surroundings tended to detract from it and overall we were a bit disappointed with our first impressions. This was always just an overnight stop and I think that a slightly longer stay, with time to do some walks into the surrounding area, would give a much more positive impression. Arthur’s Chalet was not luxury accommodation by any means but our room was comfortable, the staff were very friendly, they made good coffee, and served good pub food for dinner.
http://www.arthurspass.co.nz/arthurs_chalet/
The next day we drove through Arthur’s Pass to the west coast with a brief stop at Hokitika which was a pleasant town, right on the beach, where the remains of a recent driftwood sculpture competition were still evident. I was interested by the amount of driftwood, including the remains of large trees, on the beach. I guess they are washed down by the mountain rivers when in flood and then brought back by the sea. Unfortunately, the Museum of Sock Making Machinery was not open.
Continuing south through some nice forest scenery we stopped at Franz Joseph and took the 45 minute walk up to the face of the glacier. Quite spectacular, with a winding path across the valley floor leading to good views of the glacier face and the ice cave created by melt water flowing out from the base of the ice.
We then continued south, through the rain, to Fox Glacier where we spent 2 nights at the Mt Cook View motel, just out of the township. This motel was very comfortable and well equipped.
http://www.mtcookview.co.nz/
We started the next day with a coffee at Matheson Café and then followed the track to the lake itself and did the circuit for some spectacular views and almost perfect reflections in the still water. The clouds even cleared for a while so that we caught a glimpse of Mt Cook, our only one for the trip. The rain forest vegetation along the track had some really interesting plants – including a blue mushroom – and this walk was a highlight.
In the afternoon we took a walk to the face of Fox Glacier. While the glacier itself was similar to Franz Joseph, the scenery on the approach was quite different and we enjoyed this visit as well.
Later we drove down a winding gravel road to Gillespie beach which was strewn with driftwood and also had many ‘sculptures’ made from the polished stones that form the beach. We also walked to the ruins of a gold dredge but neither the dredge nor the walk was particularly interesting.
We returned to the Matheson Café restaurant for a lovely dinner – highly recommended!
http://lakematheson.com/
The next day we drove south through lovely rain forests to Haast, then headed east towards Wanaka.
On the way south we stopped at Ship Creek and decided to try the 20 minute forest walk. This was described as a remnant of ancient forest and it certainly had a primeval feel to it with trees growing from the swamp, draped in mosses and fungi, including some more blue mushrooms. This walk was another highlight of our trip. Interestingly, the creek got its name from the wreckage of a ship found on the beach around 1871. The wreckage was a part of the clipper Schomberg which was wrecked in 1855 near Peterborough in Victoria, Australia.
The drive through the Haast Pass and then along Lakes Wanaka and Howea was spectacular and we made many stops along the way to take in the views.
We enjoyed Wanaka. Our motel was good, with a patio looking over the lake to the mountains, and the town had a good range of shops and a lively feel.
http://www.themoorings.co.nz/
The next morning we had coffee in town then took the Crown Range road for Queenstown. This was another spectacular drive, with really good examples of glacial landforms as we got closer to Queenstown.
We detoured to Arrowtown, an old gold mining town, in a lovely setting, and with many restored buildings.
After taking a quick look around Queenstown in the rain we checked into our motel which was close to the town centre but up a steep hill. Our room was spacious and comfortable with good views across the lake & mountains.
http://www.gardencourt.co.nz/
We then returned to the town centre for a more detailed look around and strolled around the gardens ending up in the dock area where we tried the local fish & chips (very good) and followed with a delicious ice cream from Patagonia Chocolates.
The next day we drove about 45 minutes along Lake Wakitipu to Glenorchy and did a short walk around the lagoon. A nice drive but the town barely exists and the walk was just OK. After returning to Queenstown for lunch we took another drive, this time part way up the road to the Remarkables ski area where the sky cleared for some spectacular views back across the airport to the lake, Queenstown, and the surrounding mountains.
While checking emails in town I saw news reports coming in of a severe earthquake in Christchurch. We now know what a disaster that has been but at the time we just noted that we may have to modify our itinerary which had us spending our last 2 nights in Christchurch.
From Queenstown we headed for Te Anau, stopping for our morning coffee at the high recommended Lazybones Café. Unfortunately, this was the worst coffee we had in the entire trip.
Arriving at Te Anau we were able to check in to our motel early – another comfortable motel with a pleasant outlook and a quiet location.
http://explorerlodge.co.nz/
We then visited the tourist office to book a Milford Sound cruise for the next day. We had also planned to visit the glow worm caves from Te Anau but the afternoon trip was fully booked so we decided to visit the wildlife park suggested by the tourist office. We did see a couple of parrots but the wildlife park seemed to consist mainly of empty enclosures. The visit was free but still not worth the money.
We followed the lake road to the start of the Kepler Track and then walked along it for about an hour and that was excellent, with the track following the lake edge through a lovely rain forest.
Mar 14th, 2011, 01:22 AM
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On Thursday, halfway through our New Zealand trip, we were ready for the highlight – our day on Milford Sound – and we headed out early to beat the buses and to be in good time for our cruise.
Unfortunately, the weather did not co-operate and our Milford Sound outing was a bit of a disappointment as it rained most of the day and our views were of clouds rather than Mitre Peak. Certainly we knew that this happens a lot, and the views of the waterfalls were spectacular, but we had hoped that we might get at least a small break in the clouds to get a longer view. We had booked a stop at the underwater observatory as well and that was a worthwhile, if expensive, visit.
The next day we drove east to through farming country, taking about 4 hours to reach Dunedin, and our accommodation for the next 2 nights.
http://www.cablecourtmotel.co.nz/
Dunedin is a university town and we were lucky enough to be there for orientation week! Our first night was a disaster with enthusiastic partying in student housing all around the motel - lots of noise, milling crowds of students on the street, visits from the police, etc. We were going to move to try and find another motel out of town but the owners suggested we move to another unit and that was somewhat quieter – maybe the partying was a bit less intensive that night as well.
After a brief visit to the Art Gallery and the famous railway station we took the coastal road out the Otago Peninsula, with a detour to Larnach Castle which was interesting, with great views and a lovely garden. We followed this with a short cruise around the Otago headland and a visit to the albatross colony.
The albatross centre was excellent, with good views of flying birds and birds on their nest with chicks but the cruise was just OK and we really didn’t see anything that we could not have seen from the land. We returned to Dunedin via the headland road for some more lovely views.
We spent some time in Dunedin re-organising our itinerary and one of the changes was to add a night at Oamaru to substitute for one of our planned nights in Christchurch. On our way there we called at a couple of coastal spots including Shag Point for a really close view of a seal colony and Moeraki to see the local attraction, a series of almost spherical boulders that are strewn along the beach.
Oamaru was really nice little town with a well preserved Victorian section, a very pleasant tree-lined main street, and an opportunity to see two different varieties of penguin. There is a very small colony of rare Yellow Eyed Penguins just out of town and we went there first, managing to see two penguins come ashore and also a chick still on the nest. We then went to the Blue Penguin centre which was a commercial operation with a grandstand for viewing the penguins as they land.
Our motel in Oamaru was excellent; spacious, quite new, great value, and the owners were very friendly & helpful.
http://www.highfieldmews.co.nz/
Our next day we visited the local cheese factory outlet and bought some brie for our lunch and then set sights on Twizel, which we chose for its proximity to Mt Cook rather than for its intrinsic charm. Our motel here was quite comfortable but it was obviously geared to bus groups and after trying to get a meal in their restaurant we crossed the road to Poppies café where we had a nice meal.
http://www.mackenzie.co.nz/
Then off to Mount Cook, early the next morning, where once again views were limited by low cloud & rain. After our morning coffee at the Hermitage we set out for a walk to the viewpoint over Tasman Glacier lake and that was a worthwhile short walk with some nice views. We then returned to the Hermitage for lunch and decided to try the slightly longer walk to Mueller Glacier for some great views of the steep gully carved out of the moraine by the glacier melt water, and vivid turquoise pools. We then drove to our next stop at Lake Tekapo, arriving late afternoon.
We originally planned 1 night at Lake Tekapo but added a day when we made itinerary changes following the Christchurch earthquake. After taking a look around we realised that 2 nights would be 1 night too many, particularly as the weather forecast was not brilliant, and we made a further change, switching the second night to Timaru. Our Lake Tekapo accommodation was a very new and comfortable B&B but we found it a bit limiting as there was no real guest lounge and the wind was gusting well over 100kmph so we couldn’t really enjoy the outside space. The owners were very good about us leaving at short notice and refunded our payment when they obtained a replacement booking.
We found this B&B through Wotif and a quick search has failed to find a website but here is the Wotif listing;
http://www.wotif.com/hotels/three-rivers-lodge.html
The next morning we intended to visit the Observatory at Lake Tekapo before leaving but unfortunately it was closed due to the high winds. After a pleasant drive of less than 2 hours we arrived at Timaru which was a quite a bustling town. We spent some time exploring the town and surrounds, including the excellent local museum, the gardens, and foreshore at Caroline Bay but the wind was still very high so we didn’t spend long on the beach. Dinner at Customs House restaurant was excellent.
http://www.customshouse.co.nz/
Our motel at Timaru was roomy and comfortable.
http://www.ashleymotorlodge.co.nz/
For our last day in New Zealand we just had the drive to Christchurch airport, less than 2 hours, so we started with a coffee in Timaru and took a leisurely break at Ashburton, but still arrived in Christchurch early for our flight. We thought about visiting the Antarctic Centre, close to the airport, but it was closed due to the earthquake so we returned the rental car and filled in some time at the airport before flying back to Melbourne without incident.
We enjoyed our time in New Zealand and will almost certainly return but a bit more luck with the weather would have greatly improved our experience.
I’ve posted a few photos at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/GregYeaman/NewZealand2011#
Unfortunately, the weather did not co-operate and our Milford Sound outing was a bit of a disappointment as it rained most of the day and our views were of clouds rather than Mitre Peak. Certainly we knew that this happens a lot, and the views of the waterfalls were spectacular, but we had hoped that we might get at least a small break in the clouds to get a longer view. We had booked a stop at the underwater observatory as well and that was a worthwhile, if expensive, visit.
The next day we drove east to through farming country, taking about 4 hours to reach Dunedin, and our accommodation for the next 2 nights.
http://www.cablecourtmotel.co.nz/
Dunedin is a university town and we were lucky enough to be there for orientation week! Our first night was a disaster with enthusiastic partying in student housing all around the motel - lots of noise, milling crowds of students on the street, visits from the police, etc. We were going to move to try and find another motel out of town but the owners suggested we move to another unit and that was somewhat quieter – maybe the partying was a bit less intensive that night as well.
After a brief visit to the Art Gallery and the famous railway station we took the coastal road out the Otago Peninsula, with a detour to Larnach Castle which was interesting, with great views and a lovely garden. We followed this with a short cruise around the Otago headland and a visit to the albatross colony.
The albatross centre was excellent, with good views of flying birds and birds on their nest with chicks but the cruise was just OK and we really didn’t see anything that we could not have seen from the land. We returned to Dunedin via the headland road for some more lovely views.
We spent some time in Dunedin re-organising our itinerary and one of the changes was to add a night at Oamaru to substitute for one of our planned nights in Christchurch. On our way there we called at a couple of coastal spots including Shag Point for a really close view of a seal colony and Moeraki to see the local attraction, a series of almost spherical boulders that are strewn along the beach.
Oamaru was really nice little town with a well preserved Victorian section, a very pleasant tree-lined main street, and an opportunity to see two different varieties of penguin. There is a very small colony of rare Yellow Eyed Penguins just out of town and we went there first, managing to see two penguins come ashore and also a chick still on the nest. We then went to the Blue Penguin centre which was a commercial operation with a grandstand for viewing the penguins as they land.
Our motel in Oamaru was excellent; spacious, quite new, great value, and the owners were very friendly & helpful.
http://www.highfieldmews.co.nz/
Our next day we visited the local cheese factory outlet and bought some brie for our lunch and then set sights on Twizel, which we chose for its proximity to Mt Cook rather than for its intrinsic charm. Our motel here was quite comfortable but it was obviously geared to bus groups and after trying to get a meal in their restaurant we crossed the road to Poppies café where we had a nice meal.
http://www.mackenzie.co.nz/
Then off to Mount Cook, early the next morning, where once again views were limited by low cloud & rain. After our morning coffee at the Hermitage we set out for a walk to the viewpoint over Tasman Glacier lake and that was a worthwhile short walk with some nice views. We then returned to the Hermitage for lunch and decided to try the slightly longer walk to Mueller Glacier for some great views of the steep gully carved out of the moraine by the glacier melt water, and vivid turquoise pools. We then drove to our next stop at Lake Tekapo, arriving late afternoon.
We originally planned 1 night at Lake Tekapo but added a day when we made itinerary changes following the Christchurch earthquake. After taking a look around we realised that 2 nights would be 1 night too many, particularly as the weather forecast was not brilliant, and we made a further change, switching the second night to Timaru. Our Lake Tekapo accommodation was a very new and comfortable B&B but we found it a bit limiting as there was no real guest lounge and the wind was gusting well over 100kmph so we couldn’t really enjoy the outside space. The owners were very good about us leaving at short notice and refunded our payment when they obtained a replacement booking.
We found this B&B through Wotif and a quick search has failed to find a website but here is the Wotif listing;
http://www.wotif.com/hotels/three-rivers-lodge.html
The next morning we intended to visit the Observatory at Lake Tekapo before leaving but unfortunately it was closed due to the high winds. After a pleasant drive of less than 2 hours we arrived at Timaru which was a quite a bustling town. We spent some time exploring the town and surrounds, including the excellent local museum, the gardens, and foreshore at Caroline Bay but the wind was still very high so we didn’t spend long on the beach. Dinner at Customs House restaurant was excellent.
http://www.customshouse.co.nz/
Our motel at Timaru was roomy and comfortable.
http://www.ashleymotorlodge.co.nz/
For our last day in New Zealand we just had the drive to Christchurch airport, less than 2 hours, so we started with a coffee in Timaru and took a leisurely break at Ashburton, but still arrived in Christchurch early for our flight. We thought about visiting the Antarctic Centre, close to the airport, but it was closed due to the earthquake so we returned the rental car and filled in some time at the airport before flying back to Melbourne without incident.
We enjoyed our time in New Zealand and will almost certainly return but a bit more luck with the weather would have greatly improved our experience.
I’ve posted a few photos at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/GregYeaman/NewZealand2011#
Mar 14th, 2011, 02:34 AM
#3
Lovely report Greg, thanks for posting. I love your description of Ship Creek...we liked it too, but I found it a wee bit creepy.
<The visit was free but still not worth the money.< - LOL
I don't care what the tour operators say, waterfalls are no substitute for sunshine in Milford Sound!
<The visit was free but still not worth the money.< - LOL
I don't care what the tour operators say, waterfalls are no substitute for sunshine in Milford Sound!
Mar 14th, 2011, 01:27 PM
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Thanks for this report, Greg. I enjoyed your unvarnished opinions! Did you book all of your accommodations ahead? If so, do you think that it would be possible do find lodging each night without a reservation? I will be on the South Island in late November and early December.
Mar 14th, 2011, 05:55 PM
#5
Thank you for the great report. The photos are stunning. Sorry you didn't have better weather. On my last trip to NZ we hit thirteen consecutive days of rain. The previous year (during the same period) we had mostly beautiful weather.
You've given me some good ideas for my next visit--and I really appreciated your including the websites.
You've given me some good ideas for my next visit--and I really appreciated your including the websites.
Mar 14th, 2011, 10:42 PM
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Thanks all for your kind comments.
Melnq8; I understand that fiordland gets a lot of rain but we were really hoping for at least a break in the clouds. Personally, I think the tour operators should at least have one gloomy photo on their brochures.
steamboatsista: We did book ahead but I don't think you'd have a problem doing it as you go. We usually try and avoid spending a sometimes significant part of each day sorting out where we will stay that night. Using a site like Wotif and booking 2-3 days ahead would probably work well.
Songdoc: Thanks for your comment re the photos - I'll pass it on to my wife who takes most of our photos (I do the video).
I'm happy to respond to any specific questions related to the areas we visited. Greg
Melnq8; I understand that fiordland gets a lot of rain but we were really hoping for at least a break in the clouds. Personally, I think the tour operators should at least have one gloomy photo on their brochures.
steamboatsista: We did book ahead but I don't think you'd have a problem doing it as you go. We usually try and avoid spending a sometimes significant part of each day sorting out where we will stay that night. Using a site like Wotif and booking 2-3 days ahead would probably work well.
Songdoc: Thanks for your comment re the photos - I'll pass it on to my wife who takes most of our photos (I do the video).
I'm happy to respond to any specific questions related to the areas we visited. Greg
Mar 15th, 2011, 09:36 PM
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Weather plays an important role in all trips. If it is favorable then we will surely enjoy a lot but if it is awful then our trip becomes worthless for us. NZ is a beautiful place; everyone must visit there once in lifetime. I planned in the end of the year. Hope weather remains in my favor.
Mar 23rd, 2011, 01:35 PM
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Hi Travelworm, if you are referring to the glaciers themselves then I'd find it hard to recommend one over the other. We did the walk up to the ice face for both and enjoyed both - the landscape in the approach to Fox is maybe a little more dramatic while there I more vegatation along the approach to Franz Joseph. If you only had time to see one I really don't think there's much in it. If you were thinking of where to stay, I'd recommend Fox Glacier, mainly because of Lake Matheson whihc was lovely. I think Franz Joseph is the bigger town, with perhaps more choice for accommodation and dining, but personally I preferred Fox Glacier. Neither qualifies a city, they are both quite small towns. Not sure that this will eb helpful, but I doubt you would be unhappy whichever one you chose to visit or to stay.
Apr 25th, 2011, 02:30 PM
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My trip to New Zealand was short but the weather was beautiful and I particularly enjoyed the trip from Christchurch to Queenstown via Mt Cook.There was something magical in the air and I wish I had more time to spend there.I would rate New Zealand as one of the best countries to visit but alas Christchurch would no longer be on my agenda due to the recent earthquake.
May 1st, 2011, 01:44 AM
#11
Only a small part of Christchurch CBD is still closed, although there are lots of damaged buildings. However there are many areas especially in the suburbs that are operating as normal. Do not stay away from Christchurch.
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