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Sun, sandflies & sauvignon blanc: A short trip to the spectacular NZ SI

Sun, sandflies & sauvignon blanc: A short trip to the spectacular NZ SI

Old Mar 12th, 2017, 09:36 AM
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Sun, sandflies & sauvignon blanc: A short trip to the spectacular NZ SI

We just returned from our first and long-anticipated trip to New Zealand, with a focus on the South Island. It will take some time to sort through all of our photos from four devices and create a proper trip report, but that will come in time. For now, we can share a few highlights and impressions. Thank you to all who post here—as always, this site was a key resource in putting together and executing our plans.

A bit of background:
Three years ago, we hiked the Inca Trail in Peru, and we have enjoyed various other hiking experiences while on vacation (Dolomites, etc.). We decided we’d like to take another similar trip—okay, perhaps one that didn’t involve camping and toilet-tents this time. New Zealand has long been on our wish list, and a multi-day walk that bills itself as the “finest walk in the world” (the Milford Track) sounded exactly like the sort of thing around which we wanted to build such a trip.

Timing:
With that in mind, we did some research on weather and seasonality, and we targeted late February to early March as ideal timing. As the Milford Track books up well in advance, we began looking into this early last year and were ready to act when we found the right combination of trek availability and business class upgrades to/from the United States. All that fell together last May.

Available time:
Altogether, we had two weeks for this trip, including travel. Between work (both), aging cat, and aging parent issues (ms_go), this is a long trip for us to be taking at this point. Unfortunately, it isn’t a lot of time to truly dive in to what New Zealand offers, but we decided to make our plans and do and enjoy what we could in that amount of time.

Itinerary:
We booked the international air and trek concurrently, leaving us with three nights before the trek and another five nights after (12 nights total on the ground). Here’s how it all worked out:

Day 1-2: Chicago-San Francisco-Auckland-Queenstown
Day 3: Queenstown (wine tour)
Day 4: Queenstown (self-drive to Glenorchy and surrounding area)
Day 5: Milford Track
Day 6: Milford Track
Day 7: Milford Track
Day 8: Milford Track
Day 9: Milford Sound cruise and return to Queenstown
Day 10: Queenstown to Haast via Arrowtown, Wanaka and Mt. Aspiring National Park
Day 11: Haast-Jackson’s Bay area (river trip, hiking, beach and the semi-famous Craypot)
Day 12: Haast to Hokitika via glaciers area, with helicopter ride/landing and a hike at Lake Matheson
Day 13: Hokitika to Christchurch via Arthur’s Pass, late afternoon flight to Auckland
Day 14: Auckland-San Francisco-Chicago
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Old Mar 12th, 2017, 09:43 AM
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Driving:
It has been 10 years (Australia) since we last drove on the left side of the road, but getting readjusted was not difficult at all. This is in part to roads that, while winding, are not overly crowded. We did run into some road improvement projects, particularly on the West Coast and Arthur’s Pass, and had to wait for up to 30 minutes for clearance to drive on. Yes, we did end up in the wrong lane a couple of times, but not when it mattered. And of course, we turned on the windshield wipers numerous times even though we never had to use them for real. And that leads to the subject of…

Weather:
Even though we were visiting in the late summer/early fall period, we knew from reading that we needed to expect anything from hot, sunny days to wind and snow during the course of our trip. We packed accordingly. All things considered, we were very lucky. Our time in Queenstown was mostly sunny and pleasant. Our time on the Milford Track included a some rain but mostly dry conditions—particularly helpful on the day we crossed Mackinnon pass. The West Coast was gloriously sunny with almost no clouds. The only “washouts” were the morning of our Milford Sound cruise (still enjoyable—just not as enjoyable as it could have been) and our one evening in Auckland at the end of the trip. It was never all that cold—the coldest point being the Mackinnon pass crossing, where even a couple of light layers and light gloves sufficed.

We heard from multiple people that it was an “unusual” summer and that summer really just kicked in a couple of weeks before we arrived. One of our guides told us there was chest-high snow on Mackinnon pass in January—yes, January, the peak of summer.

Air travel:
We went into this knowing that using United miles for business class tickets on Air New Zealand on US-NZ tickets wasn’t going to be a happening deal. You also can’t use them for ANZ premium economy since it is an “in between” class of service. So our only option, other than paying for it, was to find mileage upgrades or award tickets on United via San Francisco or American via Los Angeles. It took some patience, but that eventually worked on United, with confirmed upgrades at booking on both international flights and one of the domestic flights. The Chicago-San Francisco upgrades never cleared, but that was okay. The new United Polaris lounge in Chicago, by the way, is very nice and has decent cooked-to-order hot meals and premium beverages.

We booked our two intra-New Zealand flights some months later, after we’d figured out our itinerary. For about $15-$17 extra per person, we purchased flexi-fare tickets, which allowed us to change to earlier or later flights without fee on the day of departure, space permitting. This was helpful, because in both cases we found ourselves in position to take earlier flights and were able to do so.

Coming soon: Part 1, Queenstown
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Old Mar 12th, 2017, 12:12 PM
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Looking forward to more ms_go.

>

You were very lucky indeed! There's nothing quite like a sunny day on the West Coast (unless its a sunny day in Milford
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Old Mar 12th, 2017, 01:00 PM
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Part 1: Queenstown

We knew the trip would be a whirlwind of activity with multiple one-night stays once we began the Milford Track, thus we wanted the beginning of our trip to be a bit more “settled.”

Our international flight arrived in Auckland early, and our trip through biosecurity inspection was expeditious (we were forewarned and had thoroughly cleaned our boots and poles)—no surprises, other than finding a container of oily hair stuff had broken open, seeped through a Ziploc bag and infiltrated some of my clothes. The inspector was sympathetic and ready with lots of paper towels. We beat a hasty path out of the international terminal with hopes of moving our domestic flight to Queenstown from 12:05 to 10:30. Great success!

We arrived in Queenstown to a beautiful, sunny afternoon—and that weather held for the rest of our stay. Highlights of our 2.5 days there included:

• Taking a gondola up Bob’s Peak to soak in the views and watch paragliders take off.

• Walking along the lakeshore in both directions and admiring some of the huge old trees.

• Soaking in a genuinely spectacular sunset on our first night there.
http://onelittleworld.zenfolio.com/p...8cd0#h85598cd0

• Spending a lovely afternoon in the Central Otago wine region with New Zealand Wine Tours (so we didn’t have to sample and drive the day after traveling for 24 hours!), visiting Chard Farm, Wild Earth (lunch included), Mt. Difficulty, and Peregrine. This tour takes a maximum of six people, and on our tour there were just three of us.
https://nzwinetours.rezdy.com/130182/degustation-tour

• Renting a car and driving along Lake Wakatipu to Glenorchy for lunch and a nice walk on the lagoon trail. We also drove on past Glenorchy toward Paradise and other areas until the road became a bit dicey in our Corolla, and we stopped for a short walk at Bob’s Cove on the way back to Queenstown.

Queenstown is very touristy, but for good reason. It is impressively scenic and a great base for exploration of the region. And if you get sick of the shops, cafes, restaurants, bars and whatnot, a walk along the lakefront to the park across the bay is a great way to restore your equilibrium.

Accommodation: Hotel St Moritz (part of the Accor organization; register as a member for complimentary wi-fi and other benefits). It is a little over what we usually spend, but we wanted a full-service hotel with luggage storage, laundry facilities, and such. Our room had a spectacular lake view. It is up a fairly steep hill, but we just considered that good prep for the hike to come.

Favorite restaurant: Blue Kanu, with honorable mention to lunch on the lawn the Glenorchy Café. Unlike many others, we did not line up for a Fergburger (but I'm sure they are good). Favorite drink spot: Close call, but we give the nod to the cozy Habana Rum Bar over Atlas Beer Café.
http://www.bluekanu.co.nz
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Old Mar 12th, 2017, 01:08 PM
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Thanks for sharing, ms_go. I have to get myself to the South Island sooner rather than later. In the meantime, I look forward to experiencing it through you.
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Old Mar 12th, 2017, 01:11 PM
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Oh boy! Can't wait to read.
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Old Mar 12th, 2017, 01:13 PM
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having seen the gorgeous photos you posted on FB, I'm really looking forward to reading the accompanying words and comparing your experiences with ours about 3 years ago.

You seem to have had some pretty good weather, all things considered.
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Old Mar 13th, 2017, 02:29 PM
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Part 2: Milford Track

The Department of Conservation restricts traffic on the Milford Track. There are two options for hiking it, independent and guided, and both book up well in advance.

We opted for the more expensive guided option that is offered exclusively through Ultimate Hikes because it offers furnished lodges and all meals. This meant we did not have to carry food and bedding (although we did have to carry all clothing and personal items—no porters on this trek). After not too much additional discussion, we also splurged for a private en-suite room. As mentioned earlier, we booked this trek last May. The couple that got the last two spots on our particular departure date booked their trip in November—so note this is not the sort of thing you can typically arrange at the last minute.

We were with a group of 45 hikers and 5 guides. We should note that “guided” does not mean you spend 24 hours per day with guides and other hikers. While the guides keep tabs on the group, there were many hours of hiking where we were alone on the trail.

Ultimate Hikes runs a really professional operation. The guides are great and very engaging and happy to provide context about the history and the flora and fauna when you bump into them along the trail. Three of the four lodges are very remote; everything required to build and run them has arrived by helicopter. Generators provide power until 10pm. There are washing and drying rooms to clean clothes each day, so we were able to reduce the amount of stuff carried. The meals were much, much better than we expected (mr_go is still thinking about the ribeye steak he had one of the nights). And best of all, there is beer and wine available for purchase at the end of each day of hiking!

About the walk… It is close to 34 miles over five days/four nights. You can read more about it here: https://www.ultimatehikes.co.nz/en/g...-milford-track

Because most of those 34 miles happen in three days and because of the significant climb and descent on day 3, it is not a particularly easy walk. We don’t have a good way to train for this during the winter in Chicago, but we definitely did “up” our treadmill routine in preparation. The good news is that you can go at your own pace each day.
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Old Mar 13th, 2017, 02:32 PM
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For us, this definitely lived up to the hype—it is one of the finest walks we have done. It’s hard to summarize, but there were a number of things that contributed to our overall experience:

• The lush green trails—as mr_go said a number of times, “Even the ‘boring’ parts of this walk are gorgeous”

• The serenade of bird songs, and the not-too-shy little bush robins and tomtits that greeted us all along the walk

• And speaking of birds, we enjoyed watching several kea pecking at the roof of the Pompolona Lodge—they seem to want to eat everything

• The rapid weather changes, from pouring rain one moment to blue skies the next

• The waterfalls of all shapes and sizes—including New Zealand’s tallest waterfall, Sutherland Falls

• The few brave fellow hikers and guides who jumped into the icy alpine waters for a brief swim (better them than us!)

• Stunning views into deep valleys and of snow-covered peaks—it was like living in a non-stop postcard

• The sense of accomplishment reaching Mackinnon pass and the end of the trail at Sandfly Point—in fact, passing the 33 mile marker and heading toward Sandfly Point felt like racing to the finish line of the Amazing Race; we took along our Cubs “W” rally towels and celebrated certain milestones by “flying the W”

• Most of all, relaxing in the lodges at the end of the day and to get to know some of the other hikers—an eclectic bunch that included a Korean tour group, eight men from New Zealand who had started college together some 40+ years ago (and their SOs), a handful of Americans (two of them honeymooners), and others from France, the UK and Australia

The Ultimate Hikes excursion ends with a boat ride on Milford Sound and then a transfer back to Queenstown or other termination point. As previously mentioned, our boat ride was in a steady rain with low clouds and limited visibility. We felt bad for the guy (not part of our group) who was all set on the boat’s deck with professional camera equipment but who ultimately spent a good part of the cruise just sitting inside the boat.

In lieu of the five-hour bus ride back, hikers have the option of a helicopter ride to Queenstown at an extra (not insignificant) cost. We considered splurging for it, but it was not to be. There is a four-person minimum, and as best we could tell, no one else was interested. The bad weather also likely made this a moot point. We made up for it later in the trip… more on this to come.

We were advised to expect and be ready for any type of weather. That, of course, makes packing a challenge—both for the trek and the broader vacation. We purchased inexpensive 40L backpacks (the recommended size; when loaded about 12-ish pounds) but ended up borrowing packs from Ultimate Hikes. Lesson learned: you get what you pay for—the cheap zippers on the cheap packs we brought would have driven us crazy from the start. Otherwise, both of us felt we did a good job of packing for the trek. If anyone is considering doing this trek and wants suggestions, we are happy to provide them.
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Old Mar 13th, 2017, 02:54 PM
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Wow! Other than the rain during your cruise, it sounds like you went from one degree of gorgeous to another. And to take a bit of the Cubbies to you to New Zealand; someone's after my heart...
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Old Mar 13th, 2017, 04:16 PM
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Your pictures are lovely, and I'm enjoying reading the details of your trip!

Lee Ann
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Old Mar 14th, 2017, 05:25 AM
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Sounds wonderful - looking forward to seeing those photos!
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Old Mar 14th, 2017, 11:09 AM
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Enjoying your report and preparing one of my own, we just got back. I have to ask what are you using to bolden your fonts, I typed mine up in word but when I paste it my Highlighted words don't carry over. Thx. We definitely lucked out with the weather too!
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Old Mar 14th, 2017, 11:35 AM
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Thanks, everyone. I will try to get some photos posted as soon as I can. I at least now have consolidated all photos from two cameras and two iPhones in one place--so that's progress

phishears, to bold or italicize text, you have to use HTML commands before and after the relevant text. So, to make something bold, put the item below just before the text and the item below that just after it--but remove the spaces between the brackets and the b. Hope that makes sense; I had to add the spaces in order for these to show up in the post. Note you can do the same with an "i" for italic text.

< b >
< /b >
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Old Mar 14th, 2017, 12:06 PM
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I am reading with interest and look forward to your photos, as we will be traveling to the SI on United next February. While we do not plan to do any overnight hiking, we will likely be covering some of the same ground. Your experience with the flights seems to be the same as what we are finding. We will at least be able to book all the way to Queenstown since we know our itinerary at this point, although there will be no upgrade on Air New Zealand for the last leg from Auckland. We are hoping to connect BDL-IAD-SFO-AKL and upgrade all the way. How far in advance were your upgrades released? Also, did you get a refund for your co-pay on the ORD-SFO?
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Old Mar 14th, 2017, 03:13 PM
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Thanks, Craig. You are in for a very nice trip!

Re: the air...

...although there will be no upgrade on Air New Zealand for the last leg from Auckland
The planes on which we flew from Auckland to Queenstown and Christchurch to Auckland didn't have first class cabins, so you may not be missing out on much.

did you get a refund for your co-pay on the ORD-SFO?
ORD-SFO-AKL was all on one co-pay. In our case, we were on low S and L fares, so $600 co-pay/30K miles each way. My understanding of policy is that if the international segment clears and the domestic segment does not, there is no refund or proration (if vice versa, then that is another story).

How far in advance were your upgrades released?
I am not a fan of playing the upgrade waiting list game for international flights (I don't care so much about the domestic segments), particularly with multiple people on one reservation, so I made it a prerequisite to find flights with upgrades that I could confirm at the time I booked the tickets. That took some work and a little flexibility. For example, when I was looking, I found upgrades were available on some days of the week (e.g., Saturday) but not others (e.g., Friday and Sunday). I booked these tickets last May, after United announced the route and began selling tickets but before it actually began operating the route--so still in "new" marketing mode. I don't know what award availability is looking like these days. There have been recent changes on that route, which started as year-round service and has now been cut back to high season. Do you know how to search for upgrade ("R") awards using the "expert" setting on the United website? If not, I have some instructions I can post when I have a chance.
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Old Mar 14th, 2017, 03:38 PM
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In recent years we have always been able to book United international flights in business class with miles only, mostly on Star Alliance airlines. When there was a domestic connecting flight or flights, we were waitlisted in economy and eventually cleared for business or first. So, I have not done the buy economy and upgrade since the rules changed several years ago. My thinking is that booking 330 days in advance gives me a pretty good chance of getting two upgraded seats all in, especially since we plan to fly mid-week both inbound and outbound and we are somewhat paying customers. I did not realize that the United flight from SFO was "new" by the way. I may already be on the "expert" setting as all of the upgrade options show as well as those that are waitlisted. Is that what you meant?
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Old Mar 14th, 2017, 04:54 PM
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I would love if you posted your instructions for expert setting. Don't think I use it. Thanks!
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Old Mar 14th, 2017, 10:17 PM
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ms_go, thanks for the great details of the Milford Track. A good read, too. You gave me a sense of what it would be like, both entrancing and daunting. I still entertain fantasies of doing it one day, though with each birthday, doing the track becomes less of a real possibility for me.

Did you meet any solo trampers among your fellow Ultimate Hikers?
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Old Mar 15th, 2017, 04:40 AM
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Thanks, Diamantina. Yes, there were a couple of women traveling solo among our Ultimate Hikers. I say go for it

The West Coast

Following the trek, we could have gone in a number of directions. Ultimately, we decided that we wanted to complement our in-town and trail time with some time on one of the coasts for a broader range of experiences—so to the West Coast it was. We’d read that the coastal weather can be a little “iffy,” but we certainly hit the jackpot with the final four days of our time on the South Island presenting blue skies and few, if any clouds.

We rented a nice Nissan X-Trail from Europcar at the Queenstown airport and headed out of town—through Arrowtown (attractive, historic, but very touristy), past the bungee-jumping platform at Kawaru Gorge (mr_go was tempted, but we didn’t have the time and he’s already done it once; me, not a chance), through the vineyards, and on to Wanaka, where we stopped for a quick picnic lunch on the lake. We were already admiring the great weather.

From here, we began stopping frequently—first for photos along scenic Lake Hawea and then for a number of short walks within Mt. Aspiring National Park. We found this a particularly helpful resource:
http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/par...y-brochure.pdf

After a sequence of one-night stays, we wanted our next stop to be for two nights. So we targeted a stay around Haast. That worked out well, allowing us to take our time getting there.

Accommodation--Collyer House. The proprietor is a fourth-generation family member in this somewhat remote area and a lovely host with plenty of suggestions for spending time in the area. She is also an accomplished photographer and avid traveler, herself. We enjoyed our time here, including learning about the area from her and also visiting with the other guests.
http://www.collyerhouse.co.nz

This sparsely populated area has no cellular service (we lost our connection entering Mt. Aspiring National Park and didn’t regain it until near Fox Glacier a couple of days later). It was a nice, kind of low-key area for an ideal combination of scenery and activity:
• A jet-boat ride on the Waiatoto River (more of an educational and scenic sort of thing than a thrill ride)
• A hike to secluded Lake Ellery
• A drive to the end of the road at Jackson’s Bay and a great lunch of fish and chips, chili squid, and mussel fritters at the Craypot, a tiny shack recommended from multiple sources including our wine-tour leader a few days earlier
• A hike over the hills at Jackson’s Bay to the uninhabited beach
• Another walk on another deserted beach near Okuru (deserted, that is, by people, not sandflies)
• A couple of nice sunsets out by the beach

Dining. There aren’t many options in this area—but there is The Hard Antler. Order from the counter and pick up your food when the monitor displays your number. Entrees come with one plate from the salad/side bar. All in all, the food wasn’t bad, the drink selections were pretty good, and the numerous mounted antlers and MMA/rugby on TV provided the just the right atmosphere. It’s a nice bit of “local color.”
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