Post by phillyrunner on Jul 8, 2014 17:36:08 GMT -5
I am just starting to do some research for our trip to New Zealand and I'm so overwhelmed with all the options and things to see and do!! If you've travelled there, what did you do? Right now we are planning on 13 nights, not including travel time. I'm leaning towards sticking with just the South Island (thinking of flying in and out of Christchurch), and we are going to rent a care and drive around.
This is very broad, but here is what I'm looking for: I'm not a camper, but I do love day hikes and beautiful scenery. I definitely want to visit some of the national parks. I also want to visit wineries and eat good food. Probably looking at staying in hotels/B&B's each night in the $100-$150 range.
We've been twice. Once was on our honeymoon and we just did a few days in Queenstown before heading over to Australia. We went back for our 10th anniversary last year. We spent a few days in Auckland, a few in Queenstown, and the rest on the Milford Track (we also went to Fiji for a few days on our way home). Auckland is OK, but it's not terribly exciting for visitors. I believe most of the wine is on the North Island and the northern part of the South Island. I can't recommend Queenstown enough. It got way bigger since we'd first been there, but it's still beautiful with lots to do.
We're not campers either, but we really wanted to do the Milford Track so we used Ultimate Hikes. It's pricey but amazing! I have some posts about our trip in my blog, too. Milford Track | Auckland and Queenstown
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. Mark Twain
Post by phillyrunner on Jul 9, 2014 9:20:06 GMT -5
Wow mdgirl that hike sounds amazing! Unfortunately it won't work into my budget for the trip. I really want to keep it around $10,000 total and so far it looks like flights will cost us about $4000 total so adding another almost $5000 just for that hike will definitely not work. Oh well. I definitely am planning on staying in Queenstown for at least a few nights. It sounds like an incredible city!
When we went we flew into Auckland, drove around the north island then drove down the west coast of the south island and flew out of Queenstown. We spent 2 days in Queenstown and I wish we had more time there.
We went to a few amazing wineries in the Bay of Islands and Whangarei.
When we went in 2012 people told me that Christchurch was still rebuilding, so that's why we avoided it.
For your accommodation price range look at private rooms in hostels. We did a lot of this in NZ and saved a ton because we had a (communal) kitchen to cook in. Some places were also super remote so cooking for yourself is also a convenient option. I found private en suite hostel rooms were $75-100 a night and were perfectly good for our needs.
The must dos in my opinion:
Swimming with dolphins in Kaikoura Hiking on a glacier - Franz Josef or Fox (big price difference between the two) Lake Tekapo (crazy green water) One of the fiords - Milford or Doubtful (both is not necessary)
Bonus to fiordland is you can do the Key Summit hike, which is substantial but doable, with some crazy awesome views. Do the morning fiord tour then do the hike afterwards on your way back to civilization.
As for wine Marlborough is awesome, and Cicero recommended Hillsfield House outside of Blenheim/Renwick. Gorgeous place, not too expensive and you can borrow their bikes free and tour the wineries. I legitimately planned my moves around NZ based on their availability, and I'm glad I did: www.hillsfield.co.nz/
We didn't do any cave/black water rafting which I would have liked, but that might be reserved for the north island only.
We did 12 nights in 2012 on the South Island only, Flew into Christchurch and out of Queenstown. We rented a car through Apex rentals which was highly recommended on tripadvisor and was the best price. They were great and I would use them again. We stayed in a mix of hotel, B&B and private rooms in hostels and our nightly budget was similar to yours.
We spent more than $10K, I think we spent $13K but the things we did added price but I would highly recommend: swimming with dolphins in Kaikoura - AMAZING kayaking in Abel Tasman National Park - we did the split apple rock kayak tour heli-hike on Fox Glacier - a must do if you can fit in your budget Day Trip Boat tour on Doubtful sound which was awesome!! Day trip boat tour on milford sound White Water rafting in Queenstown
we also did wine tasting in Queenstown which is the pinot noir region there. We live the pinot noir region of the US so it was awesome to compare to what is made locally here.
We went grocery shopping in Queenstown and bought a cooler to use. We bought stuff for breakfasts and picnic stuff for lunches. Our dinners were a mix of eating out and cooking at the kitchens at the hostels we stayed at.
Oh, one major suggestion I forgot: Check out bookme.co.nz. We did a few cool things at reduced price, namely the Queenstown gondola and buffet dinner. Normally you have to book for a specific date/time, so you'll have to know your whereabouts first.
We booked a few things (hot pools at Lake Tekapo, kiwi bird center in Franz Josef) only a day or two in advance. We bought a local SIM card and a 1-month plan for $50, which gave us just enough data to get us through 2 weeks there.
We did 6 nights on the South Island in February 2012. We flew into Queenstown, stayed 2 nights, then 2 nights in Te Anau, then 2 nights in Dunedin (then flew to Auckland, stayed one night at hotel by airport and then flew home next day).
In Queenstown, we stayed at Amity Lodge Motel which had a mini kitchen. We walked to downtown, hauled back some groceries, and enjoyed sampling their pre-cooked store meals. We went up the mountain the first day and did the alpine slides, which was good because it was cloudy the second day when we rented bikes and road around the lake a bit. We loved it.
In Te Anau, we stayed at ASURE Amber Court Motel, which had a mini fridge for our groceries (lunch meat, cheese, sodas). We did the glowworm cave tour that afternoon (loved it!) and drove ourselves to Milford Sound the second day (enjoyed driving ourselves and having a picnic lunch at the Mirror Lakes). We did a boat tour at Milford Sound. Even though it got cold on the boat, it was still awesome.
Once we arrived in Dunedin, we booked and went on the Penguin tour (they take you to see Albatrosses, seals, and penguins). This was the highlight tour of our trip and I can't recommend it enough. The next day, we took it a bit easy (it rained anyway) and just saw the sights of the city (I went for a tour at the Cadbury Factory where they give you tons of samples).
Since we had a limited number of days in NZ, I planned our trip keeping in mind the driving times. I printed out a map of the island and traced about 4 different possible itineraries before deciding on the one we picked. I do wish we could have seen the glacier or the southern point, but there just wasn't enough time for everything. Still, with the limited time we had, we had a great time and I've been saving up airline miles to go back so we can see the north island.
I'm glad I booked a night in Auckland before our flight home. Our flight from Dunedin was delayed 3 hours due to rain. If we hadn't over-nighted in Auckland, we could have missed our international flight home.