Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - 4 Days In NZ

Off to Australia mid February to mid March. Debating about taking a side trip to New Zealand.

Which NZ city should I check out? Christchurch, Wellington or Auckland? Is 4 days enough for a quick city break?

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4 days in Auckland would lead me to commit suicide.

4 days in Wellington might be do-able, but by the 3rd or 4th day I'd probably be bored.

4 days in Christchurch? Maybe. Didn't seem to me to be a lot to do there, however.

Maybe a 4-day visit to Queenstown instead?

We are thinking of doing a quick side trip to New Zealand, probably to the Christchurch area. Did you just stay in the city or did you venture around the south island a bit? I'm interested in why you felt there didn't seem to be much to do.

There will be 5 of us (3 adult and 2 younger children) so any suggestions of what to definitely see or definitely skip would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Onedog

4 days in Auckland maybe do-able if you get a car and get down to Rotorua or somemthing...

4 days in Wellington will also be boring unless you get a car to Martinborough or the like.

4 days in Christchurch will need a car so you can get up to Hanmer Springs or something.

4 days in Queenstown and surrounds would be the most attractive option to me personally.

Depends what you want to do.

If you're into adventure tourism, Queenstown is definitely number one. It's a little harder to get to from Australia as there are very few direct flights.

Otherwise Auckland or Christchurch. Either option you would be better off with a car. Public transport is virtually non-existent in both although Auckland has tourist buses which visit the main attractions. If you had a car a day trip from Auckland to Rotorua would be worthwhile, it's about a 2.5 hour drive.

Wellington is not really a tourist city, I have nothing against it wouldn't be my choice if I only had four days in NZ.

FWIW I live in Auckland.

I am afraid I never learned to drive. So am pretty reliant on public transport.

I am after a nice view, some people watching and some interesting walk both city and countryside. I am not really built for adventure tourism. I wasn't sure if I should just do NZ as a separate trip in the future and just concentrate on Australia.

If so, and again with the proviso that I need to have access to public transport to get there and around, my options are:

Spend 18 days in Sydney and around NSW. Fly down to Tasmania for a couple of days. Take the ferry across to Melbourne for a long weekend. Back to Sydney for a day or two and then fly back to London.

Spend 18 days in Sydney and around NSW. Fly to Alice Springs and go to Ulurhu. Fly to Melbourne and back to Sydney.

Spend 18 days in Sydney and around NSW. Fly to New Zealeand for 4 days. Fly to Melbourne for a long weekend and back to Sydney.


Also is the train journey an interesting one between Melbourne & Sydney?

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I spent about two weeks in New Zealand a few years ago after completing a six-week business project there. I can't drive, so I had to rely on public transportation to get around - but it was easy to arrange.

New Zealand isn't a place I'd go to for a "city break". (I'm very much a "city girl", and when I told my family I was going to NZ for 8 weeks, my sister, who lives on farm, laughed and said "You do realize there's a lot of 'outside' down there in New Zealand?") But it is still well worth a visit, even for those who prefer cities to countryside.

One option would be to fly to Christchurch and after a day puttering around there, take the train North to Kaikoura for a whale watching expedition. I spent 5 days there learning to scuba dive and it is a charming, laid back walkable town with some great water adventure activities (even for the non-adventurous). Be sure to book your whale-watching tour in advance. From Christchurch, you could also take the TranzAlpine train across the island to Greymouth, for a great scenic trip.

I wasn't interested in Queenstown because I grew up near Vancouver and Queenstown seemed like it was very similar to Whistler - not something I needed to see. I did enjoy visiting Dunedin (where I went on a bus/boat tour on the Otago Peninsula to check to the penguin colony and birds) and Napier (a small town on the North Island that is chock-full of Art Deco architecture - the town was rebuilt in that style after being flattened by an earthquake early in the 20th century). I also enjoyed a few days in Auckland, before and after a dive trip to Whangarei and the Poor Knights Islands.

4 days in Auckland would lead me to commit suicide.



LOL

Auckland isn't that bad - well, it would be fine as a staging point - e.g. as a 2 day stopover, there are enough day trips and diversions to keep you modestly occupied

While Christchurch is itself dull, it is a handy base for doing the stuff that Kate_Canuck mentions. Similarly for Queenstown, while it is a bit of a generic winter/extreme sports town, it is a good base for going to other places

FWIW, a couple of years ago I did a week in NZ after a week of intense partying in Sydney. Admitted we rented wheels, which meant we could cover more ground, but the highlights for me were Milford Sound and taking a flight over Fox glacier - both of which you can use Queenstown as a jumping off point for

4 days in Christchurch? Maybe. Didn't seem to me to be a lot to do there, however.


4 days in Christchurch itself is probably stretching the limits however using CHCH as a base makes a lot more sense.

You could easily spend several days exploring the Banks Peninsular (Akaroa etc.), take the Tranzalpine (as previously mentioned) and CHCH itself does have a number of its own drawcards.

We spent a week in the area last year and managed to pack every day.

A bit late but one option is to base in Wellington and do two separate day trips to Martinborough and over to Picton on the ferry. They're all excursions that can be easily arranged and even doable on public transport and the travel is quite pleasant with nice views.

I used to live in Wellington so can only agree with earlier comments on Auckland!

Debating about taking a side trip to New Zealand. Which NZ city should I check out? Christchurch, Wellington or Auckland?
Also a little late, but having coincidentally just read your Advice on Australia (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=781248) thread I would have to support Kate_Canuck's suggestion that you go to CHC and take a couple of NZ's finer train journeys; the tranzalpine (http://www.tranzscenic.co.nz/services/tranzalpine.aspx) and / or the tranzcoastal (http://www.tranzscenic.co.nz/services/tranzcoastal.aspx).

[QUOTE=uncertaintraveler;10652524]4 days in Auckland would lead me to commit suicide.

Your Kidding,Im just over a week in Auckland,visiting my friend there-Have I may made a huge mistake and if so, any ideas on how I can get out of it ;)

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heh heh,think Im planning this, just hope she is not a member of this forum