CHSBoater

Like others have said, this is a great thread, thanks.
We are flying into AKL early morning on a Friday and then taking the Northern Explorer to Wellington at 7:45 Saturday. Could someone recommend a hotel not too far from the train station and from there should be walk to the train station or taxi?

SpannerSpinner

There is a small gloworm dell on the side of the main road just out of Hokatika, totally free to access, and if you can find a break in the foot traffic you can take photos. I think its only worth visiting at night, as its not in a cave so too much light during daylight hours.

TheBOSman

Any of the hotels in the CBD should work fine. I've stayed at the Langham, the Barclay Suites, the Crowne Plaza, and the Hilton, and can recommend all of them for a one night stay. All would require a taxi to the train station, however, and all of them have differing advantages and disadvantages.

My recommendation depends on if you think you'll be doing any sightseeing during the day in Auckland, and any hotel elite status you have. And, of course, the prices for the day you need! Based on experiences from others, I would not recommend the Copthorne that is close-ish to the train station (don't forget, you are leaving from Strand Railway station on The Strand, and NOT Britomart), unless it was extremely low priced compared to the others.

SuperDudley

Experts, need some advice here.
We are scheduled to land Auckland Saturday Nov 19. We are scheduled to depart Auckland Friday December 2.
Saturday: Fly into Auckland, depart for Queenstown
Sunday: Queenstown
Monday: Bus to Milford Track, start the track
Tuesday:Milford Track
Wednesday: Milford Track
Thursday: End Milford Track go back to Queenstown and spend the night
Friday: Drive from Queenstown to Greymouth (or surrounding area)
Saturday: Drive from Greymouth to Marahau (Abel Tasman Park) try to do a little hiking depending on how early we get there - I already have reservations for accomodations
Sunday: Abel Tasman Park hiking
Monday????

So, I still have Monday - Friday open. We were thinking of departing Abel Tasman and heading to the airport at Nelson and flying into Hawkes Bay and spending three nights in Napier. We were looking for a place to relax, walk around, enjoy food, wines, etc... In Napier, I was looking at the County Hotel or Craggy Range Winery as a place to stay. My question is, should I be looking at Marlborough instead? Am I doing a lot of unnecessary travelling? Or, is there someplace else I should go to instead? Thoughts and recommendations are appreciated.

Thank you.

SpannerSpinner

Since you seem to like hiking, one option you could try to include is the Tongariro alpine crossing. A full day walk 5-8 hours, and being alpine it is weather dependent.

Monday: Fly to taupo, pickup rental car, explore the area
Tuesday: Tongariro alpine crossing Drive to napier (or stay night in Taupo/Turangi and drive next morning.)
Wednesday -Friday: Napier

SuperDudley

I hadn't even considered that. Let me look into it.

Thank you.

SuperDudley

We're going to attempt the Tongariro crossing. Thank you for the recommendation. It's going to be quite the busy trip but should be fun.

alwin

Feb 2015, we spent 3 weeks in New Zealand
1 night in Napier- which was plenty. There is really not much to do.
Art Deco is OK and water views are great.

We spent 5 nights in Nelson and Blenheim and we are returning next Feb for approx. 5-6 nights in sunny Nelson.
Nelson and Marlborough are fabulous with vineyards, hiking, and the Picton
mail boat tour.

Napier does not come close.
Give much thought to the flight to Milford Sound from Queenstown.
Highlight of our trip and worth the money.
Flights are cancelled if the weather is bad, vs the bus which goes rain or
shine with no refund and nothing to see through the rain
(ask our friends who took the bus ride and told us to fly)

Nickolash27

Not surprising you thought there wasn't much to do in Napier if you only spent one night there. Napier and surrounds offer plenty - just google it. However the Nelson/Marlborough area (the Sounds especially) probably offer more on balance for the tourist. Ideally do both but if time limited I'd pick Nelson/Marlborough

stockmanjr

Going to be in NZ in Aug curious about how Nelson is during the winter? Would Napier be a better choice? Also any suggestions on bus companies for Millford Sounds? Would love to fly, but it's just too expensive.
Cheers
Howie

Kiwi Flyer

Weather in Nelson in winter is generally fine and cool. It is sheltered from most directions.

knoydart

Just be aware the drive from Queenstown to Greymouth is a big day on the road. Going up to Able Tasman is a very decent stretch and there are some great spots you will miss out if all you are doing is trying to get to the next place eg one of the Glaciers, pancake rocks, Ross.

It might be worth an extra day in the Able Tasman too. You will see more and the further north in the park, the less people you will encounter (generally). Your idea of heading across to Marlborough is good, and you have the options of popping into the Sounds too. You could even go on the ferry to Wellington to take in a few more sights and fly north from the capital (and have a day here looking at Cuba St, Te Papa and so on).

PsiFighter37

+1...I did Franz Josef to Queenstown in one day, and that was nearly 5 hours without stops (we did a few hours of hiking in Mt. Aspiring National Park and stopped in Wanaka for snacks and wine). Greymouth is an additional 1-1.5 hours north from Franz Josef. I was exhausted by the end of that day.

SuperDudley

We've actually altered our itinerary so we won't be going up the west side of the south island. After Milford track we fly into Christchurch on that Friday. Saturday morning we take the train up the east side of the coast to Picton. We'll pick up a rental car in Picton and stay at Able Tasman for two nights. We then depart from Nelson and fly into Taupo where we will spend two nights near Tongariro and then we will go to Napier for two nights before heading home.

Doc Savage

French restaurant Le Garde-Manger in Auckland CBD.

I serendipitously ran across a fantastic little French restaurant while walking back to my hotel last night in Auckland. Great ambiance, a cute little place, and fantastic food at reasonable prices. It was so good I had to come back for another steak au champignons tonight. It's weird, the place is stuck in the middle of a row of Asian take out type places. And the food is soooo good!

https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/Restau...h_Island.html#

Cheers,

Doc