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New Zealand in 11 days; a trip report from my January 2004 visit! I'm breaking it up into sections since FT has a character limit (and to make it easier to read). This is Section 1 obviously.

Reason for trip to New Zealand: attend a friend’s wedding; stay over another 10days on holiday. Other than booking award for F on Air New Zealand & redeeming an award at Auckland Hilton, I did no advance planning (very unlike me, & not something I’d really recommend to others).

Got to LAX 2 hours before flight time to Auckland. Checked into F Class line on ANZ. I was in great mood – going to New Zealand, flying First. Yipee! The folk in front of me were a family of 5: 2 parents, & 3 screaming/kicking kids running around passengers in the F & C line (and they also had 20 pieces of luggage!). The mother said to me – I’m too tired to deal w/ them – and I’m thinking what, the rest of us passengers are supposed to? I’m not exaggerating – screaming/kicking kids. And they’re in the F line – crap. It’s going to be a long-g-g flight, and I’m not talking flight time.

Anyway, they leave – I check in – and thanks to $5 to the skycap I go to the front of the TSA line for luggage screening (the queue was really long; $5 well spent) & then head over to people screening, which goes quickly. Go from there to ANZ lounge. It’s VERY crowded – not a sep F lounge, but just some Reserved cards at one end of the lounge. I just guessed that the reserved cards were for F passengers; don't really know, but that's where I sat, read & had a glass of champagne.

Unlike most US airline clubs, this one has free internet-terminal access (multiple terminals) & nice free booze. Which is good (the former), cuz I realized on way to airport that I forgot MrStarAlliance’s phone # (not to mention bride’s # - yikes). Luckily I had an FTer’s # on my cell phone from a trip he did to LA. I called him & asked him to email another FTer to email me (hope you can follow that!) MrStarAlliance’s #. Both FTers come through and by the time I get to the ANZ lounge, the email w/ MrStarAlliance’s # is waiting for me. I guess on the bride’s email address, email her & ask her to call Auckland Hilton & email me (guessed right; thank goodness).

So get on board plane (everyone boards same door I think) & head front. Lots of room in the F cabin, even though no sleeper suites (F class is full). ANZ could probably retrofit to fit in sleeper suites. It takes a bit of adjustment for me, cuz I’m used to UA & LH First & a lot of things/controls are in the seat/arm on UA/LH F seats, and these seats don’t have as many (ie, individual movies are on a separate portable player instead of built into the seat).

For someone who asked me, if I had to choose btwn F & C, I'd still go F. But hey, if C is all you can get on award still beats E.

FA comes up & offers champagne (other drinks too) & puts out little dish of dried fruit. I’m not a dried fruit person so leave that aside, but suck up the champers. No amenity kit yet (they have them), which I like to get right away cuz I like to get settled in while on the ground. FA explains movies & another one comes around to chat about meals. Order meals. Get amenity kit about 20-30 minutes after take off.

Meals follow (and then continuation of report right after meals):

Dinner…

Appetiser
• Blue crab cakes – with vine ripened tomato, fennel and paprika aioli
• Baked goat cheese – with almond and apricot in filo; melon and kiwifruit vinaigrette

Soup
• Tortilla soup

Main Selections
• Sauteed john dory – with crab and caviar; chardonnay watercress tomato sauce
• Pan seared New Zealand lamb cutlets – with almond saffron rice cake and spinach flan with mild curry cilantro mint sauce
• Chilled salad of white hickory smoked breast of chicken – with tropical fruit and Californian field salad; passion fruit lime vinaigrette

Vegetarian Choice
• Wild mushroom ravioli – with grilled fennel, aromatic vegetables and tomato saffron broth

Salad
• freshly tossed salad offered with your choice of roquefort dressing or extra-virgin olive oil & balsamic vinaigrette (you may choose this either as a side salad to accompany your main selection or as a separate course)

Desserts
• Apricot pistachio Bavarian cream
• Organic ice cream selection with fresh berries

Cheese and fruit
• A selection of fine New Zealand cheese and seasonal fruit

Booze:

I’m not listing all the hard liquors; assume they’re the best.

White Wine
• Mt. Pleasant Lovedale Semillon 1997 New South Wales Australia
• Forrest Estate Riesling 2001 Marlborough New Zealand
• Mt. Difficulty Chardonnay 2001 Central Otago New Zealand
• Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2002 Marlborough New Zealand

Red Wine
• Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 2001 Martinborough New Zealand
• Mills Reef Eslpeth Cabernet Merlot 2000 Hawkes Bay New Zealand
• Kilikanoon covenant Shiraz 1998 Clare Valley, South Australia

Dessert Wine
• Vidal Reserve Noble Semillon 1998 Hawkes Bay New Zealand

Champagne (my personal fav of the trip )
• Moet et Chandon Dom Perignon 1995

Breakfast…

Appetiser
• Fresh fruit selection – with assorted cereals & yoghurts; low fat cottage cheese is available

Main Selections
• Egg beater omelette – with ham, spinach, cheese and fresh herbs, served with rosti potato and roma tomato
• Belgian waffles – strawberries, dark maple syrup and freshly whipped banana cream
• Herb scrambled eggs – with sun-dried tomato sausage, bacon, tomato and asparagus
• Egg frittata – with mushroom, tomato, onion, zucchini and potato with bell pepper, served with oyster mushrooms and asparagus

Bakery selection
• Warm croissants, white and wholemeal toast – with assorted conserves

I’ve heard fab things about F ANZ service & was expecting something truly truly outstanding. It was no extra great shakes – or nothing more fab than UA or LH does, so I’d call it even on the service (it wasn't poor service; just regular service; FAs were pleasant). Also, one small thing (it’s a me thing, can’t speak for others): I like my water refreshed at seat. I went to sleep w/ glass empty & woke up 7 hours later – with glass still empty. Granted they had water at the FA station, but it’s easier to have them pass through occasionally & fill it up, especially since I was in F. But that’s just me.

BTW - turns out the unruly family were not in F (yeah!). They were in C, and evidently just before I arrived to check in, the agent working the F line didn't have anyone & so waved them over to the F line.

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So land on time at 5:15am. Go through customs & get luggage. BTW – they take the 'don’t bring fruits/vegetables' etc seriously here; you have to declare everything, detailed questions (the canned stuff my friend asked me to bring was ok), & go through some type of machine. Stop off at duty free – (wow, do they have a lot of stores!), to pick up stuff that friend asked me to get. Get cash at ATM after exiting duty free.

Read another FTer’s report that he did Airbus to town so decide to do that (BIG mistake, at least for me), which picks up outside of international. The other shuttles (ie, Super Shuttle) go out of domestic (1km away from intl). So ask the Airbus driver – going to Hilton? – he says yes; I think good deal. Well, 1 hour later – he drops me off several blocks away from Hilton & points it out at the end of the pier.

Needless to say, I’m a bit upset. I don’t want to be dropped blocks away – I’m thinking directly outside the front door of the hotel like any other service I’ve ever taken (and all the other passengers got dropped directly in front of their hotels; think it's only the Hilton Airbus doesn't stop in front of).

We get into a bit of a row – my point being he should have told me at the airport that he wasn’t stopping directly in front of the hotel & I’d have a walk, and I could have made the decision then to stay w/ Airbus, switch to Super Shuttle or take a cab, as I had a ton of luggage. He doesn’t care, is laughing at me & saying rude things (and this is an example of the friendly Kiwis???) & tells me to get off his bus. I do & it’s a long, UGLY walk to the hotel. Besides my having a lot of luggage (packed last minute), I’m also carrying over stuff for my other friend that she can’t get in NZ, so we’re talking about 30-32kg of luggage - on my shoulder, for several blocks. NOT a happy camper!!!!!!!

A block or so away from Hilton some guy sees me struggling & offers to help (making up for ...... driver); we get close enough to Hilton bellman for me to wave. The bellmen were fab – as were all the Hilton staff. Check in at 7am-ish. Room not ready cuz previous tenant still in it. But they say immediately - would you like to use the gymnasium – we have a shower in there. So – since my luggage hadn’t been checked yet, I pulled out my workout clothes, went up & did an hour on the treadmill & then took a shower (they have full bathroom facilities – 2 of them – in the health club; the Hilton offers the bathrooms to those who can’t check in yet; you don’t need to use the health club).

So go back downstairs – room still not ready. mjm had gifted me a dolphin excursion cert, so walked over to see if the cert will work (it does), so schedule Monday. Then walk up Queen St & find a cheap internet-café (it’s about a block & a half up from Queen/Quay-down an alley next to Louis Vuitton: Click Internet Café, F2, 95 Queent St., phone 09 307 0009). $2NZ/hour – and broadband. My new home away from home – and would you believe, they even have a frequent I-net program! Online for an hour or so, then off to other places to check out travel options. Stopped at ANZ ticket office; guy doesn't know exchange rate as he said I'd get 50% discount on tickets & didn't mention that if I booked at TO/human, there's a service charge vs on the web where there isn't. Also checked out train schedule for wedding.

Get back to hotel at noon, room not ready but they offer me another one. Turns out it’s nicer. Closer to end of pier (the Hilton is at the end of a pier overlooking the harbor) & bigger room. The staff told me rooms on lower levels are bigger than upper floors; I looked from balcony & balcony below me is slightly out from mine, so think that’s true. BTW – for those who wonder, I was in room 409. Also, staff told me rooms ending in 05, 06, 07 are FAB. I don’t think you want to go past 09 cuz the view isn’t as great.

Unpack, and my shoulders are killing me. Weather looks sucky, as though it’s going to rain. I decide to get a massage (in the forlorn hope of getting shoulders better), but go to the reasonable price place (X-Factor: $55US w/ tip) on same pier as hotel. It’s ok, but no great shakes. I probably should have gone to Spa De Seville also on same pier as hotel (2x the price but more like a full-service LA spa which I’m used to).

So after I come out, weather is better. Head over to Viaduct Harbor (America’s Cup Village) & wander around there. Decide to go to Maritime Museum ($12NZ, which is also there. Actually much more interesting & bigger than I thought. Would recommend going there.

Leave the museum & start thinking of dinner/also getting tired. My Auckland friend said “White”, the hotel restaurant, is actually one of the better restaurants in Auckland, so I decide to do that. Go to my room & change. Have a glass of champagne in the bar (downstairs ground floor; surrounded by windows, white area, great views) & then head upstairs to White.

Loved White!!! Go up – ceiling to floor windows – 3 out of 4 windows – views of harbor – it was great. Service was fabulous. I didn’t know NZ wines, so asked & they sent over sommelier (who’s from France) & we sorted out food/wine. I had an appetizer before meal, then meal, then fab cheese plate for dessert. And dif wine w/ each course. BTW - White is not cheap but if you're going to splurge for one meal, it's worth it.

Head to room – the room is fab. My room overlooks the harbor. I can literally sit in bed & look out & that’s my view. Life is good. King bed. Modern coverings. White (blond wood) furniture. Huge bathroom – sep shower & tub & everything else. The hotel changed from Cat 3 to 5 (they listened to FTers bragging about what a great deal it was at 3 & upped it, I think!). I don’t want to leave. I’m using a 4-night award stay; Hilton honored the 3 cert cuz it was when I booked it, although it switched to 5. It really is a 5 – and is really a boutique hotel. Obviously I liked it quite a bit. Didn’t like no exec lounge though or breakfast cert, but knew from FT not to expect either. Slept through the night.

BTW - not sure where to plug this in, but pretty much everywhere takes credit cards. Something different from the US - they have a machine where they swipe the card & then turn it to you to plug in your pin #. In US we don't need pin # to use c.c. (which surprised the various clerks), but they have a button they push that presumably says no pin # needed.

Next day was wedding day, so only had ½ day to play. Took ferry to Devonport ($8NZ-12 minute ferry ride; nice view of Auckland skyline on the ride to/from). Walked through town which is cute. Also went to the museums there (doesn’t take long). Headed back to city & had that inbtwn time of not enough to go somewhere, so read the paper & just looked out over the harbor from my balcony. Took train to Papakura & attended wedding. It was at friend’s house, which is 3 lots (evidently 2 more than normal). Reception in 2 of 3 lots – beautiful English-like garden. Nice reception. Stayed late – towards end felt some insects biting.

SkiAdcock

Got up the next morning & now had shoulders hurting so bad I wanted to shoot myself (from schlepping luggage). And I had 50+ insect bites - my legs looked like I had measles! Geesh.

Anyway, went via bus to the Auckland Museum (got a day pass I think; can't quite remember). The bus stops a couple of blocks from the museum & it's not visible from the bus stop, so you might want to ask the driver or someone wandering which street to walk up to it.

Great museum. Watched the Maori show. I thought it was interesting & learned a bit (now I understand some of the stuff in the Whale Rider movie!), but it was a little bit cheesy with some of the staging/stuff done for the show (realize it’s for tourists, so not a big slam). Basically went through all the levels of the museum, from maori treasures gallery to natural history to the war section. Wasn’t as much art as I anticipated there would be given it’s a museum. But I really liked it & would definitely recommend folk go when they’re in Auckland. There was also some kind of live puppet thing (well, human puppets crawling down the columns to some tonal music) going on whilst I was there.

If you sign up for the Maori show ($15NZ), entry to the museum is included. Otherwise, it's a separate smaller entry fee. Think the Maori show occurs 3x/day.

Then on the bus to the Auckland Art Gallery ($7NZ). This actually has two sections – the Main Gallery & directly across the street the New Gallery. More art here of all types. I preferred the Main Gallery. Entry fee gets you into both galleries.

Then I walked to the Sky Tower, where of course you get panoramic views of Auckland. I paid the extra to go to the Sky Deck ($16NZ), and would encourage others to do the same. Think it’s only a couple dollar difference (ie, $14NZ w/o). The views are better & there are a lot less people – that alone makes it worth it. You take the elevator to the main observation level & switch to another elevator (showing your pass) to get to the Sky Deck. There’s a sign (on main observation deck) that will let you know when folk are free-falling & you see them plummet past.

Walked back to the hotel area & looked for place to eat. Wildfire at the head of the pier had been recommended, so I ate there. Don’t bother – service sucked & food was mediocre. Only pro was it was next to some of the sailboats/maritime museum, so view nice. Stopped at liquor store on way back to hotel to buy a bottle of wine figuring a glass from that in room would be cheaper than bar or room service.

As a side note, I didn’t figure out until the end of the trip that tipping is not the norm in New Zealand, so throughout my trip I was making waiters/waitresses very happy doing the 15% American thing.

Next day was Dolphin Day. It’s basically a day trip out into the ocean to see & swim w/ dolphins (if you’re lucky). If you don’t see them, then you get a cert for another trip (which is how I got the cert, from mjm). You book at the end of the pier (near Queen/Quay). Going from memory here, but think it’s called Dolphin Explorer. The boat is run by a group that does oceanograpic study, and presumably the fees help underwrite that study. I don't know what the actual fee is because I was using the cert & there wasn't a $$-amount listed. I don't think it's cheap, but it's certainly worth it.

You get a lot of the do’s/don’ts before leaving. Had sunscreen & was good about putting it on, but alas, missed spots on back (the downside of traveling alone) which resulted in MAJOR sunburn on my back in those spots (where I did use sunscreen was fine). OUCH for days.

The boat was full up w/ folk. I sat next to a couple from the Netherlands who had been traveling around New Zealand for a month, and were heading back to Netherlands the next day. The day was gorgeous; sunny, warm, nice breeze, etc. Glad I got to meet the Dutch couple; otherwise, would have been more solitary. I think I was the only one who had booked the tour that was a single. So we went out quite a ways but no dolphins, & were on the way back when – success! A school of them along w/ some baby dolphins. Because we were supposed to be back by a certain time & we saw the dolphins pretty late into the trip, they decided to put us all into the water at once (they normally only do 4-5 people at a time in the water w/ the dolphins). They provide flippers & face masks. The water was a good temp, and it was cool to touch the dolphins, but they didn’t stick around very long – probably too many folk. BTW – even if you don’t see dolphins, still worse ways to spend a day. It was quite enjoyable. Thanks mjm for the cert!

After the boat returned to dock, the Netherlands couple came over to the Hilton with me & we had a glass of wine on my balcony. They took off for their last dinner in New Zealand, and since I was hot, tired, and sunburned, I decided to stay in & do room service. Had a good risotto & glass of wine. Called MrStarAlliance, as I was heading his way the next day. He faxed directions.

Due to attending wedding & dolphin day, there were some things I missed at Auckland, so will save those for a future trip. Would also like to get out to Waiheke Island & those vineyards . And for whoever asked me, yes there is a casino, although I didn't go.

SkiAdcock

The next day I took Super Shuttle out to the airport area to pick up my rental car. Yes, I’d been talked into actually driving a rental car on the ‘wrong’ side of the road! However, not being totally stoo-pid I went with an automatic. I used a car rental agency that has locations in all the major New Zealand cities (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurc, Queenstown, Greymouth, Picton).

The manager of the Auckland branch was a guest at the wedding I attended, and his firm's rates were better than I could get w/ Avis, Hertz, etc. The car rental agency was 'About New Zealand'; freephone: 0800 45 55 65. Local # if you're calling from US +64 (0) 9 256 9016.

BTW – insurance is embedded into car rental rates in New Zealand. It’s not an option like it is in the US. Also, they don't ask re: econ, fullsize, luxury car etc, but liter size car you want. I had no idea what that meant, so just told him the type of car I rent in the US & he figured it out for me/gave me an appropriate car size.

My rate was $55NZ/day inclusive for the size car I had. Not sure what weekly rates were since I was renting for 2 days on the North Island and 2 days on the South Island, or what rates were for other size cars. I actually did the paperwork/paid for both car rentals at one time, so I didn't need to do that when I picked up the other car in Queenstown.

Drove to Waitomo Caves to MrStarAlliance’s home. It’s a few hours from Auckland. Was interesting when first starting out to figure out which were the slow & fast lanes (reversed from America), and the speed limit. At the beginning you need to concentrate a bit more to make sure you're turning into the correct lane. Also doing the round-abouts (luckily I experienced those in New Jersey, so they weren’t completely new to me).

Was given some bits of advice at the wedding, which came in handy. One, keep the lane divider to the right of the drivers seat (d.s. is on the right side of the car) & you’d be in the correct (left) lane. Second, merge right, not left. And if you’re turning left you’re turning into the near lane & if right, the far lane. Not sure that makes sense to anyone else, but it worked for me.

MrStarAlliance’s parents have a B&B in Waitomo, and the family was kind enough to put me up for 2 nights (and his dad gave me fresh aloe from the garden for my sunburned back!). They’ve got a lovely view from the house, and his family are the nicest folks. MrStarAlliance & I went to Waitomo to eat at the café there, and ran into his cousin, Kristians. We decided that Kristians would take me to the Natural Bridge and the Marakopa Falls while MrStarAlliance was in a meeting . It was quite a lovely drive through the forest, natural bridge (natural stone; not really a bridge but they call it that), and the Marakopa Falls.

Then MrStarAlliance, his friend Tara, and I went to Aranui Cave & took a tour. I’ve been in cave tours before and this was very similar to the ones I’ve been on in the U.S. Afterwards, I found out you can do rafting or something through them.

Had dinner at MrStarAlliance’s house, and then we did a tour of Waitomo Glowworm Caves. WC is pretty cool. Basically most of the tour is done in the dark so you can see the glow of the worms. Part of it is via land & part by sea (ok, kidding on the last part, but you are in a boat). The Cathedral section of the caves they’ve had concerts at before such as the Vienna Boys Choir, which is pretty neat.

The next day MrStarAlliance, Tara, and I drove to Rotorua, which was a couple of hours away. There are sulfur springs (which Rotorua is known for) & you basically smell them as soon as you come into town. After lunch in town at Capers, we went to Whakarerera ($19.95NZ) & followed along on one of the tours, which is a combo of going through a reconstruction of Maori Village and near the geysers. The geyser did its thing while we were there, which was cool.

After leaving Whakarerera, we headed over to the Rotorua luge/Skyline gondola ($17NZ). We took the gondola up to the top (great views of Lake Rotorua), and then did the luge thing down. I’d never been on one before. It was fun! MrStarAlliance and Tara went again while I shopped in the gift shop for Xmas stocking stuffers – everyone needs mud soap, don’t they?

We drove back to MrStarAlliance’s house, stopping off to gas up the car (prices are much higher than the US), get a bottle of wine, and yes, we went around one roundabout, around & around & around - have to do that at least once . Then he & I spent the evening online figuring out the rest of my trip, as I was going to fly to the South Island the next day (talk about leaving your booking until the last minute!) but didn’t have hotel or air yet.

I booked the flights on the Air New Zealand NZ site (vs U.S.) & was able to get the currency exchange differential (NZ $$ about 28% less than US), which made up a bit for the last minute pricing. Actually the prices were pretty good, even last-minute, except for the flight back from Queenstown to Auckland. In order to make the connection to my flight back to LAX, I had to be on a certain flight & that fare was really really really high (found out later there was a football tourney in town). I made sure I booked the fare levels on all 3 legs that would get me UA mileage. Then he & I sorted out hotels for Christchurch, Te Anau, and Queenstown.

SkiAdcock

So the next day I drove back to Auckland and flew to Christchurch. When you're checking for internal NZ flights, you don't have to be there as early as you do in the US. Also, I used the Elite line since I was *Gold. I had been a bit worried that I'd get hammered on luggage weight, but MrStarAlliance & I had printed out from the ANZ site the part about *Gold getting higher weight limits (and bag #). Either they already knew or didn't care; never came up on any of the flights.

Being *Gold, I had access to the Air New Zealand lounges. They’re nicer than UA RCCs – lots of free booze, food (pasta, salad, salami, real cheese, not just nuts & muffins) and free Internet terminals. Yipee! So I had a bite to eat, a glass of wine & checked email. Also checked at the Christchurch club when I arrived (and unknowingly left my paper F ticket; more on that later).

The flight was relatively short & uneventful. The intra-island flights are 737s (at least the ones I was on) w/ no F. Haven’t been in economy in years! They’ve very well-organized. Some of the flights are short enough they barely have time to do a coffee service. They hand you a covered cup (w/ Lord of the Rings characters on the outside; I got to look at Viggo Mortensen) & inside are the ‘works’ (coffee, cream, etc), so they basically pour & move on. And while I normally don’t do window seats, everyone suggested on my intra-island flights that I do so, so I did and was glad I did. One of the things that still amazes me about New Zealand is how green & blue/aquamarine everything is. I had great views on all 3 flights.

Took Super Shuttle to the hotel. The shuttles are interesting in that they have a trailer attached that the luggage goes in & the people get in the van (different from the US where all gets crammed into one). Took about 20 minutes from airport to hotel.

I stayed at the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza (rate was $130NZ+tax internet saver rate; www.crowneplaza.com), which was the former Hotel Inter-Continental. It got rave reviews in the Frommer’s guide, but to me was a regular business hotel & nothing extra-special to distinguish it (for those who don't travel a lot, it might be a bigger deal). It does have multiple restaurants & bars & a large atrium area. It overlooks Victoria Square. I wandered around in the afternoon, first at VS and then moved on.

I headed out to Cathedral Square, which is one of the main areas and the Christchurch Cathedral is there, along w/ some modern sculpture thing (which makes a good combo picture).

I went over to the Botanic Gardens, which of course are lovely and definitely worth a stroll through. MrStarAlliance’s uncle lives in Christchurch (he was visiting Waitomo when I was there), and suggested I do this ‘punting’ ($30NZ) thing through the Botanic Gardens, which the hotel set up for me. Think Venice, gondola, poling along, and you’ve got the idea. Quite lovely; felt like I was in Merchant & Ivory movie! And getting fab pictures – and then the camera died just as a baby duck came right up to the boat. Drat. Went to the Canterbury Museum afterwards.

The next day I worked out at the hotel health club, and then headed over to the new Christchurch Art Gallery and wandered around Cathedral Square again (where I found a battery for the camera). I quite liked the CAG and would definitely recommend a visit. Then it was back to the hotel to check out, where I discovered that I’d left my airline tickets, etc, somewhere (at that point I didn’t know where) and instantly panicked.

Called Air New Zealand & said please tell me I have an e-ticket for my flight back to LAX. Nope, a paper. Oh no. Explain what happened, and ask what do I do now. They pull up the records & say, your ticket’s been found at the Christchurch ANZ Club. Pick it up when you get there. Thank you, hang up phone, & practically collapse from relief!! Get to airport check-in, & they too tell me the ticket’s been found, & to go to the club. Do that; same gents are on duty from the day before & they remember me & hand the packet over.

What really impressed me was (in addition to getting it back) is that the F ticket was on a total different reservation than the ones I’d made online. If they only went by the ticket they found, you’d expect them to send it back to Auckland for me to get there. But they actually found my other reservation & knew I’d be coming back to the Christchurch airport, and held it there. Way to go ANZ! Am going to write them a very complimentary letter.

SkiAdcock

So have a quick drink before heading to flight to Queenstown. The plane was packed since it had some of the teams in the tourney on-board. Flight over to Queenstown I was told to get a window & the view of Mt. Cook was very cool, as well as some of the lakes. Get to Queenstown & take 15minute shuttle ride ($18NZ) to my hotel, the Heritage. Got the Holiday Package rate of $155NZ, which included breakfast and tax.

Heritage has hotels in different parts of New Zealand, and I heard they're all quite nice. If I hadn't been going for the Crowne Plaza points, I would have probably stayed at the Heritage in Christchurch. Toll free # is 0800 368 888; local # +64 (0) 3 442 4988; www.heritagehotels.co.nz

Quite liked the Heritage; reminded me of hotel at a ski resort. Room was fab!! My room overlooked the pool area & the woods. There was a health club (no treadmill though), pool & jacuzzi.

I’d heard that a) Queenstown is the sports capital of the world, and b) it’s got a fabulous gondola. The Heritage has passes/bus schedule that provide free rides on the town bus, so I took that & headed to the Gondola.

And of course the view was as fab as folk said it would be, and it is really high up there. If you've got a problem w/ heights, this might be tough for you. But if not, great views.

There’s also the bungee-jumping thing of course (I didn’t do), and there was some type of show at the top, which I didn’t make it to. You can also do para-sailing, jetskiing, lake boat ride, etc, which I didn't since I was by myself & on limited time.

Wandered around town (reminds me of ski resort town) and then headed back to the hotel, and had a drink on the balcony overlooking the lake & the mountains (called The Remarkables). Decided to eat at the hotel, but rather than eat in the restaurant ate at a table in the bar & just relaxed/had a nice meal/read a book. Then back to the room, which was great. Loved the bed.

The next day the car rental agency delivered a car to the hotel (there was a bit of a mix-up; they thought I was coming to the agency & I’d been told they’d deliver it; I won). So after breakfast at the hotel I drove to Te Anau as it was on the way to Milford Sound and I’d been told it would break up the trip.

It didn’t take as long to get to Te Anau as I expected (couple of hours I think); nice drive. As you exit Queenstown, you drive along a lake on one side (big big lake) and mountains on the other, then get into plains area w/ mountains in the distance.

I was staying at a small motel there – the Kingsgate Hotel Te Anau. Rate was $120NZ (including tax). Telephone is +64 (0) 3 249 7421. www.kingsgagehotels.co.nz. They don’t really have hotels in Te Anau; basically motels or B&Bs. After I checked in, walked up the steps w/ luggage to 2nd floor (no elevator) & dropped my stuff in the room (what a contrast to the Heritage), I headed to town. Having said that the place isn't a dump, so no worries there & the staff is really nice. It's just a basic motel, although one w/ bar & restaurant. It was on the main street running along the lake.

BTW - Kingsgate is owned by the same hotel holding company that owns the Millennium & Copthorne hotel chains in New Zealand.

There’s not a lot of anything in Te Anau. Even stretching it out (I actually wandered through the grocery stores), it doesn’t take long to get through town. Since the motel didn’t have a health club, I changed & decided to walk for an hour or so along the lake, which was pleasant. I also called & made reservations for the Milford Sound cruise, including stopping at the underwater station (not offered w/ every cruise time).

There are only a few restaurants in town & they were full, so I just headed back to the hotel & ate dinner there. They gave me a good table overlooking the lake. Evidently this hotel gets a lot of ‘tours’ so the restaurant was quite busy w/ the bus people (German I think). Back to room & watched telly/read book.

I was originally scheduled to stay another night in Te Anau (ie, after coming back from Milford Sound), but I decided I can’t take 2 days of this (boring) & would rather face a long drive. So I called the Heritage & booked a room ($130NZ - w/o bkfst; the bkfst wasn’t worth the $25NZ). The Kingsgate staff were quite nice, and cancelled out the 2nd night with no penalty.

SkiAdcock

Next day I wake up – this is Milford Sound day! Hmm, bit gray & overcast. The bus is loading, and I go around them. As I drive towards Milford Sound, the gray & overcast turns to rain. Then it turns to torrential rain! I keep driving but I’m thinking to myself, is this worth doing, will I see anything, I don’t have any rain clothes with me, etc. But I decide to push on.

As you get closer to Milford Sound, there are zillions (NOT exaggerating) of waterfalls due to rain, etc. Arrive, & parking is about a 5-minute walk from the ferry station. I’m drenched by the time I arrive.

I get to the Milford Sound Red Boat Cruise desk ($66NZ). Toll-free 0800/657 444 or +64 (0) 3 441 1137, where I have a reservation. While agent’s looking me up, I mention – wow, first day of rain in New Zealand – wasn’t expecting it. She looks at me like I’m a dodo bird & says sarcastically, well you are in a rainforest, what did you expect. a) I didn’t know that; b) I was a bit taken aback & almost cancelled going at that point. Geesh. But I decided to go on.

Since it was raining heavily, at first the few of us actually on the boat stayed inside while we headed out into the sound, but there were points of interest & we’d venture outside periodically to see/take pictures (where we were nearly blown overboard by the gusting winds – no exaggeration!). We get to the end of the bay/sound & were going out into the ocean, but our captain’s talking to a ocean cruise ship captain who can’t get in because the seas are so high, so our captain turns around. We stop at this underwater station, which is cool cuz you get to see things in their natural habitat several feet underwater (and no movement to indicate what’s happening topside). If you do the cruise, get the one that makes this stop. The cruise is about 1hr, 45minutes long I think.

So at the end of the cruise, while still gray, it’s stopped raining (yeah; put away the cheap plastic raincoat that I bought at an inflated price), and head back. By this time, the ferry station is actually getting quite busy w/ busloads of tourists from all over the world arriving.

Since I can now see better since there’s no torrential downpour to obscure the view, I decide to stop by points of interest on the drive back & take pictures. Then I noticed the busload of German tourists (the same ones from my hotel the night before!) was making the same stops (which told me I was instinctively picking the good spots). As I drove out of the sound/national park, the sun came out and I had beautiful sunshine all the way back to Queenstown. Nice drive, with plains & mountains & then as you get closer to Queenstown gorgeous lake & mountains. Also saw some sheep; guess a trip to New Zealand wouldn’t be complete without them!

BTW - Te Anau & one other place (some itty bitty town) are about the only places you can get gas btwn Milford Sound & Queenstown, so make sure you gas up at appropriate time. It was about $45NZ every time I filled up the cars.

It’s late afternoon when I arrive back to Queenstown, so I head to town, wander around, eat (can’t remember where), and then head back to hotel for after dinner-drink & stay in my lovely room (facing woods; I left the windows open).

The next morning it’s raining/gusty again, and I drop the car off at the agency/get a ride to the airport. Check in & am directed to the ‘club’, which is really a waiting room with o.j./water as Queenstown airport is very small (if you’ve been to Aspen Colorado before, about the same size). The flight’s delayed due to weather so we’re there a bit (but luckily I had time to make my connection, since I took the early flight in order to meet up w/ my friend who got married in Auckland). They call us on & provide umbrellas for us to get to the plane. It’s packed full due to the football teams, and also the folk from the ocean cruise ship that couldn’t get in (they did later) to the sound when I was on my cruise. They were a group from Stanford University doing an alumni tour. I had a window seat w/ lovely views, but with no Economy Plus two hours is about the longest length of time I want to be in economy.

Meet my girlfriend at the Auckland airport, pay the airport exit tax ($25NZ; can be charged to c.c.), and have a quick bite to eat at the airport. She heads off & I head to the ANZ First lounge, which has my beloved champagne & also an Internet terminal (I thought I was going to have to go into the main lounge, but F lounge had one terminal). The flight was a bit delayed, so stayed there & some of the folk who were in the lounge in Queenstown were in the F lounge, so chatted w/ them a bit.

SkiAdcock

The flight back experience-wise was about the same as the way over. Board, pre-departure drinks (can’t remember what the little food thing was this direction, but I remember I ate it), and amenity kit not given until 20-30minutes after take-off (I really wish they’d give it to you when you board). Same service, etc. Good but not earth-shattering. And again, no refill on water unless I went to the FA station (which again, given it was F, you’d think you wouldn’t have to do). Got another 7 hours of sleep in. Meals below with continuation of report afterwards.

Dinner meal…

Appetiser
• Tasting plate - of Marlborough smoked salmon, seared tuna with caponata salad, and marinated king prawn on linguini
• Warmed crumbed artichoke hearts – filled with five cheese gnocchi, served on romesco sauce with mizuna salad and sherry vinaigrette

Soup
• Sweet corn, chili and basil soup

Main Selections
• Pan seared beef tenderloin – with duxelle, horseradish and parsley brioche crust, rosemary and garlic potatoes, shallots and green beans
• Bacon wrapped chicken medallions – filled with basil and sage pesto, served on tomato herb risotto with rocket and fresh shaved parmesan
• Herb marinated New Zealand snapper – with grilled scallops, baby leeks, scalloped potatoes with celeriact and lemon beurre blanc

Vegetarian Choice
• Roasted pumpkin, red pepper and sweet potato timbale – served with fennel and salad greens on roasted red pepper and thyme sauce

Salad
• Freshly tossed salad offered with your choice of aioli dressing or extra-virgin olive oil and red wine vinaigrette (you may choose this either as a side salad to accompany your main selection or as a separate course)

Desserts
• Chocolate raspberry macaroon tart – with raspberry coulis and vanilla king ice cream
• Kapiti fig and honey ice cream and boysenberry ice cream log – with spiced fig, pear and ginger compote

Cheese an Fruit – a selection of fine New Zealand cheese & seasonal fruit

Booze:

White Wine
• Montana Res Barrique Fermented Chardonnay 2001 Marlborough New Zealand
• Mt Pleasant Lovedale Semillon 1997 New South Wales Australia
• Palliser Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2002 Martinborough New Zealand
• Framingham Dry Riesling 2001 Marlborough New Zealand

Red Wine
• Mills Reef Elspeth Cabernet Merlot 2000 Hawkes Bay New Zealand
• Nevis Bluff Pinot Noir 2001 Central Otago New Zealand
• Kilikanoon Covenant Shiraz 1998 Clare Valley South Australia

Dessert Wine
• Vidal Reserve Noble Semillon 1998 Hawkes Bay New Zealand

Champagne
• Moet et Chandon Dom Perignon 1995

Breakfast

Appetiser
• Fresh fruit selection – with assorted cereals and organic yoghurt

Main Selections
• Three egg tomato omelette – filled with fresh tomato concasse and chives, served with asparagus and Lyonnaise potatoes
• Poached eggs with hollandaise – sauce, English muffin, grilled ham and Roma tomatoes
• Creamy scrambled eggs – with seared salmon, wilted spinach and toasted brioche
• Field mushroom ragout – with Roma tomatoes and grilled Canadian bacon

Bakery Selection – warm croissants, muffins, white and wholemeal toast with assorted conserves

Landed on time, made it through customs w/ no problem (didn’t really buy anything; jade’s big in New Zealand but I’m not a jade person), headed home & unpacked, and then took my 12 rolls of film to the developer to have them developed. The pictures are still sitting in a box, but they’re gorgeous & it’s my intent to get them in the photo albums within the next few weeks.

I LOVED my trip to New Zealand, would heartily recommend it to others, and certainly hope to visit it again as there's lots more I want to see that I didn't have time for on this trip!

Kiwi Flyer

Great report ^ ^ ^

Glad you enjoyed your time in NZ.

Fliar

Fab report - great job!

MikeLaw

Outstanding report! We're planning much the same trip next April and this one goes in the trip folder for rereading and study. Thanks for taking the time to do it.

fm747

Nice Report! Thanks Sharon.
I spent a week in NZ just a few weeks ago.
Loved the Hilton in Auckland....don't they have a great breakfast?
I had room 709 with a great view too.

mad_atta

Thanks for the report, Sharon - sounds ike it was a great trip. Interesting to hear that NZ's F service wasn't terribly slick. The menus sound nice - how did you find the food service?

Tonymercury

I don't like the spirit of her reply - but it is correct!

As someone once said - the place is created by rain, and if you see it in the rain, you can understand what's happening - but it is also nice to see the sun come out there sometimes.

Tony Bailey

Kiwi Flyer

FYI

NZ Climate data

Milford Sound average annual rainfall 6525mm (about 22 feet!), average raindays 180

These are only averages - can vary substantially, and it is wetter in the surrounding mountains!! But can be gloriously fine too.

I agree it wasnt handled well by the rep.