matthewsoft

Thanks Kiwi Flyer for the tip! I'm assuming by right-hand side, you mean seats in aisle F? I know the right-side looking at the seat map is aisle F, but walking on the plane towards the back it's technically aisle A.

Has anyone flown JetStar or Virgin Blue before? What are the good seats? Right now we are in 2F and 3F.

Kiwi Flyer

Yes F seats (if on 737 or A320).

matthewsoft

Thanks much! I'm on the JetStar A320.

I hope there are no "missing windows" in 2F or 3F.

koroleon

OK, I need some last minute advice as I still haven't finalized my plans and I leave for NZ in less than 20 hours... I arrive in Auckland this Friday early in the morning and then fly to Queenstown on Monday. In the meantime, I have this super-ambitious plan for the North Island:

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Friday:
Arrive at Auckland at 5:15. Clear immigration, rent a car (airport or city?), drive to Waitomo, catch a black-water rafting tour (http://www.waitomo.com/cave-tubing.aspx). There are tours at 12, 1:30 and 3, I'm sure I can make one of them. Cost is NZ$100 if I book online. After the tour rest somewhere in the Waitomo area - I plan to stay in hostels.

Saturday:
This worries me the most. I really want to do the Tongariro crossing, but they say it depends on the weather. I looked at this group: http://www.thetongarirocrossing.co.nz/tongariro.htm
In general, do I have to wait until the day of the tour to confirm it or do they let you know in advance? If it doesn't work I guess I'll head to Taupo - I plan to sleep there anyway.

Sunday:
Split time between Taupo and Rotorua. Not sure what exactly to do or where to sleep.

Monday:
Drive back to Auckland and flight to ZQN. Departure is at 12:45 so I'll have to leave very early in the morning in order to do the 3-4hr drive, return the car and check-in.
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I know this is a very hectic program and I wish I had more time, but given my constraints I'll try to pull this off. I'm still not sure about the order of the visits. Maybe I should start with Rotorua and work my way to Waitomo so that I have a shorter drive on Monday. I guess I could even sleep in Hamilton Sunday night. Can anyone comment on traffic conditions on these roads? Worst case I'll drive back to Auckland so that I don't have to worry too much in the morning (now that I think about it, I think it's the best option).

Also, do you think it's better to get a pair of hiking boots before I leave US? I'll do more hikes in the South Island, so they could come in handy.


Even though I'm embarrassed by my lack of proper planning, I'm very excited about this trip and somehow I feel that everything is going to work out in the end!

Kiwi Flyer

You should miss the worst of the holiday weekend traffic (Friday afternoon leaving Auckland and Monday afternoon heading back to Auckland).

Weather forecast can be found on the metservice site, but remember weather forecasting in NZ (especially mountain areas) is notoriously difficult. It has been wet lately with heavy downpours in the northern North Island interspersed with some fine days. Queenstown is very cold with snow on some days - I hope you are flying Air NZ down there (better chance of arriving on the day you booked).

koroleon

Thanks for the info! I do fly Air NZ to ZQN and then back from CHC as you suggested

SB_Travlr

Hi FlyerTalkers
I'm back for some help planning our Great Adventure. (I've posted previously about taking this trip to celebrate our retirement, and you have given some great advice.) We'll have 24 days total in New Zealand.

I've read lots of guide books, TRs and posts, and we have a good idea of where we want to go. We have eliminated some spots to avoid too much churning round the countryside. We're supposed to enjoy this, not make it a race from Cape Reinga to Bluff!

About us: we love to travel, enjoy beautiful scenery, visit vineyards, drink good wine and eat good food. We like art galleries, history, music, and beaches. Stay at nice-but-not-over-the-top hotels and B&Bs, or self-catering apartments or cottages. We like to walk, not hike -- Mr SB's knees not up to that. We'll rent a car as the most practical way to get around.

The plan so far: fly from Melbourne to Auckland at the end of our Australia trip. Spend one night in Auckland.

- Drive to the far north/Bay of Islands area. Where would be the best place to stay for 3 nights -- Kerikeri, Paihia or Russell? We definitely want to do flightseeing trip to Cape Reinga, and probably sailing in Bay of Islands.

- Drive to Rotorua for a couple of nights to experience Maori history and culture, then drive to Wellington for 2 nights.

- Take ferry to Picton, and stay 3 nights in Nelson area -- do a winery tour and water taxi or trip to Abel Tasman. Is Nelson a good central spot to locate for the north coast area of SI?

- Drive to Christchurch for 3 nights -- visit Akaroa, do TranzAlpine trip over Arthur's Pass. Maybe we can work in a sheep station stay here?

- Drive to Dunedin/Otago peninsula area for 2-3 nights. Must see albatross!

- Final driving spurt through the Catlins to Te Anau, and visit the fjords. I think we 'd like to see both Doubtful and Milford sounds -- maybe do the overnight cruise on one or the other? That is still TBD.

Lastly, drive to Queenstown for a flight back to Auckland, then the next day fly back to the US (LAX). Phew!

So -- are we crazy? I know it's a busy schedule, but it does take in the places we most want to see. It may be our only chance, after all.

Your thoughts/alerts/advice are all appreciated. (FYI: I've also gotten good suggestions from Fodors, if this question is sounding familiar!)

kimag

[QUOTE=SB_Travlr;14294186]Hi FlyerTalkers

- Drive to Rotorua for a couple of nights to experience Maori history and culture, then drive to Wellington for 2 nights.

I would recommend skipping Wellington. I didn't really think there was much to see there and the auckland war museum was a lot better than the national museum. You can probably fly from Rotorua to Wellington or somewhere on the south island and rent a car there. Also, NZ has two discount airlines, Virgin Blue and Jetstar (sp?) similar to southwest in the US. You should consider flying from location to location more to save driving time.

- Final driving spurt through the Catlins to Te Anau, and visit the fjords. I think we 'd like to see both Doubtful and Milford sounds -- maybe do the overnight cruise on one or the other? That is still TBD.

The sounds were good and worth a look.

- Lastly, drive to Queenstown for a flight back to Auckland, then the next day fly back to the US (LAX). Phew!

Queenstown is very nice. It is a quaint town with nice scenery. Additionally, i didn't see the glaciers listed. The glaciers were really nice and the highlight of our trip. A heli-hike is expensive but recommended. You are not really hiking but are walking on the glacier.

ASflyer

I recommend skipping Wellington and going to Napier instead, especially if you're interested in wine and good food. We spent four days there in March and really enjoyed the area. Large wineries (Craggy Range) with decent wine and small wineries with exceptional wines (Black Barn). Both wineries also have excellent restaurants. And Napier is a neat little city with art deco architecture. We stayed at the Pebble Beach Hotel, which was very comfortable and right across the street from the ocean.

Our other wine stop was Blenheim where we spent three days exploring wineries and playing golf. Beautiful valley filled with good wine. We stayed in the Springvale Cottage at the St. Clair Winery. The two bedroom cottage was very comfortable with a well equipped kitchen and an outside grill.

We also enjoyed Kaikoura. The peninsula hike was spectacular and not too hard on the knees. There's only one winery there but its worth a visit just to see the view out over the ocean. We spent three nights at the Kaikoura Cottage Motel. Each of the two bedroom cottages have kitchens and comfortable living areas. The owners, who built the cottages and hard working and justly proud of their business.

Have a great trip! I can't wait to visit New Zealand again.

SB_Travlr

Thanks for the replies -- it's tough deciding what to leave out when we really want to see all of it! But that way lies insanity, methinks.

Wan1dap

Hi, in the Bay of Islands I'd recommend Russell, and in particular Russell Cottages (no I have no vested interest - just enjoyed a couple of holidays there). They are self-catering but all the restaurants/shops are within 5 min walk.

broadwayboy

I am still mulling around my itineraries for end of the year. Ticket's booked, but I am still undecided about where to go.

So far, this is what I have... and I have some questions...

Day 1: Arrive at Christchurch. Stay 1 night.
Day 2: Fly to Queenstown. Stay 2 nights.
Day 3: Queenstown (visit Wanaka Lake)
Day 4: Drive to Te Anau. Stay 2 nights.
Day 5: Te Anau.
Day 6: Drive to Milford Sound.
Day 7: Milford Sound.
Day 8: Drive (or fly?) to Dunedin. Stay 1 night.
Day 9: Drive (or fly?) to Christchurch and stay 3 nights.
Day 12: Fly to AKL-return trip.

My questions...
1. Day 4, 5, 6 and 7. Should I just stay put in a B&B in Te Anau and drive to Milford Sound from Te Anau?
2. Day 8: Worth spending a night in Dunedin? Should I extend?
3. Day 9: Better to drive or fly to Christchurch from Dunedin?

Should I add a spot or two for the above itinerary? I don't have a big agenda, but basically try to soak in the views. I also want to visit a sheep farm where they have a show (it's kind of a must, for me).

Thank you in advance!

Wan1dap

broadwayboy: personally I would miss out Dunedin (no offence to DUD-ites!). I would head back from Milford to Queenstown and then head north on highway 8 through Lake Pukaki/Tekapo to Christchurch. Great scenery and beautiful rivers (also couple of trout farms you can visit). In Christchurch a trip to Akaroa is well worthwhile (say 90mins each way). Don't know of a sheep show in the South Island but I'm sure others will. Enjoy the trip!

broadwayboy

Thanks, Wan1dap. I had considered DUNEDIN just because it's the oldest city. Might scrap it now and add other spots.

Does anyone have an opinion which scenic train is considered the nicest? From what I read, it looks like Christchurch-Greysmouth is the one. Any other South Island routing I ought to consider?

Also, is flying into Queenstown considered a must-do? I stumbled another itinerary -- driving from Christchurch to Wanaka then to Queenstown.

acunningham

This is one of the most scenic drives anywhere in the world, and I would definitely recommend it.