JVPhoto

I for sure want to come back. I went to Australia 5x in 3 years so there's no reason to not make it back here in less than the next 2. One of the girls working the Swing is from Sacramento and we talked about skiing in NZ. She said compared to Tahoe or Colorado it's not as good. Part of me wants to come back down to ski but I'm not sure I would want to do the other things (Milford Sound, Chatham Island) in the winter. I really am disappointed I didn't get to do Tongoriro Crossing.

dcmike

Absolutely amazing TR!! Well done!

narvik

Glad you made it to NZ! What a great trip (and great trip report!)

JVPhoto

UGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH Chrome crashed as I had written 3/4 of the next post. Going to Duty Free to buy some wine instead!

janehoya

Always a good idea!

Thanks again for posting this trip report. I've read several Australia/New Zealand TR on FT over the years, and truthfully Australia hasn't really appealed. Though New Zealand (I admit, mostly because of LOTR) has, and your report has totally moved up to the top of my bucket list. Awesome hiking with great food. Your photos are just stunning. I realize you travel a lot, sometimes for short times, but for a family that is unlikely to go to New Zealand more than once and want to see it all, how many days would you recommend please?

JVPhoto

ZQN to AKL & 24h in Auckland

The domestic/regional Air NZ lounge network is great. CHC and ZQN were both big, bright and well equipped for the short time spent there. Coupled with the fact that many flights don't need to go through security I'm sure it's a great thing for the regional/commuter FFers.









All black! To me this is one of the best/most aggressive liveries out there. I would put it in my top ones along with Etihad's A380 or EVA.


So I thought something was up when my Google Maps was showing a reservation for "Cordis" at the location of the Langham. Turns out they changed the name recently, I booked about 2 weeks ago on Expedia and it was still listed as The Langham.



They alerted me of the renovation/construction noise between 8-5 but I really wasn't worried.
Sadly I was put on a non-renovated floor.





You can see the difference between the old and the new floors as such...



I then realized when I came up from breakfast why I was put on an old floor. By no means did the hotel seem busy, I'm not part of the 1885 or whatever their frequent stayer program is (I am Expedia Gold+ Elite or whatever the moniker is). I did realize that on my day of check out they started to strip all of the rooms on my floor, the hallways became full of telephones, bedding, mini bars, etc. They put me on this floor so they wouldn't have to waste a maids time changing my room for a new guest. Bravo Cordis/Langham. I don't think I'd stay at any of them in the future (I have in HK and have considered in Sydney).



The lobby/bar are renovated which is nice, was also good to try out some NZ whiskey though I wouldn't buy a bottle of it for home.


The full buffet breakfast at Table 8 is $42 NZD, it's a nice setting but for breakfast wasn't all that great. The lunch and dinner boasts 8 different "live kitchens".



To be frank I didn't find anything that thrilling about Auckland. I originally was slated to be here for 2 nights but the UA change from daily to 6x a week meant I would have to come back a day early. I'm sure there are some little gems and areas that are great but for the most part a cursory glance at a tourist I didn't see much of a difference than being in say Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne.
At least I did get to spend some time with friends, finally found more cold coffee and then got some burgers at Ponsoby Lane which was a nice little area of food and shops.



Due to living on a hotel evacuation floor I wasn't given a Noon late check-out. I didn't want to head to AKL until about 12:30 so I took the chance to walk into the CBD and get a quick coffee and bite Remedy Cafe which was a nice little relaxed spot (though it did take 11 minutes to get me a cold brew and warmed up muffin).

​​​​​​​I had never thought to add cinnamon sticks to some mint water but I am going to do this at home!

nequine

I have enjoyed our stays in Auckland - you could spend a whole day at the Auckland Museum alone!

JVPhoto

I'm sure it's great and there are lovely things to do there. But for me coming to NZ was for a specific theme that for the most part tied into the natural wonders.

I think you could do it in 12-14 days and feel you had your time and effort well spent.
To recap what I did -
Hamilton - 1 Night
Lake Taupo - 2 Nights
Wellington - 2 Nights
Christchurch - 2 Nights
Franz Josef - 2 Nights
Queenstown - 2 Nights
Auckland - 1 Night

Knowing what I do now for the same trip I could have done 1 night in Wellington and left after the WETA tour and similarly with FJ if in a pinch to see more I could have done 1 night there and driven to QT after the Glacier. Those 2 nights meant I could have done Milford Sound on this trip.
When I come back since I will want to do Tongariro Crossing I am not sure if I would stay in Taupo for 2 nights. There seem to be nice accommodation and places to stay in National Park, Otukou, Turangi, Rangipo for the afternoon/night when you finish the crossing.

Fly'nAAgain

I'm really enjoying this TR...thanks for writing. My wife and I took a very similar route during our visit there a few years ago so this brings back some really, really nice memories. I've enjoyed the reflections that your writing and photography have brought.

JVPhoto

United 777-300 Polaris AKL-SFO

Check-in was fairly painless. The UA section for a full flight seemed rather mellow compared to what looked like a gong show at the AA counter.

The Koru lounge was tucked behind some construction in the main food hall area once you get through Duty Free. Look and feel similar to the smaller regional ones but a much expanded food section.





I got tired of sitting in the lounge, I could see the plane wasn't at our gate yet and sat across the tarmac. Worried that we may be bussed out (as we did when we came in) I went back out to Duty Free to buy some wine and then another shop to get Manuka honey for a friend.


The gate had some temporary walls set up to corral people into it for more "security" questions. The guy in my line was the same one who asked me the questions at check-in and put the sticker on my passport then. The funny part was to see a few frantic people waive their J BPs to try and cut in front of everyone. At this time the plane was still not at the gate. Just about then the GA made an announcement that due to lightning warns the ground staff can't operate until that clears. I look outside and I see tugs and baggage carts moving around and about 45 seconds later our plane stops moving. The time the info must have got telephoned down to her it was already out of date.

The confinement of the single boarding area/gate and delay did cause people to get a little ansty and huffy.


All in all we posted an hour delay, but with the winds we landed on time instead of the 50 min early had we left as scheduled.

My favorite part of the new seats are the "granite" side table and the small lamp. When I flew LX F it was on the old A340 but on the new F 777 cabin it seems to be a really nice touch as well, IIRC AF F has lamps as well.


I hate to break it to them but Livermore is not a wine region.






The food was tasty but the chicken portion could have been about 30% bigger.



6h of sleep later I got up and watched Obit, a documentary about the NYT obituary writing staff, which was not as macabre as it may sound.

My phone had a hey-day with figuring out the time based on when we left, what the WIFI was telling it and where we were.


The arrival frittata was a pretty good breakfast, tasty and destination time appropriate. I hate on, say the flights to HKG, where they want to serve you breakfast for a 7pm arrival. Just because I slept doesn't mean I need sausage and eggs!


Since I had 2 bottles of wine and honey I didn't want to do anything to risk my Global Entry status so I declared those. A lot less painless than I thought, the guy directed me to a side line where they put my bags through the scanner (not my shopping bag of wine) and asked if I had other food. After that they sent me along and didn't ask anything about the wine. It was actually the only time I've ever declared anything.
Also, on the front of firsts, this would be the first time of having the Ultimate Choice program from Hertz where you go to the status/class section you booked and select any car from there or downwards. President's Circle had mostly SUVs, some random Toyota/Kida things and this 300 which I took so I could drive a boat for a few hours.

stdatwmu

Awesome trip report - superb photos. Well done!

My wife and I did 10 nights a couple years ago sandwiched in the middle of a 5-week trip beginning in Australia and ending in Bora Bora. If we were only doing NZ, I'd say 12-14 days would be ideal.

Our itinerary back then:

4 nights Queenstown (did Glenorchy, Milford Sound, wineries)
2 nights Franz Josef (did the same heli-hike; can't recommend that highly enough!)
1 night Greymouth (mostly an overnight while enroute)
2 nights Blenheim (tons of wineries)
--ferry to Wellington--
1 night Wellington
1 night Auckland

I'd also agree that Auckland was the most "skippable" of everything we visited. The south island is simply spectacular. That said, I've heard good things about Waiheke Island and would love to spend a couple days in the region if we ever return.

JVPhoto

My plan/wants (in no particular order) on the next trip back are Chatham Island, Tongariro Crossing, Milford Sound, Dunedin/Iverncargil, Blenheim/Nelson.

JVPhoto

I forgot to add a grievence with Langham/Cordis I just remembered as I was reviewing on Expedia.

They blocked porn sites on their WiFi! Like I get it now and then in Thailand when the government seal comes up but it's usually not a problem. I couldn't believe in New Zealand. Meanwhile they did have horrible 1990s adult movies to buy on the TV so it's not a "moral" issue. In 2017 who is gonna buy one of those on the tv system??

brooklynflyer82

you have to go back to NZ to try fergburger. The lamb burger there really is fantastic! Looks like a great trip though, thank you for posting.

DoTheBartMan

And wash it down with L&P, “World famous in New Zealand”.