Travel to new zealand, my itinerary as below:?

after reseach from the website and forum discussions, i hv my itinerary as below:


day 1 Auckand


day 2 Roturua


day 3 Roturua


day 4 Taupo


day 5-6 Wellington


day 7 Picton -%26gt; bleheim


day 8 bleheim


day 9-10 christchurch


day 11 Mount Cook


day 12-13 Dunedin


day 14-16 Queensland


day 17 Franz Josef


day 18 nelson


day 19 from nelson back to auckland





is the above workable, i am planning to book the coach passes, but i noticed there is several types, flexi passes which is limited by hrs (not sure how this work), hop on hop off bus by route. 20 days is a very limited time, is there any place i should skip or stay longer, Any suggestion?


Thanks in advance for your comments and advise. Much appreciated.


In end june will i see snow in dunedin? cheers

Travel to new zealand, my itinerary as below:?
It depends on what you want to see really.


I guess Auckland has a bit to offer, but for scenery you have got some good places to visit.





As I live in the South Island I can only comment on these places with more knowlede (as I have not been to Rotorua or, Taupo and visited Auckland a few times).





The ferry ride from Wellington to Picton takes around 3 and a half hours....the ride thru the Marlborough Sounds is lovely (although I will point out the middle hour in the Cook strait can be rough, so I recommend you buying some travel sickness tablets just in case!!! (I will also point out too it can also be perfectly nice too).


From Picton to Blenheim is about 30mins....I assume you will be doing the wine stuff in Blenheim (I live here), of which there are many wineries to chose from....if you want somewhere else to go too there is the new Aviation Museum thats just opened up (with help from Peter Jackson and the Weta workshops who helped with the displays) and is supposed to be very good...I have not yet been myself tho.





Blen to Chch...I would recommend the train, you can get a discount seat called a backpackers fare which gives you an older carriage (with smaller windows) and if oyu get a seat on the seaside of the train (which is left travelling south) you will have great views of the sea.


Kaikoura has whale watching which is supposed to be first class and could be an option.





I lived in Christchurch for years and love it there....things to see are the gondola, the Antarctic centre (near the airport), the Arts Centre (centre of town) museum and botanic gardens, the latter 3 all being free entry.


Mount Cook is lovely, but the town itself is tiny...you can do some walks to the ends of the glaciers...I know the Tasman and 2 other glaciers end there...I think they are called the Muller and I forget the otherone which has a reasonbly easy walk to a glacial lake and great views of Mount Cook.


Dunedin has a few things to offer I guess like the beachs (lovely white sand and in places stunningly blue water which look amazing), Larnach Castle and the Albatross colony on the Otago Peninsular.





QueensTOWN has lots to offer, even tho it is very touristy there is amazing things to do like the adrenaline things like bungy jumping, Shotover Jets (or you can go from the Lake (Wakatipu) itself, paragliding etc. THe views around the area are also stunning, with the lake and mountains....there is skiiing too and you can cross the lake on the old boat (grrr I have forgotton its name!!) or go up on the gondola...I suggest doing gondola rides in the late afternoon to see it in light and when it gets darker and the lights come on....its really lovely.





I worked in Franz Josef for a while and I love this area, its stunning....the glacier you can either fly over, fly onto or walk on (the half day trip is easy and fun), there are lots of little bush walks around the village too (i recommend centennial walk to see the glacier from the carpark and peters pool a little reflective walk and you can see glow worms at night on another walk close to town....forgot name!!). I know there is an ice climbing wall just opened up recently which is supposed to be excellent. I also saw the Imax movie there too which is quite cool for a change of pace.


THe drive to Nelson will be lovely and the whole area is just stunning. If you get the chance you should see Lake Matheson, the most photographed lake in NZ with stunning relfective views (on good days) of Mt Cook and Tasman...





Nelson...well you probalby won;t have time to see the Abel Tasman area (already discussed by someone else) which are lovely.


If you wanted to change anything, maybe when you arrive in Blenheim, (try to arrive as early as you can) do the wine trail that day and the next morn. The train to Kaikoura (and Christhcurch there is only 1 per day) leaves Blenheim about midday and you can maybe do some whale watching there and then catch the train the next day to Christchuch which gets there mid/late afternoon...I am not putting Blenheim down as there are some great things to do here (especially the wine, but also mainly scenic views away mainly from Blenhiem itself and can take a while to get there)...you will also see the Marlborough Sounds (or at least part of them) when you sail in on the ferry.





Have a great time.....you should love it and maybe you will come back for more!!!
Reply:Hi, well, my first advice is to spend loads of time in Auckland...because thats my town! but..........


it depends on what you want...it is winter now (or supposed to be) and so the south island places like christchurch and down etc. will be very cold (by our standards), if you want snow and stuff go there, if you want a couple of sunny days to go shopping and check out parks and events then stay in wellington and auckland. The school holidays are coming up in a couple of weeks so there will be lots on, and the Bledisloe cup (rugby) is being played (n.z and oz) on the 19th of june I think in Auckland at mt eden stadium, so a bit happening there. Should be fun!....hey but this is from my point of view....hope it helps in some way. I actually haven't been to the south island before, but its meant to be very beautiful! Rotorua has some cool things like the hot springs and thermal geysers stuff, but my mum lived there once and said it was a day trip thing, and smelt. he he. (sorry rotoruaians). But probably pretty cool! I don't know much about this flex pass thing, could you hire a camper or something when over here? then youd get to do what you like, otherwise there is daily bus routes to and from many of these places (in the north anyway) so you could do that? Good luck. Theres also trains. Checkout the schedules online.
Reply:If you are taking the ferry across from Wellington to Picton - you are in and out of there in no time - so you saved 2 days there (meaning you arrive in Picton and drive from there either through Blenheim or by-pass Blenheim and head straight to Nelson.) It takes 90mins average to drive from Picton to Nelson - spend more time in Nelson - sunniest place in NZ and so much to do with. Go to the Abel Tasman National Park - you will love it - so much to see and do there.
Reply:Day 14-16, I think you mean Queenstown? Otherwise, you're in Australia!





Make sure wherever you go, that you ask lots of questions. New Zealanders don't like to give out information that may affect how much money they get from you as a tourist, or otherwise. Yep, I'm jaded about that!





Days 17-19, you'll be doing quite a bit of driving.





Beware tourist traps. They'll really stick you for $$$ when wanting to do an activity, such as jet boating or bungee jumping. Most things just aren't worth what they are asking.





You should try to skip Christchurch, as it's just another town. Instead, go to Milford Sound when you're in Queenstown. You won't regret the views! Wellington's not that special, in my mind. Fortunately for you, you won't be driving. NZ drivers are absolutely crap.





You may see snow in June in Dunedin. I'm just north of there and it snowed last night. Not much, just a light dusting around the hills.
Reply:Give day 7 a miss, you don't need two days in Blenheim, I would give myself an extra day in Auckland.


Day 14 to 16 will be in Queenstown not Queensland, unless you are flying to Australia for three days.


Have you considered going to the Coromandals when you leave Auckland on your way to Rotorua. Thames is stunning and a visit to Hot Water Beach (Thermal) is almost compulsory.
Reply:NZ is a good country to see by bus - no city or town is too far from another. Let me give your question some thought as I think there a few places you've missed. It really depends how much time you have here and when you need to leave (to get back home and work). Can I email you? Just send me a yes or no reply on my email listed. Thanks

loops