New Zealand Trip

[Newman]

I'm leaving in a week for 3 weeks in NZ. Anyone have any "must-see" items?

 

[BritLady]

Where are you going to? The Sounds are just beautiful, but it all depends on how long you are staying there etc, if you're a Hobbit fan you can take a trip to see where they filmed a lot of that stuff. Lots of other stuff to see too,

 

[barlow]

What are your travel plans when you get here. I live in Christchurch in the South Island and can make some suggestions if you need an idea of what to see down in the south.

 

[Newman]

I'm spending a few days in Auckland starting Feb 3, a few more in Papamoa and then I was going fly into Christchurch on the 9th. I'm renting a camper and was going to spend the remaining days driving around to the different places I wanted to see. I had planned on spending a few days in Christchurch. I definitely want to see Milford Sound and Mnt Cook. I need to be back in Auckland on the 19th.

 

[BlueYonder]

I drove from Auckland to Wellington a few years ago. Took several days and stopped for a day and saw Rotorua. It is kind of like New Zealand's Yellowstone. Would be a nice side trip while you are in Auckland. I saw a lot of the world while flying for the Air Force. New Zealand was my favorite.

 

[barlow]

Mt Cook and Milford Sound are both worth a visit. You could make a round trip by headed further south to Invercargill and around the south coast thru an area called the Catlins. While that far south depending on time you could take the ferry to Stewart Island. Or if that doesn't appeal you could head to the West Coast and travel across the alpine pass back to Christchurch. There are several glaciers on the West Coast.

 

[BritLady]

We had an extensive tour of Christchurch which was really interesting. Milford Sound and the others nearby are beautiful. We also went from Auckland to Rotorua which was great. Seeing steam pop out of what appears to be just anywhere was really fascinating, even in people's back gardens! Great country and people, have a lovely and safe trip.

 

[Newman]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions!

 

[IanBat]

The drive from Christchurch to Dunedin is just spectacular, you run through the Canterbury Plains, Sea on your left and Mountains on your right.

Dunedin is beautiful, out on the point, there is an Albatross Colony with a hide for viewing, check if there are any Albatross there if so its beautiful

Then do the drive from Dunedin to Queenstown

As already said Milford Sound is a must do.

Queenstown, you can lose yourself, it's the tourist adventure capital of NZ.

Around Mt Cook area, check out some of the tourist flights, Helicopter or small Plane, for a trip over the three Glaciers.

On the West side of the Island, there is a small town at the base of one of the Glaciers, I did an afternoon guided hike out onto one of the Glaciers, can't remember if it was Franz Josef, or Fox. Absolutely brilliant.

From the West Coast did a scenic drive over to the East Coast across Mount Hutt, only passable in Spring to Autumn, Beautiful.


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[Newman]

When I first scheduled the trip and got the approval for 3 weeks off work I thought that I had soooo much time. Now that I'm finalizing my route and to-do/see list I realize I need another 3 weeks!