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Published: November 7th 2012
Introduction New Zealand had always been the primary destination for our trip. Many of our friends had been there and raved about what a beautiful country it was and how we really needed to experience it ourselves. Given that we had decided to take a repositioning cruise that wouldn't get to Sydney until 14 October, and given that we wanted to spend at least a few days there, and given that we wanted to be back home by 1 November due to other responsibilities, and to vote for our next President, our time in New Zealand was constrained to 15 days. I had a rough idea of where I wanted to go...all the top spots...but didn't know the travel times as people kept telling me that the roads were winding and narrow. We also had to take into account the end of winter on the South Island, which in the end prevented us from visiting Milford Sound...one of those must see destinations. Other than Milford Sound we were able to see everything we wanted to. Here's how...
Itinerary South Island 17 October 2012 Wednesday. Following breakfast at the hotel, Mike and I took a taxi to the
rental car company to pick up a van for the next two weeks. Our friend Tom, who we both had worked for in Brussels in the early 1990's, met us there. Tom and his wife Shelley have a daughter who married a Kiwi she met skiing in Austria and then moved to Christchurch 15 years ago. Soon after that Tom and Shelley began annual commutes to Christchurch, spending six months in the States and six months in Christchurch...eternal summer!
Since Tom knew the local roads, he became our chauffeur for the day. Our destination was the Akaroa Peninsula. Our first stop was Little River where we visited an artist's gallery and had a snack. Then we were off to the town of Akaroa which was founded by French colonists. By the time they arrived after the initial discovery by a French explorer the British had claimed New Zealand. The Brits allowed the colonists to stay, and the town still has some French influence if only for the street names. We had lunch and, as the weather was beautiful, strolled the streets and out to the pier. We then proceeded to Tom and Shelley's home at Diamond Harbor across from
Lyttleton via the mountain route with its great vistas and millions of sheep...the lambs were having their tails trimmed in one field...arriving there about 5 pm.
Tom and Sheely had just finished building a garage with a "mother-in-law apartment" which had great views of the bay. Mike and Betty took that room. Linda, Will, and I had rooms in their house; also with great views of the bay. We had dinner of Sheperd's Pie and got caught up on each others lives. Then Tom took us for a "tramp" along the bay to show us his swimming hole. It was a steep climb down the hill and an even steeper climb back up. The path along the bay side was only about one foot wide with steep drop offs on one side. It was like walking on a tight rope, but again I survived to tell the tale. There seems to be a common theme shared by our hosts...we have to walk, trek, and tramp our dinners off! Then Tom discussed our travel plans and made some recommendations as to what to see, how long it would take to get between points A and B, and how we should
use the tourist information offices to book our accomodations, etc. In planning our trip we didn't know how far we could go in a day as we had heard the roads were narrow, winding, and slow. Tom assured us that we could get to Queenstown in 6 hours driving. We turned in by 9 pm as we had a long day of driving the next morning.
18 October 2012 Thursday. Tom prepared a delicious breakfast of omelets and then sent us on our way. Our destination was Queenstown. We left about 9 am and had stops in Geraldine to book accommodations (where we got a great deal at the Mercure Resort), a stop in Fairlie for lunch, and stops at Lake Tekapo and Pukaki to see the scenery and take pictures, before arriving in Queenstown about 5:30 pm...not a bad day of driving. As the weather had deteriorated throughout the day, we decided to eat dinner in the hotel and relax for the evening.
19 October 2012 Friday. We had planned to drive to Milford Sound, but with the recent bad weather (the same storm that gave us such rough seas on the cruise) there had been landslides
which closed the road. We were psychologically prepared for that eventuality and were satisfied with spending the day in the local area. Although this was the 100th anniversary of the lake steamboat, the weather starting the day was poor so we skipped taking a steamer on the lake; besides it was very expensive (NZ$240 for the three of us)for a 90 minute trip. Instead we decided to spend the day at Arrowtown where they were celebrating the 150th anniversary of the founding of their gold rush town.
On the way we stopped at the Edith Cavel Bridge where the jet boats start their trips down the rapids...a bit too exciting for us. We also stopped at the Coronet Ski area which had just closed a week earlier. However, there were snowboarders who climbed the slope and snow boarded down the still unmelted snow base. Upon arrival in Arrowtown we walked along main street stopping in each shop. Will had been freezing since arriving in New Zealand as he is used to 35 degree centigrade temperatures in Bangkok. Although the weather was improving slightly (11 degrees centigrade), we bought him a possum fur scarf...warmer and finer than merino wool...and ski
hat. We then had lunch while wating for the walking tour of the town to begin. The tour took us to the miner's huts and we learned more than we ever wanted to about each. We cut out early as we wanted to see the Chinese gold camp before heading back to Queenstown. The camp was fascinating, mostly because many of the miners came form the same area of China where Betty's ancestors came from and the owner of the general store had the same family name as Betty.
Back in Queenstown we walked around the downtown area and booked rooms for the next night before having dinner at an Indian restaurant. Then it was back to the hotel to use the internet and relax for the evening.
20 October 2012 Saturday. We had breakfast which was included with the room, packed up, and then headed north...our final destination being Fox Glacier. We departed by 9 am and arrived at our hotel by 3:30 pm with stops in Wanaka for gas and Haast where we had lunch and visited the Visitor Center to learn about the geology and flora and fauna of the West Coast. The weather got
Lake Tekapo with the Church of the Good Shepard
Tom and Shelley's daughter and son-in-law were married here 15 years ago. Nice venue!increasingly bad; our walk to the face of the Fox Glacier, about an hour round trip, was in pouring rain and strong winds. Fortunately the hotel had provided us with umbrellas, but with the wind we had trouble keeping them from turning inside out. Mike made it all the way to the glacier, but Betty, Linda and I stopped where we still had a great view...it's easier to use a zoom lense than walk further to get that close up picture! We ate at a great restaurant that evening...very gormet. After dinner I looked into the kitchen to see the chef...not who I expected...very backpackerish and his Rastaferian hair was held up by what looked like a pair of dirty underwear. We returned to our motel for an evening on the internet and TV. I had planned to spend the evening at a local pub watching the rugby game between the New Zealand All Blacks and the Australian team...not sure what their name is. I wanted to see the Maori haka and the rabid fervor of the local fans; i.e., have a cultural experience. But I forgot.
21 October 2012 Sunday. Today we finished our drive to the northern
end of the South Island, departing Fox Glacier at 9 am and arriving in Nelson at 7:30 pm, with stops in Franz Joseph Glacier at the i-Site to make reservations in Nelson and Wellington, then to Hokitika to visit a green jade factory and store, Greymouth for lunch, and Punakaiki National Park to see the Pancake Rocks. I didn't expect to be impressed with the rocks since we are spoiled by geological wonders in Colorado and the Southwestern US. But I was impressed, especially with the roaring waves that crashed against the limestone layered rocks creating a huge blow hole.
Nelson is a delightful city situated on a bay. After checking into the hotel we walked down the main street looking for a restaurant. We found that most places were closed on Sunday...like the States 40 years ago. Even the Burger King doesn't open until 9 am. We eventually found a pizza restaurant which appeared to be the local hangout for the teen crowd. The pizza was great.
22 October 2012 Monday. This was a holiday so everything was closed except the Abel Tasman National Park 65 kilometers north of Nelson. We headed in that direction. Our first
stop was at the seaside town of Mapua, where we walked along the harbor front with its seagulls and sailboats. We then continued to Marahau, the southern entrance parked our car, and began the Coastal hike. We probably tramped about 5 kilometers round trip; just enough to get an impression of this very popular trail. We ate at the Park Cafe and then returned to Nelson.
Mike and I visited Founders Park where a number of older homes and businesses had been relocated to form an open air museum of early New Zealand life. We arrived at closing time, but found the gate open as there was a music festival that evening. We walked in without having to pay and strolled around the quaint village. We returned to the hotel to pick up the girls for dinner at a seafood restaurant. We tried the local seasonal delicacy...whitebait that was prepared like an omelet. It was ok. We then learned that restaurants which open on holidays are allowed to charge a surcharge! I can't imagine that happening in the States! If anything restaurants here offer discounts to attract holiday takers. We returned to Founders Park until it got dark so
the girls could also see the village
23 October 2012 Tuesday. We drove the 37 kilometers from Nelson to the Marlborough Wine Country between Renwick and Blenheim, stopping at several wineries including our favorite, the Cloudy Bay Winery, to sample their white wines on the sweeter end of the spectrum. After lunch we finished the drive to Picton where we would catch the ferry to the North Island the next morning. We walked around town, confirming the arrangements for the ext morning...where to drop off the rental car, how to get from the rental car agency to the ferry, etc. We did a bit of shopping, had dinner and relaxed that evening.
North Island 24 October 2012 Wednesday. We returned the rental car and the agency dropped us off at the ferry. The crossing was rough with Will and Betty suffering the most. A kind lady offered Will some garlic pills which were supposed to ease his sickness, but he still slept most of the way across. We had packed our Sea Bands in our suitcases that were checked in and therefore inaccessible. However, Linda and I must have retained our sea legs from our 18 day
cruise as we didn't suffer. Indeed, we had lunch during the crossing.
We arrived in Wellington about 1:30 pm where the rental car agent was waiting with our "new" van. BY dropping the rental van off in Picton and picking up a new one in Wellington, we save one day rental and the cost of the ferry crossing. After completing the paperwork, we drove to our hotel which was on the waterfront close to the Te Papa Museum, our next destination for the rest of the day.
We decided that everyone should take the museum at their own pace as each persons interest may vary. Linda, Will and I decided to start with the top floor and work our way down, while Mike and Betty did their thing. This is certainly a highlight of anyone's trip to Wellington, with extensive collections of Maori culture, geology, flora and fauna (we petted a stuffed kiwi), and art. We talked for a while with a museum guide who was from Louisianna and married to a Kiwi. We talked about New Zealand politics and cluture and how it compares to American. He then explained the very modern Moari meeting house that is
open to everyone and represents all people, not just an individual family or tribe.
We met Mike and Betty at the entrance at 6 pm...closing time and then went looking for a good restaurant on Cuba Street. We decided on Thai. With Thai and Indian food we found we could save money by buying 3 or 4 dishes for 5 people...more than enough as usually with 5 orders there are leftovers that can't be taken in a doggy bag as we were on the road.
25 October 2012 Thursday. We woke up to strong winds and an unsettled sky, but were soon on our way north, a 451 kilomeer drve to Rotorua. We had lunch in Waiouru on the southern side of Tongariro National Park. We then proceeded north on Highway 1 and west on highway 46, with views of volcanoes (one still active having last erupted in August 2012).
We reached the west end of the popular 18 kilometer Togariro Crossing Trek about 2 pm. We tramped this crossing, with Mike and Will trying to get to the Soda Springs (didn't quite make it), and Linda, Betty, and I going as far as the lava field
that come down Mount Tongariro (otherwise known as Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings). The round trip tramp was about 4 kilometers. We talked to others on the trail including an American family whose two daughters had just completed the Triathalon World Championship in Auckland. Few were doing the Crossing as the wind and temperatures in the higher reaches of the tramp were dangerous. We didn't have the time in any case as our destination for the day was Rotorua.
On our way there we stopped in Taupo to make reservations the following evening fo the Maori cultural show in Rotorua (NZ$96/person after discount), and then have some Italian food. When we found out the chef was Macedonian, and that they used parmesan cheese instead of pecarino romano to make carbonara we knew it wouldn't be very authentic. We got to our hotel in Rotorua about 8 pm.
26 October 2012 Friday. Following our usual pattern of spending two nights in a location after a day of long drives, we toured the area around Rotorua for the day. Our first stop was the i-Site to arrange accommodations for Paihia, and then drove to the Green and
Blue Lakes which you can see from a lookout between the two lakes. Sure enough they looked grren and blue...big deal. We returned to Rotorua and tramped in their Redwood Park. The trees had been imported from California and planted in about 1905. They cretainly had grown big in the last 107 years! Our next stop was the geothermal area in Kuirau Park. This is one of the few such areas that are not controlled by commercial interest which charge exhorbitant prices to see. Why pay good money when we have the best geothermal displays in nearby Yellowstone National Park. We had a good lunch and then dropped Will and Linda off at the hotel. Will planned to use the hotel pool. Mike and Betty dropped me off at McDonalds where I tried to use the internet to post some blogs and read my emails while they went to the Rotorua Museum.
We were picked up at 5:45 pm and taken to the Maori "village where we were treated to an evening of culture. We were greeted my Maori warriors arriving in a canoe, shown the meats and vegetables which were steamed under ground, treated to a show of
song and dance (including the famous haka) and explanations of various weapons and training techniques, and then fed at a hangi. Will continued to suffer from his sinus infection and something else that was causing severe nausea, despite all the medicine we had given him, so couldn't eat anything. Otherwise, it was a wonderful evening. We returned to the hotel about 9:30 pm.
27 October 2012 Saturday. This would be another long day, driving 458 kilometers from Rotorua to Paihia in the Northland. Our first stop, however, was to Hobbiton, just to the west of Matamata, about an hour from Rotorua. We picked up our tickets (NZ$66/person) at the i-Site in Matamata and got directions and joined the 11 am tour starting at the farm's visitor center.
We road a bus to the movie set which was now a permanent set. After the farmer who owns the property realized the value of having a Hobbit town for tourist to visit, he ensured that before filming "The Hobbit" (in theaters in mid-December 2012...we will see it!) the contract specified all sets used in the film would be permanent. The walking tour around the entire set took about two hours,
ending about 1 pm. The young guide hadn't read any of Tolkein's books, stating that he had seen the movies, so we strongly encouraged him to do so. He explained a lot about the filming of the movie an the techniques used to make large people look small.
We ate lunch at the farm and then about 1:30 pm headed north, bypassing Auckland, having Thai food again in Whangarei, and arriving at our hotel in Paihia about 7:30 pm.
28 October 2012 Sunday. Today was spent in the Bay of Islands. We were not up to spending NZ$95 per person for a boat tour of the islands so opted instead for the ferry crossing to Russell, the first European town on the North Island. The weather was great so the crossing provided great views of the Bay. Russell itself is a beautiful village of historic homes with flourishing English gardens. We tramped to the top of Flagstaff Hill...quite a climb with Lind and I huffing and puffing. It was here, shortly after the English and Maori signed the Waitangi Treaty establishing British soverignty in return for granting Maoris citizenship and land rights, that a Maori chief chopped down
a newly erected flagpole over a dispute over the interpretation of the treaty. The British planted a new flagpole which was promptly chopped down again, and again, and again. After the fourth time an understanding was reached. The view from the top of the Bay of Island is fantastic. We then returned to the town and walked around looking at gardens, the oldest garage and church in New Zealand.
We returned by ferry to Paihia where we proceeded to the Waitangi Treaty grounds. We didn't want to pay the NZ$25 per person for what should have been free as this was a national hiostorical site. Instead, Linda and I had tea; actually capuchinos and cake before returning to the hotel. I drove back with Will, where he had ice cream while waiting for Mike and Betty to finish their tour of Waitangi.
That evening Mike and Betty went to an expensive seafood restaurant while Linda and I went looking for soemthing more reasonable. We bumped into two Australian ladies who asked us to recommend a restaurant. As we were also tourists, we had no idea. One of the ladies then wondered aloud whether there was an Return of
Servicemen League (RSL) Club in town. A shopkeeper told her where to find it...next to the school. The ladies explained what an RSL was (similar to an Ameircan Legion Post in the States) and who could use it (anyone from out of town so long as were entered our names and addresses in their book), so we decided to join them for the normal Sunday roast beef/chicken/pork dinner with all the fixings for NZ$16 (we took note of this inexpensive source of meals for future trips!). We returned to the hotel only to find that Will was now hungry. We looked around town but nothing was open after 9 pm. We had to drive to the McDOnalds in Waipapa.
29 October 2012 Monday. We had until 4 pm to drive the 348 kilometers back to Auckland by way of the Waipoua Forest where we would stop to see the oldest, largest kauri tree in New Zealand. We also stopped at Baylys Beach where Linda looked for seashells on the rain and windswept Tasman Sea coast. We had lunch in Dargaville, where many of the cut kauri trees were processed for shipment to market. Then we had to hurry to
Auckland to return the rental car by 4 pm. We made it with 10 minutes to spare. We checked into our harborside hotel and then waited until 5 pm for
Jo Trouble, a fellow Travelblog Moderator, and
Ferdi and Talita, also Travelbloggers who I have Followed since their trips through Southeast Asia and then their transition to residents of New Zeraland. We walked around the corner to the nearest Thai restaurant, and had a great evening talking about our travels and Travelbloggers are wont to do.
Ferdi and Talita had brought their 1o month old boy so had to leave by 7:30 pm but had a chance to meet Linda and Will before leaving. Linda and Will were rested and hungry so
Jo Trouble showed us where an Italian restaurant was and then she and I had dessert and coffee while Linda and Will had a authentic Italian dinner. We walked
Jo Trouble back to her motorbike at her office and then returned to our hotel. We had a thoroughly enjoyeable evening meeting fellow Travelbloggers!
30 October 2102 Tuesday. As we had different interests, Mike and Betty went to the Auckland Museum while Linda, Will, and I took the bus to the Auckland Zoo. We had
to see a live kiwi. The zoo (NZ$25/person) is very nice. We had lunch there and saw many native species including the kiwi and a very cheeky Kea bird who would go right up to us and then do a dance. We enjoyed the Australian bush exhibit where we could walk among the emus, walabies, and kangaroos with nothing separating us from them. After most of the day there we returned to the CBD to finish our shopping. We joined Mike and Betty for dinner at an Indian restaurant.
31 October 2012 Wednesday (Halloween). We would have a very long day as we would cross the International Date Line, thereby regaining a day lost during our cruise. Will had to catch an 8:30 am flight back to Bangkok, so arose at 5 am. We said our good byes, not knowing when we would see him again.
For Linda and I, it started with coffee and pastries at a nearby cafe and then some shopping. We then strolled to the Viaduct yacht basin with the sailboat that won the America's Cup and many other fabulously expensive yachts. We then continued to tour the sights in the CBD including the
Sky Tower (didn't go up). We had booked a shuttle for 7 pm, but by 3 pm had run out of things to see so rebooked to 3:30 pm.
We got to that airport at 4:30 pm, and when checking in found out when they put the luggage tags on our suitcases that instead of having a 5 hour layover in LAX, we would be flying to Colorado Springs by way of San Francisco. We checked through immigration, and then shopped the duty free stores, and talked to many fellow passengers while awaiting for our 10:45 pm flight. The flight home was sleepless (I never can sleep sitting up), entertaining (saw four movies), and long...12 hours to LAX, a two hour layonve there in time for lunch, an hour to SFO, an hour layover and then a two hour flight to COS...actually arriving 45 minutes earlier than the original flight schedule, at 11:15 pm. Tamara and Liam met us at the airport and we were home about midnight. Bonnie our dog was out of her mind with joy. We went to sleep with a dog and several cats on our bed; all making sure we wouldn't disappear again!
The next morning after my shower I stepped on the scales to weigh the damage. I had only gained four pounds! It must have been all the treking and tramping!
Conclusions: A few words are in order now that we had completed most of the driving we would be doing on the South Island. The roads are fine...not too narrow except a few places...just like coutry roads in the States. Most bridges, however, are only one lane wide with a sign indicating which direction of travel has the priority. As there is little traffic, cars don't have to wait long if any. There can be a lot of curves which do slow you down, but we were able to drive from Queenstown in the south of the South Island to Nelson in the north in two days, allowing us to spend two nights in Queenstown and two in Nelson rather than one night each in towns from south to north. Likewise, we were able to drive from Wellington on the south end of the North Island to Paihia at the north end in two days allowing us to spend two nights each in Rotorua and Paihai.
Also
a few words about the scenery on the South Island. The mountains and the lakes in the area between Queenstown and Haast are fantastic...but not that much better if any than the mountains of Banff and Jasper in the Canadian West, or the Swiss and Austrian Alps or the Norwegian fjords. Of course, this observation is made without having seen MIlford Sound. And the rainforest between Haast and Westport are also impressive, but not more so that the Hoh Rainforest on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. I know that many will disagree, but that's my opinion. What sets the South Island apart is the desolation...very few people in very few cities on our route from Queenstown to Nelson, and no wild animals excpet for birds. Mike and I thought introducing a few wolves and bears would lend some excitement.
I still believe that a visit to New Zealand should be on every travelers bucket list. I was satisfied with having spent two weeks there although others would argue for longer. My trip above shows what is possible in two weeks.
It's great to be home! I need a vacation from vacation.
Prices Gas prices are about NZ$2.18 -
$2.22/liter on the South Island and NZ$2.03 - $2.15/liter on the North Island. The cost of rental cars varies, but we saved by sharing the cost of transportation 2/5ths for Mike and Betty and 3/5ths for Linda, Will, and myself.
First class hotels cost slightly more than motels so were better value for money, with B&B's being the most expensive. Our average lodging bill was US$116/night.
Food, however, was a different matter. We had to work hard to keep our costs down by having continental breakfasts in a cafe (hotel breakfasts are expensive), soup or sandwiches for lunch, and sharing main courses for dinner, and not ordering drinks and desserts. Our average food bill for the day for 3 people was US$86, but without these controls could easily have gone to $150/day.
The most expensive part of traveling New Zealand is the cost of the adventure sports such as skydiving, white water rafting, jet boating, bungy jumping, etc. which we were not interested in. But every tourist attraction was very expensive, so we had to limit our visits to those that were unique to the country as mentioned above.
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Beata and Tomek
us At Home Abroad
nice one;-)
great itinerary!!! it might be what we need when we are back home and plan some holidays;-) I can see you have Poland in your future plans... Fall is the best time to visit...I love our golden landscapes and Krakow is just lovely this time of a year;-) Closer to date let us know your plan and we may be able to give you some tips;-) Beata