We're going to New Zealand for 5 weeks during March next year, arriving in Christchurch and flying out of Auckland.
Thinking of going clockwise round the South island, and definitely want to do the Queen Charlotte Track but not too sure about the rest.
Has anyone done a similar trip or have you got any suggestions for places we definitely have to go? Where should we go in the North island?
Reply to this Hi Ruth and David
what sort of holiday are you looking at, Ie hiking, general sight seeing ! I walked the q c last xmas, its very nice and Picton is quite a nice stop over..
I am walking the tasman coastal January, this is a popular walk and huts can be booked at a resonable price through the department of conservation web site, its near Nelson, which is a popular stop over.
I am always advising my traveller friends to take into account that NZ is a large country with a lot of small roads, plan your trip carefully, normally travellers run out of time.
Reply to this Ruth and david
one more thing, my club the are organising a trip, none profit, you can check it out on
www.geocities.com/nzprelub2008/
If you have any questions you can reply to the web site, there are some 80 overseas visitors , to repeat my last, this is not a profit run weekend, just lots of fun.
Reply to this Depends what you like. For scenery in the South Island - either/both of Milford and Doubtful Sounds, Queenstown/Wanaka, Fox or Franz Glacier, Abel Tasman - try the overnight kayak trips here. Then there's Kaikoura for swimming with dolphins - if your're going to do it anywhere in NZ then do it here. The Queen Charlotte track is a nice easy one becuase you don't have to carry your bags - the boat moves them for you, plus you stay in hostels rather than huts. If you choose to do any of the other walks booking huts is essential - http://www.doc.govt.nz. And of course tehre's wine tasting too - do it in the Marlborough region and you can hire bikes for the day and cycle round.
In the north island definately do the Tongarino Crossing - a one day walk. It can be a busy one but you get such dramatic changes in scenery in the one day it's worth it. Also there's Rotorua for it's sulphur spings and dramatic coloured rocks.
To be honest I'd spend most of your time in the South Island - if you have five weeks I'd probably spend about 4 weeks of that in the south island with up to 10 days in the north island.
Reply to this For ideas Check
SeeAnz. They have a bunch of itineraries listed on their website.
Reply to this Hi Ruth and David.
Please have a look at our web site. www.HikingNewZeland.com We have a number of hikes that might interest you.
In particular we have a number of safari's that include hiking and seeing the sights. I even do some guiding and the Secret South Trip is a good one with sea kayaking in Milford Sound, hiking in out of the way places and also getting to see the icons of NZ. These trips are 10 days and are fully guided. We try and keep the price as cheap as possible for a small group tour.
Of course I have to say some of the above but I was a hiker before I was employed by Hiking New Zealand and I would really recommend getting out to see the wild and beautiful places of NZ.
Queen Charlotte is beautiful and march is a good time of the year to visit this place.
Reply to this Def. recommend the Christchurch City Bike Tour if you visit the South Island. Its fantastic, flat, we had a great guide and we got to see a lot of the city and outskirts, there are lots of pretty parks.
Reply to this I didn't manage to get on that bike tour with the limited time I had in Christchurch, but I also heard great things about it.
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is a cool site to research your travel using video - Check it out! Reply to this A suggested itenary I found for New Zealand
is *
Day 1: Auckland, City of Sails
Day 2: Paihia and Waitangi
Day 3: Rotorua and Maori Culture
Day 4: Taupo and Waitomo
Day 5: Back to Auckland
Day 1: Christchurch. Overnight stay.
Day 2 :Drive to Akaroa if time permits, then travel to Mt Cook. Overnight stay.
Day 3 : Travel to Queenstown. Overnight stay.
Day 4 :Take a cruise on Milford Sound. Overnight at Queenstown.
Day 5 : Return to Christchurch.
(* Ref about.com ) Reply to this i lived on the north island for three years and i would have to say you must see mount muanganui. its an absolutely beautiful beach with a small "mount" that you can walk up. rotorua is also very interesting.
Reply to this also you need to check out coramandel when you get back towards auckland.
Reply to this We did the Tongariro Cross (north island) - very cool hike - http://www.thetongarirocrossing.co.nz/
Though the best was the Siberian crossing - http://www.wilkinriverjets.co.nz/wilderness_trekking.htm
Definitely add this to the list if you can.
We did it with a certain backpacker bus company - though I'll refrain from mentioning their name as I've plugged them enough in my other posts 😊
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