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These 63 comments are related to the topic:
Anyone here ever been to New Zealand?
Anyone here ever been to New Zealand?
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http://www.backpackerguide.nz/11-lord-of-the-rings-locations-you-cant-miss-in-new-zealand/ |
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Thanks for that. I think if I had unlimited time and was a driver I would be tempted to go and check most of those out. Hobbiton is the one that appeals that I might try and make the effort for.
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If I ever go to New Zealand I would love to visit the Bay of Islands.
I was reading about it earlier this morning and remembered this thread  Bay of Islands  . https://www.visitboi.co.nz/ |
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Just remembered some additional things I did when there, 20 years ago mind.
Yes, whale watching at Kaikoura was great. I remember now it was Lake Taupo that I did the tandem sky-dive which was something everyone should do once...fantastic. Dolphins swimming alongside the ferry between North and South Islands. In the North Island I stayed at a hut that belonged a farm. I was by myself in this basic hut, little bigger than a shed. It was a few miles from the farm. Very remote. I had to cut wood to make a fire. Take my own food. You realise how vulnerable you are when being that remote e.g. if you hurt yourself in any way. It had been raining for days prior and I went for a walk in the forest and slipped down a steep valley side and only managed to stop myself falling by trapping hold of a tree as I slid. Always wonder what might have happened if I hadn't caught hold of the tree. |
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Great stuff, Jack. Hotels and B and Bs for me wherever possible! Whale wathing at Kaikoura definitely appeals to me. The sky diving is definitely out, but glad you had a blast doing it.
Bay of Islands looks ace as well. This thread just illustrates how much of New Zealand is impressive. |
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Kaikouras great. If they still do the swimming with dolphins its worth doing. None of this ponsing about with the tame ones ni captivity nonsense. You get taken out on a boat in the old neoprene wetsuit and they track huge schools of wild dusky dolphins. Then they head them off , you all pile into the water and the school comes towards you and swims round to investigate what you are. Its a fantastic experience. You can do whale watching there and theres some lovely beach areas with hardly a soul in sight.
Stay in a cottage by one of the lakes near Mount Cook - beautiful and the sky at night is stunning when its clear and you can see the stars. |
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if you only have 10 days i'd be tempted to mostly skip the north island and start in Wellington, nice compact and scenic city with pretty good public transport but you can walk to most places.
Then take the ferry south and train or bus if you're planning on going to Kaikoura, most the main routes in and out of Kaikoura are closed after the earthquakes but should be open by next november. Kaikoura would be amazing to see, apparently the few tourists that are getting in have to wait for high tide before getting onto the tourist boats as the shoreline was raised by 2 metres. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lno8Rpbe57c From Christchurch you can take the Tranzalpine scenic train to Greymouth to the more interesting west coast and travel down to Queenstown via the glaciers and Wanaka etc If you are wanting to do an overnight hike they usually take 3 or 4 days plus getting there and back, Milford track or Routeburn are probably the best around Queenstown, or there's there are also plenty of day hikes but it's not the same experience. If you prefer bikes there's the otago central rail trail, or horse treks etc. |
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I have had a good think about this and have decided to go for longer than originally intended. It is a hell of a long way and there is every chance I wll never go again or certainly not for a fair few years so it would be foolish not to take the opportunity to see as much of the country as I reasonably can. I need to be in Brisbane by December 1st. Am now looking at setting off for NZ in time to give me at least two weeks in the country and maybe nearer to three.
This will give me the chance to include Kaikoura and one or two other places. Milford Track is strongly penclled in as I would like to do one of the hikes and really want to see Milford Sound as well. |
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Excellent idea
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Here's a couple of very good tv series I saw a few years ago, not sure if you can get them online, I think in the South one he does the Milford
https://www.amazon.co.uk/South-New-Zealand-Marcus-Lush/dp/B004941PDO/ref=sr_1_3?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1484094824&sr=1-3&keywords=Marcus+Lush https://www.amazon.co.uk/North-New-Zealand-PAL-REGION/dp/B006VZ00L2/ref=pd_rhf_se_s_cp_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B006VZ00L2&pd_rd_r=W3KE0PBX37N8RXY0JTTR&pd_rd_w=sfgzL&pd_rd_wg=fLSav&psc=1&refRID=W3KE0PBX37N8RXY0JTTR Probably a good idea to book the Milford Track early for unguided which is fairly cheap, the guided tours I'm sure cost a packet. http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/fiordland/places/fiordland-national-park/ Generally in NZ things are either cheap/free or fairly expensive but if you can afford it after the track you could do one of the combo plane / jet boat / cruise deals in Milford Sound which then flys you back to Queenstown after, probably around 400 quid for a whole day. Nothing beats local knowledge though if you know or get to know some locals. Cheapest way to travel the country is nakedbus.com/nz/faq/passport/ or Intercity. |
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A stunningly beautiful island with such diverse countryside. Tropical rain forest tumbling down to deserted sandy beaches, mountains, fjords and rolling green hills like some or the beautiful parts of Ireland can all be visited in a day or two. Auckland is a complete waste of time and defeats the object of visiting New Zealand as it's all about the countryside.
The people are lovely and it is often described like Britain pre-war where you could leave your house with the door unlocked. The South Island is more beautiful, I too liked Dunedin, but the North Island is still worth a visit too, even if it's just for the volcanic activity around Rotarua and the Coramandel coast. I would say I'm pretty well traveled and hitching/camping around NZ in my early twenties was up there with all the other stuff I've done since. Enjoy, you're in for a treat. |
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Oh, and I really liked Napier. Destroyed in 1931 earthquake. Rebuilt in the art deco style. Some of which is stunning.
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Cheers once more folks. I am going to visit Auckland despite the (no doubt justified) downvoting but will only stay 1 night (2 at the most) before flying on to Oz. Going to try and take in the Rugby League World Cup semi final there on 25th November. Plan is to get onto South Island and do Queenstown, Wanaka, Milford Track/Sound, Kaikoura, Christchurch and Stewart Island (not necessarily in that order) before internal flight to Wellington and then visit Rotarua/Matamata on route to Auckland. 2 weeks on South Island and 1 on North Island.
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The inter-island ferry is good value, especially north to south, for the price of a bus fare you see all of Wellington harbour, Cook Strait and a cruise though Marlborough Sounds, occasionally some dolphins or porpoises, and if you're lucky a day like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPjWMDAYWZs on a lighter/darker note, saw this http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/85064314/Vegan-blogger-Kristin-Lajeunesse-breaks-down-at-the-sight-of-sheep-in-trucks-on-Cook-Strait-ferry had to wonder, those sheep must have been thrilled to go on an cruise, given bungy jumping and skydiving are out of the question a boat ride must well be up there on a sheeps bucket list. Auckland is great if you have a car, excellent climate, beaches, etc, but nothing too special about the city, and the public transport still not that great, and the airport is miles out of town. |
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The inter-island ferry is good value, especially north to south, for the price of a bus fare you see all of Wellington harbour, Cook Strait and a cruise though Marlborough Sounds, occasionally some dolphins or porpoises, and if you're lucky a day like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPjWMDAYWZs on a lighter/darker note, saw this http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/85064314/Vegan-blogger-Kristin-Lajeunesse-breaks-down-at-the-sight-of-sheep-in-trucks-on-Cook-Strait-ferry had to wonder, those sheep must have been thrilled to go on an cruise, given bungy jumping and skydiving are out of the question a boat ride must well be up there on a sheeps bucket list. Auckland is great if you have a car, excellent climate, beaches, etc, but nothing too special about the city itself, and the public transport still not that great, and the airport is miles out of town. South Auckland has a very large pacific island community who are also big rugby league supporters, the city is multi ethnic in general. |
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Kaikoura, Wanaka, either Franz Josef or Fox Glacier, Punakaiki, Abel Tasman, Te Anau, Dunedin in the South.
Waitomo, Tongariro Crossing, Napier, Coromandel, Paihia in the North. Truth is you wont go far wrong wherever you go. |
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It will have to be South to North on the ferry given the rest of the likely schedule but presumably the sights will still be worth seeing. Got Milford Track booked in now so things are starting to take shape. I will have approx 3 weeks (maybe couple of days over) in NZ and three in Australia.Can't wait.
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BB, I've been twice with most recent trip last year. Only went to Wellington on north island so all my thoughts concern South Island.
Scenery is fantastic as are most of the people. No real train service. Don't know anything about the bus service but others seem to think it is OK. Hitch hiking is a viable option at times. Food is excellent even in local small cafes. Christchurch is still devastated after the big earthquake. I was shocked at how bad a lot of the buildings still are. It is a very handy international airport though and a great place to explore rest of S. Island from. Dunedin, Wanaka, Queenstown, Arrowtown, Kaikoura, Nelson all worth a visit. Finally do not underestimate the cost of everything when you are there. At a post Brexit of only 1.70 NZ to the £ you will be surprised at how expensive things are. |
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The Vis, thanks for that.
It looks as if I can use the scenic trains for a couple of the journeys I would like to do but that day to day train travel might not be the most practical. Glad to hear you rate the scenery, people and food. All important things for any trip. As far as the cost goes I have prepared myself for it being an expensive trip! |
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It is expensive but it can be very cheap, a flexi 10 leg bus pass works out at around $NZ20 per leg including the interisland ferry (and the scenery is free). Most of the great walks are around $20 per night in the huts so 2 tracks and a weeks hiking will cost around 60 quid on accommodation (Milford track is more expensive though) and your only other cost is food.
www.facebook.com/AbsoluteWilderness/ are good, cheaper and healthier than the other freeze dried stuff, order them online and have them sent ahead to your hotel or a friends house. Travel as light as possible if you don't have a car, take light, compact and easy wash items, the locals are mostly friendly and will usually help out if you ask (slightly less so the further north you go) and there are groups like wwoof.co.nz which are free if you have the time. Like most countries it can be a cheap and possibly a better experience, I guess if you rented a 1 bed london flat and backpacked around NZ or Oz for 2 months you'd possibly have a decent profit at the end. On the other hand you may want a bit of carefree luxury and a few big ticket tourist experiences too. |
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Will definitely look into the bus pass. Although I really fancy doing the tranzalpine railway trip from Christchurch to Greymouth may well do the rest of my domestic travelling by bus/ferry. My Milford Track hike and accomodation are booked and paid for as are my tickets to the Rugby League World Cup games I want to see. So the trip is definitely on. I just need to book my flights and sort out my itinenary. Am quite happy to shell out for some touristy stuff like the Hobbiton tour/jet boating/whale watching etc as it could be a long time before I get to NZ again, if indeed I ever do.
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Got it all pretty much booked in so thanks again to all the people who contributed ideas to the thread.
Queenstown Probably Te Anau Walking Milford Track Stewart Island Christchurch (briefly) Southern Alps Rail to Greymouth/Hokitika Wellington Rotarua Matamata/Hobbiton Auckland (Got a few days spare there to fit in extra trips, thinking of Tiritiri Matangi Island) Then on to Brisbane/Broken River/Melbourne/Perth Flying out on the 2nd November. |
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Rotorua, hope you like the smell of rotten eggs :)
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Haha, not really. But I am only there for a day and a half and it looks an interesting and different place to visit. It also fits in well with the dates for the rest of my trip.
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