Help with a travel itinerary to NZ
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@nonpartizan said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@nzzp said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@nonpartizan where ar eyou coming from?
Key is to be really clear about what it is you are wanting to see. All Blacks obviously - but you wlil be trading off scenery (south island in particular) with culture (Rotorua/Waitangi) and generally going to hospo and getting munted (pretty much anywhere).
Three weeks is a lot. You'll be able to do a lot, but honestly I would sugget spending more time lapping the South Island looking at winter scenery and less time in the cities.
Thankyou.
I am coming from California. For the record I expect this to be the one and only time I am in NZ so I have to make every day count.
I will be coming with my 18 year old son as it's a celebration of him graduating high school.
As far as goals, I do want to take in scenery but I also am a huge enthusiastic of museums so I really want to learn a lot about the Maori and also the British settlers.
The only hard and fast thing on my itinerary thus far is I HAVE to be in Hamilton on the day of the 3rd test v France. Even if I can't get in, I will never have another chance to be in NZ on the day of a test again.
I’m sure it’s on your radar as a museum enthusiast, but I’ve been to Te Papa in Wellington probably 5x, and enjoyed it every time - I reckon you could spend 2 hours in the Anzac exhibition alone, the sculptures are incredible, and the stories so well told. If you’re looking for Maori history, definitely don’t shirk this one.
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@nonpartizan sorry, missed your explanatory notes while typing up my reply.
A suggestion at Queenstown is the Gondola (cable car). We did the package deal for the ride up, the luge (18yo will love it racing against Dad), and the buffet lunch. The buffet was top quality.
I second @nostrildamus suggestion of Tane Mahuta / Waipoua Forest if you do travel north.
Also (back down south again) boat trip out on Lake Te Anau to glow-worm caves was a worthwhile time filler (we were there primarily for Milford).
As people have said, just check your travel times as it can chew up a day when you'd rather be doing stuff...
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@voodoo said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@nonpartizan said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@nzzp said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@nonpartizan where ar eyou coming from?
Key is to be really clear about what it is you are wanting to see. All Blacks obviously - but you wlil be trading off scenery (south island in particular) with culture (Rotorua/Waitangi) and generally going to hospo and getting munted (pretty much anywhere).
Three weeks is a lot. You'll be able to do a lot, but honestly I would sugget spending more time lapping the South Island looking at winter scenery and less time in the cities.
Thankyou.
I am coming from California. For the record I expect this to be the one and only time I am in NZ so I have to make every day count.
I will be coming with my 18 year old son as it's a celebration of him graduating high school.
As far as goals, I do want to take in scenery but I also am a huge enthusiastic of museums so I really want to learn a lot about the Maori and also the British settlers.
The only hard and fast thing on my itinerary thus far is I HAVE to be in Hamilton on the day of the 3rd test v France. Even if I can't get in, I will never have another chance to be in NZ on the day of a test again.
I’m sure it’s on your radar as a museum enthusiast, but I’ve been to Te Papa in Wellington probably 5x, and enjoyed it every time - I reckon you could spend 2 hours in the Anzac exhibition alone, the sculptures are incredible, and the stories so well told. If you’re looking for Maori history, definitely don’t shirk this one.
Thinking about @nonpartizan's note that he likes Museum puts me in a quandary - do I suggest he goes to the Rugby Museum and also send him to Palmy, a fate I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy?
@nonpartizan A quick stop in Palmy to visit the Rugby Museum works if you go down the island, or from Hawkes Bay (Napier). You can stop in, see the museum, eat some decent Asian food, and then quickly get out of Dodge and head on to Wellington.
New Zealand Rugby Museum
Revel in Rugby and all its heritage Visit the iconic New Zealand Rugby Museum in Palmerston North, home to the world's first museum dedicated to the oval ball. You'll be rewarded with a trip back in time exploring the rich history and folklore of New Zealand's national game, discovering the
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@Nepia Great suggestion, and well worth the visit for a rugby fan.
The other thing I would mention is that give yourself plenty of time between destinations if you are driving. It may not appear to be a large distance (in km) but many state highways have plenty of turns and bends, particularly in the South Island (e.g. driving to Milford Sound, down the West Coast).
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@nonpartizan
re Outdoors. You probably wont have the time to go on overnight hikes in NZ. You have to be careful with the weather.
There's hundreds of roadside camps.- Vinegar Hill camp ground next to the mighty Rangitikei River, central North Island.
- Holdsworth Lodge Masterton.
Try a camp fire using dry manuka / kanuka firewood. Hot as.
If your son likes the outdoors don't discount the Wairarapa. Carterton Greytown are awesome.
Dairy's (shops) have steak-cheese pies, custard squares. Get a paua fritter from a fish n chip shop. -
@Nepia said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@Smudge said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
Good start. And don't spend too much time in Wellington (I say that as a resident of the greater Wellington region).
Can I ask why? All the foreigners I've taken to Wellington have loved the city.
Although, if it is to visit HB as @canefan suggests then I'm fully onboard with it.
Yeah if you're going to do a "major" city it's easily the best, great hospitality scene, compact with plenty of cultural shit, nature shit, etc all within an hour or less. Chch and Hamilton are boring as fuck and the only decent parts of Auckland is the viaduct and the islands.
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@booboo yeah, my geography was wrong re: Queenstown and Milford Sound. It was the 90's when we did that trip, also in winter. We had a ford laser and the heater decided not to work. My legs were numb whenever l got out of the car, also remember being in Queenstown and was told it was colder there that day than it was at the South Pole. In other words, it gets cold in winter...
Probably best to do a bustrip from Queenstown to Milford Sound, get the commentary etc. Also, the roads that time of year could be a bit dicey.
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I am a kiwi etc, but while living in Aus came we came over and followed Welsh rugby tour through NZ with mate and his wife (he Welsh), One thing I would suggest Akld? It's another city (and not a particularly nice one), I would suggest heading up Bay of Islands for a couple of days, at that time of year it quiet, and still got all boat tours etc happening. Once you seen test in Hamilton, head out of there, if you interested Hobbiton, and head down to Waotomo glow worm caves? Then I would head for Taupo for a night or so, and head across to Hawkes Bay, and down through Waiarapa to Wellington .
There is a lot of bloody great scenery down South , so don't rob yourself of time down there. I personally think basing yourself in cities can be a mistake, they are just that cities, and not what NZ is about in my opinion. Anyway whatever you do enjoy your time here . -
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@nonpartizan said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
I'm worried I'm going to leave feeling that I should have spent longer everywhere I went.
That's highly likely and you'll be so exhausted you won't enjoy it as much.
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@nonpartizan said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
If I can avoid it I would like to rely mostly on public transit with perhaps renting a car for a week......
Ok, this is now another issue. Inter-city transport in NZ is poor and even worse in the South Island. Any interest in a campervan, especially now that you're spending less time in the cities?
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@nonpartizan said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@Smudge said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@nonpartizan said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
If I can avoid it I would like to rely mostly on public transit with perhaps renting a car for a week......
Ok, this is now another issue. Inter-city transport in NZ is poor and even worse in the South Island. Any interest in a campervan, especially now that you're spending less time in the cities?
Yes, do you know how much approximately it would cost to rent one for say, a week?
Getting a rental from a non big name company will be a better option, but Covid really screwed the rental market in NZ. Pre Covid I used to pick up cheap as chips rentals from the non big names, but now they're only really cheaper when compared with the big names. I use an aggregator site to find the best one - will try think of which one I used most recently.
If you do get a rental go for a hybrid as you'll save money on petrol (gas) costs as you'll have a heart attack when you see these prices.
But, NZ is pretty hard to do on public transport and having a car will give you much more freedom/time.
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I chucked in a few details based on your info in this thread (arrive Jul 11, depart Aug 1) rather than the one week, picking up in Auckland, and dropping off in Queenstown. You'd probably want a 2+1 (assuming your 18yo can fit into the high-up bed). So a touch over $4k for three weeks, but that covers a large part of your accommodation costs - you may want to check into a few camping grounds along the way though. Also, you'd need to factor in the Cook Strait ferry.
There are cheaper options though further down the search results.
I will hasten to add I've never travelled anywhere in a campervan, so I'm just going off the popular options.
Agree with Nepia around the rental options - I've largely had good experiences with RAD - https://www.radcarhire.co.nz/ if that's somewhere that you'd want to start.
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@BerniesCorner said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@nonpartizan
re Outdoors. You probably wont have the time to go on overnight hikes in NZ. You have to be careful with the weather.
There's hundreds of roadside camps.- Vinegar Hill camp ground next to the mighty Rangitikei River, central North Island.
- Holdsworth Lodge Masterton.
Try a camp fire using dry manuka / kanuka firewood. Hot as.
If your son likes the outdoors don't discount the Wairarapa. Carterton Greytown are awesome.
Dairy's (shops) have steak-cheese pies, custard squares. Get a paua fritter from a fish n chip shop.Martinborough is lovely for a stroll around too , beautiful vineyards and surrounding areas.
The Rapa is awesome.
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@nonpartizan said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@canefan said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
Getting a small car and booking motels or hotels along the way isn't as cheap, but more comfortable. The exchange rate is favourable, why not travel in relative comfort?
Canefan, on that note can you just pretty much roll into a town in NZ and relatively easily find accommodation at a motel without prebooking? Like, say I just drove into Napier will I be able to find.a room pretty easily?
If so, this may afford us a lot more flexibility instead of a hard and fast schedule that does not allow for any changes.
I'd say probably so, especially if there is nothing significant on that weekend in town. Just use booking.com as a guide and maybe book a day or two ahead once you firm up your plans. Most towns will have decent hotels, apartments hotels (Quest is a pretty solid chain in NZ for example) and lots of motor lodges where you can drive in and stay. At that time of year it shouldn't be a major problem, except you obviously want to book in Hamilton
