New Zealand

[xtink]

Hi PooChi77,

thanks for sharing your itinerary...it was indeed very useful as i'm also going for a 12 days F&E in South NZ. My original draft itenrary is quite similar to urs in terms of towns to go, but i actually intended to stay one more day in Queenstown, whereas you actually stayed one more nite in Greymouth. I'm travelling on 27 Oct, so still some time to do more research.

Btw, i have noticed that most of your lodging is at Kingsgate chain. Any reason? how much u paid for each of those accomodation? Did u scout around for the best value-for-$$ accomodation through the tourist information? (my fren told me if u visit their tourist info centre, they can help you check out the best value for $$ accomodation)

 

[triggerfish76]

Hi all

I'm planning a 13D trip to South island for my honeymoon between 31st Oct to 12 Nov.

Thinking of doing a self-drive. The biggest problem I'm facing now is, do I have to pre-book my accomodation? If so how?

Any good car rental company to recommend?

Any itinerary to share? Can PM it to me?

Thanks.

 

[triggerfish76]

Hi all, I taken reference from the itinerary found in this forum & kinda mix & match myself.

Is this a comfortable itinerary? Pls comment. Quite worried about the long drive required especially on day 4&5.

Thanks! : )

Day 1 (Sun, 30 Oct) – Depart from SIN-AKL-CHC

Day 2 (Mon, 31 Oct) – CHC Airport- CHC

Day 3 (Tue, 1 Nov) – CHC –Lake Tekapo –Mount cook – Lake Tekapu

Day 4 (Wed, 2 Nov) Lake tekapo – Omarama - Dunedin

Day 5 (Thur, 3 Nov) – Dunedin – Queenstown

Day 6 (Fri, 4 Nov) – Queenstown – Te Anau

Day 7 (Sat, 5 Nov) Te Anau – Milford Sound – Te Anau – Queenstown

Day 8 (Sun, 6 Nov) – Queenstown – Wanaka - Fox Glacier via Haast Pass

Day 9 (Mon, 7 Nov) – Fox Glacier – Franz Josef – Hokitika - Greymouth

Day 10 (Tue, 8 Nov) - Greymouth – Punakaiki – Greymouth

Day 11 (Wed, 9 Nov) – Greymouth – Hanmer Springs

Day 12 (Thur, 10 Nov) – Hanmer Springs - Kaikoura

Day 13 (Fri, 11 Nov) – Kaikoura- CHC

Day 14 (Sat, 12 Nov) – CHC – AKL – SIN

 

[lazibum]

hi all,anybody have any idea any agency in sgp specialize in new zealand tour?

 

[poochi77]

Hi Kite,
yes very nice indeed. Hee the rest of pics not loaded yet cos the multiply cite was down the other day and ya abit lazy...

It was not windy at hooker valley we also did to the 2nd bridge cos we were there quite late and sun was setting so didnt venture further.

Hee We definately didnt think it will snow so heavily. In fact Chirstchurch airport was closed for 1-2 days. Fortunately for us we were out of CHC and we were lucky to have good weather on the day to milford and thruout so no use of chains.

Cheryl,
yea u can stay another nite at QT cos got more stuff to do there. I initailly wanted to stay at Hokitika but changed our minds cos theres nothing much there , so end up at Greymouth.

As for Kingsgate chain, its inclusive in our package (Ours was flight/6Nstay/6Ddrive for $1338), we jus extd our car when we were there and for the rest of the acc we booked on our own.

For info when u reach the airport theres alot of brochures and maps-all for free!! So you can pick up some accomodation guide and source from it. Bascially u need to know your own budget range. I booked via internet for some and used my lonely planet and the acc guides as references.

 

[triggerfish76]

Hi poochi

So you pre-booked all yr accomodations? How? Via internet using credit cards or email?

I'm thinking of doing a farmstay also. Do you have any contacts?

Thanks.

 

[xtink]

Hi Poochi,

Thanks for sharing.

Btw, can u stil recall how much u paid in total for your petrol? Me trying to come up with a budget. And how much did u spend in all? How much NZD exchange?

Btw, have anyone of u tried the black water rafting at Greymouth? Heard from my frens who had been there quite nice, quite ex though at NZD135 pp (it's a half day activity)

 

[poochi77]

tiggerfish,
yea I find it more convinient to booked via internet esp with hotels that have a website.
Most of them will have a reservation page, jus follow the instructions for the online booking most req a credit card confirmation and will send you an email confirmation-jus print that out.
The good thing is you can cancel the reservation 24 hrs or some on the actual day itself via phone so no worries if you change plans.

But even if you dun do an advance booking, u'll still be able to find acc. If u going during the peak period betta to do advance book.
Try this:
http://www.bbh.co.nz/
http://www.yha.org.nz/
http://www.nzfarmholidays.co.nz/farmholidays.cfm

xtlink:
petrol price is sama sama as spore. Depends on the dist u travelling. I cant recall total how much spend on petrol but overall for 12 days we spent $6200(flight package+insur+expenditure). Our expenditure(food/hotel/activities/shopping/petrol)was ard $2900(cash+credit card).

All their activites are ard that range jus spend la dun think so much..ha ha ha.

 

[san_remo]

Hi kite & poochi77,

may i know what are the "must-buy" in NZ?

Is manuka honey much cheaper than in Singapore?

Thanks!

 

[kite~]

Hi Mel,

Yes, NZ manuka honey is definitely much more cheaper than SG.

Bought NZ manuka honey body lotions n body baths, NZ thermal mud face masks, lipbalms, bottles of NZ manuka honey UMF10+, chocolates, fridge magnets, bermudas, pauashell earrings n bracelet, motherpearl & beef bone necklaces, last but not last, some cute ornaments and colourful pauashell plates showing NZ maps to decorate our own house.

For frens, bought them chocolates, keychains, lipbalms.

When we were there, we actually bought some nice NZ postcards, wrote down what were we doing that moment and sent it through NZ post office back S'pore address. Once we were back in spore n opened the letterbox, the postcard really remind us of everything.

 

[xtink]

Hi Poochi,

You travelled from Greymouth to Hanmer Springs via SH7 Lewis Pass. Where is this Lewis pass located? Could not seem to find this route on the map. From Greymouth, do u actually drove north-eastern towards Reefton and pass by Springs Junction, i.e. via Highway 7 and 65?

Is there anything to do in Springs Junction? Also thermal pools?

Btw, $6200 seems a reasonable budget, must be becasue of the good deal you have gotten from Air NZ. Me budgeted abt $6.5k even though i'm redeeming one 1xSQ tkt and paid for the other ticket. Wonder how come my estmated expense is so high. I budgeted abt NZD70/nite for accomodation, and abt NZD30/day for petrol. Food wise, me budgeted only NZD25/pay. Wonder if this is sufficient.

Triggerfish,

for car rental, u may try mcdonaldsrentacar.co.nz. They quoted me NZD45/day for a 1.8L Toyota Corolla, and their fleet seems new (2002/2003). At the rate, u can probably get a 1.5L/1.6L rental car from other coys. Only disadvantage would be the slightly higher consumption, but for highway driving, a larger car would be more stable and comfy. Fuel efficiency would almost the same for all classes on highway. But no free HP or rice cooker (courtesy of Teddy of Anzed)

 

[xtink]

is there much shoppping to be done in NZ as compared to places like Taiwan and Hong Kong? probably i budgeted too much for such misc shopping. Maybe NZD200-300 would suffice? (excluding food/accom/petrol)

 

[san_remo]

Thanks kite!

Now i really have a better idea of what to buy in NZ already... hehe!

Wow! that's very romantic of you & your hubby! the postcards will always be there to remind you guys about the great times you had together in NZ... really so sweet!!

 

[poochi77]

Mel,
Yup like Kite I also bought Honey, Jams Chocs. and souveniors. U should checkout warehouse shopping centre clothes and shoes are cheap!! Theres one at Greymouth (next to tain stn) and another at Christchurch-Northern Mall. I got cheap birkenstock-like sandals for NZ$7 and tracking shoes for NZ$40. If you go to Northern Mall theres a lot of shops in one mall but go early cos closes at 5-6pm.
As for Chocs: must buy the Kiwi Chocs bars- the one that have bits of Kiwi in them. Think its Richfield. The jam-filled ones not that nice. Also if u go to fudge house in art centre(christchurch) u can buy the fudge in different flavours(baileys/irish cream/rum&raisin etc).

xtlink
Hmm I actually went up to Buller gorge first dats why I used SH 65. But if u going fr greymouth u shd use SH 7 all the way pass reefton. The SH have very clear direction boards, dun worry. I used the free AA maps thruout my trip.
Springs junction was jus a lunch break stopover. Think u shld jus proceed to Hanmer cos theres a no. of things u can do at Hanmer.

As for exp NZD70/nite for accomodation sounds ok tho u can get NZD50(w/o shared bathrm), and abt NZD30/day for petrol not everyday u need to top up to full tank petrol. Your Food wise, $25/per day is kinda low cos if u're eating out most meals each meal/person cost NZD10 (sandwich+drink), if u go restaurant cost NZD30-40 for 2 people. Unless u like me make own breakfast, pack own lunch sandwich/snacks and self cook for some nites.
Anyway u can signed with credit card if not enuf cash, cos in NZ almost everywhere accepts credit card.

 

[xtink]

Thanks Poochi.

One more question: When travelling from Queenstown to Wanaka, there are two routes avaiable, via SH89 thru Arrowtown or via SH6 thru Cromwell. Anyone can advise which road is easier/nicer/better scenery to travel on? From the map, route 89 is a 'minor road', meaning??

 

[xtink]

Thanks Poochi.

One more question: When travelling from Queenstown to Wanaka, there are two routes avaiable, via SH89 thru Arrowtown or via SH6 thru Cromwell. Anyone can advise which road is easier/nicer/better scenery to travel on? From the map, route 89 is a 'minor road', meaning??

 

[kite~]

Hi awvis,

U can try GBC travel http://gbctravel.com/ they have various packages which might suit you.

Hi xtlink,

we travelled by Lewis pass to hanmer springs. this pass is quite boring, nothing to see.

From queenstown to Wanaka, we used Crown range route. Be careful this route is basically driving up and down the mountains, quite challenging n excited. hv to slow down on the cornering n bends cos no barrier.

HTH

 

[greenisfresh]

Hi everyone,

I'm back.... what a nice country. I saw Poochi's pic.. more or less are the same. haha..
I just move to my hubby house, haven't got a chance to upload the photos.

I'll definately give my itinerary and photos here..

Gals, I'm strongly recommend these on your trip.
1. Teddy from Anzed. He is so nice and friendly. Very helpful. He rent us the rice cooker and mobile phone during our trip.
2. Alglenn Motel by Alvin & Shirleen. They are Singaporean. They are both a nice couple.
Nice place to stay, clean and quiet. Not so far from the city. about 3 to 5 minutes drive.
you can also ask their help to book for some attraction. As a motel, they can book with discounted price. Get the 10% voucher for Willowbank from them. And one more thing. The first day you stay at Alglenn, you may want to discuss your itinerary with Alvin. He was a tour guide before. So he know where is the best place to go, which way is safe, and where is the cheapest place to buy..

 

[kite~]

hi kwan,

nice to hear from u

i definitely want to view your photos.

how many days u went n expediture?

 

[mint]

Hi kite,
long time no 'see'... hehe! So where are you off to this year for holiday? I'll be off to Mauritius in Dec. Seems like you still miss NZ alot cos you're still so active in this thread. hehe!

 

[xtink]

Hi Kite, thanks for the info.

Hi kwan,

where is this Algleen Motelu mentioned? How much u paid for per night?

Thomas

 

[greenisfresh]

Hi Thomas,

I paid NZ$80. You might want to check with them the price as i believe the motel in New zealand sometimes give a different price for different season.

Check their website. http://www.alglennmotel.co.nz/

Their location is in Papanui Road.

 

[triggerfish76]

Hi Kwan

How's the weather like now? I flying off this coming Sunday,30th Oct.

Did you pay cash or use credit card for yr accomodation and car rental?

I going south island for 12D & I can't decided if I shld carry so much cash with me. Thinking of changing $3000 NZ dollars. Ya, on this note, you know of any money changer with good rates?

Can you email me yr itinerary for reference? it's [email protected]

Thanks.

 

[xtink]

Hi Triggerfish,

Me also travelling to NZ (South) for 12 days, departing this coming Thurs nite. Too bad we aren't travelling on the same dates else we could even be 'partners' there... hahaa... well, who knows, we might meet somewhere in NZ since we are only 3 days apart. maybe we can even share our itinerary.

How's your planning so far? Maybe we can correspond further via emails? u may email me at [email protected]

Really looking forward to this Fri!

Btw, NZD rates are going up! i exchg some of it last week at 1.185 and today the rates are 1.202... think everyone is flocking to the $$ changers due to the long holidays next week. I suggest dun wait any further. I changed 2.7k NZD in all.

 

[kite~]

Hi xtink and Triggerfish,

i went to suntec money changer. changed NZ$5000 that time.

Remember to snap alot of beautiful pics and share with me okie. Cheers.

 

[xtink]

Hi Kite,

wow.... your budget is really fat. NZD5000 already exceeds my planned budget for everythg! kekekee..

btw, anyone went on glacier walk before? I wanted to see ice caves, but the replies from those Guided Tour Coy seems negative that i would be able to see ice caves in the half-day walk.... as the caves are usually further up the mountain....so disappointed. So can anyone really advise if it's worth it to pay for the half-day walk? I only know it's a tiring journey but what abt the scenery? Or is the $$ better spent elsewhere, e.g. the queenstown combo?

 

[triggerfish76]

Hi Kite

You mentioned you brought a SD card reader & portable harddisk to transferred yr photos to the harddisk every nite? Don't you need a laptop to read from the SD card & transfer it to the portable harddisk? Or is there a better way? I only have two 256MB SD card for my 12D trip. DOubt it be enough. Also do you have to buy a power adapter to charge yr camera in NZ?

Thanks for helping.

Xtink
How abt you? What are you going to do abt yr photos?

 

[xtink]

Hi Triggerfish

I will only be bringing along 3*128MB + 1*32MB memory cards... i hope i will have enough. But will be sourcing around for some more. At most reduce the resolution lor... bo bian...

 

[kite~]

Hi xtink,

paiseh, typo error. i changed S$5k, not NZ$5k.

Hi triggerfish,

yes bought the reader and hard disk. u dun need any laptop. its very simple, just insert your card into the hard disk.

I m afraid 256MB x 2 is not enuff. lets say u use 1MB for each photo n e most u can take is 400 photos for the whole trip. i took 1000 photos for my trip leh.

yes additional charger is a must in case ur batt is low.

 

[bodyshop]

Hi,

Battery charger is a MUST and bring along at least a highest-capacity-you-can-afford battery. you never know how many pics you took and the batt run dry. I charge my spare batt at any available socket plugs at restaurants during breaks.

For those who's going buy a harddisk to download photos w/o a laptop for power source, sim lim got many brands eg compactdrive.

If you dun want a laptop or buy a compactdrive, bring an external harddisk along. either do the photo downloading at yr hotel (not many hotels allow that), or go to nearby internet cafe and spend an hour to download. it's cheaper this way but at sacrifice of yr tour time or night time.

my advice : get 1x 1mb card, 1x 512mb card, compactdrive.

 

[triggerfish76]

Hi Kite, Hi Bodyshop

Is the power plug in NZ 3 pin type? Same as S'pore?
HOw much did you pay for yr harddisk (compactdrive)?
Thanks.

 

[greenisfresh]

hi,

photo uploaded. I can only get 100 quota for this month in Multiply.

je110.multiply.com

 

[greenisfresh]

Hi all,

We took 1800 photos. We brought 1Gig with a small and fine resolution, we only can get ard 1200. So after 600 photos, we went to a photo shops in the neigbourhood to burn into CD. Their price is vary. The cheapest i can get was NZ10. You only need to wait for about 20 minutes for the process.

 

[badgal]

Hi xtint
Looks like no body has asnwered ur question on the glacier walk. Well... mi n HB went 4 the Fox Glacier in sept this yr. We joined the 1/2 day glacier walk. We pre-booked our walk thru GBC (our tour agency in s'pore). I think the glacier company is called Alpine Guides. They hv really friendly guides who wld take care gd care of u thru'out the whole hiking. 4 the half day u dun really get 2 go into the ice caves. Basically, u will onli get 2 go 2 half the whole height of the glacier. It's onli the full day ones tat will bring u all the way 2 the top. Bt it's veri siong for full day unless u hv great stamina. Ur knees will be achg n hurtg like mad even for the 1/2 day hike. Coz climbg the glacier is like vertical marathon (i.e. climbing staircases).... Bt I guess glacier climb is worse than staircase climbg coz of the differentiaing ht of the ice n rocks. Suggest u do some exercises b4 u go.

 

[skylark]

Hi all,

I am new to this thread, I am intending to go NZ for our honeymoon in March next yr. Just sourcing out some information. Look like everyone goes during oct -nov. Anyone has any idea would it be a good time to visit NZ during early march ?? Thank you.

 

[jen_bibi]

Hi Cheyenne

i'm also looking at mar but should be early mar.

is e start of autum

 

[skylark]

Hi Jen,

Yup, it autumn season. However, I just wondering would the scenery be as good as in Summer or Winter?

How ur planning so far ? U planning to go for how many days ?

 

[jen_bibi]

Hi Cheyenne

me not so sure abt the diff season scenery but think autumn also quite nice lah, with the fallen leaves or the orangy color of leaves.

me just browsing only n getting info from this thread but actual planning will be after my AD which is nect wk.

at moment we planning for 10 days will start on a fri night flight n coming back on a sat afternoon flight to max our tour but siong cos will ve to start work on monday

going for f&e, so wat abt u???

me thinking if u r going ard e same timing, interested in buying those SQ promo for 4 pax (provided if there is). think quite cheap n can travel in comfort

 

[badgal]

Hi Cheyenne
Actually autumn is a gd time 2 go NZ. Many ple flock 2 places like nz n aust during summer time(Nov till Jan) coz that's the hottest season.... no nd 2 bring 2 much clothings mah n daylight is effectively longer.... kekek. However, things will be damned expensive during this time... like certain entrance fees, cruises, etc. Even the bookg of accomm will b difficult coz no vacancies. So it all depends on urself. 4 mi... HB n myself went during spring time. The weather was beautiful n flowers were all springing up everywher. The tulips n roses r so beautiful. N we cld still c the leftover snow melting away slowly.. It's juz so beautiful during this time. Autumn is gd oso coz u can c the leaves all turning gold or red. Gd time 2 go.

 

[yours2lynn]

Hi.

We went for the Fox Glacier 1/2 day walk. You can read about my report in the archieve dated April 05.

Ice Caves .... you need a full day hike or take the heli-hike.

Hello Kite, you still very active here! I haven't check out this forum for long long liao.

 

[skylark]

Hi Jen,

Congrat to you! I just finished our AD last saturday. Hheheh... so now we are kind of planning for the post HM trip.

Tentatively, we are thinking of going in March to avoid the crowd which Winnie had mentioned. Thank Winnie for advising on the expensive entrance fees which i did not consider at first. Now i am quite confirm to go after Jan.

As for the air tickets suggestion, I still cant confirm with you yet, Jen. Maybe later see the planning, but thank for suggesting that.

 

[xtink]

Hi People,

Thanks for the advices... anyway me already back from my trip this monday.... and me and my wife din go for the 1/2 day afterall (Didn;t want to pay $$ and suffer, kekeke). We actually just walked to the terminal of the glacier, cross over the out-of-bound and went to touch the ice... hahaa... thought that was already quite fulfilling. And added we were quite rushed for time also...

NZ really fun... miss it badly now, especially the weather.

 

[kite~]

hi yours,

long time no see, how are you? any new updates?

 

[bubble_low]

Hi,

I came back from NZ a wk ago. I went on tour package with sa. Juz a advice - pls try not to buy chocos at Queenstown cos it's very ex. I bought some at $5 plus and later went to Hokitika and realised that the chocos are selling at $2.79 each.

Kwan - Can i know the car rental rate by Teddy from Anzed ? I would like to go for f&e to nz again.

 

[sun96]

hihi

i'm gg to NZ - north & south aft x'mas...
anyone can share with me their itinerary??
quite lost as dun noe where to get start first... thk q

 

[skylark]

Hi all,

I am thinking of going ard late Jan. Any idea will it be still very peak period ?

 

[jen_bibi]

Hi Sun96

u also going to NZ, me too.
how's yr wedding??? must be very fun right?

 

[sun96]

halo jen

yup, gg NZ for my HM...

my wedding is fun!!! memorable day...

yrs tis sat rite?? so on leave liao??

 

[jen_bibi]

Hi sun96

happy to hear so ve a fun day.

yup!! this sat is the 'D' Day

me on leave only e day before cos no leave n since new job so can't take too many no pay.

 

[kpo]

i thought the onset of winter is a good time to visit NZ 'cos it's cool (not too cold yet)..it's low peak (read - no crowds, cheap accommodations!)..and there are usually special airfare promo by ANZ!

i got the ANZ package - airfare (return SIN-NZ & one domestic flight), 5-day accommodation & 5-day car rental which i felt was very value for money. 'cos it was low peak..we managed to get v cheap rates for accommodations for the other days as well..so that saved us some money.

driving around in NZ is really easy...though driving in winter (deep snow, black ice) might be more tricky 'cos you might need snowchains for your tyres...i'd definitely recommend self-drive 'cos it's so much more flexible and exciting!

agree that everything in queenstown is expensive..if you are considering the rides...be prepared to spend a bomb!!!