New Zealand

[iloveoreo]

<font color="0000ff">zenn</font>
You can go the link i provided you below to check on the availability for the dates that you are interested.
They will reply back to you.
http://www.nzhomestay.co.nz/enquiry.cfm?HoID=146

Anyhow, John n Jacky's email is [email protected]

 

[cassie]

tohdj,

wow! you managed to cover so much in 20 days! heehee, me and my hubby not so ambitious, cos planning a lot of activities so probably will stay longer at some places

zenn: only got my flight tix so far, cos itinerary not confirmed yet. will prob just book 1st 2 nites' accommodation and activities, then will keep it flexible from there. heard oct is not really peak season so it's possible that you only need to book accommodation 2-3 days' ahead. that's the good thing about doing free and easy - you can keep your itinerary flexible, stay longer at places you like and cut short those you don't! ;-)

tentatively may be doing something like that, 14.5 days land time (minus flight time):

christchurch
greymouth
franz josef
wanaka
queenstown
milford or doubtful sound
mt cook
south canterbury
christchurch
(kaikoura - if have time)

in between will do ballooning, whitewater rafting, kayaking, sound cruise, skiing, horseriding, farmstay, glacier hike, day hikes. hopefully will have time for everything!

 

[missy]

Hi Zenn,

I stayed one night at Wanaka. It is a small town but with some shopping arcades that open till late. The lake is also beautiful so if you have time, stay over there because between fox glacier and queenstown, its abt 5 hrs i think..so wanaka is a best stop to pull over and prepare for an adveturous day tomorrow in queenstown.

I did visit Dunedin. It is a nice place ..like a city. lotsa shopping areas. If you go there, you must go to speight brewery. Its NZ 15 pax and it will tell you abt their proud beer and you can pull the tab for your own beer and take a pic! if you love to drink, its a nice place.
and also teh famous castle of larnach. the castle is abt 20 mins drive from city and because the day we visited, it rained. so we give the castle a miss. if you have time, dunedin is worth gg if not its just a city.

i stayed at te anau for 2 nights because of the glow worm cave and milford sound(a whole day event). and i regret gg to te anau. its a small small town..nothing at all..no shopping ctr and the activities are so so. that's why i think milford sound is over-rated. the difference bet milford and doubtful is that doubtful is futher and it has more of the nature like birds and trees. very quiet and peaceful. they said more of the early settlers kind of scenery wherea milford is too commericalise.

and yes i stayed over at fox glacier. a half day glacier walk and a hearty meal at the restaurant. be reminded that its a tourist place, so dinner is ex...ard 20 plus per meal(steak). but it was kinda a rewarding for us after the hectic climb. must try the climb, its really an experience. how many times do you get to climb a glacier???

oh and every town, there is the stop for tourist. look out for the i-site. the ppl are friendly and has rest room. you need not bring all your brochures. every stop there is lotsa brochures for you to take along on the accomodation, things to see and do, etc. overall NZ is a easy to drive place...the road is wide, left is cow...right is sheep...very very nice scenery. just enjoy this time with your bf. its worth every cent to go NZ. my hubby and myself simply enjoyed every min there. in fact i just went in may 04 so my memory is still fresh.

 

[missy]

Hi Zenn,

My itinery:

Day
====
1: auckland - rotorua
2:rotura - napier
3. napier - wellington
4. wellington
5. wellington -picton-nelson
6. nelson -greymouth
7.greymouth - fox glacier
8. fox glacier - wanaka
9. wanaka - queenstown
10. queenstown - te anau
11 te anau
12. te anau - dunedin
13 dunedin - christchurch
14-15 christchurch

 

[missy]

NOTE: please do not book for all your hotels. book only for the first night and subsequent night..as you go along, there are many many hotels/motel along the road. what i do is that i will pop in some one by one to check out the rates and get the cheapest bargain. during winter, they have sign board outside that state winter rates...NZ80 for double.

so need not book in advance as you may like one town and decided to stay longer. there are many many hotels/motels. so no worries...,and feel free to inspect the rooms. the ppl are very friendly!

 

[zenn]

Thanks everyone!

Orea,
I realised the farm stay is not exactly at Lumsden so should I plan it when I am on my way to Te Anau fm Dunedin?

Cassie,
How much you got ur tix? Btw where is south canterbury and where u planning for farmstay? I am planning ballooning too. Is queenstown is the best place for it? Pandan me, what's the diff btw glacier hike and day hikes?

SSF,
Whats the diff btw Franz Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier? Think I will join the half day walk too. Doubt I ve the stamina for full day hee Btw, what's there in Nelson and Greymouth? Worth going?

 

[missy]

Hi Zenn,

Franz Jose and Glacier are almost the same..mainly small towns that are 20 min apart with glacier walk as well. actually we planned to go to FJ but because Fox glacier is further down and nearer to the next destination, we decide to stay at fox glacier instead. Also fox glacier is nearer to Matheson lake. the lake is after Fox glacier town.

also, fox glacier of wat i know from the tour guide is the first glacier and later FJ then came abt.

as for nelson, it is a town which is famous for seafood.. and greymouth have shanty town(a goldmine that is a tourist attraction)...there is nothing spectatular abt these towns execpt that we have to stop somewhere to take a rest and these towns are the most active ones. there are towns that are so small with only 300 ppl living and looks like a dead town. so my advise, plan well your route...decide on which town to take a break..journeying in the south takes longer driving duration than north. happy plannin!

oh btw, lumden is a small town, you sure abt staying at the farm stay? you may want to go to Kaikoura instead(the place where the NZ movie(forgot the title) on the whales are filmed)..a place i shld visit..it is above christchurch.

 

[tohdj]

zenn,

there's no direct link between milford and queenstown....so you need to add milford-te anau-queenstown. which is an additional day of driving (non-stop). about 10 hours.

 

[zenn]

Hi SSF,

IC... What's the travelling time from Greymouth to Nelson and Nelson to Kaikoura?

Actually I ve no idea where is most ideal for farmstay. Beside Orea, anyone ve farmstay during their trip to NZ? May consider Kailoura since I planning to go there.

 

[zenn]

Hi tohdj,

Oh... thanks for the highlight. How long will it take fm Te Anau to Queenstown?

Btw, would you guys advise to drive fm Te Anau to Milford Sound or should I take a coach up? If drive, how long will it take?

Also, how long will it take to travel fm Dunedin to Te Anau? Is there any book or guide which I can find out?

 

[iloveoreo]

<font color="0000ff">zenn</font>
The farmstay is actually abt. 7km from Lumsden.
Lumsden is a small town.. and the farmstay can be reached by car under 15 minutes from the town.
It's between Te Anau and Dunedin.
From Dunedin, the drive is abt. 90mins.

 

[tohdj]

cassie,

>wow! you managed to cover so much in 20 days!
>heehee, me and my hubby not so ambitious, cos
>planning a lot of activities so probably will stay
>longer at some places

we drove 2850+860+780= 4490km in less than 20 days. hehehe....very tiring trip.

 

[tohdj]

>Oh... thanks for the highlight. How long will it take fm Te Anau to Queenstown?

5+ hours. with a lot of winding mountainous roads. be careful....or you'll be swimming in lake matheson.

>Btw, would you guys advise to drive fm Te Anau to Milford Sound or should I take a coach up? If drive, how long will it take?
cheaper to drive....and you can stop to take pictures...and enjoy the scenery.

 

[zenn]

Need to reconfirm the following :

- Te Anau to queenstown takes 5hrs or 2hrs+?
- Pancake rock is at Franz Josef or Greymouth?
- How long will it take from Hammer spring to Franz Josef Glacier?

Thanks!

 

[tohdj]

zenn,

made a mistake...it should be about 2+ hours to 3+ hours.

 

[iloveoreo]

<font color="0000ff">zenn</font>
you can check out the link below for the distance and times.
http://www.discovernz.co.nz/driving/smlcalc.html

Just click on 1 source location and drag to the destination location.

 

[zenn]

Thanks tohji!

I finally understand why quite a no of u guys ve Kaikoura optional. Its really abit out of way... Ok here is my plan :

D1 : Christchurch
D2 : Christchurch via Ashburton to Mt Cook
D3 : Mt Cook via Fairlie/Twizel via Oamaru to Dunedin (4hrs 15mins)
Mt to Twizel (45mins)
Twizel – Oamaru (2hrs)
Omamaru to Dunedin (1hr 30mins)
D4 : Dunedin to Lumsden Farm Stay (1hr 30min)
D5 : Lumsden Farm Stay via Te Anau to Milford Sound (cruise overnite)
D6 : Milford Sound to Te Anau (1hr 30mins)
D7 : Te Anau to Queenstown (2hrs 15mins)
D8 : Queenstown
D9 : Queenstown via Cromwell/Arrowtown to Wanaka (1hr 15mins)
D10 : Wanaka via Haast to Franz Josef Glacier (3hrs 45mins)
D11 : Franz Josef Glacier via Greymouth to Hammer Spring -->possible? Cos seems quite far
D12 : Hammer Spring to Kaikoura (2hr 15mins)
D13 : Kaikoura via Waipara to Christchurch (2hr 15mins)
D14 : Christchurch to SIN

Worth stopping by at these places?
- Fairlie/Twizel
- Cromwell/Arrowtown
- Haast
- Oamaru
- Ashburton

The above travelling time is based on what you guys provided. Correct me if I am wrong and anyone can advise me the travelling time from Christchurch to Mt Cook and Franz Josef Glacier to Hammer Spring ?

Is 2 days in queenstown enough or too much?

Thanks!

 

[zenn]

Orea,

Hey thanks!! It's definately a great help!

 

[iloveoreo]

<font color="0000ff">zenn</font>
You're welcome.
I did stop by at Haast, at this Knight's Point View Pt. You might want to consider this as a rest point (for the driver) before you continue the journey on to Franz Josef.

i spent 2 nites at Queenstown. How long you intend to stay depends on how many activities you're planning. There's a lot of things you can do at queenstown, like bungy, jetboat, paragliding, shopping, cruise.. etc.etc..
you can check out the below link to see what you can do in Queenstown.
http://www.atoz-nz.com/queenstown.asp

Hope that helps!!

 

[kite~]

hi gals,

wow so much useful information can be found in this thread.

btw anyone who went there can briefly tell me which portion or which part of the route is more difficult n dangerous to drive? thanks.

hi zenn,

wow u must be very excited gg to NZ rite? planning 2 full weeks there?

 

[cassie]

"How much you got ur tix? Btw where is south canterbury and where u planning for farmstay? I am planning ballooning too. Is queenstown is the best place for it? Pandan me, what's the diff btw glacier hike and day hikes?"

$977 including taxes from air nz. mine's longer than 14 days, so the $850 fare does not apply.

south canterbury is south of christchurch. hoping to do farmstay around there, but if not am going to get advice from the visitor centres while in nz where we can do that. anyone has any other suggestions for this area pls help

there's whitewater rafting in this region on the ragitata river - sounds more challenging (crazy, rather!) than the rivers around queenstown, plus it's enroute. and skiing at mt hutt. there's also ballooning in this area but it's a whopping NZD$250-285! you can also do ballooning in christchurch. dunno which is the best.

pancake rocks - i just read in a guide book that they're to the north of greymouth, at Punakaiki

glacier hike = on ice
day hike = short walks through other scenery - at least that's what i'm referring to ;-)

tohdj: i still think that is amazing

 

[zenn]

Hi Orea,
Ok, gd suggestion! Just curious did you just stop for rest or there is some interesting place to visit in Haast?

Hi kite,
Ya indeed very useful. Their sharing helped me alot in my planning. Initially plan was oni 10nites but now turn out to be 13nites. May ve to skip 1 or 2 places

I need to book the air ticket by next week so really ve to plan when to depart. When you going?

Cassie,
OIC... Guess I wont ve glacier hike since I am going in end mid-end oct.

Btw, if I have to skip 1 or 2 place fm what I listed aboved, which would be the most not worth going?

 

[kite~]

hi zenn,

wow....me planning go in Jan, anyway not confirm yet. So when is ur AD wedding?

how much is ur budget?

 

[zenn]

Hi kite,

My wedding next sun but will b going HM in Oct only. When's ur wedding? Errr we have not really work out the budget -_-

Anyone can advise if based on aboved schedule, how much should I est for the trip?

 

[fuji_apple]

Hi Zenn,

Congratulations on your wedding.

Wishing you and your hubby lots and lots of happiness in the lifetime ahead.

Gong xi! Gong xi !

 

[rihini]

I've also worked out a budget for my 14 days in NZ. Zenn, I think I told you before that the air tix will be $907 (for up to 14 days travel) per person. This rate is reliable as I'm also going in the 3rd week of Oct.

I'll be covering:
a) Christchurch
b) Take TranzAlpine to Greymouth
c) Punakaiki (Pancake Rocks)
d) Both glaciers and Lake Matheson
e) Haast - Wanaka
f) Queenstown
g) Te Anau
h) Milford Sound
i) Dundin
j) Oamaru and Moeraki Boulders
k) Twizel - Mt Cook - Lake Tekapo
l) Fairlie-Geraldine - Asburton - Christchurch

For your ballooning, you can do it at South Canterburt with 'Aroki' based in Methven or 'Up Up and Away' based in Christchurch. Sunrise trips (around 4 hours) cost around NZ$220 per person. My hubby and I quite interested also, but price's quite steep. Wonder if ballooning is cheaper in Australia?

I'm planned a lot of time for tramping so cannot cover the whole of South Isalnd even in 14 days. Imagine having to take at least 2 hr roundtrip around a lake or to the beach.....so how can one day do so many places.

(tohdj, I'm really impressed you can cover N &amp; S in 20 days!!!)

My estimate (car, accomodation, petrol, food and activities) now work up to more than $10K for 2 person. It's going to be a very expensive HM!

\

 

[zenn]

Hi fuji,
Thanks thanks!

Hi rihini,
$904 include tax? From where cos I will be getting from AirNZ at $840 before tax and up to 14days. Hey I am going 3rd wk of Oct too!

Btw, is there any diff taking balloning in queenstown, christchurch or south canteburt?

Pandan me, when we book a car does it mean we ve to return the car at the same place where we book? If so how to drive and take TranzAlpine?

More than $10k? So much meh? Looks like I really ve to do some calculatation...

 

[fuji_apple]

Hi Zenn,

Just give you a rough guide.

An average basic simple meal in NZ costs about NZD 20-25 for 2 persons.Be it breakfast,lunch or dinner.I am referring to the most simple meal.

 

[iloveoreo]

<font color="0000ff">zenn</font>
congrats on your coming wedding!!!

Actually the drive from Wanaka all the way till Franz Josef is pretty scenic. The road can be quite winding esp. on the way up to Knight's Point.
The Knight's point is on a high ground and you could take some pretty pics there too while you guys take a break there.
If you're fortunate, you might be able to catch a rainbow too!!

The last time i went, i took the Tranzalpine from Christchurch to Greymouth, rented the car from there and return at Christchurch airport. You might want to check with your car rental co. if they provide such services. There's definitely some additional cost involved though.

 

[missy]

Hi Zenn,

pancake rock is at greymouth. from te anau to milford, you may want to take the coach up instead. If you decided to drive up, your car must be equipped with chains(can rent from petrol kiosk at NZ28). this is needed as there may be an avalanch which has the road covered with snow. and a chain is a must in order to drive to milford.

especially in winter, its better to take the coach. i went with atomic tours which is the cheapest NZ99 pax..include a full day tour by coach. in fact, we wanted to drive up but heard from the lady that yesterday, the bus were forced to fit with chains and we do not know how to use one...so decided against driving up which is really a blessing..as the road is really difficult to drive..there is this tunnel that has a one way traffic and the red light take pretty long to turn to green. so its not faulty and you MUST wait till the light changes..as its a pretty long tunnel. Also you must switch on the headlights. So a reminder to those who are driving...

I think the most dangerous pass in driving thu HAAST pass.Its a lot of winding and sharp bends...so be careful.
interestingly also, do take note that along the roads, there are many crosses which indicate ppl dying at that area. you can be amaze to see more than 3 crosses on the same site..normally a bend. so be careful when you drive. oh and please remember to bring some CDs as the radio will lose the signal when driving thru mountains. so do bring your own.

As for meals, we normally lunch in fast food chains ..like KFC, Subway, Mc Donald which is cheaper but of course there are days where we splurge more on food. you can't have good food thru out the day

As for my costs...I spend less than 6K in all for 2 persons. 2K for flight...another 600 plus for car(rented from Omega), the rest on accomodation and food. Also, remember to keep some money for your airport tax on your return trip to SGP.

personally I spend only 1 day in Queenstown. I find it more than enough...what I did was shotover jet, gondola and luge and shopping. And shopping in Queenstown is good as the shops opened until late..ard 8 to 9p.m..so you can shop in the night.

 

[missy]

Hi all,

just want to add some notes on NZ flight. If the difference bet Qantas and NZ is not that great. its better to take Qantas as for NZ flight, there is no personal TV..so everyone has to share and peer to look at the screen. This is sad for a 10 hrs long trip.

 

[kite~]

hi gals,

wow more than 10k, expensive leh. actually i got budget of abt 5k for both person. do u think sufficient? thanks.

 

[tohdj]

Zenn,

>>>Pandan me, when we book a car does it mean we ve to return the car at the same place where we book? If so how to drive and take TranzAlpine?

No. But if you were to return the car at the picton/wellington terminal...there's a NZ$17 charge.

Fuji Apple,
>>>An average basic simple meal in NZ costs about NZD 20-25 for 2 persons.Be it breakfast,lunch or dinner.I am referring to the most simple meal.

Cheaper to cook yourself. There's a brand of flavouring called Continental which we used to cook noodles and vege.try shopping at Pak N Save...its cheaper than other places. Try to eat Mandarins...which is Mandarin oranges...they are produced in north island eastern side. Very nice.

 

[missy]

Hi Tohdj,

you can get the car from north and return the car in wellington and pick up another car from the same rental company in Picton when you arrive in South.

In Omega, I returned the car in Wellington and they have someone to drive us to the ferry terminal. So nice of them. And when we touched down in Picton, someone will drive the car and meet us at the terminal.

We did not purchase any further insurance as it is not needed. The rental company do not inspect every corner and every paint. Basically, they are fine with the paint being ripped off but of course no dent or shattered glasses.

so a tip: not to get a car that is too new..having an old car with some faults can be good too

In all, we paid NZ546 for 14 days. We managed to get the winter rates of NZ39 per day for a 1.5 litres car.

Hi Kite,

5K may be enough...and it all depends on what activities you want to do. You may want to cater more like ard 6K if you want to enjoy more of the activities.

Some of the activities I did:

Rotorua - Maori Arts &amp; Culture NZ35 pax include hangi feast meal. (Note: they have a cultural show that is held once per day at 12p.m) There are many maori centres but this is the only one that has the pohuto geyser so close.

Buller Gorge Swing Bridge (longest swinging bridge in NZ!) this is along your driving route before arriving Greymouth. - NZ5 pax

Greymouth -Shanty Town 12 pax

Fox Glacier - Glacier half day walk NZ48 pax

Wanaka - Puzzle World NZ6 pax

Queenstown - Shotover jet NZ96 pax
-gondola and luge NZ23 pax

Te anau - glow worm cruise NZ 46 pax
-milford sound cruise NZ99

Dunedin - Speight Brewery NZ15 pax

and of course those exclude the shopping

 

[tohdj]

SSF,

i rented from Hertz for NZ$38 per day with excess of NZ$2000. Toyota Corolla 1.8l hatchback automatic.

 

[pisduck]

some driving tips in NZ. We drove all over south Island in Feb this year.

The road to milford sound is not as dangerous as others make it out to be. Basically any roads (like the one to milford) that accepts coaches are okay to drive as they are very wide for normal cars.

The DANGEROUS roads are gravel roads and the scenic routes. Please travel VERY SLOWLY on gravel roads. We have skidded once and saw other vehicles skidded off the roads and kenna stuck.

If you are worried about driving, stick to the highways. The scenic routes offer stunning scenery but are usually beside CLIFFS and super narrow...

One super dangerous road I can still remember is the gravel road up nugget point.... very narrow, if got oncoming traffic dunno what to do....

 

[rihini]

kite,
If travel in winter, budget of $$6K can be sufficient. But summer rates for accomodation and car rental is higher. And depends again what activities you are engaging in. Some are really expensive like jet boating, rafting, helihike, whalewatching, ballooning, etc. which can set you back by at least S$100/person per activity.

My friend went to Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Goldcoast)for HM and also spent close to S$15K.
We agree that if you don't participate in the optional activities, it's possible that flight, accomodation and transport (or take a tour package) can be about S$3k per person. The $ rippers are the stuffs you do.


zenn,
I checked out the rates from air new zealand web site. $907 includes tax.

 

[rihini]

Maybe, I can trim my budget.....can someone advise on the cost of petrol and how much to budget for?

 

[zenn]

Hihi..

Wow so much info to absort today. Too bz wif wedding preparation - will read the details after that. Thanks for all ur sharing!

Btw, I may ve to reduce my trip to 11 nites as my bf dun ve so much leaves. Can someone advise me where shd I cut or what are the places below which not worth going?

D1 : Christchurch
D2 : Christchurch via Ashburton to Mt Cook (4hrs)
D3 : Mt Cook via Fairlie/Twizel via Oamaru to Dunedin (4hrs 15mins)
Mt to Twizel (45mins)
Twizel – Oamaru (2hrs)
Omamaru to Dunedin (1hr 30mins)
D4 : Dunedin to Lumsden Farm Stay (1hr 30min)
D5 : Lumsden Farm Stay via Te Anau to Milford Sound (cruise overnite)
D6 : Milford Sound to Te Anau (1hr 30mins)
D7 : Te Anau to Queenstown (2hrs 15mins)
D8 : Queenstown
D9 : Queenstown via Cromwell/Arrowtown to Wanaka (1hr 20mins)
D10 : Wanaka via Haast to Franz Josef Glacier (3hrs 45mins)
D11 : Franz Josef Glacier via Greymouth to Hammer Spring (4hrs 50mins)
D12 : Hammer Spring to Kaikoura (1hr 30mins)
D13 : Kaikoura via Waipara to Christchurch (2hr 15mins)
D14 : Christchurch to SIN

 

[zenn]

Rihini,

This is from AirNZ website. Airport tax is $57 per pax :

Book Early and Save
New Zealand from S$840*

Airfare Special Details
Price: From S$840*

Sales Period: Until 31Jul 2004

Travel Period: 01Jul - 31Oct 2004

BOOK EARLY AND SAVE
Return Pacific Class (economy) air ticket from Singapore to Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch from S$840*
Booking made at least Adult
90 days before departure S$840*
Above fare is valid for minimum 2 person travel (same itinerary).

Special internet fares for single (one) person travel, CLICK HERE

New Zealand map

Air New Zealand flies daily to Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch (vice versa).

All prices are quoted in Singapore dollars (SGD).
Valid for NZ 2-digit flights only.
Bookings must be made directly with Air New Zealand.
Ticket must be collected from Air New Zealand Travelcentre, Singapore
If you have further inquiries, click here to send us an email.

*Terms and conditions

Minimum 2 persons must travel together
Tickets must be purchased 90 days before travel commencement date.
Valid for travel departing Singapore between 01July - 31October 2004.
Validity - minimum stay 3 days, maximum stay 14days.
Wait-lisiting of seats are not permitted.
S$100 per amendment once ticket has been issued.
No show fee of S$150 applies
Ticket has no refund value
Airfare exclude all taxes
Airfare is mileage accruable
Normal terms and conditions of travel apply.

 

[eggie]

Dear Zenn,
You can eliminate some of the places that less interesting to you to reduce the number of days...like don't go to hammer springs or kaikoura. Or skip the farm stay.

I'm also planning to go NZ in Dec. Our itinerary is quite similar and I'm looking at 12 nights only. Maybe you can comment also

1 take night flight - arrive the next afternoon
2 christchurch
3 christchurch - greymouth
4 greymouth - franz josef glacier
5 franz josef glacier - wanaka
6 wanaka - queenstown
7 queenstown - te anau
8 te anau - milford south
9 milford south - dunedin
10 dunedin - oamaru - timaru
11 timaru - mt cook/lk tekapo
12 lk tekapo - christchurch
13 christchurch (day trip to akaroa/hammer springs)
14 take morning flight - arrrive in the evening

 

[zenn]

Hi Eggie,

Hey indeed very similiar

Ya most likely will skip Hammer spring and Kaikoura. Farm stay is a must for us.

Realised that you are only staying 1 nite in Queenstown? You not joining those activities?

Just curious what is nice is Timaru? We were deciding to stay overnite at Mt Cook or Lake Tekapo. Care to share why did you choose Lk Tekapo over Mt Cook?

 

[cassie]

pisduck, where's nugget point? think maybe i'll skip that! are there many gravel roads?

 

[eggie]

hi zenn,
can share with us what can we experience from farm stay? I have no idea as haven't research on it. If yes, i would put in 1 day for it.

after reading through, timaru doesnt have much. guess would go to oamaru n from there going to mt cook. btw, actually we wanted to take the train from christchurch to greymouth. so we thought of just picking up a car when we arrive greymouth.

btw, i think staying in mt cook would be nicer. but the only cheap accommodation i can find it yha. the heritage is quite pricey but might try that.

 

[pisduck]

I think the heritage has a chalet in MT cook. We stayed there and it is not too expensive. Still it may be better to stay further and go to mt cook as a day trip as nothing to do at night near MT cook.

nugget point is on the east coast south of dunedin, somewhere near the moeraki boulders... small attraction, most people will never go one...

Be careful of the scenic route from wanaka to queenstown though.... if you scared of heights make sure you take the highway route.

 

[zenn]

Hi Eggie,
I ve nv been to farm stay too thats why would like to experience it in NZ. Think it will be very relaxing

You referring to TranzAlpine? How long is the journey from christchurch to greymouth by train and anything to see around the journey?

 

[cassie]

pisduck, i think i'll be taking all the highway routes. sounds scary!

 

[chenoa]

the tranzalphine from CHC to Greymouth is about 4-1/2 hr. starts at 9am arr. at 1.30pm. Think it cost around NZD$90 per person.

Nugget Point is not near Moeraki Boulders. It's further south in Catlins, near Balcutha. (Note: Moeraki Boulders is north of Dunedin, Balcutha/Catlins are south of Dunedin)

I manage to contact YHA. pls note that the published rates are valid to Sep 04 only.

 

[zenn]

Just curious why you gals prefer to take a train fm CHC to Greymouth then to drive?

 

[pisduck]

chenoa,

you know of nugget point?? I though that place VERY ulu. We took the southern scenic route from te anau all the way to dunedin.... we stopped overnight near kaka/nugget point. I can still rem we drove up nugget point at around 9pm.... It is still a bit bright as it was summer.