New Zealand

  • Thread starter Thread starter franz
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hi C&C,
the deer park is only ard 10 min away from queenstown.

hi kite, basically arthur's pass n hokitika will be more like a pass thru, unless u really want to explore the place, but guess u dont really need to.

Yeah, NZ70 to 80 is quite hard to get even with ensuite w/o kitchen. You might need to revise it to ard probably at least NZ95 i'm afraid.
 


Hi C&C,

Sorry, I overlooked ur days. Deer Park Height is just a mountain where u take ur own sweet time to drive as they aren't lots of car. U'll have good view of Queentown and the mountain (Name of the mountain: Remarkable). There are also signboards of the LOR shooting location.

It abt 15 to 20 mins drive from Queenstown. Turn into KEVIN HEIGHTS. There is no sign indicating Deer Park Heights from the main road. Go to queenstown i-site for clearer direction. The i-site in queenstown opens at 7am.

It was very cold and windy when I was there, so we stay for abt 2+ hrs after feeding the animals and taking some LOR pics. If possible, don't feed the ostrich. They are really huge. We did not feed them but stay in the car. U can see from the pics, they are really close and huge.
223028.jpg


I think there are only tomato sauce in the fast food restaurant. MacDonald give me free when I bought my burgers, but KFC is NZ$0.60 per pac. We survive without chili, just add pepper that's available in the motel kitchen.

We brought Maggi Curry Instant noodles. There was 1 day tt we bought seasoned chicken drumstick from supermarket & cook wif microwave and eat it wif instant noodles. It's okay to bring in dried food but not wet food.


Hi kite,

I think the price is not cheap cos they are imported into New Zealand. We brought our own instant noodles. It's true tt it tired & lazy after a day drive. Then, most probably u'll be the 1 cooking while ur hubby shower or watch TV while u still cannot rest. But when u see him enjoying ur instant noodles
happy.gif
, everything is worth it.


I agreed with XYZ. Travelling in Dec-Jan motels and car rental are more expensive too. I think u'll probably have lots of coaches or ppl in ur pics, not like mine. My MIL was asking, the whole place, mountain, no ppl, only the 2 of u.

I stay in Glentanner Park Centre on a Std Cabin (share toilet & kitchen) at NZ$60 when I was in Mt Cook. Need to pay NZ$5 if u need to use their pots & pans. Luckily, my hubby brought along his army mass tin & an extra bowl. So we didn't pay for NZ$5. They have fully equipped cabin but was fully booked. If u stay overnight ard Mt Cook, dun 4get to look into the sky at night. This is what u'll see.
223029.jpg
 
C&C: Day 6: Queenstown
>> Shotover Jet, White Water Rafting
- pls take the heli option for rafting or you'll end up with the fright of your life driving down skippers canyon!

oh yes, the sky at mt cook's fantastic!
 
Hi, just paid up for my air tickets. Hope for someone to enlighten me on the following:

What time do the supermarkets in Christchurch close on a Friday? Do they have late-night shopping on Fridays just like some Aussie cities?
 
Hi all,

Revised Itinerary Outline:

Day 1: Depart SIN

Day 2: Reach CHC at 2pm+. Overnite at CHC.

Day 3: CHC via Ashburton to Lake Tekapo - Mt. Cook - Twizel

(Shld i overnite at Mt. cook or Twizel as i love to enjoy Mt. Cook view?)

Day 4: Twizel via Oramara to Oamaru (Overnite)

Day 5: Oamaru - Dunedin ¨C Mossburn or Lumsden Farmstay (overnite)

Day 6: Mossburn or Lumsden Farmstay - Te Anau ¨C Milford Sound ¨C Te Anau
(Best time is to go Milford ford in the morning as mentioned here, shld i stay in Farmstay or at Te Anau better?)

Day 7: Te Anau - Queenstown (overnite)

Day 8: Queenstown - Evening then left for Wanaka(Overnite)

Day 9: Wanaka - Hasst - Fox Glacier (overnite)

Day 10: Fox Glacier - Hokitika - Arthur¡¯s Pass (overnite)

Day 11: Greymouth ¨C Punakaiki - Hanmer Springs (Overnite)

Day 12: Hanmer Springs - Kaikoura - CHC (Overnite)

Day 13: Depart CHC at 8am.

Where do u think i stil can squeeze a farmstay instead at Day 5 - 6?
 
Hi,

ok will bring instant noodles as suggested by most of you for just in case. Also wil check out the supermarket n grab some food.

Hi XYZ,

no choice as we cant take leave after Jan. Hv to clear leave in Jan since wedding in Dec. Dun want drag my honeymoon too long.
 
Hi G,
If not wrong, most close at abt 8~9. And yes, they do close slightly later on Friday. But in major town like CHC & Queenstown, there are some tourist shop that open till quite late like 10+.
 
no need to buy maggi mee from singapore to NZ lah. too leh chey to bring to NZ

stock up when you're there...for example, when you're doing shopping in the bigger cities...they've supermarkets which closes pretty late....or can buy the instant noodles/biscuits during the day in some smaller cities/towns...
 
you can try woolsworth supermarket find it quite similar to cold storage actually. They're more asian somehow i feel. They do have brands of instant noodles that we see here, not sure of the other supermarkets though.
 
Wha...when I look at how much the NZ dollar is strengthening against our currency..it worries me. Keeping fingers crossed that it doesn't rise much higher!
 
hi... anyone got any idea if there is online street directory for the south island, similar to streetdirectory.com.sg or can.com.sg? without specific directional instructions, is it easy to drive from point to point?

yah man... think the current exchange rate is NZ$1:S$1.17... it was like S$1.13 a few months back. Scary!
 
Hi G and C&C,

wow really now is 1.17 rate. last mth, i saw was 1.16. perhaps it's bcos its approaching holiday n peak season, that's y the rate gone up.

Since i will be going in mid Jan 05, do u think it advisable to change now or wait til Jan? sounds so KS. lol
 
hi kite,

we are changing as and when we have the cash on hand and when we are passing by moneychanger. probably over the next 1-2 weeks. keeping fingers crossed that the rate maintains or best, goes down! gonna try out those in lucky plaza... heard can further negotiate if changing in large quantities. for 12-day trip, we are changing NZ$1k... should be enough, right?
 
Kite,

your Day 9 - 13 is far too aggressive. You do not factor in the best times to go or bad weather. You have to be prepared that some activities could be fully booked (24hr booking line available) when u get there esp in high season. For example,

(a) Ice hikes/helicopter only have 2 departures morning/afternoon and are half day events.
(b) Lake Matheson (if u walk round which is recommended) is 1.5 hr fast walk.
(c) For whale watching, I recommend u take the first trip out at 7am becoz the sun-rise view can be breathtaking from the beach while u wait (check your day break timing as it various from season). The whole trip takes 3 hrs.


Please take care. For the driver, it is very siong to have full day activities, drive long distance and be involved in the cooking.
 
the cash will be used for meals, admission to puzzling world, gondola, luge and other misc purchases (soveniers, honey, etc)... the rest will be paid by credit. anyway, heard the rates offered by credit card company are not as favourable...
 
Earthquake hits off NZ's South Island
Date: 23/11/04

An earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale has struck off the coast of New Zealand's South Island.

The quake hit at 9.26am, local time, 240km southwest of Te Anau, at a depth of 33km, a Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS) spokesman told NZPA.

"We would expect very minor damage," GNS seismologist Peter McGinty said.

However, the quake would have been felt widely throughout the South Island, and in the North Island as far north as New Plymouth which was on the same fault line, he said.

Mr McGinty said it was a "moderate to deep" quake, but would not cause too many problems because it was so far offshore.

Offshore quakes were difficult to pinpoint, but its likely epicentre was about 60km off the coast of Invercargill.

The GNS had received no reports of damage.
 
Hi C&C,

This is the website u could go for the street directory http://www.wises.co.nz. But I doubt u'll need it.

This is the 1st country tt I had done self-drive without purchasing a map. When I picked up the car in CHC, the rental company give me a map of NZ which had a blown-up of CHC. When I reached any town, I picked up the town map from i-site.

BTW, when u r in Queenstown i-site, look out for booklets introducing Queenstown cos there are some discount coupons. It can help u save some $$$.
 
Hi gals,

my budget for cash expenses as follow:

meals (for 12 days): $650
airport tax: $50
attractions (puzzling world, gondola, luge, etc): $100
misc expenses (honey, souvenir, etc): $200

All the above are in NZ$ for 2 pax... accom, car rental, sightseeing attractions will be paid via credit card... we'll try to cook or eat simply as much as possible but $50-$60 per day for 2 pax enough?

Anything thing that i may have missed out?
 
Hi C&C,

when are u going? Dec or Jan? i wil be gg in Jan, not sure too early to change. if u r gg next mth, its better to change now.

Hows ur itinerary like? plan already? how many days?

Hi XYZ,

i dont intend to go whale watching cos alot of ppl mentioned very difficult to catch whales n come bk like zombies hehe maybe going Kaikoura to eat seafood only.

I intend to do Fox Glacier day walk and walk around Lake Matherson. Seems like i need to revise my itinerary again. Thanks for pointing out.
 
Hi kite,

We are going in dec and i've posted the itinerary somewhere above. Effectively only for 12 days but think our budget almost reaching $7k...

Can't wait...
 
C&C
here's my comments
Hi gals,

meals (for 12 days): $650
>> how many meals? for 2 pax?

airport tax: $50
>> ok

attractions (puzzling world, gondola, luge, etc): $100
>> this is not enough. puzzling world per pax is abt $25. Gondola is $12-15 per pax. Luge is another $15 or so per pax. you still have other misc.


misc expenses (honey, souvenir, etc): $200
>> which type of honey and sovenier are you buying? the soveniers aint very cheap. Opua shell accessories is abt 20++ per piece. teeshirt is $25 per piece.

as much as possible but $50-$60 per day for 2 pax enough?
>> it is sufficient if you eat at foodcourt or cook your own

Anything thing that i may have missed out?
>> You still have PETROL?
 
Hi mngo,

thanks for the comments. Basically, for our meals, we'll be gong for stuff like sandwiches, if not cook for ourselves. probably just 1 or 2 nice meals during the trip which i think can be paid by credit card.

i've email puzzling world and they replied that entrance fee to puzzling world and great maze is $10/pax while the rest of the puzzles in cafe are FOC. other than puzzling world, we'll be paying cash for gondola and luge. the rest of our activities will be paid via credit card.

i really have no idea what sovenier to purchase... i'm actually more keen on the manuka honey... i'm assuming that for such purchases, i can pay thru credit card. the $200 is more of purchasing from shops with no credit card facilities. Am i right to assume?

err... petrol pay by credit card? again i'm assuming.
 
Hi,

I think it is advisable to change more NZD and use cash instead of credit card. Rates are defintely not as good when you use credit card, and when I went NZ 2 yrs back, I only signed for purchases maybe less than 10 times, and after I came back to Singapore, checked my credit card bill and had to dispute 3 of the transactions!

Was in NZ for about 20 days and spent total about $6K+, including accomodation and airfare. But then again, the exchange rates were much better then, abt SGD87 to get NZD100.
 
Hi Sputnik,

What do you mean when you mentioned having to dispute the transactions? wrong amount or fraudulant transaction? I was actually thinking of changing more cash and paying off our accom towards the latter part of our trip if we do have surplus cash but just don't feel comfortable bringing along so much cash...
 
Hi C&C,

It was not fraud, let me try and recall what happened.....For 1 of the disputes, the hotel charged 2 times, one of which was authorised by us and the other was not. For the other 2 disputes, it was by the car rental company, they changed 2 additional charges to the card, dun know why also. But as you know, once the merchant has your card number, they can charge to your card, so if you intend to use your credit card, pls remember to keep all your receipts and check your statement properly when you get back.

I work in a bank myself and I can tell you that disputes are pretty common for overseas transactions for wrong charging. If your card kena fraud, it will be even worse. You can of cos write in to dispute the wrong/fraudulent transactions, but it is the hassle and also takes quite long for the credit card company to investigate cos it is overseas transactions. May take a few months.

Ever since what happened, I try and use only cash when I go overseas, so far no problem bringing along all the cash. The exchange rate is also better when u use cash, cos when u use credit card, the credit card company will use VISA's exchange rate at the point of posting the transaction and add a percentage fee on top of that.
 
C&C
the puzzling world now is so cheap? i remember i paid more than 10NZD when i was there in 2002.
I have no idea if the petrol station accept credit card. We pay by cash all the time.

As for soveniers, is the honey that is popular. Other than that are those normal stuffs like magnets and such. U can also get calendar of nz scenery from whitcoll bookshop
 
Kite,

kaikoura is all abt whale watching (if u don't see a whale, 75% of your money back!), fishing and crayfish (lobster).

We went whale watching in the morning and then fishing in the afternoon. Fisherman gave us 2 crayfish from his pods FOC.
proud.gif
.... which we ate for dinner. (i will share the photos later)

How can u not do it? Of course whale watching is u mainly see the tail flip.
 
Credit Card vs Cash (assumes u bring both anyway)

There are some advantages on the card :
- In the event of loss, just make a phone call for the card. Lose the money, and u will cry. Note that u will have to leave money in the car/hotel for some activities.
- Credit card more expensive for the fees. Abt 1.5-2% of the amount.

For me, I carry enough cash for expenses, food and shopping. However, big ticket items like car rental or accomodation leave it to the credit card.

I have used credit card multiple times in various places (incl dangerous ones like Indonesia, Malaysia where there is prevalent card cloning). Never had a problem but u should always keep the card in view and use at established places only.

In the event of a dispute, know your rights. U are only liabile if you signed off on the receipt. So u can reject the charges and demand bank/merchant present the receipt to justify. Never pay the full bill in a credit card statement until u are sure u are liable. Secondly, get a good credit card from the big boys like citibank, dbs. They are very experienced with these matters and reverse charges.
 
Hi XYZ,

Cos my itineary (Day12) is planned in such a way that morning will drive to Hanmer springs for a hot spa pool and after that will drive to Kaikoura....do they hv afternoon whale watching slot then by nite time, we need to drive bk to CHC as next day morning flying back to SG from CHC airport (Day13- last day).

Whale watching really worth to go? any idea how much? tks
 
Hi Kite, I booked Real the other time. Think redboat is slightly cheaper. Also when i was there, i realised Red left earlier and came back later. But not too sure abt their facilities on board though.
 
Hi Stussy,

Thanks. Did u take the coach or drive straight to milford?

cos i m taking into consideration that the road to milford seems not very safe? i intend to join the full day tour coach from te anau to milford which costs NZ$113 per person (8am to 4.30pm). what do u think?
 
hi kite,
actually the drive to milford is rather nice.. it's only one part of the road that is rather winding i would say, otherwise it's not too bad.
 
I agree with ginn. I drove there too. U can stop over to see the mirror lake. The road is not exactly difficult. Jus drive with caution. In fact, there are other roads elsewhere which is worse.
 
Most difficult driving experiences in South Island IMHO with severe curves. Very bad at night.

1. Dunedin hill road to go see penguin centre.
2. Mountain pass between Greymouth and Picton. (Arthur's Pass?)
3. Road between Wanaka to Fox/Franz Josef Glazier and Greymouth.

In comparison, road to milford sound and back is simple and straight. (although the homer tunnel can be quite steep)
 
hi... for me, i felt the Otago Peninsula drive to see penguins was most difficult, very winding and narrow road and it's so near the coast, it requires lots of concentration for the driver.
 
Hi,

wow i must take special note on the difficult n tough drive roads.

In fact from what u all mentioned, seems like milford is not that bad. But from this website, it sounds dangerous. http://www.milfordroad.co.nz/html/avalancheinfo.html

Asme more concern about the Avalanche points (there a few points where the link pointed out). Also Homer Tunnel seems scary cos all pitch dark, no lightings at all. :D
 
Hi Kite, 1 more place to highlight is between CHC to Akaroa. Its more towards near Akaroa.

When i first plan, i was also quite worry about the drive to Milford. Keep asking around. But when there, i conclude that other areas more difficult. Tunnel is not very long. Not to worry.
 

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