New Zealand

  • Thread starter Thread starter franz
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S,

I have never tried greatsights before, and those hop on i booked before was only for day trips e.g. in australia. I have never tried travelling with them for days. Perhaps u can try and let me know heehee..

twinkle,

Yup, travel fairs mainly target at june and dec travel trips.
 


Other than chan brothers and dynasty travel, are there any other travel agencies that you guys recommend for NZ package tours?

thanks!
 
hi KK!!! remember me??? hehehe. so sorry for taking forever to upload my photos. but they're finally done and I would like to send you an invite. Can I have your email addy pls? =)

I still miss NZ sooooo much!!! really envy all those who are going soon!
 
hi ash!

Did you go on the transalpine train?

I'm wondering if 8D6N is enough... doesn't include the transalpine though. am thinking of south island only.

thanks!
 
hello twinkle...yeah i went on the tranzalpine from Christchurch - Greymouth. very relaxing and scenic. certainly saved us abt 4.5hrs of driving time otherwise. hehe. 8D6N for South Island...then u gotta be really focused and cannot expect to cover everything. I think be focused and totally enjoy the place better than trying to squeeze in alot and end up seeing lesser and feeling more tired. =)

u doing F&E or group tour? oh, but if u're joining tour then dun hafta worry abt taking the train cos u'll enjoy the scenery while on the coach too. =) the train is to save driving energy dat's all.
 
thanks ash!

I'm doing a land tour that has daily departures... getting it from NZ specialist agency in Singapore. The daily departures makes things a lot more flexible.

We're thinking of flying SQ but it's quite expensive! about 1265 per person, inclusive of taxes. how did you fly there?

Yah i guess we could just focus on a few places. just seems a bit of a pity to go there and not see more of the beautiful country.
 
hi twinkle - ohhhh u're doing something like magic bus? yup dat's definitely lots more flexible than a grp tour. u can decide wat u wanna do at your own pace. =)

i flew SQ to Christchurch.
 
Convenient to tell me how much you paid for SQ? Trying to see whether I'm getting ripped off by travel agent.

nope, not going by magic bus - cos they mostly cater to hostels and not about to stay in a dorm for honeymoon! but the tour package is quite relaxed, there are a few days of free and easy.
 
hi twinkle - i flew to Christchurch from HK cos i moved to HK after i got married. so my airfare would not be accurate.

i stayed in motels in NZ...very clean and very nice!
 
Hi, my wife and I are going to New Zealand (self-drive) this April and our itinenary are as below (can someone advise how much should we cater for the food and petrol for the whole trip?):-

14 Apr 2007, Saturday 0: Fly from Singapore to Christchurch

15 Apr 2007, Sunday 1: Arrive Christchurch (Northcote Motor Lodge)
Address: 309 Main North Road Christchurch New Zealand
Pick up Rental Car from Apex Rental Christchurch Airport
Activities:-
1. Canterbury Museum
2. Mona Vale Homestead / Walk along Avon River
3. Christchurch Cathedral Square
4. Cashmere Hill
5. Scrapbooking Shop @ Colombo Street
6. International Antartic Centre
7. Orana Wildlife Park
8. Willowbank Wildlife Park

16 Apr 2007, Monday 2: Christchurch to Twizel (High Country Holiday)
Address: 23 Mackenzie Drive, PO Box 16, Twizel, New Zealand
Activities:-
1. Lake Tekapo – Church of the Good Shepard / Sheepdog Statue
2. Kiwi Treasures – Buy Souvenir
3. Take photo across turquoise water
4. Take photo of sunset
5. Four Square Discounter Supermarket – Stock up
6. Methven – Rakaria River Gorge
7. Mount Cook

17 Apr 2007, Tuesday 3: Twizel to Dunedin (Garden Motel)
Address: 958 George Street, Dunedin
Activities:-
1. Moeraki Boulders
2. Dunedin – Otago University
3. Dunedin – Grand Railway Station
4. Dunedin – Baldwin Street
5. Dunedin – Calbury Chocolate Factory
6. Dunedin – Sprights Brewery
7. Dunedin – Bushy Eyed Penguins (Otago)
8. Dunedin – The Chasm / Lovers Track (Otago)
9. Dunedin – Larnach Castle (Otago)
10. Dunedin – Albatross Colonu (Otago)

18 Apr 2007, Wednesday 4: Dunedin to Balfour (Chartlea Park Farmstay)
Address: 1 Chartlea Park Road, R.D.1, Balfour, New Zealand
Activities:-
1. Catlins Forest
2. Catlins – Cathedral Caves
3. Invercargill
4. Bluff – Take photo at Cliff

<<important:>>
19 Apr 2007, Thursday 5: Balfour to Te Anau (Explorer Motor Lodge)
Address: 5 Cleddau St, Te Anau, New Zealand
Activities:-
1. Milford Sound (11.00am to 12.40pm) (www.realjourneys.co.nz)
2. Te Anau Glowworm Cave (7.00pm to 9.15pm) (www.realjourneys.co.nz)
3. Te Anau Supermarket – Buy Manuka Honey

<important:>
20 Apr 2007, Friday 6: Te Anau to Queenstown (Discovery Lodge)
Address: 49 Shotover Street, Queenstown, New Zealand
Activities:-
1. Deer Park Heights (www.thedeerpark.co.nz) – Kiwi Birdlife &amp; Deer Park Safari
2. Kawarau River Bridge – See Bungy Jump
3. Goldfields Mining Centre
4. Kiwi and Birdpark (www.kiwibird.co.nz)

21 Apr 2007, Saturday 7: Queenstown to Franz (Glowworm Cottages)
Address: 27 Cron Street, Franz Josef, New Zealand
Activities:-
1. Wanaka Puzzleworld
2. Cromwell – Fruits Orchard
3. Lake Wanaka

22 Apr 2007, Sunday 8: Franz to Hokitika (Beachfront Hotel Hokitika)
Address: 111 Revell Street, Hokitika, Westland, New Zealand
Activities:-
1. Franz Josef Half Day Hike (www.franzjosefglacier.com)

23 Apr 2007, Monday 9: Hokitika to Christchurch (Northcote Motor Lodge)
Address: 309 Main North Road Christchurch New Zealand
Activities:-
1. Canterbury Museum
2. Mona Vale Homestead / Walk along Avon River
3. Christchurch Cathedral Square
4. Cashmere Hill
5. Scrapbooking Shop @ Colombo Street
6. International Antartic Centre
7. Orana Wildlife Park
8. Willowbank Wildlife Park

24 Apr 2007, Tuesday 10: Christchurch to Picton (Sunnyvale Motel)
Address: 384 Waikawa Road, P.O. Box 63, Waikawa Bay, Picton 7251, New Zealand
Activities:-
1. Kaikoura – Sheep Shearing / Seals
2. Maori Pa Sites
3. Peninsula Walk
4. Seal Colony

25 Apr 2007, Wednesday 11: Picton to Wellington (Downtown Backpackers)
Address: 1 Bunny Street, Wellington, New Zealand
Ferry Departure Time: 1000hrs
Return Rental Car at Picton Interislander Ferry Terminal at 0900hrs
Pickup Rental Car at Wellington Interislander Ferry Terminal
Activities:-
1. Te Papa Museum
2. Belmont Regional Park

26 Apr 2007, Thursday 12: Wellington to Napier (Kennedy Park Top 10 Resort)
Address: Storkey Street, Napier, New Zealand

27 Apr 2007, Friday 13: Napier to Rotorua (Quality Hotel Geyserland)
Address: 424 Fenton Street, Rotorua, New Zealand
Activities:-
1. Te Puia (www.tepuia.co.nz)
2. Agrodome (www.agrodome.co.nz)

28 Apr 2007, Saturday 14: Rotorua to Auckland (Scholar Hotel &amp; Apartment)
Address: 11 Mount Street, Auckland City, New Zealand
Activities:-
1. Waitomo Glowworm and Ruakuri Cave Combo (www.waitomo.com/glowworm-caves-tour.aspx)

29 Apr 2007, Sunday 15: In Auckland (Scholar Hotel &amp; Apartment)
Address: 11 Mount Street, Auckland City, New Zealand
Return Rental Car to Apex Rental Auckland City Activities:-
1. Mount Eden
2. One Tree Hill
3. Weekend Market (Victoria Market)
4. Sky Tower &amp; Casino

<<important:>>
30 Apr 2007, Monday 16: Fly back Singapore
Departing passengers are required to:
 pay a NZ$25 departure fee (inclusive of GST) A NZ$25 departure fee (inclusive of GST) is payable by every international passenger, except for children under 12 years of age, and transit passengers in Auckland for less than 24 hours. The departure fee is payable at Bank of New Zealand outlets located on the ground floor check-in area, or in the first floor departure area.
 have a valid airline boarding pass
 complete a departure card (available by check-in and departure gates)
 have a valid passport.

Two months to go and we are looking forward to it.

Dave Neo
 
Fwah - that is a truly tok-kong itinerary.

For meals, I heard that NZ 5 for breakfast and lunch should suffice. For dinner, around NZ 25-30 at a restaurant.

For petrol, no idea cos going on guided.

How's the weather like in April, do you know? Turning cold? Are you going to bring very warm clothes?
 
Thanks, twinkle, for the info...

Your NZ5 for breakfast and lunch and NZ25 for dinner is equivalent to Singapore...??? restaurant style, or coffeeshop style or macdonalds....

April is towards end of Autumn so quite cold, towards Winter.. but friends went last Apr and comment it is the best time... so we decided to go loh...

I be changing NZ2000. dun know whether it is enough...

dave

http://www.singaporebrides.com/forumboard/messages/194/453945.html?1170657331
 
Dave,

you are either super "cat" or you are super on the ball.

You travelling plans cannot make it lah, you macham typical singaporean, want to squeeze so much and spent to little. OK, my advice as follow, if you decide to heed of course.

1. You meant after a 12 hour flight you and your wife can be superman and superwoman, travel around so much in Christchurch ah? Dont you need to rest? Shift some your Day 1 itinenary to Day 2. CHC to Twizel is about a 4 hour drive. Of all places you can do shopping, you shop at four square. PLease lah, goto Countdown or Woolsworth, cheaper, better and more variety.

2. You Day 3 is too much man, even I cannot do what you do. Twizel to Dunedin is about a 3 hour drive (depending whether you stop along the way or not). You meant once you reach Dunedin, you want to do so many things ah? You can forget it. The Chocolate factory tour is easily 1 hour plus. You have forgotten that the days are getting shorter, and you meant after driving for about 3 hours you have go to so many places?

3. Day 4 to Day 8, you have to replan again. Consider the travel time

4. Christchurch to Picton. That is a long journey. If you want to see the whales, I heard the best time is first thing in the morning. You will have to sleep overnight in KaiKorua. From Kaikorua to Picton is not very far, but very windy. It has also one of the best coastal scenic route.

5. The ferry ride from Picton to Wellington is about 3 hours and so you will reach wellington around 1pm+, by the time you get to the Te Papa, easily 2+. Te Papa close around 5pm.

6. Wellington to Napier is about a 4 hour drive. There are 2 ways to get there. I suggest use travel through Otaki , and not through the Rumataka Mountains. Napier is famous for the vineyards, you will be tired after the trip so, you will not be doing a lot of wine trips that day.

I have no comments about the rest of the trip except to say, one glow worm cave is the same as another glow worm cave, you dont have to see twice.

Expenses
a. Depending on the car you hire, allow for 60-70NZD a day for full tank of petrol

b. you have to eat as well, NZ5 for breakfast and lunch? NO way, unless you eat bread and ham all the time. if you want a night out, expect to foot 100NZD for 2.

c. 2K for two of you? If that include accomodation, petrol and food, forget it, you need more than that.

d. The temperature this year is vey funny. Some parts hot and some parts cold. So, just because your friend came to NZ in April last year and find it the best time, it might not be the same this year. Suggest you bring some more wollen clothes.
 
Hi,
I'm also planning for my NZ trip soon.
Anybody tried the magic bus before? Any comment?
Where do you book your hotel/motel from?
I normally use asiarooms.com but they dont have many hotels in NZ to choose from.

Thanks, appreciate your input.
happy.gif
 
Hi, Angy,

Thanks for the comments. Yes, we are typical singaporean definitely. Actually, my itinenary is more or less confirmed. I did check with Alvin and Shirleen on my itinenary before I confirmed it. Since they are locals, I guess have to trust them.

One thing that my wife and I are missing are the high adrenaline activities, eg. Shotover, Bungee, etc. My wife cannot tahan these events. So typically, we are driving around and see see shop shop eat eat. The activities on my list are "if we can make it, we will make it"... we are only focusing on those that we paid money for, eg. glowworm, milford, etc.

for the whales, we are skipping as my wife is seasick... once it comes, it is end of holiday... so we are skipping whales at Kaikoura. we plan to skip Milford as well but then heard that it is a cruise and the boat does not rock so still ok.

for north island, mostly focus on two: Te Puia to see the geyser and Waitomo to see glowworms... other than that, it is pure driving...

i am renting a toyota corolla... wats your view on how much i should set aside for the whole trip? will NZ1000 be enough?

all accomodations and activities are already settled... the money we are bringing along are for makan, petrol and hopefully some gifts...

yup, we are bringing woolen clothings and several others to do layering...

do give me more comments, it is appreciated...

Dave

http://www.singaporebrides.com/forumboard/messages/194/453945.html?1170657331
 
Dave

You solid ah, I cannot even do what you have happen and would never do what you want to do. Too tiring for a start.

Anyway, petrol prices just gone up, 1.49 per litre. Put aside 70/full tank/350km. Toyota Corolla with 2 big luggage and goodies will be possible but, it will be a drag to the car and dont expect to speed too fast.

As for money, exchange more, too much, can always bring back to money changers to change back to SGD.

You have read the experience from fellow travellers in this sub forum. You would have a good idea what you will see and expect.

If you are the driver for the whole trip, I advised a UV protected glasses. It will help the glare and relieve your eyes. Also if you are the driver, allocate 4-5 hours a day for driving is more than enough. Or else, you will suffer badly.

Still think you are a superman with that timeline
 
I'm wondering if it'll be significantly colder in Queenstown and Christchurch during April compared to 20-28 March... cos having some flight problems.

Waitlisted on SQ for march but giving up hope, since not much news. Alternative is Qantas in march, but it stops over at Brisbane, longer flight and virtually same price with Jetstar on the second leg of flight. Not worth it.

So might go via SQ in April instead... prob 18-26 Apr... hope there are still autumn leaves to enjoy!
 
twinkle,

why let the airlines spoil your trip?

Cold, it will be colder. Definitely. But, remember, autumn leaves will be most beautiful in Alexandra rather than Queenstown

You have to remember, Air New Zealand is no longer flying to Singapore, there are of course going to be shortages of flights.
 
hi, cookie bunny,

my friend used magic bus before and she has only praises for it... u can get the brochure at New Zealand Tourism at Takashimaya Orchard... there are several routes that you can choose...

i think i have one of the brochure... need to search... w post it up when i find it...

dave
 
Hi Dave,

Thanks for the feedback. Yup, I've checked out the website for the routes. Looks good !
happy.gif
I just want to hear feedback from people who has taken the bus before.

Do you know whether the NZ tourism office is open on weekday? Which floor is it.

Where are you going to book your accomodation?
 
hi cookie bunny,

are you going on a honeymoon?
cos magic bus stops are near hostels and their tie-ups are with hostels. if you want hotels you'd have to travel further to their bus-stops for pick up.
 
hi, bunny,

it is open only on weekdays, so quite inconvenient as i have to take leave to visit the place...

i booked w the motel directly... check w all the hotels in the town and then shortlist your final one... as i am almost driving everyday, my requirement is a bed, a pte shower and food... dun have to be a fantastic hotel...

my trip is confirmed... all things settled liao... now just waiting for day to come...

dave
 
hi dave,
you can have some savings if you cook for yourself. we cook almost everyday.. rice and simple dish. since we are driving, we put all the food in the boot.. usu stock up after 3 days..
sometimes, we got lazy and eat instant noddles also available at supermarket.

enjoy yr trip.. try not to rush your trip.. i have been there 2 twice.. in summer and autumn.. both trips are equally amazing..
 
Sorry w/ the late reply, busy w/ CNY
happy.gif


Twinkle,
Yes, we are going for honeymoon. We plan to stay at hotel nearby the hostel so we can walk or ask the bus driver to drop us there.
Which day are you going? We plan to go mid April...I also hope it's not too cold.

Dave,
Thanks for the tips
happy.gif
 
hi dolphin,

do they have rice cooker? i am a rice eater, without rice, cannot seem to be full...

anyway, since it is a holiday, we try not to scrimp too much and make it a bad holiday...

I heard that if you ta bao fish &amp; chips, it is also very nice... have you tried? heard the meat pies are fantastic as well... true?

wat do you normally stock up?

very excited... 6 more weeks to go and i be in NZ...

oh yeah, one more thing, how is the security over there? are there a lot of pick-pockets? when i was in paris, there was so many pick-pockets that i got paranoid nowadays when i travel...

how was the drive as well? any incident whereby you got lost?

thanks
 
hi dave,

no rice cooker available. the ones that i bought from nz supermarket can be cook using normal pots. usu i overestimate the water req coz it tend to get burnt. thus my rice is more watery. but its quite fast to cook.

usu we stock up rice, bread, ham, milk, instant noodles,tuna cans, fruits,small bottle of salt cum garlic (seasoning), garlic, onion, ginger (essential for frying)..

oil..(cant locate small bottle).. i usu ask from the motel owner in exchange of milk. they give fresh milk so i exchange it for a few tablesp of cooking oil. u can buy small portion of butter to replace though.

most of time we stopover at supermarket to get that days' ingredients like salmon, bacon, veg
coz i enjoy shopping at supermarket

we have rice and one-leg-kick dish.
one occasion, i got lazy, we bought a half-roast chicken and hav it with our rice. cum bf (chicken sandwich)

everything is up to your creativity
happy.gif


dont forget to drop by at salmon farm along mt cook and twizel. u can purchase fresh salmon. it can be fish pooridge, salmon sandwich..

look for accomodation that comes with kitchen..when u can do your cooking.. cost around $110-$130 nz.at queenstown, its more ex, so we made do with microwave food.

we got sick of the ang mo food very soon.tht's how the impromptu cooking comes in. for lunch, usu we pack sandwiches.coz we are always on the move.

fish &amp; chip- its better to eat it freshly cooked. steaming hot.
happy.gif

had not tried meat pies though.

nz is generally very safe.no encounter with pickpockets or car robbers.that does not mean you should let down your sense of awareness.
usu we avoid going out when its late at night.
stayed in accomo which is recommended by the guide books (u can get the copy at the nz airport)

drive is enjoyable. we avoided milford sound as our friend says its too challenging for beginners. road fr christchurch to akaroa has alot of uphill turns. but the views are stunning.

no incident that we got lost.get the driving maps from your rental car company. the timings are rather accurate. there are some rules that are different from sg. u might want to brief yrself first. but the car drivers are generally nice. plan your driving route.

try to abide to the speed.. coz there are undercover cops at the highway.

weather forecast available in the morning tv news.i feel its impt to know this.
coz we encountered heavy rainfall and flooding on our way to catlins forest and had to detour back to invercargil for a night. the night news broadcasted that the route that we missed are flooded . gd thing we have detoured back early. hahah cant imagine stuck in the flood with the car.

major highways (including to dunedin) are closed. airport queestown are closed due to sudden snowfall. u never know when weather changes. from then on, we are tune on to weather forecast.

by the way, we were at nz in apr last year. the views are gorgeous for autumn.speaking of all this made me yearn to go back to nz.
 
hi, dolphin,

thanks for the information... great...

can i check on one more thing? how much did you spend on petrol for the whole trip (how long were u there?)? wat car were u driving?

are the petrol stations easy to find? or must i pump whenever i am in a town?

from christchurch to twizel, does it take out half of your fuel tank?

thanks.

dave
 
Hello Dave,
Share with you our New Zealand trip.
We cover mainly the south island of NZL.
We were there for 2 weeks, self drive.

You will like New Zealand for their beautiful scenery. Most memorable Lake i saw is Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo..Gorgeous!!
The places we visited is similar to "coffee" postings
happy.gif
We stay in YHA too. Their road map is very useful n clear. Book online in advance. Our car rental is "anzt rental" .

The Heli-Hike was very exciting. We saw ice cave and trek for 2hrs. very nice experience! Dont missed it!
Actually We plan to go cruise to see whales at kaikoura But the weather was too foggy, so oni this part tat disappointed us
sad.gif

The penquin tour at Dunedin was interesting too!
We actually saw penquin came back from the ocean..so cute!
The drive alongside the penisula route was rather dangerous, cos it was very to the edge of the sea, n narrow. Always drive with care.
We missed the Lanach castle lah cos it was closed when we reached tere.

Dont miss the puzzling world at wanaka.
And Milford sound, amazing awesome! Cos that day we went, was drizzling then we got to see more waterfalls and the wind was so strong that it brew the cascading waterfall away!! We recorded it all down.

Mt cook view from YHA hostel was awesome! cos we can see big Ice mountain jus right outside our window!

Deer Park was interesting, cos u get to see mani kinds of animals. Yah we been to LOR film side, took lots of photos! hehe

For souvenirs - ThinK Queenstowns still the cheapest. There is this shop call :Alphine (or somthing) Oh yes MANUKA Honey, is very good for health, mus buy! In sing, they sell very Exp!

We did lots of trekking, some places we trek for 2 whole hours and you get to feel hungry very fast (maybe the weather is cold and we use up our energy due to lots of trek) haha!

Alwas pump enough petrol. cos some route is not what you think will reach tat soon. Bring some Ginseng tea to dink, to keep urslef awake cos most roads are straight boring, if u are sleepy, u might get doze off hahah.

To my understanding, Their food doesnt taste tat fantastic. Maybe oni restaurent food that is acceptable. If you pass by Hanmer spring, Do try the steak at the "Old Post Office "restaurant.

Everyday is a new experience for us in New Zealand. Opps for get to mention when we went. We went on the Dec 31 06 to Jan 14 07. It was summer But the degree was 9 oni on the 1st day we went! so freezing cold!

finally, sorry for my 'broken Eng" hehe :P

Mrs Ang
 
Hi,

Try to pump petrol when you are in the bigger towns. It is cheaper in the bigger towns, and petrol stations may be hard to find along the more isolated places.

Remember to try the pies at Arrowtown. The pies are the best that I have ever eaten, and I went back for more the following day.

As advised by Dolphin, remember to check the weather forecast. We were caught in a bad storm on the way to Fox Glacier and it was quite scary. Visibility was very bad, could only see a few meters.
 
hi dave,

we spent abt $7K for 16days. we bought more on the car insurance. could not remember the petrol rates now. it was slightly higher than sg due to price hike at that time.

car-wise: we are on nissan pulsar at north island, toyota starlet at south-island.

petrol-full tank is sufficient for christchurch to twizel for us..we were driving starlet(1.3l) coz its not a heavy petrol drinker. but its tougher to drive this car on a upslope. south island has plenty of upslope. we had to drive v v slowly when we visited mt cook and whenever there is heavy rainfall.

each town will have petrol station.prices wise is same across the island.no prob in replenishing. unlike sg where each co has different price rates.
always start off with full tank.

in sg, we were blessed with "good" weather. detour back to major towns if the roads ahead is too hazardous. we were crawled back (2.5-3hr) where we started(invercargil) from instead of staying over at nearest small town. by nightfall, even the small towns were flooded too.. bigger towns have better infrastructure.
happy.gif
no pt rushing to complete yr travel plan. bad weather means drive slowly and stay indoor as much as possible.
happy.gif



netherless, enjoy. the autumn sceneries are beautiful esp arrowtown and queenstown(glenochy)

cheers,
 
Twinkle, I m sure you will enjoy your trip to New Zealand! Still miss NZL now eversince i came bacK last month.

Mrs Ang :P
Look! me inside the Glacier Cave! hehe!

460170.jpg
 
Hi Mrs Ang,

Wow - you look like you're really having a lot of fun!
happy.gif


I'm going to Christchurch, Dunedin, Queenstown (milford sound, jetboating and tramping) and Farmstay, so really excited!
 
Yah , I really had lots of Fun in New zealand, haha.
Took alot of photos in New Zealand. And spend alot of tIme sorting the photos when it developed. Really a wonderful experience to us!

R u going to see penquins too at Dunedin?
 
nopes, dun think I'll have time (pun intended haha).
happy.gif


Travel fairs coming up... aiyoh maybe should have booked a little later and get all the freebies. With a trip to NZ, sure can get the max amt of free gifts cos the cost is so high!
 
Hi Mrs Ang,

Wah looks so much fun in the glacier.
Anything to take note for the glacier hike? Like clothings, footwear?

I heard that most businesses close at around 5pm so any activities can be done in the evening?
 
Hi Mrs Ang,
thanks for sharing lots of useful info here. and your picture is very cute..hehe

btw, may I know how much roughly was your airticket to NZ. I only know SQ is super ex for Dec-Jan period, whereas Qantas is around SGD1.4K for return trip SG-Christchurch
 
Hi am_blessed,

Yup, we are going to take magic bus. They actually have other pick up points other than YHA hostels.
We will be staying at 3-4 stars hotels throughout the journey.
happy.gif

Self-drive is out coz I cant drive and it will be too tiring for my hubby to drive by himself for more than 2 weeks.

It seems SQ flight to Christchurch is more expensive than to Auckland.
 
Hi Cookie bunny,
cool! which pass did you buy? I bought the Southern Discovery pass but will only go in Dec (hopefully..).

so will the bus pick/fetch you to your hotels? I thought they only cater this service to YHA &amp; bacpakcers hostels.
 
Hi am_blessed,

I bought the Kiwi Traverse
happy.gif

Actually once you bought the pass, you can login using your PNR and see more pick up location.

At most towns, there is at least 1 hotel pick up location. Otherwise you can see the map and book a hotel near one of the pick up locations.
happy.gif
 
Hi,
We book quite early in net, Singapore airline, was $1K + like tat (includ TaX). Which is consider quite ok price.I Think we book 4 months in advance leh.

oh, For Glacier hike, if you are taking the heli Hike,
no worries, cos they will brief you before set off.
And you will get to change into their boots. When you reach on Top of the mountain, a special metal hook (where you tied to ur boot) will be given.
important thing to note is, WALK CAREFULLY , take big Stomp, when i say 'stomp' means use energy tat kind, cos when u 'stomp', the metal 'teeth ' will sink into the hard glacier so got glip'.. haha cos hor is very slippery especially inside the cave, Some ppl fall while walking underneath la.. Oh ya, take as much photos as you like when you are on board of the helicopter cos it is very rare experience and the view from on top is Majestic!
We took 1000+ photos over the 2 weeks :P
Sometime stay in hostels or cottage. very Fun experience. Still miss New Zealand. haha!

Is Magnificent view most of the times. from mountains, valleys, sea view, glacier, waterfalls ...

You all will appreciate! :D
 


Hi i also planning to go my HM in NZ but it is during winter time so i really need advise whether is it advisable to go on that period the month i wan to go is 2nd week of July 2007
 
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