New Zealand

  • Thread starter Thread starter franz
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image staying at this Sofitel Queenstown at only S$134 per night !! with this Accor hotel membership

It is located in the very heart of the city. The hotel features 82 luxury rooms and suites, all with their own private double spa bath as well as private balconies with either mountain or lake views.All rooms are equipped with LCD television, CD and DVD player, espresso machine, wireless LAN and an additional LCD television in the bathroom. Sofitel Queenstown also has a day spa, business lounge, library, conference area, bar and restaurant.

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http://www.accorhotels.com/accorhotels/fichehotel/gb/sof/5688/fiche_hotel.shtml
 
Hi Hazie,

Which part of NZ u planning to go? Hv u booked air ticket? Very diff to get ticket for Dec
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Hi Anyone..

I'm thinking of going to south island in Oct or Dec.. any idea which one is better??
 
Hello Chummy,

The main cities on the North Island are Auckland on the northern side and Wellington the capital on the extreme south.

The South Island has Christchurch in the central with Queenstown , a picture postcard little lakeside "city" further South, and blissful Nelson also by the bay.

The South is very scenic, as you will drive along a single fairly flat highway with miles and miles of greenery , plains , beaches and if you head to the west coast, the majestic scenic Southern Alps (Mount Cook).Plenty of stops for food , rest and stretch of leg, easy connectivity on roads, signages etc.

In spring ( Oct/Nov), the lovely fragrance from the manuka ( honey) flowers, as well as lavender that grows wildly in the fields and plains, will sweep you off your feet.

It is this nostalgia that reminds me of the beauty of the south island...........The North Island also has its own charm with Lake Taupo and volcanic geysers....so it's really up to an individual..
 
may i suggest if you are going to see glowworm, see the one at Waitomo.. better than Te Anau, definitely... if you take the Ruakuri Cave, u can also take photos of the glowworm in the cave (it is allowed)...

South Island has lesser cars than North so I would suggest if you want a good break, take the South...

If you are self drive and going to milford sound, i would suggest to take a later boat so that you need not rush.... from te anau to milford is 2 hours.... and not a really fantastic drive....

Dave

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEZtV3GdJIA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeRl4kaEuPE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZuFMq5-gH0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs4DE8rQZx4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7o5UXFk03c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKg5zU067bQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_USivglVNaU
 
Hi Chummy,

I managed to get tickets to christchurch. Dep 10 dec and coming back 27 Dec. Will be covering only south island.

Thanks rainforest and Dave for sharing. Certainly helps in my planning.
 
Hi Hazie,

How much u paid for the air ticket? Me also going NZ south island in Nov 3-16. I booked from Qantas, total SGD1510 per pax. Now I'm arranging my accomodation...
 
hi css80,

how come your ticket is not $858 w/o tax from qantas? their website stated is $858 and with tax of abt $230, the total should be = ard $1100
 
Hi S & H,

Thanks for your recomendation. I'm looking at cheaper hostel, maybe backpacker style.
Ya,my ticket price is $858, and the airport tax is ard $500++, and i've arranged stopover at brisbane, thus additional airport tax of ard $100, so all come out to $1510 lo..
 
Hi Css80,

I paid $1634 per tix for SQ and booked thru pricebreaker...since cheaper class tix all sold out in SIA, paied pricebreaker $50 per tix to help me book. I was on waiting list b4 my seats were confirmed.

How many nights u staying at Brisbane?
 
Hazie,

Me also book the ticket thru travel agent, as i not sure how to arrange stopover if online booking. I paid agent fees of 25 per ticket. I stay 3 nights at Brisbane, intend to go Gold Coast beach and movie world. R u going for honeymoon also?
 
hi css80,
may I know which agency u booked your tix from?

all,
am planning to go to south island with stopover at melbourne(4 days).as my hubby can only take 2 wks leave, am not too sure if full 8 days in south island is sufficient..any advice?what is the optimal no. of days to stay in south island?
 
Hi Hazie,
Me also going for honeymoon. My AD 27th Oct, thus there is 1 week time in between for me to clear my workload b4 flying
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Precious,
I book from the corporate travel agent which my company using for biz trip, guess there is some friendy discount ba..

I depart SIN on 3th Nov, reach CHC on 4th, then depart CHC on 16th Nov to BNE, so total I have 12 full days in south island.

Below is my draft itinerary
3 Nov: SIN to CHC
4 Nov: CHC
5 Nov: Lake Tekapo
6 Nov: Oamaru
7 Nov: Dunedin
8 Nov: Te Naun
9 Nov: Queenstown
10 Nov: Queesntown
11 Nov: Wanaka
12 Nov: Fox Glaxier
13 Nov: Greymouth
14 Nov: Hammer Spring
15 Nov: CHC

Pls feel free to comment
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Css80,

you will see very little and drive alot in your trip. You trip from 12-15 is all driving trip no time to enjoy.

I think you are trying to stretch too much.You want a pao ka liao holiday. You will be rushing and see very little.

Btw, do you suffer from jetlag? if yes, your driving and jetlag will hit you on the first 2-3 days.
 
Hi Angy,

Ya, there will be a lot of driving, and we mainly focus on the popular attractions only, as we cant take so many days of leave..

So what is your suggestion to my 12-15? Thanks !!
 
css80,

i think you try to cover NZ in too short a period of time. You cannot cover the South Island in 12 days.

Each town has its own features and its own characteristics. Decide what you really want to see, do some research and then plan correctly.

The NZ tourism website has a lot of ideas that you can consider. You should divide the south island into 4 quarters.

Focus on one quarter of it and explore what you can.

If you asked me, i suggest why not go to those places that Singaporean dont go. Go and relax rather than rushing. Yes, everyone goto Queenstown and Wanaka. But those 2 places are skiing cities. You should go now if you want to explore those 2 cities.

last, there are sandflies in Westcoast during the summer period, so remember to bring off spray.
 
hi css80,

can you get out of the brisbane airport and stay for a few days then continue to fly to New zealand?

thanks
 
Hi Hazie,

You mean Dec tickets by SQ to New Zealand is all sold out!!! This is so fast... Does this means cant go to New Zealand via SQ tho online booking? :X ... Normally, how early should we book our tickets for Dec honeymoon? Is it only New Zealand that the SQ tickets get sold out so fast? ....
 
faith,

for SQ tickets, you need to book in May to guarantee you a seat in NZ for your Decemember trip.

Why so early? A lot of Europeans go to NZ for summer and the NZers going out of the country to Europe for skiing. Northern hemisphere going to NZ to chase the summer
 
hi angy,

Thanks for advice.. I did not know. Tink I gonna take New Zealand out of my option for Dec honeymoon. Btw do you have idea.. which other countries will also be very popular for Dec i.e. tickets will be sold out soon.thanks..
 
Hi Faith,

Tixs are still available...but wads available on net now are the $2300 tixs (including tax). U can try to be be put on waiting list for GV2 promo(2 to go) at $1350 + tax 232.

Alternatively, u can also fly with qantas....
 
Faith,

if there are tickets avilable, it will be very expensive. For the price of 2300, you might as well fly to Europe.

if you want to fly to NZ, book early to get cheap tickets. Like hazie said, qantas is another option, go online and check out the prices. Dont believe what you see in Qantas for pricing until they add in all the taxes.

For those who are coming, i strongly suggest you buy kiwi dollars now, the price of kiwi dollar is going up and up.
 
Hello,

For those who may wish to find out more about the everyday "going on" in New Zealand , there's a fantastic website at

www.stuff.co.nz

It has the local weather updates by the city, latest everyday NZ news, their local newspapers, the latest NZ $ exchange rates, NZ motoring etc....

For their live streaming NZ radio, six free NZ stations to choose from :

http://www.digirama.co.nz/radiohome.aspx
(using windows media player)
 
rainforest,

there are many sites

stuff is a newspaper website owned by fairfax.

there is also www.nzherald.co.nz

The weather is very unpredictable in NZ. Last week, there were tornadoes in New Plymouth, this week another place got flooded.
 
Hi Hazie.

U r so lucky to get SQ. I tried to book but now the price is too ex. At the end I booked Qantas with Sydney stopover. For SQ is a direct flight to Christchurch rite?? I will miss North island too..
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Hi Rainforest,

Thanks for the info
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I wont be doing self drive though.. decided to take local tour from NZ. Sun wanna to bother myself with maps n direction.. hehe usually my brain is dead during holiday :D
 
c@ss80 (css80) ,
hello..your plan for the NZL trip is almost the same as mine :D, whereras i have 14 days in the south island. R u taking Fox Glacier heli hikes? puzzling world is at Wanaka.. very intresting place . i truely enjoy my 14 days tere..oh ya i wonder will u be by passing Lake punakaki..it is like heaven....when u look at it. I see u skipped Mt cook, it is magnificent place to visit too.. by the way u all self drive too? if only ur hubby driving will be very tiring.
have fun!! :D

Mrs Ang
 
Hi S&H,

I went to NZ last year and booked my land tour with www.holiday.co.nz. For the South Island, if you're not on self-drive and not familiar with backpacking, then best to take on such land tours. Fyi the distance between each attraction can be 4-5hrs drive away. Holiday.co is pretty comprehensive and my parents were very happy with it. I even managed to squeeze in time for paragliding.

People who intend to self-drive on the South Island esp in winter, do watch out for long windy roads. They can also be slippery and icy during winter in areas like Queenstown (which is the adventure town of NZ).

Personally, I like NZ in summer. Since it's so far down South, summer's ideal temperature of 22-24 degrees.
 
Hi S&H,

I havent book actually.. but u can easily book it from NZ tour agent from the website. Jetabout and Pricebreaker also have some of NZ land tour. I think they r selling Kiwiway n AAT kings. Can check with them for more details
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When do u plan to go?
 
Hi Mrs Ang,

Don't think will take the heli hikes but join the fox glacier walk. We shall pass by lake punakaki and we will go for hooker valley track at Mt cook. Yes, too bad my driving skill is not good and my hubby will drive only, think he can make it.

We are planning our itenerary now. Can you share with me your photos took in NZ and detail itinerary for your trip to [email protected]? Thank you.
 
do the cars there have GPS?
any extra cost for GPS?

Also, anything to take note of when self driving there?

Is normal good enough or prefer to be those MPV style so as to withstand strong wind ??!!

my trip only consist of 2 pax

thanks for any infor
 
Hi chummy,

I was there last Jan. Gorgeous weather. Anywhere down south from the glaciers... shorts not possible. The winds can quite strong. I made do with one jacket and wore layers beneath if I felt chilly.

I went for the 7 Day Glacierland Tour Coach Tour. Did the glacier walk at Franz Josef and enjoyed one of the most magnificent sights in the world.

What I can say abt AAT Kings and Scenic Tours is that they are freakingly expensive. If you're on budget and don't really mind staying in hostels, you can try looking for backpacker tours online.
 
Hi S'rene,

Hmm.. I'll be there in early Dec.. I guess the weather will b even colder..

I'm trying to minimize the cost
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Coz so far I calculate I need atleast 10k for both of us
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Ur tour operator is from holiday.com itself? R they good? So far I'm shortlisting AAT low cost coz they r the cheapest. I guess u r referring to AAT premium.. they r expensive.. I guess due to the hotel choice..

I'm rather concern abt the shared facilities if I join the hostel.. dunno it will b clean or not
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Cheers
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chummy,

if you want to minimise your cost, dont join the tour, hire a car and book your own motels. Just allocate around 200NZD a day including food accomodation.
 
Hi Angy,

Thanks for the suggestion..

But I dun think self drive is an option for us.. we r not a godd driver n we dun want to be bothered reading the map
happy.gif
 
Hi chummy,

If you're going in early Dec, you're probably looking at around 18-20 degrees I think. But with climate change being a major issue this year, who knows it might be a warm summer? I know my friends & colleagues in Aussieland are screaming their heads off about this winter.

I enjoyed the tour very much cos it was mainly hassle free for me. If we had gone on self-drive, I'd be the only driver-cum-navigator-cum-tour planner. Too much work for myself.

Good thing about taking land tours in NZ/AU, the coach drivers are very knowledgeable and can give you all sorts of information.

Hostels-wise... AU/NZ have ranking system for hostels as well. Not all are particularly clean, but it's a fun experience cos you really get to mingle with different nationalities. My friends and I used to travel this way when we were in uni. But if you don't think you'd be comfortable, then better not take. Afterall, your trip is supposed to be enjoyable.

Angy - did you self-drive in NZ? I didn't think motel rates were particular cheap.
 
Wow. NZ is so popular. I am planning for a trip in Jan 08. But then I am concerned that I will get pregnant. My hubby and I are planning to start a family. I don't mind going to NZ when I reach the 2nd trimester. But what if I book early & hit the first trimester next Jan? Not advisable to fly. So, I'm stuck. I also don't want to wait till after the holiday then plan for family leh... Any advice?
 
Hi all,
Actually the weather have change abit nowadays, when we were in New Zealand this yr (January) and that was consider summer but was a freezing cold 9degree at christchurch when we reach there!!
And in Lake Tekapo. it was even coldler! i have to wear 3 layers. but when we proceed to mt cook..the weather become 18 degree though we see so many ice mountains around us..and guess wat? we got sunburnt! for 18 degree ..u mus think i m kidding but is true!
So is best to check the weather in the internet for accurate :D
 


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