Back from South island New Zealand

evilerniex

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Yup signed up for the guided milford track ... also it quite costly .. hopefully its worth the money ..

well noted for the Mt John skygazing tour and stay overnight at Taupo or Rotorua ..

Many thanks !
Even if not going for stargazing tour, it is worth it to hike or drive up mt john in the day and track ard the summit. The panoramic view from the summit is amazing
 

ZigguratZ

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Oh thanks for the head up .. We will definitely do it .. Just a quick question ... Any bro here rented campervan before in nz ? Is our class 3 license sufficient ?

Even if not going for stargazing tour, it is worth it to hike or drive up mt john in the day and track ard the summit. The panoramic view from the summit is amazing
 

BlackCube

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Oh thanks for the head up .. We will definitely do it .. Just a quick question ... Any bro here rented campervan before in nz ? Is our class 3 license sufficient ?

Yes it's sufficient. Bring international driving license also though.
 

ZigguratZ

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Hi, any bros here went for the Tongariro alpine crossing ?

Any nice accommodation to recommend that provide shuttle service to the starting point of Tongariro alpine crossing .. ?

dun think we will be driving to the starting point as there's a 4 hour parking restriction in place at Mangatepopo road end.. and we are planning on doing the full hike ...

thanks !
 

belgarathc

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If you intend to stay at Whakapapa on a Campervan, isn't Whakapapa Holiday Park a suitable choice? They have shuttles running there. Book early as usual. We stayed rather far away at Tihoi Tavern and drove down to National Park in the morning for the 9am shuttle. Finished the crossing and took the 430pm shuttle back to National Park to pick up our Campervan. We spent the night at Taupo.
 

BlackCube

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Eh how come international driving license is needed since our class 3 is sufficient ? Mmmmm

Oversea mostly require you to show your international license. Some don't need. Some need. To be safe, just get one.

U have class 3 and Singapore license works in sg context. You don't show your Singapore license to people oversea right? They don't give a f..
 

belgarathc

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Our Singapore license is enough for New Zealand since it is in English. If you are coming from a country where your license is not in English, then you need an IDP (in English) to drive in New Zealand. This is generally true for most countries. For example, as a Singaporean I don't need an IDP to drive in New Zealand but I need one to drive in Japan.
 

NoTimeToWaitAr

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Hello all!

I am planning my south island trip coming up in March and have been depending on the google map to plan out the itinerary. Not sure if the routes below are the most effective, hence seeking some good advice from gurus out there.
It would be our first time in NZ, kindly let us know if there are some locations we should stay longer or should skip entirely. Also just want to make sure that the planning below allows sufficient rest in between each drive.

This is a 15 days trip purely in South Island - via Campervan:

Day 1: CHC (late afternoon)
Day 2: Lake Tekapo
Day 3: Lake Tekapo > Mt Cook (Hooker Valley)
Day 4: Mt Cook > Wanaka
Day 5: ****a (Roys Peak - 2 nights stay in total)
Day 6: Wanaka > Queenstown
Day 7: QT > Te Anua (glow Worm tour)
Day 8: Day Tour to Miford Sound > Te Anua
Day 9: Te Anua > Queenstown (fergburger)
Day 10: Queenstown > Arrowtown
Day 11: Arrowtown > Wanaka
Day 12: Wanaka > Fox Glacier
Day 13: Fox Glacier (heli-hike) > Franz Josef Glacier
Day 14: Franz Josef Glacier > Hokitika
Day 15: Hokitika > CHC > SG

Looking forward to the feedback!

Cheers
There are a number of locations you may want to stop by. Anyway based on your current itinerary and my personal experience:

Day 3: Unless you intend to stay in holiday park, otherwise you can travel from tekapo > Mt Cook > spend a night at lake pukaki.
** Make sure you have enough petrol, as there are no petrol station in Mt Cook (the only one i saw requires member card payment)

Day 4-5: Depend on your itinerary, Wanaka can just stay for 1 night (nothing much over there except mt roy). Remember to go up early in the morning.
** Wanaka is just a very small town. Not worth staying more than 2 nights.

Day 8: Make sure you check the weather forecast before driving up the Milford Sound. After the tour, you can just drive straight back to QTN. (provided you are not too tired)

Day 10: Arrowtown worth a few hours stop, but not overnight. Nothing much over there, just the famous cafe (forgot the name)

* You can spend more time in QTN if you like extreme sports. Or drive up to Glen.

Day 12: Wanaka to Fox is extremely long drive. Make sure you have plenty of rest
 
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BlackCube

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There are a number of locations you may want to stop by. Anyway based on your current itinerary and my personal experience:

Day 3: Unless you intend to stay in holiday park, otherwise you can travel from tekapo > Mt Cook > spend a night at lake pukaki.
** Make sure you have enough petrol, as there are no petrol station in Mt Cook (the only one i saw requires member card payment)

Day 4-5: Depend on your itinerary, Wanaka can just stay for 1 night (nothing much over there except mt roy). Remember to go up early in the morning.
** Wanaka is just a very small town. Not worth staying more than 2 nights.

Day 8: Make sure you check the weather forecast before driving up the Milford Sound. After the tour, you can just drive straight back to QTN. (provided you are not too tired)

Day 10: Arrowtown worth a few hours stop, but not overnight. Nothing much over there, just the famous cafe (forgot the name)

* You can spend more time in QTN if you like extreme sports. Or drive up to Glen.

Day 12: Wanaka to Fox is extremely long drive. Make sure you have plenty of rest

I think Wanaka can stay 3d2n leh. 1n is too bloody short for Wanaka.

Most of the places are smaller towns like Wanaka. And Wanaka I feel got more to do than other smaller town. It's a busier town at least.
 

evilerniex

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I think Wanaka can stay 3d2n leh. 1n is too bloody short for Wanaka.

Most of the places are smaller towns like Wanaka. And Wanaka I feel got more to do than other smaller town. It's a busier town at least.
Yah, i think wanaka can spend more than a day. Can go mt iron and roy's peak. There are also a few hiking trails along the lake, pass the wanaka tree. And if u are bored of nature, can go puzzling world for a giant maze and optical illusions gallery
 

Lycanista

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I'd like to add on that since you will be doing the hike to Roy's Peak, better to get 2 nights in wanaka for ample rest and it is quite strenuous. Not to mention including the long drive to go fox glacier too, definitely need to be well rested for that.

Sent from HUAWEI BLA-L29 using GAGT
 

silverwing

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I think Wanaka can stay 3d2n leh. 1n is too bloody short for Wanaka.

Most of the places are smaller towns like Wanaka. And Wanaka I feel got more to do than other smaller town. It's a busier town at least.

Yah, i think wanaka can spend more than a day. Can go mt iron and roy's peak. There are also a few hiking trails along the lake, pass the wanaka tree. And if u are bored of nature, can go puzzling world for a giant maze and optical illusions gallery

After I posted 1 night in wanaka, I realised he will be going back to wanaka again from QTN. Therefore I changed it to 2 nights.

Edit: for day 4-5, if he just want to hike Mt Roy, one night is more than enough. But of course have to depend on where he is staying the night before.
 
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circleheart

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After I posted 1 night in wanaka, I realised he will be going back to wanaka again from QTN. Therefore I changed it to 2 nights.

Edit: for day 4-5, if he just want to hike Mt Roy, one night is more than enough. But of course have to depend on where he is staying the night before.

Thanks all for the advice. I will be staying 2 days in Wanaka Lakeview holiday park as I wont be able to do Roy's peak on Wanaka Day 1...
As for the drive from Wanaka to Fox town, is there a better alternative? Google is showing about 4 hours drive...
 

BlackCube

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Thanks all for the advice. I will be staying 2 days in Wanaka Lakeview holiday park as I wont be able to do Roy's peak on Wanaka Day 1...
As for the drive from Wanaka to Fox town, is there a better alternative? Google is showing about 4 hours drive...

There's only one way in NZ. Lol. Google is quite accurate in timing but u still need to add 1-2 hrs more as you will stop to take photo and what not especially such long distance. Do not book any paid service unless u don't stop and chiong all the way which is stupid.

Even the poster in NZ will tell u to cater more time.
 

jt2901

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Hi, any bros here went for the Tongariro alpine crossing ?

Any nice accommodation to recommend that provide shuttle service to the starting point of Tongariro alpine crossing .. ?

dun think we will be driving to the starting point as there's a 4 hour parking restriction in place at Mangatepopo road end.. and we are planning on doing the full hike ...

thanks !

Go to the tourist center at Taupo. They have details of companies who provide such services.
 

arcaninx

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Hi all, i understand that NZ accepts major credit cards. Jus wondering is there additional charges for using such card in NZ? I am ok with our banks’ or visa charges.
 

arcaninx

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Dear all,
this is my itinerary which i would like to seek you expert advices:

Day 1 Queenstown / Te Anau/Glow worm
Day 2 Doubtful Sound/ Queenstown
Day 3 Arrow Town/ Gibbston vine/ lindis pass/salmon farm/pukaki lake/tekapo
Day 4 Lake Pukaki / Irish Creek Blue House / Church of Good Shepherd / Tekapo Lake / WIllow Forest / Night Shot at Tekapo
Day 5 Lake Benmore / Pukaki Canal / Peter's Lookout / Night Shot at Tekapo
Day 6 Hooker Valley Hike / Tekapo Stargazing
Day 7 Tekapo to Omarama Clay Cliffs / Wanaka
Day 8 Wanaka Berry farm stay/maude vineyard lunch or dinner
Day 9 Lake Wanaka / The Neck / Blue Pool / thunder Creek / Roaring Billy / Fantail Fall / Fox Glacier
Day 10 Lake Mathson / Fox Glacier Heli Hike
Day 11 Fraz Josef Walk / Fox Glacier Heli Hike (Backup) / Hokitika
Day 12 Hokitika / Authur's Pass / Kura Tāwhiti / CHC
Day 13 CHC / Kakoura whale watching
Day 14 Morning Drive to Picton
Day 15 Picton to Wellington
Day 16 Wellington
Day 17 Wellington

thanks in advance!
 
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