Back from South island New Zealand

killachicken

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Hi Everyone

would like to check if anyone here has done Shotover or Kawarau White river rafting before... can comment which is better?

will be traveling with my parents so not sure if Shotover would be too xiong for them... would appreciate anyone who have done Shotover to give some feedback...thanks.

If they no back or heart problem ok la :)
 

greenhse

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can i ask where can find 1 stop flight at $780? which airline please? thanks.

thinking about end nov - mid dec trip but cheapest is 1200.

IMHO end Nov to mid Dec is too late/near to get promotional price now.

During promo, you can get as low as S$700 to Wellington with stopover in Mel (SQ). Qantas also can get around the same promo price with transit in Aus.

Other cities (Auckland, Queenstown, Christchurch) hardly get below S$800 (either direct or transit).
 

winningeleven

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can i ask where can find 1 stop flight at $780? which airline please? thanks.

thinking about end nov - mid dec trip but cheapest is 1200.

The cheapest I seen is 788 to Wellington. Very rare to have this pricing for any cities in South NZ. I did manage to get Christchurch at $900 during black Friday sale by qantas with a transit in Melbourne.
 

yandao07

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Hi guys,

Went through this thread and came up with the itinerary below. Can let me know what you guys think please (got some questions too)? Much appreciated and thanks very much!

D1 (Stay ChristChurch)
Arrival at noon - Check-in - Collect car - Supermarket (Pak n save) - Rest

D2 (Stay Hokitika)

State Highway 73: Christchurch - Castle hill - Arthur Pass - Hokitika (3.5h)
Places to visit in Hokitika: Lake Kaniere (preferably in the morning),

D3 (got recommendations on places to stay?)
Hokitika to Franz Josef Glacier (1h40m) or Fox Glacier (2h)
Q: Heli hike worth it anot?

D4 (Wanaka)

Franz Joseph to Wanaka (3h45m)

Places to visit in Wanaka: Sky diving, trekking, Lake Wanaka, That Wanaka Tree, Bremner Point, Glendhu Point (Roys Peak)

D5 (Wanaka)
Wanaka to Cardrona (dog sledding & Skiing) (20m)
Crown Range Summit、Crown Range Road Scenic Lookout

D6 (Stay Queenstown)
Wanaka to Queenstown (1 - 1.5h)

D7 (Stay Queenstown)
Gondola - City tour - Wakatipu Lake

D8 (Stay Queenstown)
Day tour to Milford Sound (峽灣)
Q: Should i stay nearer to Milford sound, seems like a long drive from Queenstown?


D9 (Stay Mt Cook)
Queenstown to Mount Cook (4h) -

D10 (Stay Tekapo)
Kea Point Track @ Mount Cook (2h hike) - Mount Cook to Tekapo (1.25h)

Things to do: can go dark sky project new zealand (?)

D11 (Stay Tekapo)
Church of the Good Shepherd - Stargazing @ Mt. John

D12 (stay christchurch)
Tekapo to Christchurch (3h) - Check-in - Return car - Shopping & Supermarket

D13 (balik kampung)
Depart from Christchurch for Singapore


Thank you thank you
 

happy_bear

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The $780 I saw is early mar to mid Mar timing , multi city flight

sg-queenstown ,Wellington to sg
Both legs have short 1_2hrs stop over at Aussie cities. Go there is red eye flight
U can use Skyscanner or sq website to search

I also saw Sg to Wellington sq return on promo at $699.





can i ask where can find 1 stop flight at $780? which airline please? thanks.

thinking about end nov - mid dec trip but cheapest is 1200.
 

winningeleven

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Hi guys,

Went through this thread and came up with the itinerary below. Can let me know what you guys think please (got some questions too)? Much appreciated and thanks very much!

D1 (Stay ChristChurch)
Arrival at noon - Check-in - Collect car - Supermarket (Pak n save) - Rest

D2 (Stay Hokitika)

State Highway 73: Christchurch - Castle hill - Arthur Pass - Hokitika (3.5h)
Places to visit in Hokitika: Lake Kaniere (preferably in the morning),

D3 (got recommendations on places to stay?)
Hokitika to Franz Josef Glacier (1h40m) or Fox Glacier (2h)
Q: Heli hike worth it anot?

D4 (Wanaka)

Franz Joseph to Wanaka (3h45m)

Places to visit in Wanaka: Sky diving, trekking, Lake Wanaka, That Wanaka Tree, Bremner Point, Glendhu Point (Roys Peak)

D5 (Wanaka)
Wanaka to Cardrona (dog sledding & Skiing) (20m)
Crown Range Summit、Crown Range Road Scenic Lookout

D6 (Stay Queenstown)
Wanaka to Queenstown (1 - 1.5h)

D7 (Stay Queenstown)
Gondola - City tour - Wakatipu Lake

D8 (Stay Queenstown)
Day tour to Milford Sound (峽灣)
Q: Should i stay nearer to Milford sound, seems like a long drive from Queenstown?


D9 (Stay Mt Cook)
Queenstown to Mount Cook (4h) -

D10 (Stay Tekapo)
Kea Point Track @ Mount Cook (2h hike) - Mount Cook to Tekapo (1.25h)

Things to do: can go dark sky project new zealand (?)

D11 (Stay Tekapo)
Church of the Good Shepherd - Stargazing @ Mt. John

D12 (stay christchurch)
Tekapo to Christchurch (3h) - Check-in - Return car - Shopping & Supermarket

D13 (balik kampung)
Depart from Christchurch for Singapore


Thank you thank you

I did a same travel pattern as U. However I did not do helihike on both glaciers and the day trip to milford sound from QT. I drove to wanaka from Hotikita directly. It took me about 6 hours with 3 stop breaks in between. If u don't do helihike. U can have 1 more day for wanaka and u can consider doing a roy peak hike.

I did not go milford sound as I only have 10 full days in South island and find it too rushing for it . Although MS is very highly recommended over here avd elsewhere u found on the Internet. I have friends who went NZ recently also advised me can "don't go" at all. I guess that is depend if u really want to go there if u have the time. Can join bus day tours if u want to have a break from driving.

As for the rest. Your trip is well planned. I don't see there is anything bad that need to be corrected. Arrowtown is also nearby Queenstown. Can take a look there also.
 

yandao07

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I did a same travel pattern as U. However I did not do helihike on both glaciers and the day trip to milford sound from QT. I drove to wanaka from Hotikita directly. It took me about 6 hours with 3 stop breaks in between. If u don't do helihike. U can have 1 more day for wanaka and u can consider doing a roy peak hike.

I did not go milford sound as I only have 10 full days in South island and find it too rushing for it . Although MS is very highly recommended over here avd elsewhere u found on the Internet. I have friends who went NZ recently also advised me can "don't go" at all. I guess that is depend if u really want to go there if u have the time. Can join bus day tours if u want to have a break from driving.

As for the rest. Your trip is well planned. I don't see there is anything bad that need to be corrected. Arrowtown is also nearby Queenstown. Can take a look there also.

thanks many, appreciate this. We're thinking of making a few tweaks, maybe cut one day of Queenstown but we drive to Milford Sound direct and take an overnight cruise there.
 

GeraldineT

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thanks many, appreciate this. We're thinking of making a few tweaks, maybe cut one day of Queenstown but we drive to Milford Sound direct and take an overnight cruise there.

I did both heli hike in fox and Franz.
Highly recommended fox.

I also did overnight in doubtful sound and a normal cruise in Milford and prefer overnight doubtful sound. The food was also Super delicious for doubtful sound overnight cruis.

Wanted to do for mount cook,was there 4 days and none had good weather. So I missed that.
 

Jurong640

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Hi, planning a road trip for a family of 7 to new zealand in a campervan. I'm still thinking about whether to visit both north and south or just south island.

Check flight tickets yesterday, it cost $1098 direct to Christchurch per person on SIA. Air New Zealand cost $200 more but not direct as there is a transit in Auckland.

Could anyone who has been to NZ before let me know if I should just focus on South Island or visit both islands? Tentatively 14-days.
 

lurker88

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I did both heli hike in fox and Franz.
Highly recommended fox.

I also did overnight in doubtful sound and a normal cruise in Milford and prefer overnight doubtful sound. The food was also Super delicious for doubtful sound overnight cruis.

Wanted to do for mount cook,was there 4 days and none had good weather. So I missed that.

Can share which company you engaged? I'm comtemplating btw fox and franz. My contingency plan is to go for the heli hike few days later should the weather at fox and franz dont allow

Sent from LGE LM-V405 using GAGT
 
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winningeleven

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Hi, planning a road trip for a family of 7 to new zealand in a campervan. I'm still thinking about whether to visit both north and south or just south island.

Check flight tickets yesterday, it cost $1098 direct to Christchurch per person on SIA. Air New Zealand cost $200 more but not direct as there is a transit in Auckland.

Could anyone who has been to NZ before let me know if I should just focus on South Island or visit both islands? Tentatively 14-days.

If your 14 days including arrival date and departure date.Then u will probably have only 12 full days

All my friends who had visited NZ (north/south) before highly recommended South. That why I also went south. I only have a full 10 days. I felt not enough. I hope I can go there again next time.

If need to go both North and south. I guess should allocate 18 to 20 days minimum.
 

Jurong640

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If your 14 days including arrival date and departure date.Then u will probably have only 12 full days

All my friends who had visited NZ (north/south) before highly recommended South. That why I also went south. I only have a full 10 days. I felt not enough. I hope I can go there again next time.

If need to go both North and south. I guess should allocate 18 to 20 days minimum.

Noted on that as I was looking through the various flight times. The arrival time to Christchurch is 0930hrs (depart 19:50 the day before from Changi). Departing from Christchurch 10:30am. 14 Days will become a 12 Day due to time differences and flight journey.

Thanks, I will focus on the South as this will be our first time there. Is $1098 ~ $1398 a good deal for direct flight on SQ to Christchurch? Cheapest i find is $1098. Thank you
 

GeraldineT

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Can share which company you engaged? I'm comtemplating btw fox and franz. My contingency plan is to go for the heli hike few days later should the weather at fox and franz dont allow

Sent from LGE LM-V405 using GAGT

For fox I wanted to book overnight trek but they had no guides so I did the extreme fox and love it. Would rate it 10/10.
https://www.foxguides.co.nz/

For Franz I did the glacier heli hike and rate it 2/10.
https://www.franzjosefglacier.com/
 

BlackCube

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Direct 1098 I think cheap Liao but must also see you travelling which month.

If only 12-13 days I suggest just go either one. Don't go both. Too rush.

Posted from PCWX using Pixel 3
 

lurker88

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For fox I wanted to book overnight trek but they had no guides so I did the extreme fox and love it. Would rate it 10/10.
https://www.foxguides.co.nz/

For Franz I did the glacier heli hike and rate it 2/10.
https://www.franzjosefglacier.com/

Thanks. Looking at the YouTube videos of both FJ and fox helihike, I have decided to go for the latter, but will also do a 3 hrs trek from the FJ car park. Mount cook heli hike as a backup few days later in case weather dont permit

Sent from LGE LM-V405 using GAGT
 

Jurong640

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Direct 1098 I think cheap Liao but must also see you travelling which month.

If only 12-13 days I suggest just go either one. Don't go both. Too rush.

Posted from PCWX using Pixel 3

1098 for the month of May. Autumn going winter. weather should be okay right?
 
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