Back from South island New Zealand

sellun

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Please try not to self drive to milford... take up some day tour... just go google on how people get stuck in milford and they have to pay huge money to be transported out. nevertheless, milford is a MUST visit place in south island. i suggest 2 nights at te anau minimum.... first night is for you to drive there, another full day for milford tour. 3rd day drive out of te anau.
 

synchronise

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Can elaborate how do cars get trapped at Milford?

Below is my itinerary , please advice if this is feasible
1. Christchurch
2. Lake tekapo and mount cook. Stay at tekapo overnight
3. Wanaka. Stay at wanaka
4. Wanaka to te anau. stayed at te anau
5. Te anau to inverrcargill
6. Invercargill to queenstown
7. Queenstown to fox glacier via bus tour
8. Queenstown

I will be driving mostly and will return car on day 6.
 

sellun

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Can elaborate how do cars get trapped at Milford?

Below is my itinerary , please advice if this is feasible
1. Christchurch
2. Lake tekapo and mount cook. Stay at tekapo overnight
3. Wanaka. Stay at wanaka
4. Wanaka to te anau. stayed at te anau
5. Te anau to inverrcargill
6. Invercargill to queenstown
7. Queenstown to fox glacier via bus tour
8. Queenstown

I will be driving mostly and will return car on day 6.

Its known that avalanche happens on milford road during winter. If you're "trapped" on the wrong side when it happens. you'll have to wait till the clear the roads which can take hours to days....
This is just one of the MANY MANY post about this. Milford Sound-Self drive vs coach tour - Milford Sound Forum - TripAdvisor

Same question, Do you really want to go inverrcargill?? It'll be a total detour from queenstown.. You won't have enough time to enjoy the activities.. If you just want to enjoy the scenery while driving then thats a different story. If not i suggest you scrap off inverrcargill and add one night to te anau and go for a full day tour with a company to milford.
 

veryred

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Hi,

We'll be going to explore North & South Islands soon :s12:.
Below is our self-drive itineraries, kindly give your criticisms/comments/suggestions :D

1) 26 Jul: Reach Auckland, stays 2 nights
2) 28 Jul: pick-up car, go Rotorua (Waitomo Caves, Hobbiton), stays 2 nights
3) 29 Jul: go Thermal Valley, try to visit Lake Taupo.
4) 30 Jul: (leave at 08:00?) drive back to Auckland, take 14:40 flight to Nelson. Pick-up car @Nelson Airport & stay 1 night.
5) 31 Jul: long drive to Frans Josef, stays 2 nights (heli ride)
6) 2 Aug: FJ to Q'town, stays 2 nights (gondola, jetboat, bungy, Coronet Peak)
7) 4 Aug: Q'town to Te Anau (drive to Milford Sound ?), stay 1 night.
8) 5 Aug: Te Anau to Dunedin (Monarch Widlife Cruises, Larnach Castle), stay 1 night
9) 6 Aug: Dunedin to Mt. Cook (Lake Tekapo, salmon ?), stay 1 night
10) 7 Aug: Mt. Cook to Christchurch, stay 2 nights.
Return car on the 8th.
11) 9 Aug: 06:30 flight to Sydney then to Sgp :)

Wondering....
- likelihood to use snow chain at areas from no.5 to no. 9 ?
- any road closure from FJ to Q'Town ? Or other places ?

Thanks!

nelson to franz is a really long drive.
on google map it is about 6 hours drive, but honestly it will take way way way longer especially during winter. Also, during your drive, you would definitely want to stop to take a rest, pictures and there are several nice bush walks along the way. You might want to consider splitting the drive into 2 days, making a pit stop at hokitika.

when you drive from FJ to QT, take extreme care at hasst pass, do check for road closure every morning.

if you are driving to coronet peak, u will def need snow chains.

take a tour into milford sound, do not attempt to drive on your own, esp during winter.

i would also suggest

FJ - te anu - dunedin - QT -mt cook /tekapo - CC route
because driving on highway 8 is way more scenic than from dunedin - mt cook on highway 1.
 

veryred

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Can elaborate how do cars get trapped at Milford?

Below is my itinerary , please advice if this is feasible
1. Christchurch
2. Lake tekapo and mount cook. Stay at tekapo overnight
3. Wanaka. Stay at wanaka
4. Wanaka to te anau. stayed at te anau
5. Te anau to inverrcargill
6. Invercargill to queenstown
7. Queenstown to fox glacier via bus tour
8. Queenstown

I will be driving mostly and will return car on day 6.

Which period are you going?
Have you planned out your activities?

I am not sure if you have put in the time for activities into consideration, because after deducting driving time, you don't have much to do anything.

for eg. you are going te anau to do what? You are not visiting milford sound?
-What will you be doing at invercargill? are you visiting bluff? taking a hike?
 

GenuineSeller

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Anyone keen to get a used Vodafone Sim card (micro sim) for New Zealand , expiring 1st Sep?

2GB - left with 1.299GB
200 SMS - left with 191
$10 international call - Left with $10
etc....
 

zoer

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Hi sellun,

Thanks for the valuable info.
We're now thinking of taking 1 day cruise at Doubtful Sound.
The pickup time from Te Anau is 8:45am & for the same cruise, I saw the pickup time from Q'town is 6:55am.

If I left Q'town at 6am to Te Anau, I should be in front of the pickup bus :D
The shorter day during winter, black-ice on road & road closures are few factors which I forgot to take note for my driving trip :frus:


Please try not to self drive to milford... take up some day tour... just go google on how people get stuck in milford and they have to pay huge money to be transported out. nevertheless, milford is a MUST visit place in south island. i suggest 2 nights at te anau minimum.... first night is for you to drive there, another full day for milford tour. 3rd day drive out of te anau.
 

zoer

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nelson to franz is a really long drive.
on google map it is about 6 hours drive, but honestly it will take way way way longer especially during winter. Also, during your drive, you would definitely want to stop to take a rest, pictures and there are several nice bush walks along the way.

yeah... it IS a long drive. I allocate 8 hours here.
Upon reaching Nelson airport the day before at 4pm, I've no plan to go anywhere.
Pick the rental car up, go hotel+dinner then sleep.
Plan to leave Nelson at 6am. Drive slowly, maybe after 2-3hours can find some place to have breakfast. After breakfast, perhaps can drive slightly faster.
Won't go for bush walks, but will stop at nice sceneries & Hokitika, allocate all for 2hours.
Expected to reach FJ before 6pm.
Too optimistic ? :)

You might want to consider splitting the drive into 2 days, making a pit stop at hokitika.
The plan is to stay 2 nights at FJ because of the long drive.
If we stayed at Hokitika, then stay 1 night at FJ ?

when you drive from FJ to QT, take extreme care at hasst pass, do check for road closure every morning.
I've subscribed to onthemove.govt.nz email alerts.
Once it's closed, I can only pray :s13:

if you are driving to coronet peak, u will def need snow chains.
Noted. Will ask car rental staff to show me how to install it.
Meanwhile, youtu.be/OeZYqwlgUUE :D

take a tour into milford sound, do not attempt to drive on your own, esp during winter.
May change to Doubtful Sound.

i would also suggest
FJ - te anu - dunedin - QT -mt cook /tekapo - CC route
because driving on highway 8 is way more scenic than from dunedin - mt cook on highway 1.

Update: Wahh.. just checked, FJ - TeAnau is a long drive
 
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sellun

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Hi sellun,

Thanks for the valuable info.
We're now thinking of taking 1 day cruise at Doubtful Sound.
The pickup time from Te Anau is 8:45am & for the same cruise, I saw the pickup time from Q'town is 6:55am.

If I left Q'town at 6am to Te Anau, I should be in front of the pickup bus :D
The shorter day during winter, black-ice on road & road closures are few factors which I forgot to take note for my driving trip :frus:

Hi. In your case, why don't you take up the package from QT instead of driving to Te Anau?? Why would you want to drive all the way up there for 1 night then back to dunedin??? (BTW there's no night life up @ te anau, especially during winter)

ANW I would not recommend you to leave town at 6am, the roads there DOES NOT have any lights and the sun rise is at like 7.30am?? It will be total darkness

Please don't compare youself and the bus there.. The bus drivers travel the same road several times everyday for however long they worked, they will know every single corner and rockfall area. You'll be driving in an unfamiliar place.. QT to te anau will be filled with winding roads + snow + ice? It would be very dangerous to travel if you add in the lack of light and racing against time factor.

NZ is a wonderful place to relax and take a break from our fast paced lifestyle. I would recommend you to take their coach service if possible and be the passenger to enjoy the wonderful view :)

Enjoy and travel safe!

P.S. I recommend milford over doubtful, you can google for alot of comparison in the net :o
 

zoer

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..... deleted....
P.S. I recommend milford over doubtful, you can google for alot of comparison in the net :o

I'm fine with night driving.
I ever drove thru Great Ocean Road (Melb) at night + drizzling back in Aug 2011.
The next day, drove back like 30mins or so before continuing the journey :D

Milford too commercial I heard ? So many boats & helicopters...
Although I'm really keen to drive on TeAnau - Milford Highway. Use Google Maps & 'drove' thru using the mouse.. very scenic drive !

Thanks to Sellun & Veryred, updated my itineraries:

1-3) 26 Jul-29Jul: no change
4) 30 Jul: (leave at 08:00?) drive back to Auckland, take 14:40 flight to Nelson. Pick-up car @Nelson Airport & stay 1 night.
5) 31 Jul: 4hr drive to Greymouth & stay 1 night
6) 1 Aug: 3hr drive to franz Josef & stay 1 night
7) 2 Aug: 6hr drive to Q/town & stays 3 nights (gondola, jetboat, bungy, Coronet Peak, Milford/Doubtful Sound)
8) 5 Aug: 4hr drive to Dunedin (Monarch Widlife Cruises, Larnach Castle), stay 1 night
9) 6 Aug: 5-6hr drive to Mt. Cook (Lake Tekapo, salmon ?), stay 1 night. Very likely drive back to Cromwell then (as Veryred suggested) enjoys Lindiss Pass :)
10) 7 Aug: 5hr drive to Christchurch, stay 2 nights.
Any idea what to see/do at Christchurch since I'll return the car at 4pm on the 8th ?
11) 9 Aug: 06:30 flight to Sydney then to Sgp
 
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veryred

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yea you can ask the rental guy to show you how to fit the ice chain, and yea you can just watch youtube first to familiarize.

driving at 6am is really dangerous, not only there are no lights, the black ice in winter is no joke. Honestly, don't risk it. better to be safe than sorry.

I think doubtful sound is a nice place, especially when you can kayak and swim in the lake and most of the time you get dolphins swimming alongside you But I don't think you want to kayak or swim in winter and if i not wrong the kayak shop not open during winter also - need to check.

Yes, Milford sound is more commercialized because they get more visitor as it is rather straightforward to access. You can take a coach or drive there and get on the cruise. But for doubtful, you need to take a boat, bus and then cruise. Which also means more expensive to get to. But if cost is not an issue for you, by all means.

If you have 1 full day in christchurch I suggest you take a day trip. Either to kaikoura or akaroa. Depending on your interest, kaikoura for to see seals, whale watch. Along the way there are beach you can go to pick oysters as well. Akaroa is a small french settlement, get to see the nice bank peninsula, chill out in nice cafes or something .
 

sellun

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yea you can ask the rental guy to show you how to fit the ice chain, and yea you can just watch youtube first to familiarize.

driving at 6am is really dangerous, not only there are no lights, the black ice in winter is no joke. Honestly, don't risk it. better to be safe than sorry.

I think doubtful sound is a nice place, especially when you can kayak and swim in the lake and most of the time you get dolphins swimming alongside you But I don't think you want to kayak or swim in winter and if i not wrong the kayak shop not open during winter also - need to check.

Yes, Milford sound is more commercialized because they get more visitor as it is rather straightforward to access. You can take a coach or drive there and get on the cruise. But for doubtful, you need to take a boat, bus and then cruise. Which also means more expensive to get to. But if cost is not an issue for you, by all means.

If you have 1 full day in christchurch I suggest you take a day trip. Either to kaikoura or akaroa. Depending on your interest, kaikoura for to see seals, whale watch. Along the way there are beach you can go to pick oysters as well. Akaroa is a small french settlement, get to see the nice bank peninsula, chill out in nice cafes or something .

I'm not so sure about kayaking at doubtful, but rosco's milford do have winter kayaking. I've personally done with them during early winter. Definitely not your typical tourist, commercialized way to explore milford, winter is a good time to visit milford and it will not be crowded like summer.. There's a reason why so many people wanna visit that place.

nevertheless zoer your updated itinerary looks good! franz to QT will be a very long drive.. should take longer than 6hrs.. and regarding the night @ mt cook, if you're just staying there for 1 night with no activity... i would recommend lake tekapo instead, beautiful small town to relax before you end your beautiful holiday. You can save that 1-2hrs of return travelling time as well.

Have fun! NZ is an awesome country
 

zoer

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I'm not so sure about kayaking at doubtful, but rosco's milford do have winter kayaking. .....
Won't do kayaking/long walk/hiking, especially not in chilly winter :D

nevertheless zoer your updated itinerary looks good! franz to QT will be a very long drive.. should take longer than 6hrs.. and regarding the night @ mt cook, if you're just staying there for 1 night with no activity... i would recommend lake tekapo instead, beautiful small town to relax before you end your beautiful holiday. You can save that 1-2hrs of return travelling time as well.
Have fun! NZ is an awesome country

I purposely want to stay at Mt. Cook since it's a ulu place.
On the way to CCH, we plan to buy salmon at Pukaki Info Center, then spend 1-2hr @Lake Tekapo.
 

zoer

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......
I think doubtful sound is a nice place, especially when you can kayak and swim in the lake and most of the time you get dolphins swimming alongside you But I don't think you want to kayak or swim in winter and if i not wrong the kayak shop not open during winter also - need to check.

Swimming in the lake during winter ? brrrr.... :s13:

If you have 1 full day in christchurch I suggest you take a day trip. Either to kaikoura or akaroa. Depending on your interest, kaikoura for to see seals, whale watch. Along the way there are beach you can go to pick oysters as well. Akaroa is a small french settlement, get to see the nice bank peninsula, chill out in nice cafes or something .

Thanks veryred, will ask wife to choose either 1 of the above :)
 

info_guy

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Hi guys I've looked at 1 sample itinerary from page 9 or 10 (can't remember) for a 18-19 days New Zealand Trip. I am not planning to stay that long maybe max 14 days.

Would someone knowledgable help me to shave off 4-5 days from this itinerary.

Also I have confidence in my driving (in Indonesia), but not too sure of how it might work out in New Zealand. Is is tricky to drive in early to Mid August?

Thanks guys, this is the itinerary that I was talking about. (Ps: thanks to the original owner)

NZ Trip Iti Final

Addition:

Traveling with wife only
Should I book the car and hotels in advance here or when I'm in NZ?
 

alpc

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One way to shave off the 4 - 5 days is to skip North Island. I think it's more than enough to go on the South Island. If you want to, do another trip to the North Island as there are a lot more places to go up north of Auckland.

By the way, to me, it's weird to drive from Wanaka to Mt Cook and then back to Queenstown. I would have done Dunedin to Mt Cook, then back to Christchurch.

You route is almost similar to mine, except that a) I drove up to Blenheim and back to Christchurch before heading to Greymouth; b) I did not spent time at Milford Sound, I went Doubtful Sound instead; c) I only spent an afternoon at Dunedin; d) I did Lake Tekapo and Mt Cook on my way to Christchurch.
 

veryred

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for some reason I can't open the link, but I agree with alpc, focus on either north or south. I would prefer south, but it is up to you.
Early to mid aug is still very much in the winter season, days are shorter and probably just have to take care of the wet road.

Hi guys I've looked at 1 sample itinerary from page 9 or 10 (can't remember) for a 18-19 days New Zealand Trip. I am not planning to stay that long maybe max 14 days.

Would someone knowledgable help me to shave off 4-5 days from this itinerary.

Also I have confidence in my driving (in Indonesia), but not too sure of how it might work out in New Zealand. Is is tricky to drive in early to Mid August?

Thanks guys, this is the itinerary that I was talking about. (Ps: thanks to the original owner)

NZ Trip Iti Final

Addition:

Traveling with wife only
Should I book the car and hotels in advance here or when I'm in NZ?
 

veryred

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One way to shave off the 4 - 5 days is to skip North Island. I think it's more than enough to go on the South Island. If you want to, do another trip to the North Island as there are a lot more places to go up north of Auckland.

By the way, to me, it's weird to drive from Wanaka to Mt Cook and then back to Queenstown. I would have done Dunedin to Mt Cook, then back to Christchurch.

You route is almost similar to mine, except that a) I drove up to Blenheim and back to Christchurch before heading to Greymouth; b) I did not spent time at Milford Sound, I went Doubtful Sound instead; c) I only spent an afternoon at Dunedin; d) I did Lake Tekapo and Mt Cook on my way to Christchurch.

Why would you want to drive wanaka-mtcook-QT and possibly back up north again ? Unless you have too much time or money to spend on petrol, otherwise just do wanaka-qt-mtcook instead.
 
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