Back from South island New Zealand

keigo22

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Wow will take a look at this and rethink my FJG portion and ignore Kaikoura. Appreciate your kind advice!

Yes SQ non-stop.

O ya forgot to add 1 more things the part from

Day 10
Te Anau to Dunedin

Before reaching Dunedin make some side stop along the way
- Nugget Point
- Purakaunui Falls

Then in Dunedin
- First Church of Otago
- Dunedin Railway Station (If on Saturday will have farmer market beside it)
- Scotia Bar and Bistro
- Etrusco Italian
- Signal Hill Lookout
- Larnach Castle
- Sandyfly Bay
- Royal Albatross Centre
- Go for the Elm Wildlife Tours you will love it one
Stay 2 nights
 

yxerin

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Hi everyone,

My fiancee and I are going to NZ for our pre-wedding shoot, and are taking the chance to tour NZ. We are going in the first two weeks of Sep. Self-driving the entire trip. Would appreciate any advise on the itinerary below please. Would the itinerary be too ambitious?

Day 1: Arrive Auckland late afternoon. Pick up car and drive to matamata accomodation for the night.
Day 2: Drive to Hobbiton, then drive to Waitomo glow worm caves for blackwater tubing. Overnight at Waitomo.
Day 3: Drive to Rotorua. Check out Te Puia. [We are purchasing a trilogy supercharged attractions package (experiencethetrilogy.com), hence we are doing this sequence.] Overnight in Taupo.
Day 4: Explore Taupo in the morning. Drive to Wellington in the afternoon. Overnight in wellington.
Day 5: Explore Wellington. Overnight in Wellington.
Day 6: Cross to South island. Overnight in Nelson.
Day 7: Day trip to Abel Tasman national park.
Day 8: Drive to Punakaiki. Overnight in Punakaiki.
Day 9: Drive to Arthur's Pass to explore, but overnight at Hokitika. There's a bit of backtracking here..is Arthur's Pass really worth checking out?
Day 10: Drive to Wanaka, stopping by the glaciers along the way. We don't intend to do the heli-rides as they are too expensive... Overnight in Wanaka.
Day 11: Hike Roy's Peak.
Day 12: Drive to Te Anau, stopping by Arrowtown along the way. Overnight in Te Anau.
Day 13: Milford Sound day trip, using coach. Drive back to queenstown for the night. Overnight in Queenstown.
Day 14: Queenstown activity in the morning. We are thinking Newis Swing... Drive to Tekapo in the afternoon. Overnight in Tekapo.
Day 15: Tekapo photoshoot
Day 16: Queenstown photoshoot. We were supposed to photoshoot in Queenstown first, and then Tekapo, but the photographer changed his plans...
Day 17: Fly back to Singapore from Queenstown.

Many thanks! :s12:
 
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Satki General

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Hi everyone,

My fiancee and I are going to NZ for our pre-wedding shoot, and are taking the chance to tour NZ. We are going in the first two weeks of Sep. Self-driving the entire trip. Would appreciate any advise on the itinerary below please. Would the itinerary be too ambitious?

Day 1: Arrive Auckland late afternoon. Pick up car and drive to matamata accomodation for the night.
Day 2: Drive to Hobbiton, then drive to Waitomo glow worm caves for blackwater tubing. Overnight at Waitomo.
Day 3: Drive to Rotorua. Check out Te Puia. [We are purchasing a trilogy supercharged attractions package (experiencethetrilogy.com), hence we are doing this sequence.] Overnight in Taupo.
Day 4: Explore Taupo in the morning. Drive to Wellington in the afternoon. Overnight in wellington.
Day 5: Explore Wellington. Overnight in Wellington.
Day 6: Cross to South island. Overnight in Nelson.
Day 7: Day trip to Abel Tasman national park.
Day 8: Drive to Punakaiki. Overnight in Punakaiki.
Day 9: Drive to Arthur's Pass to explore, but overnight at Hokitika. There's a bit of backtracking here..is Arthur's Pass really worth checking out?
Day 10: Drive to Wanaka, stopping by the glaciers along the way. We don't intend to do the heli-rides as they are too expensive... Overnight in Wanaka.
Day 11: Hike Roy's Peak.
Day 12: Drive to Te Anau, stopping by Arrowtown along the way. Overnight in Te Anau.
Day 13: Milford Sound day trip, using coach. Drive back to queenstown for the night. Overnight in Queenstown.
Day 14: Queenstown activity in the morning. We are thinking Newis Swing... Drive to Tekapo in the afternoon. Overnight in Tekapo.
Day 15: Tekapo photoshoot
Day 16: Queenstown photoshoot. We were supposed to photoshoot in Queenstown first, and then Tekapo, but the photographer changed his plans...
Day 17: Fly back to Singapore from Queenstown.

Many thanks! :s12:

I feel its abit too rush to do both north and south in 17days and you still have to look fresh for your photoshoot at the last couple of days :s13:

Day1 - you need to convert to consider what time you arrive (in SG time it could be like late e.g. 6PM) and start driving to MataMata (reach there past midnight SG time??) Usually I will relax on first day, catch up on some ZZs, shopping for essentials etc

Day 10 - I think the drive might be too long, starting from FJG could be better and you can rearrange your day 8 and 9 to fit the schedule since they are quite near each other

Lastly I think if you are in Tekapo area, you should also go down to Mt Cook since its one of the main attractions in South Island la :s13:
 

keigo22

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Hi everyone,

My fiancee and I are going to NZ for our pre-wedding shoot, and are taking the chance to tour NZ. We are going in the first two weeks of Sep. Self-driving the entire trip. Would appreciate any advise on the itinerary below please. Would the itinerary be too ambitious?

Day 1: Arrive Auckland late afternoon. Pick up car and drive to matamata accomodation for the night.
Day 2: Drive to Hobbiton, then drive to Waitomo glow worm caves for blackwater tubing. Overnight at Waitomo.
Day 3: Drive to Rotorua. Check out Te Puia. [We are purchasing a trilogy supercharged attractions package (experiencethetrilogy.com), hence we are doing this sequence.] Overnight in Taupo.
Day 4: Explore Taupo in the morning. Drive to Wellington in the afternoon. Overnight in wellington.
Day 5: Explore Wellington. Overnight in Wellington.
Day 6: Cross to South island. Overnight in Nelson.
Day 7: Day trip to Abel Tasman national park.
Day 8: Drive to Punakaiki. Overnight in Punakaiki.
Day 9: Drive to Arthur's Pass to explore, but overnight at Hokitika. There's a bit of backtracking here..is Arthur's Pass really worth checking out?
Day 10: Drive to Wanaka, stopping by the glaciers along the way. We don't intend to do the heli-rides as they are too expensive... Overnight in Wanaka.
Day 11: Hike Roy's Peak.
Day 12: Drive to Te Anau, stopping by Arrowtown along the way. Overnight in Te Anau.
Day 13: Milford Sound day trip, using coach. Drive back to queenstown for the night. Overnight in Queenstown.
Day 14: Queenstown activity in the morning. We are thinking Newis Swing... Drive to Tekapo in the afternoon. Overnight in Tekapo.
Day 15: Tekapo photoshoot
Day 16: Queenstown photoshoot. We were supposed to photoshoot in Queenstown first, and then Tekapo, but the photographer changed his plans...
Day 17: Fly back to Singapore from Queenstown.

Many thanks! :s12:

17 days and you want to go from both north to south island... haha.. took me 1 years to complete the whole countries and still got some wulo place I still want to go.

Forget about North Island, just go for South Island will do. You won't miss anything much in North Island. Hobbiton is really over rated and over price.

Sept is a wet season, cold and wet FYI. The snow on the mountain top have melt, but the flowers not out yet. The Milky way is no longer the brightness and summer not yet here.

Go June or end Nov is the best timing.. the rest of the year I find you will not really get to see the best of NZ. Not to mention the stupid weather will spoil the view.

Bro, you know NZ road is unlike SG right.. mostly mountain or narrow road. You trying to drive like Fast and furious? Then you will miss out everything in NZ.

In NZ only slow driving then you will enjoy the view and find interesting things along the way. NZ is unlike other countries where you only see things only at the point of interest. There are alot of things along the way to discover. The point of interest is just a note only, not really will be the best of view of interest.

Also driving fast in NZ you will only ask for 1 things which is accident. The road condition is unlike what you have experience in SG or Malaysia so smooth going. Also there will be heavy vehicle blocking your way. Don't be hero and try over take on normal road, which high chance I will see you in the news. Over take vehicle only during passing lane only.

Day 1: Arrive Auckland late afternoon. Pick up car and drive to matamata accomodation for the night.
Day 2: Drive to Hobbiton, then drive to Waitomo glow worm caves for blackwater tubing. Overnight at Waitomo.
Day 3: Drive to Rotorua. Check out Te Puia. [We are purchasing a trilogy supercharged attractions package (experiencethetrilogy.com)

Trust me your Day 1 to matamata is crazy starting from late afternoon. You will discover you reach matamata without dinner to eat.
 
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NoTimeToWaitAr

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Thanks Keigo22!

I have planned the same itinerary as per what you have recommended,
except Dunedin.

Can I ask you a few questions:

1. If I'm going to Dunedin from QTN, I will be skipping the route Lindis Valley to Mt Cook. Is it a scenic drive along Lindis Valley?

Day 10
Te Anau to Dunedin
- First Church of Otago
- Dunedin Railway Station (If on Saturday will have farmer market beside it)
- Scotia Bar and Bistro
- Etrusco Italian
- Signal Hill Lookout
- Larnach Castle
- Sandyfly Bay
- Royal Albatross Centre
- Go for the Elm Wildlife Tours you will love it one
Stay 2 nights

2. I'm thinking of going Kaikoura for whale watching/seal kayaking, after which to Hanmer spring, and back to CHC. Is it worth going to seal kayaking?

Thanks in advance
 

keigo22

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Thanks Keigo22!

I have planned the same itinerary as per what you have recommended,
except Dunedin.

Can I ask you a few questions:

1. If I'm going to Dunedin from QTN, I will be skipping the route Lindis Valley to Mt Cook. Is it a scenic drive along Lindis Valley?



2. I'm thinking of going Kaikoura for whale watching/seal kayaking, after which to Hanmer spring, and back to CHC. Is it worth going to seal kayaking?

Thanks in advance

1. If I'm going to Dunedin from QTN, I will be skipping the route Lindis Valley to Mt Cook. Is it a scenic drive along Lindis Valley?

Yes Lindis Pass scenic enough but not really the best. I find it nicer during winter only. You won't miss much. Crown Range Rd is a must.


2. I'm thinking of going Kaikoura for whale watching/seal kayaking, after which to Hanmer spring, and back to CHC. Is it worth going to seal kayaking?

I find nothing nice about Kaikoura if you ask me. If you want Kayaking you should do it at Milford sound instead.

Also do note end Nov/Dec is not really the season for whale, so for the whole trip you might only see 1 whale tail only. Yes you see whale is just the Tail only, don't expect to see the whole whale.:s13::s13:

Seriously you going to give Dunedin a miss... the Wild life tour is really once in a life time experience, you get to have a close encounter with wild yellow eyed penguin, sea lion etc...

O to add on go take a look at the lunar calendar on the day you will be at lake Tekapo and Mt Cook. I know the Milky Way brightness at it core is gone in Nov but if it fall under New Moon Phase, you will still have clear dark night sky to see the star and also Milky way and shooting star.

Every night at around 9pm~10:30pm if you just look at the sky you will get to see the satellite fly over
 
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keigo22

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Thanks Keigo22!

I have planned the same itinerary as per what you have recommended,
except Dunedin.

Can I ask you a few questions:

1. If I'm going to Dunedin from QTN, I will be skipping the route Lindis Valley to Mt Cook. Is it a scenic drive along Lindis Valley?



2. I'm thinking of going Kaikoura for whale watching/seal kayaking, after which to Hanmer spring, and back to CHC. Is it worth going to seal kayaking?

Thanks in advance

O and not sure NoTimeToWaitAr and sihevai the same person else maybe 2 different topic..:s13::s13:

If you guys need help just drop me a PM with your email. I can share you POI if you use GPS and also plan for you and give u more detail advices. Rather then in forum very messy.
 

NoTimeToWaitAr

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1. If I'm going to Dunedin from QTN, I will be skipping the route Lindis Valley to Mt Cook. Is it a scenic drive along Lindis Valley?

Yes Lindis Pass scenic enough but not really the best. I find it nicer during winter only. You won't miss much. Crown Range Rd is a must.


2. I'm thinking of going Kaikoura for whale watching/seal kayaking, after which to Hanmer spring, and back to CHC. Is it worth going to seal kayaking?

I find nothing nice about Kaikoura if you ask me. If you want Kayaking you should do it at Milford sound instead.

Also do note end Nov/Dec is not really the season for whale, so for the whole trip you might only see 1 whale tail only. Yes you see whale is just the Tail only, don't expect to see the whole whale.:s13::s13:

Seriously you going to give Dunedin a miss... the Wild life tour is really once in a life time experience, you get to have a close encounter with wild yellow eyed penguin, sea lion etc...

Thanks a lot! Based on my current itinerary, most probably we have some days to spare. Anyway is there any great route from Dunedin to Mt Cook? If not perhaps I can consider driving toward QTN and straight up to Mt Cook.
 

NoTimeToWaitAr

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O and not sure NoTimeToWaitAr and sihevai the same person else maybe 2 different topic..:s13::s13:

If you guys need help just drop me a PM with your email. I can share you POI if you use GPS and also plan for you and give u more detail advices. Rather then in forum very messy.

haha.. sihevai is going during yr end, whereas I'm going next week.:s12::s12:
 

keigo22

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Thanks a lot! Based on my current itinerary, most probably we have some days to spare. Anyway is there any great route from Dunedin to Mt Cook? If not perhaps I can consider driving toward QTN and straight up to Mt Cook.

From Dunedin to Mt Cook you can drive to Moeraki Boulders first to look at the wonder of the rock ball at the beach then just drive the shortest route to Mt Cook.

May is the start of winter but southerlies will only come on the first week of queen birthday so no worries of snow. Just cold and bare mountain top. If cold enough then will see some snow at Mountain top.

Seriously you want to Kayaking in May.. :s13::s13: enjoy the cold cold water

O ya 1 more thing, since you are there at May. When at Queenstown, go to restaurant (will be more expensive) or you go New World and ask for Bluff Oyster. It is the best Oyster you can ever find. Only in NZ not even enough to export out.

Remember to wash it with water if you buy from New World else you will complaining to me why taste suck. ahaha
 
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sellun

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Hi everyone,

My fiancee and I are going to NZ for our pre-wedding shoot, and are taking the chance to tour NZ. We are going in the first two weeks of Sep. Self-driving the entire trip. Would appreciate any advise on the itinerary below please. Would the itinerary be too ambitious?

Day 1: Arrive Auckland late afternoon. Pick up car and drive to matamata accomodation for the night.
Day 2: Drive to Hobbiton, then drive to Waitomo glow worm caves for blackwater tubing. Overnight at Waitomo.
Day 3: Drive to Rotorua. Check out Te Puia. [We are purchasing a trilogy supercharged attractions package (experiencethetrilogy.com), hence we are doing this sequence.] Overnight in Taupo.
Day 4: Explore Taupo in the morning. Drive to Wellington in the afternoon. Overnight in wellington.
Day 5: Explore Wellington. Overnight in Wellington.
Day 6: Cross to South island. Overnight in Nelson.
Day 7: Day trip to Abel Tasman national park.
Day 8: Drive to Punakaiki. Overnight in Punakaiki.
Day 9: Drive to Arthur's Pass to explore, but overnight at Hokitika. There's a bit of backtracking here..is Arthur's Pass really worth checking out?
Day 10: Drive to Wanaka, stopping by the glaciers along the way. We don't intend to do the heli-rides as they are too expensive... Overnight in Wanaka.
Day 11: Hike Roy's Peak.
Day 12: Drive to Te Anau, stopping by Arrowtown along the way. Overnight in Te Anau.
Day 13: Milford Sound day trip, using coach. Drive back to queenstown for the night. Overnight in Queenstown.
Day 14: Queenstown activity in the morning. We are thinking Newis Swing... Drive to Tekapo in the afternoon. Overnight in Tekapo.
Day 15: Tekapo photoshoot
Day 16: Queenstown photoshoot. We were supposed to photoshoot in Queenstown first, and then Tekapo, but the photographer changed his plans...
Day 17: Fly back to Singapore from Queenstown.

Many thanks! :s12:
This itinerary is crazy. Even if you can make it work somehow you will definitely not enjoy it. At the end of the trip you will feel so tired. NZ is a place to enjoy slow pace and beautiful scenery, please don't bring the Singapore rushing pace there.

Please just do south island.. since your last 2-3days is for photoshoot. Do the standard 14days anti clockwise trip around south island. If you have bought your flight to Auckland, just fly jetstar from Auckland to chc and start from there instead

Sent from MiMax using GAGT
 

sihevai

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From Dunedin to Mt Cook you can drive to Moeraki Boulders first to look at the wonder of the rock ball at the beach then just drive the shortest route to Mt Cook.

May is the start of winter but southerlies will only come on the first week of queen birthday so no worries of snow. Just cold and bare mountain top. If cold enough then will see some snow at Mountain top.

Seriously you want to Kayaking in May.. :s13::s13: enjoy the cold cold water

O ya 1 more thing, since you are there at May. When at Queenstown, go to restaurant (will be more expensive) or you go New World and ask for Bluff Oyster. It is the best Oyster you can ever find. Only in NZ not even enough to export out.

Remember to wash it with water if you buy from New World else you will complaining to me why taste suck. ahaha

OYSTERS! :s22::s22::s22: they are my favourite. Are there any farms that I can visit in Nov?
 

keigo22

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OYSTERS! :s22::s22::s22: they are my favourite. Are there any farms that I can visit in Nov?

Too bad Bluff Oyster season is during winter season which is May till June/July only.

Well there are some farms at CHC but NZ is not really famous for tourist farm stay. OZ is a better choice if you want farm stay.

There is a farm stay I know of which is LOTR Rohan castle is but I don't know you dare to drive in or not. No telco network and no path road really cut out from civilisation :s13::s13::s13:
 

keigo22

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One thing need to take note; if you drive dangerously, the local will take action on hand by stopping you and take away your car keys.

The govt even on the take of making tourist pass local driving test before they are allow to drive in NZ. No idea if this suggest will pass through and how it will implement.
 

yxerin

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This itinerary is crazy. Even if you can make it work somehow you will definitely not enjoy it. At the end of the trip you will feel so tired. NZ is a place to enjoy slow pace and beautiful scenery, please don't bring the Singapore rushing pace there.

Please just do south island.. since your last 2-3days is for photoshoot. Do the standard 14days anti clockwise trip around south island. If you have bought your flight to Auckland, just fly jetstar from Auckland to chc and start from there instead

Many thanks to sellun, Satki General and keigo22 for their comments!

I would consider myself a conservative and super kiasi driver. My work allowed me to spend a couple years honing my defensive driving in the rural areas of America and Eastern Europe where there's no road lighting at night, lanes are just 1+1, and the roads can get icy in winter. Too fast too furious days are long gone for me.

I'll take another look at the itinerary. Will probably take out the abel tasman national park day trip to slow things down a bit. Maybe we will also stop in Queenstown instead of driving all the way to Te Anau, and take the coach to Milford Sound from there instead.

My fiancee and I tend to pack our trips with a lot of stuff so there might be some hard decisions to make. We really don't want to give up North island though. One of the reasons we are going nz is to experience blackwater rafting at waitomo. One of my concerns is how accurate Google maps is, and how much buffer to add to driving time. Would a +20% time buffer be sufficient?
 

sihevai

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Too bad Bluff Oyster season is during winter season which is May till June/July only.

Well there are some farms at CHC but NZ is not really famous for tourist farm stay. OZ is a better choice if you want farm stay.

There is a farm stay I know of which is LOTR Rohan castle is but I don't know you dare to drive in or not. No telco network and no path road really cut out from civilisation :s13::s13::s13:

ah what i meant was oyster farms where i can enjoy oysters straight from the ocean! Any any???
 

keigo22

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Many thanks to sellun, Satki General and keigo22 for their comments!

I would consider myself a conservative and super kiasi driver. My work allowed me to spend a couple years honing my defensive driving in the rural areas of America and Eastern Europe where there's no road lighting at night, lanes are just 1+1, and the roads can get icy in winter. Too fast too furious days are long gone for me.

I'll take another look at the itinerary. Will probably take out the abel tasman national park day trip to slow things down a bit. Maybe we will also stop in Queenstown instead of driving all the way to Te Anau, and take the coach to Milford Sound from there instead.

My fiancee and I tend to pack our trips with a lot of stuff so there might be some hard decisions to make. We really don't want to give up North island though. One of the reasons we are going nz is to experience blackwater rafting at waitomo. One of my concerns is how accurate Google maps is, and how much buffer to add to driving time. Would a +20% time buffer be sufficient?

For sept yes add another 20% to the google map drive time is ok but then that is only apply if u drive without stopping to take photo. So yes quite subjective depend on your planning
 
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