You are not logged in. Please login or register.
Robots for Robots → Travel → New Zealand
At the end of the year I will go to New Zealand for six weeks. Anyone been there before and also got some tips? We have already reserved some treks on the Southern Island and we will travel around in a camper.
the south island is the place to be if that helps....
drop me a PM if you like, with your planned route, I was assembled in Dunedin and programmed in the North Island.
Feb/March is actually the best time weather-wise but Dec/Jan should still be nice...
If you are doing the Abel Tasman and Milford Tracks, you can't go too far wrong!
Abel Tasman area is truely paradise.
In general I think it's nice to rent a private holiday house as a break from backpackers situation...
Try holidayhouses.co.nz -> Golden Bay....
Wanaka/Queenstown/Arrowtown in the mountains down south are beautiful though the settlements are touristy...
If you really want desolate Lord of the rings vibes, West Coast is also dramatic and Akaroa is pretty.
North Island: plenty of beautiful spots there too... e.g.
-Coromandel (hot water beach),
- Rotorua (thermal volcanic areas which are not all over run with tourists, a hushed and deep Californian redwood forest, lots of hot pools of course... I can find out the name of a good motor home where we stayed there if you are interested)
- 'up north' i.e. Leigh, Matapouri Bay...
Some friends of mine run a really nice place in Leigh called the Sawmill for eating in a peaceful setting, the Goat Island camping ground near there is very cute and you can swim with bright blue Mao Mao fishes at Goat Island beach. Tawharanui beach near Leigh is also very good and a market on Saturdays at nearby Matakana. The little movie theatre there is nice and has a ceiling covered with roses (thanks to a bunch of millionaires buying properties at nearby Omaha beach..)
More secluded spots like Matapouri Bay I would rent a house from the site above.
Least likely holiday destination but very nice little windswept beach settlement is Paekakariki just north of Wellington, the Paekakariki backpackers is insanely good value for money, self contained chalets and a Mongolian tent which is sort of palatial... andcloser to the train tracks, a cafe with very good coffee, a tiny shop selling nice selection of found objects (we bought owl-shaped salt & pepper shakers and a blue glass marlin that used to contain perfume), and a nice old book shop. The cafe on the way to the surf club has the very delicious Rush Munroes ice cream (e.g. pohutukawa honey flavour) and mexican day of the dead flags and also great coffee.
yes this robot is a coffee addict!
Just across the railway tracks you can get seafood (like bluff oysters when in season, or crayfish) from a truck with fresh produce on ice.
oooops sorry guess I kind of missed that you are traveling in a caravan thing,
if I were you I would just drive around everywhere. akaroa, southern alps, akaroa, over Arthur's Pass to the west coast, see pancake rocks, drive up north towards Milford Sound, Golden Bay, Abel Tasman track etc.
don't bother to go as far south as dunedin/invercargill.
my german robo-friend really enjoyed driving up the north island too - rural tableau of lower north island, stop in Rotorua at that nice morot home/holiday park with private hot pools, go via Lake Taupo, volcanic plateau, then go either left (forests and Mt Taranaki which looks like Mt Fuji) or right (nice calm beaches in Gisborne, art deco of Napier) to Auckland.
(I'm not sure how good my geography is in terms of the route but all recommended spots are worth driving through!!)
I watched the sun come up on new years of the new millennium sitting on the beach in Gisborne, it's the first place to see the new year, in the world (apart from some tiny pacific island I guess!)
Once you've driven up north, stay a few nights at the camping ground/motor home on Takapuna Beach Holiday Park in Auckland, beautiful spot and this gives you a chance to eat delicious asian food in Auckland (try Grand Harbour downtown for yum cha dumpling breakfast, or korean places in Takapuna for handmade dumplings, or Dominion Road for a glut of chinese places with late night dumplings)
Or try Tanuki's Cave yakitori bar on Queen St, the sake bar upstairs or another excellent Japanese restaurant next door, Kura, all owned by the same guy.
Then there is the AMAZING Mexican Specialties Limited on Celtic Cres in Ellerslie, Auckland, only open Thurs-Sat and serving cheap and delicious nogada (walnuts and pomegranates), mole, tostadas etc. ph 580 2497
Then after Auckland drive north on highway 1, take a detour at Rodney Coast and go to the Goat Island camping ground previously mentioned (I think they serve camper vans).
Then go further north, to Matapouri Bay, Bay of Islands etc. Maybe even right up to 90 mile beach!
then fly out of Auckland!
I really enjoyed Queenstown, even if it is a tourist trap. Really cool location, great pubs and restaurants and loads to do. If you're into skiing (depending on when you go, obviously) or extreme activities its the place!
Do the canyon swing!
I was there last (southern) summer. I'd recommend three weeks south + three weeks north, locals might be biased.
SOUTH ISLAND
Didn't like Christchurch at all, but to each his own I guess.
Dunedin is a very cool town, nightlife will be interesting when the students are there. If I remember correctly Post Street is where some of the action is.
Haven't been to Stewart Island but I'm guessing it's worth a two day excursion.
Queenstown is defo the place to be for snow related activities in the wintertime, less crowded in the summer.
Leave at the crack of dawn 6pm-ish when you're driving to Milford Sound to avoid the 8pm buzz.
Wanaka's got beautiful biking/hiking tracks along the lake + if you've never done a canyoning trip do it here (not that cheap though) but prepare to get cold & wet.
If you can, go up the Westcoast, it's nothing but gorgeous valleys but ya gotta realise if you go all the way up to Karamea, there's only one way north and that is going all the way back to Westport, huge detour, so plan ahead.
Check the weather forecast for the Golden Bay, if all's well book a kayak trip two days ahead - personally I thought this was the most beautiful part of the South Island.
Nelson and Picton are pretty forgetteable in my opinion.
NORTH ISLAND
Wellington is worth at least 48 hours of your time, one of the nicest cities in the world.
Napier + the Bay ditto
Tauranga + that Bay ditto again, you can make nice city trips there.
I thought Lake Taupo + the hot streams were beautiful, nice trips to be made here.
The Coromandel peninsula is my favourite part of NZ, you simply must go there, such a relaxed atmosphere among the locals, checkitout !!!
I'd take a week (or more) out to cruise around Northland, it's stunningly beautiful top to bottom.
If you can, waste no time in Auckland, there is nothing special about it.
When you're riding around in a campervan you're missing out on a fine NZ attraction, that is the New Zealanders themselves, so if you can plan a little trip to places like Great Barrier Island or Coromandel so you can bump into Kiwi holidaymakers b/k/a the nicest people on the planet.
That is a nice thing to say about Wellingtron.
There is a bar there called Mighty Mighty (on Cuba Mall) that is def worth visiting, and a lot of good Malaysian restaurants. Also don't miss the kumara fries with garlic aioli at Burger Fuel!! (NZ native sweet potato)
The City Gallery (in the Civic Square) is prob the best in NZ for contemporary art.
agree about Christchurch.
Personally find Dunedin to be boring (I have only a tourist's perspective on that town) but I am not so much into student culture.
Auckland, because it's more sprawling, you need to have insider knowledge on. There is asian food there like you will never find in Europe, and some very good gigs/parties. It's also a good base to explore western black sand beaches, like Piha, Kare Kare etc (where the Piano was filmed) - also very wild and dramatic places. If you visit them you will not regret it..
Visitors often seem to hate on AK, but when you know where to go, it has a lot to offer. You have to scratch the surface. The Takapuna Holiday Park there is one of the nicest you'll find in the country, right by the water.
Doubtful Sounds
I love New Zealand. I travelled the whole country and its landscapes changes along the way very much.
Be sure to go on a ride with a boat thru the Doubtful Sounds. It's not as touristic as Milford Sound. Or do both as we did. In Milfordsound there are a lot of other ships around, that's not at Doubtful Sounds. And you can sleep on the ship as well! It's amazing to see nature this undisturbed way. See wildlife that you are not going to see at Milford.
Rotorua
Rotorua is also nice. Look at all the vulcanic stuff going on.
gletsjers and snowy mountains
In the south there are gletsjers and mountains where you can go with a helicopter. Also very nice.
Beer
If you like beer you are going to be lucky. There are lot's of nice microbrews over there. Food is good at the brewpubs too!
Check out:
http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/Countries/148.htm
and
The Best Beers In New Zealand
In Christchurch visit the Twisted Hop brewpub:
http://www.thetwistedhop.co.nz/
Abel Tasman National Park
Take a small hike at Abel Tasman National Park.
Ride and enjoy
And just riding thru the country is amazing. There are great views around every corner.
And talk to the people. Friendly and relaxed people.
And really check out both islands. I would start north.
Very awesome and thanks for your responses people!
So far we have made reservations for the Hump ridge track, Hollyford track, Fox Glacier and Abel Tasman. We will visit Crhistchurch, Lake Tekapo, Dunedin, Invercargill, Te Anau, Lake Wanaka, Marlborough Sounds, Wellington, Lake Rotorua (Whakarewarewa Reserve), Bay of Plenty (White Island) and Auckland. As you can see, we will stay longer (4 weeks) on the South Island than on the North Island. Part of the reason is that the people in New Zealand will also have vacation in that period and they will travel to the North Island. Another part is that we want to hike/track a lot.
Great pics btw, NoiZe!
Robots for Robots → Travel → New Zealand
Powered by PunBB, supported by Informer Technologies, Inc.
Currently used extensions: pun_approval, pun_admin_add_user. Copyright © 2009 PunBB