NZ trip itinerary advice

Lancerx on 05/01/2016 - 04:08
Last edited 08/01/2016 - 00:24

Hi all,

Going to NZ 1st-13th February. Below is my rough NZ itinerary:

1st Arrive Auckland late night
2nd Explore Auckland city & wedding dinner at night
3th Rotorua (Hobitton, thermal areas & Tamaki village) (Overnight at Rotorua)
4th Drive back to Auckland early morning. Fly to Queenstown (arrive 4pm)
5th Queenstown – Skyline gondola & Luge & Glenorchy trip
6th Queenstown - Nevis Swing or Shotover canyon?
7th Milford Sound day trip ( Overnight at Te Anau )
8th Te Anau ( Glowworm cave & Doubtful sound)
9th Skydive at Wanaka
10th Fox glacier ( Overnight at ??)
11th Franz Josef glacier ( Overnight at ??)
12th Drive back to Christchurch through Arthur pass
13th Fly out from Christchurch (3pm)

Final Itinerary:

DATE PLACE & ACTIVITIES OVERNIGHT
01-02-15 Auckland- Arrive at night Auckland
02-02-15 Explore Auckland City, wedding at 4pm Auckland
03-02-15 Rotorua - Hobitton ,White rafting, Te Puia? Rotorua
04-02-15 Day trip to Lake Taupo, Kairau Park, Kerosene Creek Rotorua
05-02-15 Auckland to Queenstown Qtown
06-02-15 Queenstown - Shotover wing or Nervis swing? Qtown
07-02-15 Queenstown - Glenorchy trip & Arrowtown? Qtown
08-02-15 Milford Sound day trip from Qtown Te Anau
09-02-15 Te Anau - Doubtful sound Wanaka
10-02-15 Wanaka - Skydiving 7.30m, Fox Glacier FJ Glacier
11-02-15 Franz Josef Glacier - Heli hike, glow worm dell at Hok Hokitika
12-02-15 Via Arthur pass to CHC Christchurch
13-02-15 Fly out of Christchurch Fly out 3PM

My BIGGEST problem now is finding accommodations along the west coast!! I didn't know they were all booked out months away! Even booking accommodation for Oktoberfest in Munich 2 months ago was not so bad.. Crazy! NZ must sitting on tourism gold mine! Any tips on how to get accommodation on the west coast? Tried every online sites, none have any sort of accommodations, only the super crazy expensive ones which I can't afford ..HELP!!

EDIT: Finally Got the accommodation In Franz Josef sorted by ringing the hostel directly to accommodate last min booking, as some rooms weren't shown available through booking sites. AirBnB helped a lot, as most hotels in Qtown also booked out, luckily there're some still reasonably priced airbnb…phew..

NOW, onto activities, what should I fit into Qtown & Rotorua so it doesn't repeat itself? Also can you actually get to Fox Glacier by foot? If yes, how long does it take you? We only plan to do heli hike on FJ glacier? Not sure if I have enough time to do both Skydiving & Fox Glacier on the same day?

Also, someone suggested Tamaki village, but I have to admit it's quite expensive paying $115 for an experience for 3 hours pp..You can do the same in Te Puia no?

Please comment and advice as you see fit. Would appreciate any input! Thanks!

Travel

Comments

  • casmxl on 05/01/2016 - 07:55

    free poi in Rotorua Hamurana Springs
    https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Hamurana+Springs+Garden…
    and i used https://www.bookme.co.nz/ a lot for my nz trip last year

    • Lancerx on 08/01/2016 - 02:19

      Looks like it's a golf club, what are actually free there?

      • casmxl on 11/01/2016 - 08:38

        just location, it is right next to the golf club. No need to pay a cent(at least in Nov 2015).
        when i was in rotorua, i used bookme.co.nz to book lots of discounted activities.

  • inherentchoice on 05/01/2016 - 08:39

    You tried every online accommodation site? Even AirBNB?

    February is still reasonably warm so what about renting a campervan to stay in?

    If you need accommodation at Milford Sound consider doing an overnight cruise/boat trip.

    Did you already book your flight from Auckland to Queenstown?

    You may also want to reconsider doing both glaciers. Especially as it seems to be difficult to book accommodation there.

    I would probably spend an extra day or two on the North Island and do tubing through Waitomo Caves aka "Black Water Rafting".

    FYI Rotorua also has a luge. Plus it has hot springs you can swim at (not free though). When I was there I did white water rafting of the world's highest commercially rafted waterfall.

    • Lancerx on 05/01/2016 - 12:25

      Thanks! Didn't know there are plenty to do at Rotorua. The rafting with 7m sound awesome!since I'm gonna a all the extreme stuff, this looks like a must do too.

      • Tnetennba on 07/01/2016 - 19:35
        +1

        Rotorua has HEAPS to do! We did 3 days there and I wish we did more!

        A little while south of Rotorua is Nz Riverjet, which we did (the thermal safari) and it was awesome, though it will eat up a lot of a day if you do decide to do it. The geothermal areas are definitely a must-do, we did both Waimungu and Wai-o-Tapu. If you can only do one, I'd recommend wai-o-tapu, it is the more popular of the two, but it's really up to you.

        A lot of people do skydiving over lake Taupo, which is about an hour from Rotorua (away from Auckland), but from all accounts it is one of the best skydiving experiences in the world. I think wanaka would also be pretty awesome, so either way you do it it'll be a great experience.

        Looks like a good itinerary though. Can't help with the accommodation though, good luck.

        • Lancerx on 08/01/2016 - 00:31

          Yea, allocated extra day for Rotorua in the end :) As with thermal areas, is it worth paying to visit Wai-O-tapu? Or is it more a tourist cash grab area? I meant I could see the same thing in Te Puia no? Plus I really wanna check out the Pohutu geyser too

          Same with Tamaki experience too, worth paying so much for just 3.5 hours? Or is Te Puia just as good in term of experiencing Maori culture?

          I still don't know how I should plan the following for 2 days in Rotorua: Hobbiton, white rafting, Te Puia, Lake Taupo . Any idea?

        • Tnetennba on 08/01/2016 - 01:17

          @Droid11: Wai-O-Tapu is a bit further out of town than Te Puia. I didn't personally see Te Puia, but the tour guide we had (Geothermal Shuttle) told us that the best/most popular is definitely Wai-O-Tapu. It's not THAT big of a tourist trap.. I mean sure, there are tourists around, but it doesn't stop you from having a good time and enjoying the scenery.

          AFAIK I am pretty sure Te Puia is just a geyser, and Wai-O-Tapu is more of a big nature park where you can walk around and enjoy heaps of sights. I wouldn't skip it if I were you. You can probably see the Pohutu geyser as well as Wai-O-Tapu, Pohutu is very close to the town (literally a few minutes), though you'll want to check how often it will erupt.

          I think Tamaki is what the guy driving us around mentioned, it's quite an experience from all accounts, but you must consider time and cost too if you can fit it in, etc.

          I did hobbiton, definitely recommend it. I did one of the tours and the guide was very insightful and really gave a lot of story on the way in and whatnot, very good experience. It'll take a couple of hours including travel to/from the actual Shire place from the tour base, which itself is an hour from Rotorua. So 4 hours total to do the hobbiton experience.

          Since you have your own transport you can definitely do, say, white-water rafting or nz riverjet in the morning, and then hit up the geothermal areas in the afternoon. Lake Taupo is sort of its own city (Taupo) but you could book a skydive there and drive down (only an hour or something on a really scenic highway.. read: green).

          In fact, you could potentially do something like this:

          Day 1: Drive to Taupo/Lake Taupo in the morning, do skydiving - will probably take you until perhaps 1pm at the latest including exploring some of Taupo. Then you can head back to Rotorua, have lunch (as a break from driving 2 straight hours), and drive to hobbiton in the afternoon, book a tour in advance for something like 3pm, finish up at 5pm, back to Rotorua by 6pm. Evening to do whatever you want, maybe Zorbing or something if that tickles your fancy (not sure what time they close).

          Day 2: White water rafting or whatever you like in the morning (I still highly recommend NZ riverjet, it was awesome, those boats have some serious power!), you'd probably be done by 1pm (assumption, check with whatever activity you choose), and then you can do Wai-O-Tapu on the way back, and even Te Puia depending on time, but I'm sure you'll love Wai-O-Tapu. You might be able to do Tamaki at night, not sure.

          Sorry for the mess of a post, kind of got carried away.

          Edit: I forgot you're driving from Auckland in the morning of the first Rotorua day.. That will make it harder to fit it all in unless you leave Auckland at 5am or something.. which will be hard if you've had a wedding the night before

        • Lancerx on 08/01/2016 - 02:16

          @brezzo: Thanks for the awesome break down brezzo! Good thing is I'm used to driving long distance, so 5am drive is fine with me usually.

          I probably gonna reverse day 1 & 2 based on your suggestion. In fact. I might even do Hobbiton tour on the way to Rotorua on day 1, then maybe have lunch, explore the city & Te Puia first. After that, Wai-O tapu, then maybe Tamaki at night?

          Day 2, gonna do the white rafting. As with riverjet, since I'm gonna do the Qtown shotover canyon jet, gonna have to skip the Rotorua one. Then probably head to Lake Taupo.

          Anything you think I should change?

        • Tnetennba on 08/01/2016 - 14:18

          @Droid11: Yeah, good idea with the hobbiton on the way to Rotorua. I didn't realise you were doing it in Qtown so that's probably a better idea.

          Sounds like a plan.

  • gooddealmate on 05/01/2016 - 08:48
    +1

    1 Room left here for $200 @ Franz Josef

    Nothing but backpackers left for Fox, why not just book the spare 2 beds out if you want the room to yourself.

    • Lancerx on 05/01/2016 - 12:31

      Sold out AGAIN! oh my my.. Looks like I really have to cancel my trip along West coast? ARGH!

      I should invest in hotel property along West coast if the business is so good. In fact after so many travels, this gotta rank as the hardest place to book accommodation on earth! Off topic here.. How easy it is for oz citizen to nz investment properties I wonder? :)

      • Tnetennba on 08/01/2016 - 01:20

        How easy it is for oz citizen to nz investment properties I wonder?

        Well, as an Australian citizen, you're basically an NZ citizen as far as visa, working visa, buying property is concerned.. I'd imagine pretty easy ;)

  • ESEMCE on 05/01/2016 - 08:55
    +2

    The drive to Rotorua from Auckland is about 3 hours (no stops), so you'll probably want to have an early night and minimise the drinking at the wedding to have any chance of fitting that Day 3 itinerary in. If you're planning a big night, I think it's too ambitious!

    Te Anau is a tinpot town (from memory, no offence intended to the town, just trying to get the point across) .. Do they even have accommodation there?

    Glaciers.
    They're pretty close to each other. Probably easier to just stay at one or other and drive to the other glacier.

    • tomorrows_angel on 05/01/2016 - 14:30

      Te Anau is really cute. I liked it there. There is a bunch of accommodation.

      I probably wouldn't do both glaciers, having done them both before!

      • Lancerx on 08/01/2016 - 00:33

        If not both glaciers, what would do along west coast though? Fox or Franz Josef better? I really just wanna see and feel, instead of doing intense hiking etc …will do heli hike at FJ though i think ..

    • Lancerx on 08/01/2016 - 00:34

      Won't be drinking to health reason anyway…actually got a 9am flight to catch to Qtown, better start driving by 4am huh…>.<

  • ExtraSalt on 05/01/2016 - 09:19

    Tamaki Village was the best. dont get tickets direcrtly through them though, if you google it, theres a site which sells tickets at a discounted rate.

    We walked through Waimangu Volcanic Valley in Rotorua and that was amazing. You can walk as far as you want, and there is a shuttle that drives up and down picking you up and taking you back to the start.

    When you are in rotorua, you obviously have to do the Luge at Skyline lol…obviously.

    Hobbiton was amazing as well.

    Basically you have a decent itinerary for the limited days. TBH we had 3 days in Rotorua and we were busy everyday, we could have stayed longer.

    • ExtraSalt on 05/01/2016 - 09:23
      +1

      also, i dont know if you will physically and mentally make it to rotorua and back in 2 days and 1 night. Hobbiton takes about 3hrs out of your day, and maybe 30mins added onto your drive. By the time tou get into Rotorua, you'd be ready for dinner and sleep. It's fun and all, but idk if you will get the full appreciation out of this awesome town.

    • Lancerx on 08/01/2016 - 00:35

      Didn't find any discounted Tamaki village ticket though…they're pretty expensive at $115 NZD pp..

  • cypher67 on 05/01/2016 - 09:19
    +3

    Make sure you have a Ferg Burger in Queenstown

    • Lancerx on 08/01/2016 - 00:36

      Shall keep in mind! Thanks! It's not a specialty burger chain like Grilled here right?

      • cypher67 on 08/01/2016 - 09:09

        Well I don't think they have a store anywhere else, not that I have seen. During peak times you can wait up to an hour just to order, purely based on the number of people lining up out the door. The burgers are not the healthy sort, but they are amazing and well worth the wait. I would go around 1030 each morning and use it as a combined breakfast/lunch. They re not cheap, like $15+ but are massive, I'm a big guy and even I regret ordering chips with it, dont order chips make sure you can savour the entire thing.

        • Lancerx on 08/01/2016 - 10:33

          Holy cow… You're right,huge line everyday.. Don't tell it's one of those hyped up place again… Not sure I got patience for an hour wait.

        • cypher67 on 08/01/2016 - 10:47

          @Droid11:
          Well it exceeded my expectations but I cant speak for everyone. Just try it outside peak hours, like not between 12-1 and 6-8. Plus early feb should be a bit quiet due to school being back and not snow season

        • Lancerx on 08/01/2016 - 11:54

          @cypher67:doesn't look quiet to me though, most hotels and attractions are fully booked. Maybe dur to influx of Chinese tourists over their holiday period

  • toniyellow on 05/01/2016 - 09:31

    There will still be dusty motels run by cranky old men that have a listing in the phonebook, but no online presence. Particularly small towns the next one along from the popular town.

    I didn't book any hotels before going to NZ in the summer a few years ago because I wanted the itinerary to be spontaneous.

    Sometimes this worked out - I could decide to skip a town, or stay longer in a town. I found a great motel at a great price, or drove past a farmhouse with an accommodation sign I would not have stumbled across otherwise

    Sometimes it really didn't. I wanted to stay somewhere, but the town was full, so I had to stay the next one along. Or I wasted an hour driving around looking for a vacancy sign, or calling motels in the phone book, and the only place left in driving distance was available because it was last cleaned in the 70s.

    I don't think you will find yourself with nowhere to sleep, but I think it will be a mixed bag. Also if you check online as you are there, there may be cancellations - some reservations people can cancel 24-72hours before with no penalty

    I ended up in Greymouth after one night at the Glaciers (forced, because there was no 2nd night available at the glaciers) and was really prepared for it to be a hole, but enjoyed the Monteiths brewery so much, I would actually go back on purpose.

    • ESEMCE on 05/01/2016 - 10:13

      Yeah, Monteiths Greymouth is awesome..
      NZ beer in general was pretty good too!

  • Lancerx on 08/01/2016 - 21:06

    what's the best car rental comparison site in NZ?

    • Eivad on 12/01/2016 - 14:47

      I manually compared all the car rental websites for the south island. Ended with Apex - significantly cheaper than the rest and (for my sake) let me drop my car off in a different city to where it was picked up.

      • Lancerx on 12/01/2016 - 16:27

        Actually sorry I found Ace for both islands to be the cheapest too.. Thanks!

  • Lancerx on 12/01/2016 - 01:39

    Nervis or Shotover swing guys? which gives you more thrills?

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