New Zealand Holiday

[heavyduty1340]

The wife and I are thinking of going to New Zealand next year for a holiday.

After tips for best time of year to go there (want to see snow), what to expect to pay for accommodation, car hire etc, both islands or one only

Probably got 2 weeks max time to be away from work

TIA.

Faedy

[urabus]

As opposed to Aus and Japan you cant stay up on the mountain in NZ. However that isnt all bad as it turns queenstown into an epic party town and you get to drive up the mountain every morning.

It depends what your into apart from snow as to whether you want to go to the north island but with only two weeks it would only be a splash and dash in auckland.

Other things to go and see are the fox and franz josef glaciers.

Catch a rugby game in dunedin if you can.

Shotover jet in queenstown.

Brendon

[JAM3S]

yep shotover jet is awesome, the canyon swing is pretty epic too or there are a few bunjy's around queenstown aswell. Head up the gondola in queenstown gives you an awesome view and they have a pretty cool luge track up the top.

If its just you and the wife hanmer springs is nice too chill, get a massage and relax in the thermal spring pools.

Christchurch still looks like a war zone in some parts from the earthquake, only stayed there one night before we flew out so not sure if there is much to do.

nearly forgot make sure you go to fergburger in Qtown soooo good usually an hour wait worth it though!

[Tones]

Just got back from NZ 2 days ago. If over populated tourist towns are your thing then Queenstown is the go. Otherwise stay in Wanaka which is only 10min away from Cardrona and 30min from Treble Cone. Its also a 45min drive to Queenstown over the crown range, which is a pretty cool drive. Wanake town reminds me a lot of Margaret River in both size and vibe.

We stayed at a place called Wanaka view motel I think it was. Rooms were small but for the price, view, and being only a couple min walk into town it was perfect. Had a dedicated drying room for your snow gear and caretakers were super friendly and didnt mind us making a lot of noise on the Saturday night.

[heavyduty1340]

Cheers

Snow is only for the fact that I have never seen it.
just want a good chilled out relax with scenery trips and enjoy food drink and easy times.

[Tones]

then id say wanaka with trips into queenstown ect for touristy stuff is the way to go. if your hiring a car head up the west coast of the island and check out the scenery. and as said before christchurch does resemble a bit of a war zone still from the earthquakes, but they really to need the support or people visiting and spending money.

[crabman]

If you only fit in one bungee jump, do Nevis. Hell the trip out to the platform on the Gondola was cool enough.

[Torquen]

nearly forgot make sure you go to fergburger in Qtown soooo good usually an hour wait worth it though!

For the love of baby Jesus make sure you get one of those puppies! So good.

[heavyduty1340]

Noting all trip tips down - looking forward to it

Got 12 months to plan it

[ZAK]

South Island wins hands down for scenery and a more relaxing atmosphere (bar Queenstown) . Jump on google and check out milford sound, arthur's pass, franz joseph + fox glacier, queenstown, wanaka, hamner springs.

I lived in NZ all my life up until 3 years ago and if i had 2 weeks to do it it'd go something like this.

Fly into auckland then straight to Queesntown.
Spend 10 days in the South Island working your way up from Queenstown to Picton, (fair distance but a nice drive) then jump on the Inter-Islander (can take rental car on) and spend the remaining 4 days in Wellington, Rotorua/Taupo then Auckland.

Just my 2c

[SLIPPERY]

wellington for sure if youre into cultural things, street art and trendy bars!

[3sgte]

i moved from Christchurch about 3 years ago also and the south island is an amazing place to see! the south island has some of the best scenery there is to see. and a lot of it is cheap. Queenstown is dare as fuck but most other places are cheap. Hamner springs is north west of Christchurch and has some awesome hot springs(also dare as fuck). If you go to Christchurch go to the antarctic center at the airport. the city is pretty bad but there are some cool things to see, like a makeshift shopping center in the CBD made out of containers. id skip the north island if you only have 2 weeks. you can get flights direct to CHCH now but if you come or go through Auckland maybe spend 2 days there.

[crabman]

South Island wins hands down for scenery and a more relaxing atmosphere (bar Queenstown) . Jump on google and check out milford sound, arthur's pass, franz joseph + fox glacier, queenstown, wanaka, hamner springs.

I lived in NZ all my life up until 3 years ago and if i had 2 weeks to do it it'd go something like this.

Fly into auckland then straight to Queesntown.
Spend 10 days in the South Island working your way up from Queenstown to Picton, (fair distance but a nice drive) then jump on the Inter-Islander (can take rental car on) and spend the remaining 4 days in Wellington, Rotorua/Taupo then Auckland.

Just my 2c

Catch the transalpine train, I messed up and didn't do it, my bro in NZ just did and rates it highly.

I also enjoyed the overlander from wellington to auckland, the sites from that line are amazing. I also caught the one from Christchurch to Picton, again amazing sites.

[benjamino]

Did 3 weeks driving around the South Island with the Mrs in July. Fucking freezing, but shit it was incredible. Drove about 3000kms total, went from:

Christchurch: A nice place, not a whole lot to see/do, but the botanic gardens in the middle are nice, for food, go burgers and beers (cheap as shit, and epic burgers, $14 for a burger and shot/drink), I wanted to see the Antarctic Centre but didn't get time. Stayed in Riccarton at Antonios Motor Lodge, nice people and good quality accomm, plus plenty of eats close to.

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To Mount Cook: Pretty much the most bullshit scenery of the whole trip, mountains and valleys all the way through along Lake Pukaki, was epic. It's a tiny place, so food is expensive and not the best, but if you decide to go in, try the Mountaneers Cafe. Not overly expensive and decent quality. We stayed at Heritage, pretty nice, got a killer view from the balcony, but don't bother at the restauraunt, its shithouse and overpriced. If you can, trek up to the Hooker Valley and Hooker Lake, it was amazing and great for photos/exploring. I wish I had more time there, as the weather was shit.

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To Dunedin: University party town. Quite big, heap and heaps to see/eat/drink/partyparty. Don't bother with the Cadbury Factory, mostly for little kids, I struggled to stay awake through it.

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To Te Anau: Quiet, small place on a lake, nothing really to see besides using it as a base to drive up into Milford Sound, which is incredible. Milford drive is that good. I would've done it heaps more times if we had the time/fuel. I'd probably stay in Milford Accomm and roam around there for a few days if I could go again.

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To Queenstown: I loved Queenstwon. I didn't find it overly expensive, compared to Perth anyway, but it is a little pricier than most other places. Heaps of places to eat, party, and is the adventure capital of the world. Skiing, Bunjee, Shotover Jet, Paragliding, Mountain Biking, Skydiving, it's all there. Good vibe, even though it's a little busy, it's an amazing place. I'd definitely live there if I had the chance. Take a visit to Wanaka as well, it's a pretty nice place also, plus as it's been said, the drive over the Crown Range is awesome, although a little hairy in Winter.

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To Fox Glacier: A big drive from Qtown, but some bullshit scenery again along the way. Fox Glacier is a really small town, but the people are friendly. Recommend the Glacier Walk! Not a whole lot to see otherwise out there, besides lake Matheson.

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Greymouth: A little dull, kind of reminds me of Rockingham. Plenty of interesting humans, and not really much to do/see. Went Quad biking which was great, but wouldn't bother going again.

And back to Chch after that. Hope this gives you a bit of an insight! If you have anything else specific you want to know about just shoot me a pm

[heavyduty1340]

I'm liking all the suggestions

Thank for them, and keep the them coming