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New Zealand



Lankyseagull

One Step Beyond
Jul 25, 2006
1,839
The Field of Uck
Mrs Lanky and I are off to New Zealand (via LA) and the Cook Islands at the end of the month for our belated Honeymoon. We fly into Aukland and pick up a Camper Van to travel both North & South Islands over 3 weeks before flying to the Cook Islands for a week to chill.

I know there are plenty of websites and guide books to look at (and we've looked at quite a few), however if any of the great and good of NSC have got any tips, ideas or must see/do that might be off the beaten tourist track, I would be grateful for any advice!
 


Peter Grummit

Well-known member
Oct 13, 2004
6,769
Lewes
Drive down the West Coast of the south island, which is amazing. But the drive through to Milford Sound is difficult in a camper van and takes a long time. I recommend taking a flight from Wanaka or Queenstown in a small plane. It's the best way to do a day trip and the views over the mountains and in to and out of the fjord are incredible.

Have a great time!

PG
 
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Greavsey

Well-known member
Jul 4, 2007
1,127
Wow lucky you! Been twice doing the camper van thing both times and it is by far my favourite country on the planet. SO much variation in landscape and climate, with tropics in the North and Arctic in the South!

Not neccesarily off the beaten track but would recommend the Russell and Pahia in the Bay of Islands, Wanaka in the South Island and for a nice romantic meal just outside of Queenstown head to Amisfield Vineyard (beautiful food and scenery).
 


sydney

tinky ****in winky
Jul 11, 2003
17,736
town full of eejits
middle of winter in N.Z bro..........fecking freezing and snow chains for tyres will be the norm.............COOK ISLANDS now i am jealous....bula...!!
 


Greavsey

Well-known member
Jul 4, 2007
1,127
Additionally, have you got 3 weeks in total in NZ or is that your total honeymoon? With 3 weeks I think you can probably just about do the spine of the country from top to bottom, but might struggle to do the outlying places like Coromandel Peninsular in the North and the Fjordland in the South.
 




Greavsey

Well-known member
Jul 4, 2007
1,127
middle of winter in N.Z bro..........fecking freezing and snow chains for tyres will be the norm.............COOK ISLANDS now i am jealous....bula...!!

And yep, it will be bloody cold in South and rainy in North at that time of year.
 


sydney

tinky ****in winky
Jul 11, 2003
17,736
town full of eejits
And yep, it will be bloody cold in South and rainy in North at that time of year.

and windy......cook islands makes utter sense........i remember camping at mount cook ...it was -7......i got out of my tent to have a piss and the steam from my soup drifted about 200 meters undisturbed across the camp-site.
 


Lankyseagull

One Step Beyond
Jul 25, 2006
1,839
The Field of Uck
Additionally, have you got 3 weeks in total in NZ or is that your total honeymoon? With 3 weeks I think you can probably just about do the spine of the country from top to bottom, but might struggle to do the outlying places like Coromandel Peninsular in the North and the Fjordland in the South.

3 weeks in total in NZ.
 




Wow lucky you! Been twice doing the camper van thing both times and it is by far my favourite country on the planet. SO much variation in landscape and climate, with tropics in the North and Arctic in the South!

Not neccesarily off the beaten track but would recommend the Russell and Pahia in the Bay of Islands, Wanaka in the South Island and for a nice romantic meal just outside of Queenstown head to Amisfield Vineyard (beautiful food and scenery).

We were there in late February.
I'd also recommend Russell and the Bay of Islands, we took a 'flight' in a 5-seater from Russell up to a field near North Cape at the tip of North Island where the Pacific meets the Tasman Sea. Spectacular sight at the point where the two oceans crash into each other. 90 Mile Beach is also worth a look, even though it's somewhat less than that in length, but be careful of the quicksand. Napier is a bit art-deco if you're into that sort of thing, Rotorua I found a bit meh. In South Island, the Southern Alps are spectacular, Queenstown's good as is Milford Sound. The latter seems almost tropical and then you drive out through a tunnel and emerge into a snow covered mountain landscape. Unless it's changed you have to pay on leaving the country so keep some NZ dollars back.
 




Greavsey

Well-known member
Jul 4, 2007
1,127
Rotorua I found a bit meh.

Yeah agreed, it seems to be on every tourists itinerary but you arrive there go "oh it smells a bit like old farts", and then spend a couple of days in a boring old town akin to Burgess Hill in facilities and atmosphere.
 




Seagull27

Well-known member
Feb 7, 2011
3,308
Bristol
Must do:

Bay of Islands
Waitomo Caves
Rotorua
Milford Sound

That's a lot of ground to cover in 3 weeks though. I really enjoyed Wellington when I was there, really interesting little city, be prepared for it to be windy though! Also, Christchurch is worth a look if you have time, it's quite shocking how badly it is still affected by the earthquake a couple of years ago, but interesting too. Only worth staying overnight really though.

Queenstown is the place to go if you want to do all the activities, good for skiing at this time of year too. The town is very lively, loads of travellers and there always seems to be something going on. Plenty of nightlife for a smallish town. The scenery is pretty fantastic surrounding the town as well.

While you're in Auckland, you should go to the top of some of the volcanoes (they're not very big!), you get amazing views. Mt Eden is cool, Devonport is a nice area of the city with a couple of these volcanoes too. If you fancy a day trip, Rangitoto is the largest of these in Auckland, but it's on it's own island. Really interesting though, it's completely uninhabited now and restored to just native wildlife. Another great viewpoint of the city too.

I never made it up the big volcanoes (Ruapehu, Ngaurahoe, Tongariro) in the north island, where you can walk, ski etc - would have liked to, but weather conditions were too bad. I believe it's quite popular though.

It's worth getting along to some of the Maori cultural stuff too, probably best in Rotorua.
 


greyseagull

New member
Jul 1, 2012
2,023
West Worthing
I spent a good couple of months in NZ before heading off to the Cook Islands, where I spent most of my time in Aitutaki - stunning place. Just a short plane ride from the capital. They stamp your passport "paradise". Bit silly I know, but a nice touch.

In regards to NZ I have to echo some of the comments praising Wanaka, Queenstown and Milford Sound. In fact, pretty much the whole of the South Island is stunning, whereas the North is more farmland, hilly, etc. I did four of the great walks and one of them (82kms) along Marlborough Sounds at the top of the South Island is breathtaking. If you can, try and do the Tongariro Crossing in the North Island (12 miles) - a lot of the Lord of the Rings was filmed there (as I understand...?) and the crossing passes over the volcanic terrain of the multi-cratered active volcano Mt Tongariro.

A friend of mine visited Christchurch a few months ago and was amazed at the rubble still everywhere following the earthquake - might be worth a visit if you wanted to get a little perspective.

Either way, enjoy it, soak it up, and be free
 


jasetheace

New member
Apr 13, 2011
712
Yep. Tongariro Crossing. It is not as knackering or as difficult as you might expect and is a lifetime's Geography lesson in 1 day.
 




Hey, good choice. My best ever trip was campervaning around NZ. A beautiful country and the friendliest people.
I'd echo the above comments about the west coast of South Island, truly stunning. In Wanaka theres an airstrip where you can take open cockpit plane flights in 1934 planes http://www.classicflights.co.nz I was very lucky to be there in the winter when the guy was quiet and he took me up for a couple of hours which were the best 2 hours of my life ever !!
I didn't really like Queenstown I guess because it's the closest I came to a tourist town after hundreds of miles and days of nature.
I spent a lot of time riding horses up in the mountains which was fantastic. I went from a total beginner to galloping across vast fields, through snow and down the coast and along beeches.
Get along to Marlborough wine country, very civilised after roughing it and sample some fantastic wines.
But I guess the best advice I could give is stay open minded and chat to people and that way you'll find some real gems.
If you're on the east coast of south Island pop into http://www.springbankfarm.co.nz say hello to my lovely friend Shirley and get some riding lessons. And if you're that way the village of Moeraki has got a great campsite that sits in the bay overlooking the ocean, some great coastal walks (through fields of dozing sea lions !) and has my favorite restaurant/bars Fleurs Place http://www.fleursplace.com Fresh fish straight out of the ocean and stunning views.

Have a brilliant time, I'm sure you will. I'm very envious.
 


SockMonster

Well-known member
Oct 12, 2007
801
Brighton
Drove a camper round there two years ago. My favourite places were:-
Doubtful Sound on South Island
Curio Bay in South of South Island was amazing (petrified forest, fantastic campsite, swam with Dolphins!)
Wellington
Ferry Trip between the Islands is lovely
 


Greavsey

Well-known member
Jul 4, 2007
1,127
Agree with Franks Wild Years - when I first visited NZ in 2004 Queenstown was still a quaint alpine feeling town, albeit very popular and good for a party if your looking for one. However, when I returned in 2009, the place had totally changed in those five years. It was loud and brash, and becoming over developed, as FWY says it's a shock to the system after the tranquility of the rest of the South Island. Depends what you're after but Wanaka is what Queenstown used to be like, beautiful scenery but with still the cool bar and cafe culture of an Alpine village.
 


Lankyseagull

One Step Beyond
Jul 25, 2006
1,839
The Field of Uck
Thanks to everyone who has posted, looks like we have a lot to pack in! We know we are going in the winter - snow chains are already ordered! My wife has a few relative/friends there, so hopefully we can take advantage of some warm accommodation during our trip.

Have to say I'm counting down the days......
 






Cosmic Joker

The Motorik
Apr 14, 2010
563
Chichester
As you're camper vanning it, I can recommend the sites at Keri Keri http://www.kerikeriholidaypark.co.nz/tent-powered-sites/ and the Top Ten chain of sites, such as the Kennedy Park site at Napier. The Top Ten sites are fully specified whereas the independent sites can be a bit variable, often featuring such delights as coin/token operated showers with rationed amounts of hot water. Keri Keri is a good place to stay for Bay of Islands as lots of nice restaurants in the village including a decent curry house and cheaper than Pahia and Russell but only a short drive away from Pahia. As your going in winter i'd say spend a few days in the Northland before you venture down in the colder south.

Tongariro crossing as others have said is fantastic, but you do have to be lucky with the weather, even in February I had to hang around for two days for the cloud to clear off the top before being able to do the walk. Stayed at Whakapapa Village where there is a decent campsite.

Three weeks is not long to do both Islands as the distances are long and the roads are slow due to being hilly and twisty single carriageways, plus clearly camper vans are slower on those types of roads than cars. On higher roads you may of course get poor travel conditions in winter, but are less likely to get tourist congestion. I spent four weeks just travelling around North Island and found plenty to do and see. I intend to go back and see the South Island some time in next two or three years.

The places where I found bad traffic jams are:
Urban Motorway section of Highway 1 in/around Auckland and harbour bridge
Pah Road, Auckland which links the airport motorway to the city centre
Highway 1 through Whangarei
Central Hamilton
Highway 1 Bulls-Levin-Paraparamu-Porirua
Most of the other roads were clear as a bell except in town centres as you'd expect from such a rural country.

As you asked for somewhere off the beaten track but don't have much time to head for somewhere really remote like East Cape lighthouse, I'd recommend making a diversion when youre heading south past Hamilton to visit the Bridal Veil Falls which are in the Waikato area south of Raglan to the west of Hamilton. They are absolutely stunning and only a short walk from the road - albeit quite a minor road, with steps to viewing platforms at the top, bottom and a couple of spots between. NZ is blessed with a number of spectacular waterfalls, of which I visited five on North Island and this was by far my favourite.

If you're planning to visit the Bay of Plenty area my other top favourite excurion in NZ was the boat trip to White Island Volcano. This is absolutely spectacular but is obviously highly dependant on weather and also on level of seismic activity. The people who run the tours will clearly not do it on days when it isn't safe to take a medium size boat out to an active volcano 50km offshore with a small harbour, which involves a dingy transfer to the landing. But its fantastic if you can find the time.
http://www.whiteisland.co.nz/index.html
 



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