Hi Everyone, Just some advice for those heading to NZ. I?d recommend traveling from the south up to the north and hiring a car. Ask for a ?relocation?, it?s way cheaper. This is possible because most people will be traveling south and then leaving the car somewhere down south. The car relocation will coat about the same as a bus pass, but gets cheaper if you?re sharing the ride with someone and more importantly, you have much more freedom! --------------------------------------------------------------- Btw - I'd REALLY recommend a helihike - taking a helicopter up into the bowl of the glacier way up into the hill. You get fantastic views, and get lots of time to play on the snow/ice of the glacier proper that you wouldn't get by walking up from the base of the hill. It costs more than a pure walking trip, but its really well worth it if you can make your budget stretch. --------------------------------------------------------------- The guiding companies at Fox & Franz Josef will equip you fully - they don't expect visitors from the Northern Hemisphere to be carrying alpine gear. --------------------------------------------------------------- re:diving - an hour ? drive north of paihia(bay of islands), the original rainbow warrior is sunk. it's been a few years since i was there but i think it was a little bit isolated so you may need your own transport, i don't know if bus goes there. there is a tiny village & campground near it. heres a link to one (probably of many) commercial co. offering packages http://www.divenz.com/Rainbow.htm http://www.matauribay.co.nz/diving.html ok so it's in matauri bay. this 2nd site also mentions another famous boat wreck - mikhail lermentov which is near picton --------------------------------------------------------------- NZ: Doubtful or Milford Sound? Can anyone give tradeoffs on these? We have 2 guidebooks, each seeming to play up one of these vs. the other. You win either way really. Both have their good points. Doubtful is more remote. Milford passes through the valleys and near the Darren Mountains. Haven't done Doubtful, but Milford is superb. See my web site for details of my trip : http://www.chamberlain.net.au/~ken/newzealand --------------------------------------------------------------- On the south islands Dont miss Abel Tasmin coast Mt. Cook Kiakora (dolphins) Glasiers (fox or franz josef) Queenstown French Pass Milford Sounds (if you can be arsed to go all that way to sit on a boat in rain) --------------------------------------------------------------- Must sees - North: Bay of Islands Coromandel East Coast Wellington Must sees - South: West Coast Glaciers Queenstown Fiordland --------------------------------------------------------------- scenery in Bay of Islands tandem skydive taupo blackwater rafting Waitomo caves Te Papa museum Wellington Sea kayaking Abel Tasman National park and Milford Sound White water rafting on the Buller river Westport South Island (much quieter and cheaper than Queenstown) Visiting Stewart Island and our overnight stay at Tuatara Lodge YHA in Invercargill was lovely. Whale watching and staying at sunrise lodge hostel in Kaikoura --------------------------------------------------------------- I did the 1/2 day Black Water Rafting, and had a great time. It was quite bizarre, and a little surreal. The full day trip sounds like it would be interesting, and there is also the Lost World trip in the area, which I believe has a 300 meter repel (abseil) into a cave. I'm doing that next time I'm in the area. --------------------------------------------------------------- I strongly recommend going to fox glacier or franz joseph for the glacier walk. We did the one in fox glacier,terrific,but i heard that franz josef is as good if not better. Also recommend christchurch (great little city), napier (very distinct architecture),milford sound(magnificent!),queenstown (activity hive) and Dunedin. We also visited other superb places like Auckland,Wellington,Oamaru(penguins!),Rotorua,Mt Cook,Greymouth etc as well,but the places i mentioned earlier were extremely worth the mention. We took 17 days to tour both islands,which honestly is too short a time as a lot of time was spent travelling from town to town. --------------------------------------------------------------- G'day Just got back to Aus after touring New Zealand. There's heaps to do and see North Island Raglan Beach. also Bridle Veil Falls Bay Of Islands- Hole In the Rock-Boat Day Cruise Rotorua Wellington Museum- Cable Car Ride-Botanical Gardens Tongarraro National Park- Day Crossing -pick a day with good weather. Auckland South Island. Milford Sound- boat cruise Queenstown-White Water Rafting Dunedin- Beautiful city. Great Pubs Abel Tasman Walk- Day walk- great beaches and quite an easy track. Christchurch- Great City Franz Josef Glassier- Brilliant I did a Penguin scenic tour as well. --------------------------------------------------------------- 1.Auckland- No wonder they are in the top 10 cities with the best quality of life! 2.Rotorua-Dont forget waimangu valley & wai-o-tapu walks,and the tamaki hangi! 3.Lake Taupo- they can fit the whole population of singapore in it,according to a local 4.Huka Falls - worth a look at its extremely blue,extremely fast waters 5.wellington - so cosmo.dont forget the cable car, te papa museum and courtnay place 6.wellington picton ferry - sit in the top deck and get some ace views 7.kaikoura - whales,seals 8.christchurch - small but lovely,i can stay there my whole life.Also visit french village akaroa nearby for dolphins 9.napier 10.qnstown-every activity u could think of,and check out arrowtown & wanaka 11.dunedin- so unique 12.fox glacier - if you take the half day walk,the aching bones are worth it 13.MILFORD SOUND -ABOVE ALL ELSE --------------------------------------------------------------- One of the highlights of my trip was Milford Sound. I got snowed on during my drive there (mid December, almost summer!) and during my cruise I saw snow, hail, and rain. It was absolutely amazing, which with all the waterfalls and the low snow level. --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- DIVING INFO --------------------------------------------------------------- Ta, give me a call when you arrive (09-5284471) if you need somewhere to stay for a day or so. I really need to get diving again. All my idive buddies got sick, pregnant, fatherhood, houses or some other disease like that and bailed on me recently. (Geoff) --------------------------------------------------------------- ertainly, the Poor Knights should be high on the list. The boats to the Poor Knights leave from Tutakaka. There are also a couple of dive wrecks (HMNZS Tui, HMNZS Waikato) sunk just out of the Tutakaka harbour which are also good safe dives, although probably a bit deeper than you want to go (18-27m). The advantage of the wrecks is you go out, dive, come back and sit in the pub restaurant for lunch for a couple of hours before you go out again. Very civilized diving >I also see diving mentioned for the Bay of Islands area, and honestly I'm >thinking from a driving perspective, that may be more "on route" for us. Are you driving up? Tutakaka is ~30-35 minutes off the main road north, or 45 minutes for Whangerei, or ~3.5 hours from Auckland >Can anyone advise pros/cons of each? (or even suggest something else?) > >Also looking for any shop recommendations. (keep in mind a tolerance >for new divers). Also as we're tourists with no fridge, etc, the more >food they serve on board (vs. packing yourself), the better. all of them are "take a lunch" affairs as far as I know. Stop at the supermarket on the way up. There is a dive shop which rents gear at Tutakaka, which is probably your best bet, so you don't have to carry anything with you. there is another one in Whangerei. Sorry, I don't know what rental prices are since I haven't rented anything for a while. The dive charters used to be ~$NZ85 (~$US42) each for the day --------------------------------------------------------------- my buddy and I just finish diving at the Poor knights. we both has a blast. there's plenty to see and many dive sites to choose from. Here's a quick write up about it : "These islands off the east coast of Northland, are the eroded remains of a group of volcanoes which erupted around 11 million years ago. Rated as one of the world's top ten dive sites, the diving is superb, with very good visibility 15-30m and rich marine life. Good photography. The islands are bathed by a warm subtropical current, and fish include tropical species such as spotted black groper, mosaic moray and Lard Howe coral fish, which are rarely found elsewhere in New Zealand waters. Reef fish include pink maomao, blue maomao, and two-spot demoiselle; kingfish, koheru and trevally are common. The steep cliffs which fringe the islands plummet 100 metres below sea level in places before reaching a sandy sea floor. Broken by caves, archways and fissures, they provide many different nooks and crannies for sea life over a wide range of depths. Kelp forests, sponge gardens and gorgonian fields are inhabited by a myriad of fish, shellfish, urchins and anemones, with black coral in deeper waters. Nursery Cave, and some of the shallower parts of South Harbour are the best places for novice divers. Experience divers can find spectacular and challenging dives all around the islands. Red Baron Arches -- has a wide range of fauna and flora, rock formations. "; " --------------------------------------------------------------- The Poor Knights or the 2 wrecks is probably your best bet if you can get a fine calm day. There are motels at Tutakaka (where the Poor Knights boats leave) if you need somewhere to stay, or it is 40 minutes back to Whangerei. Dive Tutakaka got the thumbs up, although there are plenty of others. Full day trip with gear 2 dives, $NZ175 (~$US90). The Poor Knights and the wrecks are the same cost. They have guides if you want them, and you won't be allowed to dive the wrecks without one, or a wreck cert. The wrecks BTW are set up as dive wrecks with good access, holes, etc. www.diving.co.nz for them >If we didn't do Poor Knights, what would be your recommendation for >the next bext location? Lots of choices. I have never dived the Bay of Islands, but it is supposed to be v good. Try Paihia Dive (divepahia@xtra.co.nz). Divercity (www.divenewzealand.com/divercity) is a great dive boat out of Leigh (1.5hrs North of Auckland). The Mokahinau Islands are usually a good trip. South of Auckland, the available diving drops off. Out of Whangamata (Coromandel area) and Tairua (www.divetairua.co.nz) there is the Aldermen Islands (http://www.divenewzealand.com/issue73/aldermenislands.html). The boat I have used in the past is no longer sailing, but it is a good place for diving. THere is diving along the kapati coast just north of Wellington, but I have never dived there. Similarly, I have heard good things about the Marlorough Sounds (top of the South Island). also have a look at http://www.ianskipworth.com/suig/nzdg.html --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------