Holiday in New Zealand (on budget)

T

tropic

I like to take my family (4 of us) on holiday to New Zealand in October (school holiday).
Plan to visit my sister in Sydney then fly to Christchurch for one week then fly back to Perth. We got Sydney covered but not New Zealand. We need air tickets for Perth - Sydney, Sydney - Christchurch, Christchurch - Perth.

What is the cheapest airline to fly with? So far virgin blue is he cheapest.
We want to stay in Christchurch and Queenstown. Where is a good place (hotel, motel) to stay without costing a fortune? My wife will not stay at hostels so has to be above that. My children, 12 and 14 would like a bit of open space.
Where should we go for first time skiing? We have never seen snow (can't ski).
What rental car company should we go for?

Your info is much appreciated.
 
There is plenty of great info on websites for NZ, Wotif.com is good to look up NZ accom.

Freedomair run cheap flights from Gold Coast and Sydney to Christchurch, Virgin are cheap intra NZ.

If you only have one week from Christchurch, it depends how much travel you are prepared to do, and what you want to see, but I would include the following:
1) Mt Cook
2) Cross over to see the two glaciers (Fox and Franz Joseph)
3) Come back via Arthurs Pass or one of the other crossings

OR you could do something like

1) Travel down to Dunedin
2) Go to Queenstown and visit surrounding lakes

OR

1) Up to Abel Tasman National Park via the east coast and back along the west coast across one of the passes

My suggestion is not to campervan it but instead hire a car and stay in motels or resorts

Tim
 
Tropic,

I am also from Perth and love to visit the South Island too! We have booked again for next July.

Depending on how far you want to travel I would recommend car over campervan too...

Christchurch and Queenstown are where we head also. You really need 2 days to drive down to Queenstown. We have driven through the centre previously (via Lake Tekapo) and while there is lots of beautiful scenery there isn't much more.

A much more interesting route is to drive via arthurs pass (over the alpines) to greymouth then down the west coast. You'll also go through Franz Joseph/Fox Glaciers. Stay a night or two here. Then drive on to queenstown (via Wanaka). There are some beautiful (words don't do it justice) things to look at on the way.

There is also an alpine railway that goes from Christchurch to Greymouth that pretty much follows the road so if you're organised enough you can pick up a car in Greymouth once you get off the train. I enjoyed the drive but its not easy driving and the driver tends to miss lots of the jaw dropping scenery.

Queenstown is just beautiful, and i wouldnt go anywhere else after that on your first stay (given the time you have). To be honest, we went via Dunedin back to Christchurch the first time (drove) and we were just sad that we'd left Queenstown. Given your timeframe I'd consider grabbing an internal flight from Queenstown to Christchurch or flying straight out of Queenstown to Syd-Per.

Flying direct into Queenstown is also an option (and doing the Coast drive in reverse).

For first timers Cardrona is generally considered the best ski field (well for younger kids anyhow) and its where we go.. It's half way between Wanaka and Queenstown. You can either brave the drive, or catch the bus.

The driving there takes you a fair bit longers because lots of the roads our windy and mountainous (but thats part of the fun). My Kids had a tendency to vomit after too much of it :eek: (but are much younger).


Accommodation is generally quite well priced. We went 'functional' in Christchurch, and splurged a bit in queenstown. I will look out the name of the car rental company we used. Its a small operator but was excellent in the fact that he came to airport and picked us up personally (in the wee small hours) and also provided us with an emergency mobile phone. Thankfully most of the rentals are unlimited km's there.

WARNING: You will want to buy property in Queenstown once you've been there. Its been a constant head/heart battle i've struggled with since my first visit!!!
 
Thank you very much for all the info.
We are planning to do this route:
http://www.newzealand.com/travel/ge...utes/christchurch-queenstown-christchurch.cfm
What do you think?

After reading the threads, I am going to check available flights from Sydney to Queenstown. I didn't know about flight from Sydney to Queenstown, we might even skip Christchurch? We like to extent it by few days but the tickets on Virgin air become more expensive. The tickets + taxes will cost around 6K, I will try to stay longer.

Bruce: What's stopping you from buying a place in Queenstown, you only have to persuade your banker/mortgage broker.;)
 
I'd also recommend Queenstown, absolutely love it!

Ski Express (http://www.skiexpress.com.au/newzealand/index.asp) always has good deals including flights and accom, but are more focussed on ski packages even though you can organise things other than skiing.

For first timers, I would say goto Coronet Peak, mainly because
1) the road up there is sealed and not as hairy as the other resorts
2) there is more beginners terrain
3) the bad things about it though
- it has the lowest altitude of all the resorts and so doesn't always get the best snow.
- its popular with newbies and so gets a bit more crowded, and the snow quality doesn't last (i.e. it turns to ice which is no good for beginners :))
 
tropic said:
Thank you very much for all the info.
We are planning to do this route:
http://www.newzealand.com/travel/ge...utes/christchurch-queenstown-christchurch.cfm
What do you think?

After reading the threads, I am going to check available flights from Sydney to Queenstown. I didn't know about flight from Sydney to Queenstown, we might even skip Christchurch? We like to extent it by few days but the tickets on Virgin air become more expensive. The tickets + taxes will cost around 6K, I will try to stay longer.

Bruce: What's stopping you from buying a place in Queenstown, you only have to persuade your banker/mortgage broker.;)
Click to expand...

Looks fine but the route from Dunedin up to Christchurch travels along the canterbury plains and is very flat and a bit monotonous. I think you shoud see the glaciers personally....(and Mt Cook is essential)
 
Tropic,

That look like the central route I was referring to. I would go Via Greymouth and down the west coast rather than this. It would probably take a bit longer but you're talking 1.5 days Vs. 2 days so irrelevant.

If you go through the centre Tekapo is the place to stop, and quite beautiful (very blue glacial lake) but the town is all about the view so I wouldn't do more than a night stopover.

The car hire company we used was Anzedin Christchurch.

Honestly. The drive (one way) is worth doing, but I wouldn't do the drive both ways given your timeline. So fly directly in/out of QT, or fly internal to/from Christchurch. Queenstown is quite isolated so if you FIFO you are going to miss a bunch of stuff.

Re the property: Don't worry, I'm working on it, just have to get a few things in order and find the right place. Won't be in time to help you out unfortunately. But i won't rule out you doing some inspections for me :eek:



tropic said:
Thank you very much for all the info.
We are planning to do this route:
http://www.newzealand.com/travel/ge...utes/christchurch-queenstown-christchurch.cfm
What do you think?

After reading the threads, I am going to check available flights from Sydney to Queenstown. I didn't know about flight from Sydney to Queenstown, we might even skip Christchurch? We like to extent it by few days but the tickets on Virgin air become more expensive. The tickets + taxes will cost around 6K, I will try to stay longer.

Bruce: What's stopping you from buying a place in Queenstown, you only have to persuade your banker/mortgage broker.;)
Click to expand...
 
Tim said:
Looks fine but the route from Dunedin up to Christchurch travels along the canterbury plains and is very flat and a bit monotonous. I think you shoud see the glaciers personally....(and Mt Cook is essential)
Click to expand...

The one plus about this route is its quick which is quite a relief after the windy, windy, windy.. But i'd be doing this stretch in a plane, or missing it all and flying out of QT.
 
An alternative route is west coast via the glaciers and back via Tekapo. Depends on how much you really want to go to Dunedin. Alternatively west coast and then from Queenstown to Dunedin and back up the plains (misses Tekapo and Mt Cook).

If you do go to Dunedin, stay on the Otago peninsula and spend all your time there. Most interesting spots are Larnach Castle, yellow-eyed penguin colony, and the albatross colony (also fairy penguins on the beach near the albatross colony at dusk).

If you come back to Christchurch from Dunedin and have a bit of spare time, detour out to Akaroa then drive back via Pigeon Bay, Port Levy, Diamond Harbour, and Lyttleton Harbour. From the bottom of Lyttelton Harbour, head up on to the Summit Road and drive all the way to Sumner then back into the city. If you're short on time, skip Akaroa and at least do the Summit Road (get a map to see how to get up there from the south side).

Be aware that the glaciers can often be clouded in and you may have to wait some time to get a flight up there - possibly over night. If you're going to drive all the way over there, plan to allow an extra day to get a flight up if necessary.

As for Queenstown, my opinion is that it's very scenic but also very touristy with a lot of fairly expensive activities.

Cheers,
GP
 
we wents kiing at The Remarkables (visible from Queenstown) coz itw as closest to Queenstown. The snow is powdery and there's a good beginners area. I'd suggest using the bus service as driving there is an experience in itself!

We did I think 12 days tranzscenic train then pick up car hire to franz josef, haast, queenstown, te anau, milford sound, te anau, dunedin, mt cook, christchurch.

highlight of our trip would be milford sound, queenstown and mt cook.
 
Been there a few times -
- consider flying into Dunedin - airport taxes are really low & the final total price (airfare + taxes) is often cheaper

- Queenstown is touristy, which is what you want. Lots to do even if not skiing

- We stay in Wanaka - quiter, better skiing at Cardrona & cheaper

- Wanaka Pub for a meal - at the base of the Cardrona ski field - watch out for celebs - John Travolta, Bill Clinton, etc

- Haas pass is the best drive I have ever done. From Wanaka to Haas. Only short, a half day at the most, but photo stops lengthen it ++++++++++++. Haas is a nonevent so plan to return or up to the glaciers.

- Lake Tekapo - go into the church on the lake

- Teahno Caves (excuse spelling) - glow worms

- Fly over Fiordland - its not as expensive a you think, if wet go on the boat cruise. Don't drive as you cant appreciate it. On the cruise - the grottier the weather the better.

- Take thermals
 
BruceW said:
Tropic,
It's half way between Wanaka and Queenstown. You can either brave the drive, or catch the bus. [/B]
Click to expand...

It's funny the mountain range is called Remarkables. Oh yeah.... It's 'remarkable' you arrive on the snow on some of the goat tracks that are called roads.:eek:
 
I have made a booking. We will be flying to Christchurch from Sydney and from Christchurch back to Perth. We are going to stay 9 days in NZ (really 8 days since we will arrive midnight). Flights from Sydney to Queenstown are just too expensive.

Thank's for all the suggestions.
I printed it and will check the places on the map so I can decide the best route. I might miss Dunedin route if I fell it's not what we are going to like.
We might fly to Queesntown from Christchurch and drive to Christchurch. It sounds like a very good idea.

Bruce, thanks for the link to the car hire company.
I'll let you know if I see a nice IP;) .
 
aaarghhh said:
It's funny the mountain range is called Remarkables. Oh yeah.... It's 'remarkable' you arrive on the snow on some of the goat tracks that are called roads.:eek:
Click to expand...

4v6n475.jpg



The visibility is poor the higher you get and you need chains! However, the buses drove like maniacs.....they even overtook us!

4zamz61.jpg


You can see The Remarkables from Queenstown. That's the Crowne Plaza Hotel (Formerly Parkroyal)....I think it has the best location in Queenstown. The views from the balcony are amazing and it's right in the heart of town...just walk across the rd. Our room had 2 huge double beds...we used one for our luggage. But it's perfect for family. We booke dit last minute from www.wotif.com and paid only NZ$110 per night at peak season!
 
I like to book hotel last minutes too if I can. That will be ideal so if we plan to stay longer in one place we can and book a hotel just before we drive to a destination.
What will be the safest way to make a hotel booking from website like wotif while we are in NZ? I believe places like internet cafe are not safe to make a payment with your credit card? Or is it?
 
Hi Sue78,
That road looks scary:eek: Is it like that all the way to the top?

GreenTreeFrog,
Can you keep the weather nice for us.

I changed my plan, I am going on the Arthurs Pass, Fox Glazier, Queenstown, Mt Cook and Christchurch route. Would like to visit Milford Sound but I think it will be too rush.

If I am going through Arthurs Pass but if I don't want to stay overnight in Greymouth, where will be the best place to stay. My friend told me Greymouth is not the most exciting place.

Will it be too rush to travel from Christchurch to Franz Joseph or Fox Glazier in one day? We are trying to stay an extra day in Queenstown. More time to look for an IP for BruceW.;)

I also found that holidayhomes.com.nz has many nice homes to rent at reasonable prices. I think that is what we will do in Queenstown, more relaxing than hotel I would think.
 
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