Question for the Kiwis.

[Pete McCluskey.]

Hi lads,
Di and I are planning a trip to the South island for a couple of weeks in January. I have never been to New Zealand, so would like to ask your advice on what are the must see places and where do you think are the best places to stay?
We plan on hiring a car so will be mobile. Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[Ross Nicol]

Think I still qualify
Christchurch- go and see Russ N and Lim
Visit Akaroa on Banks Peninsula good place to stay a night
Drive from east coast to west great scenery
Queenstown - lots of dangerous adventure Di could bungee over shotover R
Ride the chair lift. Lots of nice hotels very tourist friendly
Arrowtown- old gold mining town
Te-anau Lake glow worm caves falls etc
Milford Sound- go for boat trip
Invercargill- Burt Munros bikes at E hayes and Sons Hardware . Ross' birth place if it's not raining don't worry it will soon.
Gore- on road out stop and say hello to Jac Mac, up on the hill on left.
Dunedin Hilly city lots of character contact Brian Stewart he and Carmen live in a unique house.
Moeraki boulders near Oamaru
Return to Christchurch via Timaru
Travel north to Kaikoura
Blenheim/ Nelson great wine growing area and weather.
That should get you started Pete
Ross:thumbsup:

 

[Jac Mac]

Pete,
Bit of Motorsport happening in SI of NZ in January / February... 8/9/10 Jan Wigram Revival @ Ruapuna Ch Ch, F5000 series & others, 16/17 Jan NZV8's @ Teretonga Invercargill, 5/6/7 Feb Skope Classic Round 1 @ Ruapuna ChCh.

You could fly in from Brisbane /Queenstown & out ChCh/Brisbane ( Or Vice Versa ) if you want to save some drive time. Q/town is only about an hour away by road from Wanaka/Cromwell etc with all the winery tours etc plus Warbirds collection in Wanaka. In mid Jan you will be amongst the Mom & Dad family holiday bunch ( The younger New Years Eve mob will be back at work paying for their sins.)

Invercargill is about 2 1/4 hrs south of Q/town, Te Anau..Milford is a day trip from either or you could overnite in Te Anau to make it more relaxed for a first timer. Chopper or Boat ride in Milford is a must... but not with a hangover!!! ( BTW, the info regarding chopper ride was from my daughter...you couldnt pay me enough to ride in one of those things.. which is a bit of a worry in NZ where all medivac is by chopper.. guess I will have to stay healthy.)

Going North you can go up the east or west coast, plenty to see in either direction, I see Di loves fishing, plenty of opportunities for both fresh & salt water fishing boat rides.

If you want to ride/fly a Tiger Moth then Croydon A/C Co @ Mandeville about 10 miles from me will oblige & if your into De Haviland stuff its a must see... Morton will be Mortified & for once you will have seen something he has not!!

Lots more I cant think of, can you be a bit more specific on what stuff you & probably more important ,Di are interested in...........

 

I'll endorse Ross and Jac's comments above Pete. There are some great driving roads over here (road to Milford Sound, Road to My Cook etc.). And if you can take in some of the Southern Festival of Speed, all the better. You and Di are most welcome to stay with us in Dunedin if you wish - plenty of room and the Otago Peninsula has some great wildlife (not just sheep...).

Cheers,

Brian

 

[Dalton Veitch]

I was wondering when someone would mention sheep. They are very bright white over in NZ.
The south island can be very cold Pete, as I'm sure you would know. Bit of a thermal shock for you spoilt Queenslanders. I've an uncle lives in Timaru, and you can't get a spade into the ground all winter (frozen), and even the snow hares get frostbite on their ears. Tell the lovely Di to rug up warmly. Think of it as a second honeymoon, plus spectacular scenery and great driving, albeit with expensive petrol.

My 2c worth,

Dalton

 

Small world Dalton - I was born and bred in Timaru.

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

Thanks lads very helpful and generous of you all. I posed the same question on the Ferrari website and just got smart Alec replies and sheep jokes of course. Just shows that not only do gt40's beat Ferrari their enthusiasts have more class as well.

As soon as we work out an Itinerary I'll Give you an outline.
Dalton my first Honeymoon isn't over yet but thanks for the advice.:thumbsup:
We will take warm stuff just in case.

Brian that is an extremely generous offer thank you, but we won't impose.
If we get anywhere near you I will insist on buying you a beer though.

Jacmac it looks like we will be gone before most of the motor racing is on.
We fly in on Boxing day and leave on Jan nine. that is the only thing I know at the moment.

Ross we will definitely go to Queenstown and Milford sound. We are both keen skiers and even though it is summer we want to check out the area with the thought of coming back in Winter. I would also like to get a bit of fly fishing in.