If you would like any local knowledge, just ask.
New Zealand
- Thread starter Ron Gibson
- Start date
Will do , thanks long way off as yet but already looking forward to it
You've only got a month to go now... how goes the planning?
I'm currently at my sisters place just outside New Plymouth, on the west coast of the North Island. Been here a month, back to the UK in February.
Looks like you're timing it right - you'll miss most of Chinese New Year (when NZ is inundated with tourists, especially the South Island) and it will be high summer by the time you get here. It's hitting 24/25 degrees already and had been pretty dry here- local fire bans/warnings starting to appear.
Bit of a contrast to the UK where my partner tells me there's been gales, snow and floods...
If you travel to the South Island, hire a bike if you possibly can. I doubt you'd regret it, even tho' it can be very, very expensive - more so than some cars & even some campers. On the upside if you use the 'Bunk a Biker' page on Facebook you get to meet some locals and save on accomodation,
And there are some fabulous roads. And I mean FABULOUS.
Plus some boring straight ones of course, mostly around Christchurch where they have been used for speed record attempts in the past, but we don't talk about those.
Plenty to choose from elsewhere - Arthurs Pass over to the West Coast (beware sandflies!), The Crown Range from Wanaka where from the top you can watch planes below you as they approach Queenstown. QT is very much a tourist trap but is the place to be if you like throwing yourself off a perfectly good bridge attached to a rubber band. IMHO the best thing about the place is the route out - although the steamship + lakeside lunch trip is good value. (One of these days I'll put a 'bike onboard, stop for the buffet lunch and then take the trail from the far side of the lake). Or there's the road to Glenorchy - one of the best I've ever ridden. And it's a dead end so you get to ride it twice!
Jetboating is great fun but try and find somewhere other than QT where it's a bit of a production line.
Or the road to Milford Sound. Another dead end - so stay over & hire a guided kayak trip.
If you fancy white water rafting I can recommend Rangitata Rafts (a bit south of Christchurch)
Some great offroad trails available too. Some long distance, some short and scary A lot of minor roads are gravelled - if you take to these keep an eye out for logging trucks & the like( a plume of dust in the distance is the signal to slow down/move over/stop)
There's not many main roads so you need to keep an eye on the weather choose carefully - there's a mountain range down the spine of the South Island & the rule of thumb so if its good one side its poor the other. Just make the right choice...
Petrol costs a bit less than the UK (currently GBP1.33/litre locally)
Enjoy
Rob
PS They do great coffee if that's your thing. And fish and chips are, in my extensive experience, way better than those in the UK...
Agreed - and the pies
Not long to go now. Soon be time to get the travel bags out the garage. New zoom lens camera purchased and a frontal assault at Gooutdoors for travel gear. Fortunate enough to have wifes relatives who are going to host us. They also have a 'place' at the coastal beach resort of pauanui which we can use
. Their 'main' residence doesn't look too shabby either looking at google earth.
A good base to start from. First 2 weeks itinerary sorted next 2 will be decided on arrival methinks.
. Their 'main' residence doesn't look too shabby either looking at google earth. A good base to start from. First 2 weeks itinerary sorted next 2 will be decided on arrival methinks.
Agreed - and the pies
I forgot about those! Fairlie pie shop, no question....Agreed - and the pies
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