I'm going with my parents (both in their 60s) for 3 weeks in Feb and March next year and touring South Island by car, taking roughly the following route: Christchurch (3 nights) - Kaikoura (2n) - Greymouth (1n) - Franz Josef (2n) - Te Anau (3n) - Stewart Island (2n) - Dunedin (2n) - Lake Tekapo (1n).
I would appreciate any advice or suggestions for cool roadside oddities, interesting excursions, unmissable eating places (but not too expensive) and anything else we should or shouldn't miss en route; such as places for scenic and wildlife photography, short walks and wildlife watching.
2006-11-07 06:17:20 · 9 answers · asked by Jobbo 3 in Travel ➔ Australia ➔ Other - Australia
lol Jetpig - are you going to try and sell the bungee jump idea to my nearly 70-year old mum for me?
2006-11-07 06:30:13 · update #1
Apparently, Dunedin Railway Station is one of the top 100 'must see' buildings in the world! (Rough Guide, I think; may be mistaken in my source). Definately take the Taieri Gorge Railway ex Dunedin. The Church of the Good Shepherd at Lake Tekapo is worth a look. Good chance of good weather for the West Coast - going near Punakaiki with its Pancake Rocks and Paparoa National Park (lots of walks for all abilities)? How about Hanmer Springs?
Check out these websites for more ideas:
http://www.tourism.net.nz
http://www.newzealand.com
http://www.nz.com
http://www.aatravel.co.nz - currently running a '101 must-dos for kiwis'; you don't have to be a kiwi! Check it out. (West Coast means specifically the northern section of the South Island's west coast; includes Greymouth.)
http://www.greatnewzealand.co.nz
(Later...)
Just had an email from my brother about his long weekend trip to Dunedin. Taiaroa Heads is famous for its albatross colony, but even when the birds aren't in town, they have yellow-eyed penguins and seals to see. If you go to Dunedin Aquarium, feeding times are 2:00 pm Wednesday and Saturday (a highlight, apparently). If you want to go on a tour of Speights Brewery, it pays to book at least a couple of days in advance, but even if you don't tour it, the restaurant is good. There's also a chocolate factory in Dunedin which runs tours. Larnach Castle is not far out of town, if you're interested.
Moeraki, just south of Oamaru, has the mysteriously spherical boulders on the beach, plus penguins and seals. (Seal colonies SMELL, so stay upwind, if you can.)
BTW, FYI, the only time you'd use 'on' for the South Island, is if you're referring to it as 'The Mainland', as S Islanders often do. Kiwis say "in the South Island", and "in the North Island" (always "the") for our two main landmasses. :)
Haere mai (usually translated as “welcome”, also means “come here”) and kia ora (often used in greeting, conveys wishes of good health).
2006-11-07 12:11:37 · answer #1 · answered by ~jve~ 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Most activities are adventure based so based on the rents ages I would highly recommend the Southern Scenic drive, which is a great trip through the southern otago penninsula. Lots of great scenic type stops along the way, and you will enjoy it too. Get a map at the visitor's centre in Dunedin, starts there and ends around Queenstown so you could head up to Franz Josef from there.
Plan 2-days for the drive (one full day to do it right, then half a day for travel time to your next destination). To do this, I recommend shaving Kaikoura down to 1-day and maybe ChCh down to 2-days. There really is not a whole lot to see in ChCh and Kaikoura is beautiful but not heaps to do beyond one day, unless they want to go shark diving.
On the drive down to Dunedin, I'm sure they would enjoy a stop at the Boulders. There is also a great penguin sighting tour out of Dunedin (Twilight Tours I believe), ask at the tourist centre for details or call from ChCh to book ahead. ChCh has gondola rides, the Antarctic Center near the airport, and the Aquarium & Cathedral in the square. Have a great trip!
2006-11-08 04:19:31 · answer #2 · answered by nativeAZ 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Must do :
from dunedin explore the peninsula- it is beautiful. Sandfly bay you can go at dawn/ dusk and see yellow eyed penguins coming in/out. Mount Cook must be seen and walk up the Hooker Valley. Helicopter ride up one of the glaciers
2006-11-08 06:07:19 · answer #3 · answered by maxwellgp 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Pull over to Lake Waihola, near Dunedin, and visit my brother. Can't miss him.
2006-11-07 14:27:55 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
go to the antartica center in christchurch near the airport
2006-11-07 17:15:08 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Type south island into the search box on this page: http://www.thetravelzine.com/TTarchive/index.html
You'll get more help than you ever thought possible - thanks to the members of TheTravelzine travel discussion group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thetravelzine/
Have a wonderful trip!
2006-11-07 14:21:45 · answer #6 · answered by love2travel 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
mate get to queenstown and do the bungee
2006-11-07 14:22:13 · answer #7 · answered by jetpig_uk 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
chill out in Kaikoura and stroke the seals.
2006-11-07 16:01:50 · answer #8 · answered by steffanmacmillan 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
shag a sheep
2006-11-07 14:28:22 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋