New Zealand 2020

[Techniquest]

Afternoon all,

It seems appropriate to post this in this sector, given it's planning and I need advice. If it's in the wrong place feel free to move it.

I'm currently in the very early stages of planning 2020's trip to New Zealand. I already know that my planned route involves Virgin Atlantic and Air New Zealand via the USA and maybe even via Brisbane (so as to complete my links of flights around the world), but that I can sort out myself.

What I need is advice on where to actually go in New Zealand. I like my city breaks, so having a look at Auckland is certainly likely. I'm also tempted to see what Christchurch has to offer in that respect, and it is likely that is where I'll arrive from the UK. Still, advice on those would be appreciated, even if it's just accommodation recommendations.

Obviously New Zealand has a reputation for amazing scenery, so I'm wanting to see that. The most sensible way to do it appears to be the trains from the north to the south, with the ferry in between. Has anyone here done it, any recommendations etc?

It will be many months until I can book this, naturally, but with such a massive trip it's never too early to plan and start budgeting!

Thanks in advance for all help!

 

[433N]

Not sure I can be much use on this one.

I've only been to South Island and it's a little more remote than North Island. Christchurch is nice enough to visit but has the feel of a small town with not much of a wow factor. I went down to the South-East corner where trains don't seem to go (glancing at the rail map). That area contains the fjords of Milford Sound and Mt Cook, which are on most people's lists. I know I stayed in Dunedin but can remember nothing of it (except it rained).

Hilariously, I went skiing outside Queenstown and got the back of my ski caught down a rabbit hole. Since it was a pretty steep (and deserted) hill, I ended up hanging upside down for around 15 mins until I could free myself.

Can't help with accommodation since I hired a camper van.

Whilst it is nice to have been to New Zealand, I do wonder why I have never been to Norway.

 

[Techniquest]

Certainly sounds like a horrid experience there with your ski-ing incident!

Thanks for that about Christchurch, I might look into arriving into Wellington. I've got basically a year until I will realistically have funds to book this lot so plenty of time to work it out!

Some useful advice there for sure, thanks

As for Norway, I went in 2017 and didn't think much of Oslo. The country itself was far better, but it is expensive. I have a trip report floating around somewhere in my trip report thread, it might also be on my phone so I could potentially just PM you about Norway.

 

[TheEdge]

Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu and its surroundings are beautiful. Also if you feel like flying into and out of Queenstown airport it is something else, the landing I experienced was down a valley and the departure was an immediate 270 degree climbing turn to avoid all the mountains. In fact you will struggle to find anywhere that isn't breathtaking on South Island. Mt Cook, Franz Josef, Abel Tasman national park, the temperate rainforest on the west coast, Arthur's Pass, Milford Sound.

I would err against basing your travel on the railways. The rail network in NZ really is for scenic rides, it's not really great for travelling the country, especially South Island, there is a lot you wont be able to get to. For example Queenstown, Dunedin, Mt Cook, Milford Sound, Frnaz Josef are all off your options. Assuming you have a driving license I'd suggest hiring a campervan. They drive on the left and you can always hire a small Toyota Hiace camper and you are falling over camp sites all over the place.

Also, take a lot of money, the costs of most things are eyewatering!

 

[AM9]

Based on a visit in 2004;
South Island:
Christchurch, small town but interesting. If flying in or out ofthere, take an hour to visit the Antactic Centre - right next to the Airport, very interesting. The trams in the city centre make a pleasant tour.
Queenstown, beautiful surroundings, crazy fun town. Plenty of things to see in surrounding areas but travel really need own vehicle.
Milford Sound, from Queenstown, 20 mins light aircraft flight (stunning) or 5-6 hours road journey.
Drove from Christchurch to Queenstown, c. 300 miles, took 6 hours, (and that was not exceeding national speed limit of 62mph!) About half of the journey was through the plateau down the spine of South Island, beautiful views, clear skies (technically it is classed as a desert) and sometimes, going for over 30 mins. between passing other vehicles.
North Island:
(For me) not a beautiful as South Island, but much more green. Stayed in Mt Manganui. Regular freight trains in and out of adjacent Tauranga port area. Rotorua, a troubled place with many disadvantaged maoris involved in petty crime, - and of course there's the 'pong' of sulphur everywhere.

Other views may differ.

 

[Haywain]

Long post follows...

I visited New Zealand in 2013 and again in 2018, although the second trip wasn’t very rail orientated. In 2013 I was there for cricket (3 test matches) and started in Dunedin. From there it was possible to travel on the Taieri Gorge Railway (now Dunedin Railways) who operate a twice-daily service along the Taieri Gorge – loco hauled – and a vintage DMU service along the coast to Palmerston. Both could be comfortably covered in a day. Dunedin itself is a compact town with a pleasant selection of older buildings and some excellent pubs/bars. It was originally the capital of NZ.

I then visited Christchurch and spent a day travelling on the TranzAlp to Greymouth and back, and interesting journey across the island including a traverse of NZ’s longest rail tunnel. Greymouth itself isn’t much to get excited about but the time there was only about 90 minutes, I think. It was quite a long day though, about 12 hours in all. The following day I travelled from Christchurch to Picton on the Coastal Pacific, connecting with the ferry to Wellington. A very pleasant journey up the coast, particularly around Kaikoura. Much of that line will now have been rebuilt following the 2016 earthquake. Connection with the ferry is very smooth and luggage can be checked in right through to Wellington. Both of the Christchurch trains are loco-hauled.

Christchurch has now been significantly rebuilt since the 2011 earthquake and is a pleasant city, although very spread out. The centre is quite modern although Hagley Park and the museum there, which are on the tram route, are very pleasant. There are some good places for the beer enthusiast as well.

Wellington is the home of the NZ beer revolution and for a capital city is very compact, probably due to the surrounding hills. It has an electrified suburban rail network and a funicular – the Wellington Cable Car – leading up to the suburb of Kelburn and the botanic gardens. There are still, I think, some peak time loco hauled services on the suburban network to outlying towns. From Wellington the Northern Explorer runs to Auckland 3 times a week, it’s an 11 hour journey but you do at least have the opportunity to stretch your legs a bit during the journey. It now arrives into Auckland Strand station rather than the main Britomart station as it did during my visit.

Auckland has a modern electrified suburban rail network and is being extended with a city centre tunnel under construction to make Britomart a through station. You don’t need to walk far in the city centre to find these works!

Using the long distance trains is not cheap, but a 3 day Scenic Rail Pass covered the main journeys as detailed above (and the InterIslander ferry) – it's a 3-days in one month type of ticket but bookings need to be made for the long distance trains. Accommodation is readily available in all of the town and city centres at reasonable prices, especially if you don’t mind hostels. Otherwise, getting around without using trains either means hiring a car, using coach services (cheap-ish but slow), or the plentiful low cost flights.

Hope this helps a bit. I can try and answer questions if there’s something I haven’t covered.

 

[Bald Rick]

It’s a wonderful country. Basically, it’s rural Scotland on steroids but warm.

Some things to bear in mind:

The population of the whole country is about 4.8m, in a country roughly the size of the UK. A third of the population live in Auckland; half the population live in Auckland / Christchurch / Wellington combined. The rest of the country is practically empty.

Everyone is really, really, *really* friendly.

Most of the country is inaccessible by rail. If you can’t / won’t drive, then it’s buses or planes to get round most of it. On the roads, congestion doesn’t exist outside the big three cities.

It’s a long way there. Make the most of your time, and spend as long as you can there.


Recommendations based on my experience:

North Island
Auckland: nice city, but nevertheless another city. Very spread out.

Wellington: more compact, and more ‘colonial’ in style. Great food.

Bay of Plenty / Tauranga / Mount Maunganui / Te Puke: wonderful beaches, beautiful scenery, more Kiwi fruit than you can possibly imagine. On a clear night the sky is just incredible.

Rotorua: touristy, but some great things to see you won’t see anywhere else in the world (basically related to Geology).

I took the train from Hamilton to Wellington. Stunning scenery, but it took forever. My friends drove and did it in half the time, and still got the scenery.

Ferry Wellington - Picton across the Cook Straight. Marketed as a ‘Cruise’. Well known for being rough. It’s the last time I travelled by ferry. There used to be a Catamaran - it was affectionately known as the Vomit Comet.

South Island

Marlborough. (Picton, Blenheim and the road out west). Wine country. Various vineyards. The home of new world Sauvignon Blanc. I didn’t drink much wine until I visited, now I don’t drink much else. An absolute must.

The west coast. A sensational drive to it, via the Buller Gorge, and a wonderful drive down it. The ‘Pancake’ rocks at Punakiki are quite special (if you like nature and geology), and then there’s the Glaciers at Frank Josef and Fox, either of which are a must see. Also on the road down the west coast there used to be bridges over wide rivers that were single lane and shared with the railway. I suspect they have been replaced now with something less interesting.

Wanaka - a beautiful lakeside town, great place to chill out.

Queenstown - adrenaline city. The Shotover Jet boat is a must.

Milford - if you can afford the time, the 4 day trek along the world famous Milford Track is wonderful, but you may need to book a long way out.

Finally, the West Coast is regularly wet and ‘dreich’, but get over the Haast pass towards Wanaka and it is a different climate, and much drier.


All in it’s a wonderful place, and I’d love to go back. Personally I’d go via HK with Cathay or via Perth on QF10.

 

[Techniquest]

Thanks for all the advice there everyone, I'll be re-reading all of it in conjunction with maps, Google etc in the coming days. I've just read it all during breakfast before work, so I'll have to respond more fully soon.

Not being able to drive is going to make things slightly frustrating by the looks of it. I know I can't get trains to everywhere, but if it's worth doing the trains and ferry from one end to the other then it only makes sense to get it done while there. After all it's not like I'll get another chance!

Based purely on my quick read, the South Island is where most of the highlights of New Zealand are. Wellington has not previously been considered for my arrival point, but it sure is now. Flying with Cathay via Hong Kong is certainly an interesting idea, a primary reason for going via the USA is to to be able to claim to have gone all the way around the world. Just a rather large gap between the east coast of Australia and the east coast of the USA in the way of that!

 

[Bald Rick]

Re the driving - there’s plenty of time for you to learn, they drive on the left in NZ like us, and the roads are just empty once out of the cities.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of guided trips available by coach or minibus etc; eg there’s a 5 day tour of the South Island highlights from Christchurch. Of course it means you are bound by their schedule, and if there’s some annoying people on the same tour you are stuck with them, and it will cost big cash.

Most traveller books recommend at least 6 week’s to ‘see’ all of NZ; when I went I was short of time, so got round the South Island in 5 days (Picton, Blenheim, west coast via glaciers, Wanaka, Queenstown, fly back to Auckland). That was a rush and I wish I could have stayed longer. However there’s no way I could have seen everything I did without a car. And the driving is wonderful!

Finally, when I went I also wanted to ‘loop’ the world, so went eastbound the whole way. (London, Kuala Lumpur, Australia, NZ, LA). Nothing to stop you doing something similar either, it might just cost a little more.

Final thing is when to go. Obviously the seasons are ‘upside down’ - I recommend November to February.

 

[Techniquest]

Thanks, that is good to know about the seasons! I probably could learn to drive before I go, and I've considered doing it since my last lesson in the autumn of 2018. However, I don't feel confident in my ability to do it, I have visions of it all going belly up. I gave up learning last year when it was becoming more stressful than working side-by-side with the boss, so I deemed it one of those things I'm not going to conquer!

6 weeks to see all of New Zealand? Bah! I won't have that long. 2 weeks will be my upper limit, and that has to include travel days. So it won't surprise anyone to hear I'm going to be a little fussy over what I go to see. I don't reckon I need to cover each part of New Zealand, but it does look like the South island is where I should focus my attention. At the moment, the plan stands like this:

Days 1-2: Fly from the UK to Auckland
Day 3: Explore Auckland
Day 4: Train to the Interislander ferry port
Day 5: Ferry across if not done the day before and connect onto the train again

Days 6-12 I have no rough plan for yet

Days 13-14 Fly home to the UK

 

[Haywain]

Days 1-2: Fly from the UK to Auckland
Day 3: Explore Auckland
Day 4: Train to the Interislander ferry port
Day 5: Ferry across if not done the day before and connect onto the train again

Days 6-12 I have no rough plan for yet

Days 13-14 Fly home to the UK

If you are travelling by Northern Explorer train from Auckland to Wellington on day 4, you are best off staying in Wellington and getting the ferry in the morning. Wellington has much more to offer than Picton and you'd be arriving in the latter (a one-horse town, if the horse is in!) very late in the evening after a long day of travelling. Day 5 will then start with a pleasant 3.5 hour cruise connecting seemlessly with the Coastal Pacific train to Christchurch.

 

[fowler9]

I spent 2 1\2 months in New Zealand. One mate spent seven years there, another lives in Tauranga with his wife and 2 kids, another lives in Nelson with his wife and two kids.

I seriously wouldn't base your trip on the railways, outside Auckland and Wellington and Auckland they are few and far between and expensive. Inter City coaches are easy to use and relatively cheap.

The South Island is by far the more spectacular although the desert road past the volcanos used in Lord Of The Rings near Taupo is impressive. It is Mordor, ha ha.

On the South Island Mount Cook village is worth a visit, I'd say a must see. I would say the same for the Milford Sound, you really really must go there and take a boat trip. Heading up the West Coast the Franz Josef glacier was amazing, as were the Punakaiki blow holes. The Abel Tasman National Park near Nelson is stunning. The Inter Islander ferry from Picton to Wellington is worth the flight alone to sail through the Queen Charlotte sound.

if you stick to cities in New Zealand you really are going to miss out on the truly amazing stuff in the country which is my favourite in the world.

In two days in Mount Cook village we got sunburn climbing Mount Sebastopol and the next day were knee deep in snow and saw and heard massive avalanches.

Queenstown is pretty cool. Extreme sport central. A lovely city on a lake looked over by stunning mountains. Best place to hop on a bus to the Milford Sound which as I said is a must see.

Any travel tips you want shout up. I have mates on both islands and will help any way I can.

 

[fowler9]

Blimey, just noticed you have two weeks. I would make sure you get to Queenstown and Milford Sound. The train from Christchurch to Greymouth. The Inter Islander ferry. Perhaps Rotorua. Time in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland. Time in the cities is a waste in my opinion as nice as they are.

 

[fowler9]

Have a good think about what it is you want to see. In my opinion if you are tight on time then spending it in the cities is a complete waste of time if you are flying about as far from the UK as you can. If you want to see a western style city save money and go to Berlin or somewhere.

 

[Techniquest]

If you are travelling by Northern Explorer train from Auckland to Wellington on day 4, you are best off staying in Wellington and getting the ferry in the morning. Wellington has much more to offer than Picton and you'd be arriving in the latter (a one-horse town, if the horse is in!) very late in the evening after a long day of travelling. Day 5 will then start with a pleasant 3.5 hour cruise connecting seemlessly with the Coastal Pacific train to Christchurch.

Thanks for the tip on the ferry bit, I have heard it's a nice journey to do. Good to know Wellington's more interesting than Picton, certainly makes planning that bit easier

Have a good think about what it is you want to see. In my opinion if you are tight on time then spending it in the cities is a complete waste of time if you are flying about as far from the UK as you can. If you want to see a western style city save money and go to Berlin or somewhere.

Cheers for the very useful advice in your posts, I've read them just before I head to work so no time to Google your recommendations and comment before I go. However I will be looking it all up later this week, two days off coming up after today so I will have plenty of time to get stuff sorted.

Apparently on my new sector at work people have got holidays booked as far as mid-2020 already! How I don't know as they're not meant to be able to go in the system until next year for 2020. It does mean booking two weeks off in a row is going to be a challenge, especially at the time of year I'll want to go. I mean, it'll be so tight the day after I land I would almost be guaranteed to be back at work!

Shall bear in mind your thoughts on cities, depending what time of day I land in Auckland (if that is where I book to, depends on fares) then I might have time to squeeze it in when I get there before moving on. I'm mainly interested in the trains more because I'll never get another chance to do them. Still, I might change plans by then!

 

[433N]

n my opinion if you are tight on time then spending it in the cities is a complete waste of time if you are flying about as far from the UK as you can. If you want to see a western style city save money and go to Berlin or somewhere.

Seconded.

I also apply this rule to the US of A and Australia - countries of astounding natural beauty with soulless, heaving cities of second-rate culture.
[Takes cover from incoming]

 

[87electric]

I agree with fowler9 and 433N.
But it all comes down to what experiences are required by travellers to fulfil their needs.
Cities can be bland and one city doesn’t make a country. Old school backpacking for months on end was always an education to get a good feel of a country.

 

[Haywain]

Thanks for the tip on the ferry bit, I have heard it's a nice journey to do. Good to know Wellington's more interesting than Picton, certainly makes planning that bit easier

You might want to consider spending a day in Wellington to investigate the suburban network.

I agree with fowler9 and 433N.
But it all comes down to what experiences are required by travellers to fulfil their needs.

Not everybody sees travel in the same way, and limitations of mobility (I'm also a non-driver) can affect what can realistically be done.

 

[morrisobrien]

Have just watched on Quest TV in their Mighty Trains series "Kiwi Rail".
Might be of some interest to you.

 

[fowler9]

You might want to consider spending a day in Wellington to investigate the suburban network.

Not everybody sees travel in the same way, and limitations of mobility (I'm also a non-driver) can affect what can realistically be done.

Totally agree. Everyone wants something different. I was very lucky and had 2 1\2 months in New Zealand. I would still strongly recommend getting down to the Southern Alps and the Fjords near the South West of the South Island such as Milford Sound which is relatively easy to get to. There are similar landscapes in Europe but really no where that feels or actually is quite as remote.

 

[Techniquest]

Thanks all for the continued insight. I was meant to look up all these places yesterday, kinda didn't happen as I got planning my next Euro adventure which may get booked tomorrow. I also went into work on my day off yesterday to earn some extra money, so today is a day of rest and planning. All being well I'll actually Google some of these places in New Zealand and make a firmer plan soon enough. I've still got my trip reports from Lithuania and Latvia to review and post on Wordpress today, which is next on my agenda as I also have my coffee made. Time to bang some tunes and get to it!

Most people know I love city breaks, which is why I want to see the likes of Auckland and Wellington. I didn't know there was a suburban system there, good to know. New Zealand will be a country to do both city exploring and seeing the scenery, which is why this trip needs to be fully researched well over a year in advance. City breaks I tend not to research too heavily, as regular readers of my trip reports will already know I love to just go for a wander with a coffee in hand and see what I find. Sometimes just wandering down little streets finds you hidden gems you'd not find otherwise, after all. Be that a place doing takeaway food of excellent quality and sensible prices, or a really nice coffee place, or even a different view to something you wanted to see.

A mix of trains and coaches, as well as obviously that ferry link, looks the ideal combination for me. If a domestic flight has to be used to get from the South to the North, due to time constraints, then so be it. From what I've read so far, the South Island is where the best of the country is to visit, so I'll be putting focus on that.

I've also found out today how diabolically worthless my Etihad Guest miles are, it looks like my 6,011 miles might get me lounge access with them somewhere but that's about it. Should have claimed Avios instead!

 

[Techniquest]

OK then, an ultra quick look at photos on Google of Milford Sound and Mount Cook have me wanting to go right now! I've also looked at flights, if I could book them right now I could fly to/from Wellington in November for £775 and that includes Qantas flights. Mostly on A380s but still...

If only that money was in the bank and that I had time off authorised...

How I will actually get to these places can be researched later, but now I'm buzzing for this trip. It could be even more epic than Australia was! So for now, while I plan in some overtime, my final question is this:

Is there anything specific I should be aiming to do on the North Island? If it's not worth doing I'll focus on the South and that would help fit everything into the short time I'll have.

 

[Bald Rick]

Things I would do in North Island

Rotorua, touristy but some brilliant geological stuff (geysers, bubbling pools of hot mud, etc etc)
Train from Auckland to Wellington, scenery great. There might be an observation coach still?

 

[Haywain]

There might be an observation coach still?

Currently conveyed (it carries the generator) but not available to passengers. It seems that being open-sided has allowed some people to act more foolishly than is sensible.

 

[fowler9]

OK then, an ultra quick look at photos on Google of Milford Sound and Mount Cook have me wanting to go right now! I've also looked at flights, if I could book them right now I could fly to/from Wellington in November for £775 and that includes Qantas flights. Mostly on A380s but still...

If only that money was in the bank and that I had time off authorised...

How I will actually get to these places can be researched later, but now I'm buzzing for this trip. It could be even more epic than Australia was! So for now, while I plan in some overtime, my final question is this:

Is there anything specific I should be aiming to do on the North Island? If it's not worth doing I'll focus on the South and that would help fit everything into the short time I'll have.

Rotorua as has already been said is worth a visit for the geological aspects. I spent my 37th birthday there. Got up at 5 in the morning and walked to the Marae (which is the area around a Maori meeting house) at Ohinemutu which was stunning. Right by the lake at sunrise with steam rising from pools and loads of traditional Maori buildings with amazing carvings.

The area around lake Taupo is cool with volcanoes Mount Ruapehu, Tongariro and Ngauruhoe. Ngauruhoe was the volcano used as Mount Doom in the Lord Of The Rings films. You can see all three volcanoes from across lake Taupo from the town of Taupo. The Aratiatia rapids near Taupo are pretty cool aswell.

I used to be a regular on the Lonely Planet Thorntree forum and one thing I would say is, especially if you are limited on time, choose what you really really want to see. Don't try and squeeze too much in because outside the urban areas of Auckland and Wellington it really isn't easy to get around on public transport. By that I mean if you miss a long distance bus or train you don't get a later one, you wait till the next day. If you try and squeeze too much in you run the risk of not getting to your exit point if anything goes wrong and having to pay for another flight. Many of the main highways on the South Island just have two carriageways and go to a single carriageway on bridges. People compare it to Scotland but it is far more remote even in big places like Queenstown especially when it comes to public transport. Just plan carefully.

 

[Bald Rick]

People compare it to Scotland but it is far more remote even in big places like Queenstown especially when it comes to public transport. Just plan carefully.

Seconded. It’s like a supercharged Scotland scenery wise, but in public transport provision it is rather less than north/west of Inverness.

To give an example of what it is like, I drove the 85 miles or so over the Haast Pass from Haast on the west coast to Wanaka, on a Friday evening from 1700. Peak time you might expect. Took about 2 hours driving. I saw 5 cars coming the other way.

 

[Techniquest]

Wow that is very handy advice, yeah I plan to allocate some slack in my plan just to make sure it all goes right. I've got ages until I can book anything, so plenty of time to sort that out.

 

[fowler9]

Seconded. It’s like a supercharged Scotland scenery wise, but in public transport provision it is rather less than north/west of Inverness.

To give an example of what it is like, I drove the 85 miles or so over the Haast Pass from Haast on the west coast to Wanaka, on a Friday evening from 1700. Peak time you might expect. Took about 2 hours driving. I saw 5 cars coming the other way.

I went the other way over the Haast Pass on an Inter City coach from Queenstown to the Franz Josef Glacier. Amazing journey. Had a few days in town there then a coach up to a tiny town called Punakaiki where we watched New Zealand win the Rugby World Cup final and did some walking.

 

[fowler9]

Wow that is very handy advice, yeah I plan to allocate some slack in my plan just to make sure it all goes right. I've got ages until I can book anything, so plenty of time to sort that out.

The stuff I've said isn't meant to make it sound scary or anything by the way and I'm sure you won't find it so as a seasoned traveller. It's just that, as an example, on the South Island there are far more ferries a day from Picton to Wellington than there are long distance buses or trains to get you to Picton to catch the ferry. Ha ha.

 

[Elwyn]

I spent 2 weeks on the South Island a couple of years ago and ran out of time to see everything I wanted. So if you are doing both islands in 14 days it’ll be a lot of rushing about, especially if reliant only on public transport. The distances are bigger than you think and it’s easy to spend your whole time just travelling with no time left to get out and explore.

With regard to train travel on the South Island, I don’t think there are any scheduled passenger trains south of Christchurch. (That’s two thirds of the island with no scheduled train service). There are the tourist trains from Dunedin that have already been referred to. They have about 3 different services from Dunedin which provide out and back excursions but that’s it. Some only run on specified dates, often timed to coincide with cruise ships visits. On the Taieri Gorge line a few run through to Middlemarch but most turn back at Pukerangi. You can also go to Port Chalmers which is a short run down a branch from Dunedin, plus there are some to Waitati on the main line north to Christchurch. When I was there, there was also a service further north to Oamaru (once or twice a month) but I don’t see it in the current schedules, so it may have been dropped. Oamaru is quite interesting so that's a shame. There is also the very occasional special charter run from Christchurch through Dunedin and on to Invercargill but it’s rather expensive.

https://www.dunedinrailways.co.nz/our-journeys/taieri-gorge-railway

A factor you need to take into account with some excursions is weather. We booked a scenic flight over Milford Sound which was cancelled due to fog, and another up into the hills combined with a speedboat ride back down one of the lakes was cancelled due to strong winds. It can rain a lot (that and the scenery reminded us very much of Scotland, as others have commented). So having a day or two to spare to be flexible with excursions is very helpful.

We stayed in motels and bought food in local supermarkets, which we cooked in the motel’s fairly simple kitchen, and found that quite economical.

NZ folk are very proud of their whisky. You may wonder why it's not more famous. There's a very good reason in my opinion. Plenty of excellent beer and wine though.