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January 29, 2007
Rough Guide to New Zealand book
We highly recommend the Rough Guide to New Zealand. After looking at several guidebooks here, we took along the Rough Guide and read it daily. The Rough Guide map was also the best of all the maps we picked up along the way. Their descriptions and recommendations were right every time. Their assessment of a restaurant as “overpriced but adequate” was so accurate it was funny. It’s well written, up-to-date, balanced and highly informative.
January 29, 2007
Top Ten Holiday Parks
9 out of 11 nights on the South Island were spent in Top Ten Holiday Parks, and we think that’s the way to go. They are all independently owned, but they’re part of a franchise that offers very good facilities and predictable quality. The two campgrounds that weren’t Top Ten were noticeably inferior.
January 29, 2007
New President Hotel
The New President Hotel in Auckland was ideal for us: comfortable, clean, good kitchen, and in the middle of downtown. It’s five or six blocks from the waterfront and right beside the Sky Tower, their Space Needle.
January 29, 2007
Milford Sound
In a move that satisfied everyone, we decided to take a plane from Wanaka to Milford Sound (instead of campervan). We had no problem making a reservation a day in advance, and we were lucky to have the good weather needed for flying. In a small Cesna plane, we flew for an hour over the “Southern Alps” and landed on a small airstrip at the start of the fjord. From there, we took a two-hour cruise on the fjord out to the sea and back. This was a spectacular and thrilling way to see the mountains and Milford Sound, and probably the highlight of the trip for me, although I’m not sure I want to choose just one. For $850 (US), it was well worth the money.
January 29, 2007
Rotorua In General
Rotorua was the most touristy place we went, and it included some fun things for the kids. The sheep show at the Agrodome was just right for them. We highly recommend the Brylin Motel: delightful and helpful owners, nice rooms and kitchen, pleasant, and laundry facilities, which we needed by that point.
January 29, 2007
Shotover Canyon Swing
The younger three of us (our 27 and 24 year old sons and 20 year old daughter) chose to do the Canyon Swing instead of bungee, although if we’d been there longer they probably would have done the bungee also. The Canyon Swing was too much for me, but they found it pretty thrilling.
January 29, 2007
Milford Sound Trip
Because of our limited time, we chose the airplane flight Milford Sound cruise option. The plane ride through the Remarkables mountain range was spectacular, and the cruise in Milford Sound was very nice also. Both provided great photo opportunities. In the sound, in addition to the spectacular scenary, including dozens of waterfalls, we saw a leopard seal, several fur seals, and penguins.
January 29, 2007
Shotover Jet
Outstanding jet boat ride on the Shotover River and through narrow canyons. Lord of the Rings fans will recognize the canyon from the movie. There are also jet boat rides on the lake offered by a different company. I don’t see how they could compare to the ride on the river and through the canyon.
January 29, 2007
Skyline Gondola
A nice way to get a mountaintop view of the city, lake and surrounding mountains. The kids also did the luge ride and enjoyed that.