[ramkya1]

Part one of New Zealand, Auckland - Cape Reinga, video up with You Tube Baba:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fsk9Eo0qZN8

Could not edit the music properly, was in a hurry, need to work on that to get the next one right.

=====

[Judemayne]

Dear Ramkya,

You have posted 'mouth watering" pictures of your trip. Waiting for further posts??

You have 'tickled' our travelling feet-New Zealand was in our bucket list and with this post of yours its come right up the list and asking us when will it be crossed out as 'done'?

Awaiting more pictures and details, please.

Jude

[ramkya1]

@ Judemayne: Thanks mate. Loading up more pictures for you, enjoy.

The best parts are yet to come in terms of beauty of the land, quality of photos and I would hand over wheels to Anu to take some snaps.

========

The pools at the Hotel.




Carol and Ben





06-11-2013: Rotorua to Wellington – 450 kms, 6 hours non-stop but we wanted to take it slow and easy. At 8 AM, we say good bye to Bruce, a great host by all counts. Most motels have a chime to inform them when the guest walks into the reception, Bruce was there almost immediately as we walked in every time. You could see he was genuinely interested to make the guest happy, not cosmetic, not artificial, you could warm to him quickly. We’d like to come and stay with him again.

The forecast was rain, the morning was wet, the car very cold when we started at 0700 AM. Fortunately, the heater was efficient, we were comfortable in about 5 minutes. Carol and Ben had told us about a Thermal reserve on the way down, wai-o-tapu, on SH5, mud pools are nearby the road and you can see it free.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waiotapu

Somehow we missed it, the GPS could not locate it, we took HW5 and whipped the horse. The country was wide open, traffic very thin and did not see any cops, was drizzling on and off, the taco was hovering on 3.5, where we saw wide open spaces with nothing in sight, we ripped the wedge on and made good time, by then I was acclimatized to the signages, speed checks and the GPS also rang out speed check areas clearly, we went scot free without much problems until much much later, 12 days later, story coming up.

You'd find lots of yellow flowering during this season everywhere in New Zealand, strongly so in the South Island. The next one is a yellow border for a long long distance on the sides of the road, so colorful and would bring a song to your lips. If you're a poet, you'd site by the side of the road and write poetry, it would well up from inside you.








In about 70 minutes we left SH5 and entered 1 to head towards Lake Taupo. We have heard so much about the Lake area and it did not disappoint us. The 5 mile bay recreation area is full of staying options and facilities in many ranges, dig here for some information,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taupo




Right after the junction of SH5 and 1 till Turangi, for about 40 kms, this twisting stretch skirting the lake has lots of lay off areas, parks and stunningly beautiful parking places. I could fully understand how people spend 1 month only the North Island, this lake area would warrant 7 day, if you have time to burn. We stopped in many places on and off for photographs, we had lots of time to kill. You can find a lonely couple, small family sitting on the benches, feeding the ducks, swans and other birds that are in abundance all around. A fairy tale lake, serene therapy for a hypertensive patient.

=======

[Joe M]

Great pictures, and what a beautiful country! You had a really long trip, an holiday to remember for life. Congrats!

Added NZ to wish list.

[9thsphinx]

I've always had a thing for beautiful places and NZ is right there amongst the top 5! My folks visited NZ last year and they too highly recommend this God-fabulous country.

Wonderful pictures and such mesmerizing scenery. Fantastic TL sirji. Keep it long and detailed!

Thread rated five stars.

[ramkya1]

@ Joe M: Thanks and yes, we had a great time. One of the best holidays so far.

@ 9thsphinx: Thanks a lot. Its one wonderful country.

I think if Jetstar starts operating hits hub form Delhi, as they are planning and if the NZD value comes down to 40, the two way rates would come to 40 K and then it would be an awesome country to travel to. Though NZ itself is expensive, it's a breath-taking destination.

=============
Some more pictures form the lay-bys and parks of Lake Taupo.







After Lake Taupo, its beauty of another kind, here goes the story.

We reach Turangi, famous for its trout fishing possibilities, many to there just to fish. Since our love for fish is limited to admiring it and on occasions swimming with them during the diving, we moved on.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turangi

After Turangi, about 20 kms, you would start noticing mountains on the right, the roads start climbing through Tongariro NP,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongariro_National_Park





Road at 800 mtrs above MSL, you see Mt. Tongariro, Mt.Neaurohoe and Mt. Ruapehu with ice caps on your right, surprising to see snow at such low altitudes of about 1000 – 1500 mtrs! Our snow lines up north start around 3000 and the roads to reach up there tough. The desert roads as per our standards were still green and further down you can see some sand on the sides, farming disappears so so does habitation, this was desolate land.

Around 2 PM, another 100 kms down, we reach the fork for Fielding, Palmestron on SH54, the GPS wanted us to take that, we turned into the twisting road, Palmestron and then the restricted area around Linton Army Camp and join SH1 near Levin. We stopped to stretch on a fuel station, pick up provisions, found the flavored milk very good, available all over, quite wholesome if you feel hungry.



The location of the place was great, on a lonely section on the road with a view to all that’s around for a long distance, we had lots of time, only another 100 odd kms to do to reach Wellington, the day still young.

Found this place below, creative indeed, a restaurant! Wonder why somebody does not get a condemned Jet Plane and start a restaurant inside it in India. If you do start, please give royalty to me for the idea.



It was 4 PM when we left the fuel stop, stopped on and off all the way and soon hit Paikakariki, the road hugs the mountains on one side and sea on the other, you get the spray from the left. Traffic density slowly picks up, all roads seem to lead to Wellington, rural turning to urban. The motor way starts about, I think, 40 kms before Wellington, it’s a 6 lane dual carriage way, still traffic nowhere near what we have. As you go hear the city, the land shrinks, houses cluster together, houses start to gain height, by the time you reach the core of the city, things are pretty congested. An orderly, shirinky kind of congestion after the wide open spaces.

This biker on his Honda tourer with a baby trailer was riding with incredible discipline, was an event to watch, following every signal, speed limit and signalling cut to cut, even showing hands!! Was so good followed him for 10 Kms before I overtook in him and sped away, old habits die hard



5 PM, The GPS takes us near Hotel Abel Tasman, no parking anywhere near the hotel. We circle back on the thick traffic twice trying to locate another access again come back in front of the hotel. Call the hotel, they explain a complicated process to park, I park right in front on the taxi stand and go in and take written down instruction, by this time, the taxi guys are irritated, not no horns blared and abuses hurled. I say sorry to the lady taxi driver, she smiles and waves her hand! Now I go round the block, through by-lanes, down to the closed iron gate into a narrow lane, press the button to go down to park. The covered parking is tricky, costs 20$ a night but we manage to slot it in. Up to the room in 4th floor. The hotel is NOT value for money, small kitchen, street noises floating in, but located a walk away form the waterfront. Space is a problem in Wellngton, anyway ours is a one night affair there and wanted to be near to the Interislander ferry for the next days long drive to South Island.



======

[ADI_77]

This is one Awesome travelogue with Great detailing and Amazing postcard snaps, almost felt that I was there. I am hooked to this since tday morning, waiting for more to unfold.

Your grit & determination to do the trip inspite of the hurdles is awe-inspiring. True TBHPian spirit....

Looking forward to meet you in person on one of the next TBHP meets.

[coolmel]

A spectacular trip to Middle Earth! Couldn't have asked for more. By the way did you find Mount Erabor??

[ramkya1]

@ Coolmel: We're not great fans of LOR so did not do any of that circuit. There's a huge fan following for LOR and touristy destinations in NZ around it. Thanks for your comments.

@ADI 77: Thanks and would love to meet you sometime. Buzz me, PM me.. we can met up.

==============

Some pictures form the evening walk to the waterfront, was deserted, was cold but worth it. Was a long walk, needed the exercise to get the oil moving in the engine

The waterfront was full of cafes, restaurants and coffee bars on the one side, you can hear all kinds of muffled music wafting out into the air. Saw large number of necking couples in various stages, was not so open in any other part of NZ, guess Wellington is more liberal than other places. The air was one of cold excitement, of people milling silently inside, pantomime of animated conversations seen through the glass windows and action behind the scenes. Did not shoot any people respecting their privacy, was difficult to exclude people but was the decent thing to do, in my view. Would not want my photo taken secretly while I am talking to my near and dear ones.





















Background about Wellington, a great place to spend 2 days:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellington

One of the regrets of our trip was not being able to see Te Papa, the museum which is highly recommended.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_...Papa_Tongarewa

By the time we reached it was past the closing time, we heard so much about it, may be next time. We wanted to be well rested and ready to catch the ferry the next day and do the long long drive to Grey-mouth, getting up early and reaching the ferry on time to load the car into the boat was critical, could not afford to miss the boat.

If you have the time, it's worth checking out the Mt.Victoria views, take a cuppa in one of the cafes in the waterfront or visit the zoo.

http://www.wellingtonnz.com/sights-activities/must-dos

======

[ramkya1]

A couple of videos from Rotorua - from Te Puia Cultural Village

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LERb6CiMkpo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsDYJcmmBH8

Need some more time to write the South Island part, hang in there.

--Ramky
======

[ramkya1]

07-11-2013: Wellington – Cross Cook Straight – Greymouth: The morning was one of expectations, the alarm rings, already packed and ready the previous night. Quick coffee, check out and rush to the basement. The distance of about 100 KM from Wellington to Picton, North Island to South Island jump off points would be done on the Interislander, a very interesting experience. From Picton to Greymouth, the distance, through the west coast, 380 KMS, as reported by some blogs to be slow, the roads twisty, 5-6 hours. We also wanted to visit the Pancake rocks at Punakaiki, so we were looking at 7-8 hours run.

The schedules looked like this: Report at the ferry 0730, 1 hour before departure at 0830, ferry takes 3 hours to cross, so Picton at 1130, by the time we disembark, take the car out, start form Picton by around 1230, 4 hours run to Punakaiki so reach there by 0430 PM, look around there, 1 hour, 0530 and Greymouth 1 hr, reach there by 7 PM before it becomes dark. Was a tight schedule, the west coast is a very lonely ride and best done in day time, more so to enjoy the scenery.

The Interislander service is commendable, operates in near storm conditions, ferrys an impressive 10 Lakh passenger a 2 Lakh vehicles a year, professionally run. You can get all information on the web, do the bookings online, neat operation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interislander

http://www.ferrytickets.co.nz/

http://www.experiencenz.com/ferries.cfm

We were a little worried about being at the ferry point on time, so started early, followed the GPS exactly and were the 2nd on the warf at 0645 AM, the wind form the sea was cutting cold, we were lined up by a guide, soon there were 4 lines filled up with cars, long trailers and all kinds of vehicles. After a long wait, at 0745 we were waved in neatly, all vehicles were in and we were shown the flights to the upper decks. You can leave your luggage in the boot of the car, take only what is necessary up into the ship.




A biker crossing the straights


Huge trailers like this also goes into the ship.


Another beauty


There is a covered section with a small restaurant, you can buy what you want form there. There’s another section with a higher priced ticket in the bow side, with better view, seating and ambiance, not value for money in my opinion. No way one could spend time on the open deck, the wind chill was a killer, your hands could go numb in minutes, you cannot operate the camera comfortably or enjoy the breath taking scenery that rolls by. We caught a nice spot near the window, bought boiling coffee, took out our stock of biscuits, cakes, fruits and settled in for the long haul. You can see excited tourists running form windows, decks, vantage points taking pictures, families milling around but majority of people settling down quietly reading, working on the laptops or sleeping on the sofas. There were boards saying sofas are not for sleeping, but found many die-hard tourists happily stretching, could be because there were many seats available and space was not on crunch.

Smiling in spite of the cold, we were on the deck only for a couple of snaps, the wind was freezing.





Point to note that Apex Car Rentals is the only recognized operator which allows cars to be carried from North to South Island, you can book passenger tickets also through them and be assured of a tension free passage. All other operators have facility to drop your car at the ferry at Wellington and you can pick up another car from them at Picton, the other end. That’s a hassle as you have to offload your luggage and leave a car with which you get comfortable and not knowing what kind of car awaits you at the other end. Apex also does not charge for the car.

http://www.apexrentals.co.nz/

Another allowed on the ferry is the Maui Camper and Motorhome. Maui and Britz are campervans found all over NZ and seems to be the most popular.

http://www.experiencenz.com/new-zealand-motorhomes.cfm

The typical green Jucy camper vans were another we found all along NZ. You cannot miss the girl picture on all those Jazzy vans.

http://www.jucy.co.nz/?&gclid=CKu_q-...FVFe4god3GEA8Q

The ship takes an arking right into the sea channel and heads out into the open sea in about 1 hour, we could feel the rollers for the next 1 hour, then up ahead land again. You could sense excitement mounting on the tourists as we hit the mouth of the land, many expect lots of beautiful scenes, this being the first landfall in South Island. The ship slowly courses through the narrow inlets, you can see mountains with lots of green on both sides, stunning beaches and lots and lots of bays. The next 30 minute you head south towards Picton, the traffic increases with smaller boats, kayakers and signs of life on both sides of the ship. Soon we were docking and go down to our cars. We were first in, so it took us 15-20 minutes to be off after all the vehicles were off the ship. We drove off, stopped on a lay by on the road and fired up the GPS to catch the road to our destination. There were many options to Punakaiki, we wanted to be on the right road.

=========

[prasad14]

Absolutely brilliant travelogue.

I'm planning to visit NZ in Apr. Got some great pointers. Here's my plan, please comment on it. Have a few questions too.

It is very difficult to fit most things in a 3-week trip. Looks like one'd need
3-week for each island. After lot haggling and getting little bit for everyone, here's the plan I've come-up with.

Day 1: Reach Auckland (FIXED/Booked - can't change now)
Day 2: Auckland
Day 3: Auckland
Day 4: Drive to Rotorua (leave early morning and reach Rotorua by noon)
Day 5: Rotorua
Day 6: Drive to Hahei/Whitianga
Day 7: Hahei/Whitianga
Day 8: Drive to Auckland, Fly to Nelson (FIXED) and drive to Wharariki
Day 9: Roam around Abel Tasman. Overnight in Motueka
Day 10: Drive to Arthur pass village
Day 11: Drive to Fox Glacier
Day 12: Drive to Queenstown
Day 13: Queenstown
Day 13: Queenstown
Day 14: Milford cruise. Overnight in Te-Anau
Day 15: Doubtful sound overnight cruise
Day 16: Drive from Te-Anau to Twizel (reaching late evening)
Day 17: Twizel
Day 18: Twizel
Day 19: Drive to Christchurch
Day 20: Drive to Christchurch
Day 21: Flyback (FIXED)

As you can see, I've cramped quite a bit. Still miss Cape Reigna, Waitomo,
Lake Taupo, Wellington in North. Kaikoura, Dunedin etc. (the east part) in South. Kids wanted beaches, trek, adventure, wife wanted cruise, natural
beauty etc, I wanted to drive as much as I can. So everyone had to
compromise.

Now for the questions:
1. Whats the average driving time I should assume?
2. Should I spend one day in Arthur's village and Fox Glacier OR spend
2 days in any one of them? (would miss Punakaiki as the high tide
time on the day I'd be there is at odd time)
3. Would milk/curd/vegetables be readily available in most places?
4. Any special pre-cautions while driving?
5. Can we get Indian grocery in Queenstown?
6. Motel reco in Rotorua and all the places in South Island?

Prasad

[TaureanBull]

This travelogue is going be a detailed guide for the people aspiring to visit the kiwiland! Very detailed write-up and great pics.

You have great passion to travel.. right from bed to roads on NZ

The spa gates are like prison cells! scary

Rating 5*!

[ramkya1]

Thanks for those posts, I was loosing interest to post as mine are the only ones mostly. Would not want to bore readers

@ Taurean Bull: Thanks. The spa is actually good, though a little scary at first.

@ Prasad: Thanks. My comments in bold, a lot of time and good plan, overall.

Originally Posted by prasad14

Absolutely brilliant travelogue.

I'm planning to visit NZ in Apr. Got some great pointers. Here's my plan, please comment on it. Have a few questions too.

It is very difficult to fit most things in a 3-week trip. Looks like one'd need
3-week for each island. After lot haggling and getting little bit for everyone, here's the plan I've come-up with.

Day 1: Reach Auckland (FIXED/Booked - can't change now)
Day 2: Auckland
Day 3: Auckland
Day 4: Drive to Rotorua (leave early morning and reach Rotorua by noon)
Day 5: Rotorua
Suggest spend a day in Rotorua, reduce in Q-Town. Most things you can do in Rotorua, Q town is more expensive too.
Day 6: Drive to Hahei/Whitianga
Day 7: Hahei/Whitianga
Day 8: Drive to Auckland, Fly to Nelson (FIXED) and drive to Wharariki
Day 9: Roam around Abel Tasman. Overnight in Motueka
There's lot of walks there, if you're not the trekking type, no fun.
Day 10: Drive to Arthur pass village
Check situation of pass through Road organization website.
Day 11: Drive to Fox Glacier
My programme got cancelled to Fox, check weather. Carry light rain gear.
Day 12: Drive to Queenstown
Day 13: Queenstown
Day 13: Queenstown
Day 14: Milford cruise. Overnight in Te-Anau
If you've seen Milford, Doubtful sound is not so great. You can consider choppig it, reducing a day in Twizel and spending it in Wanaka, better than Q town in many ways. You would be driving down from Fox through Wanaka anyway. Kids would love Amazing world, half a day another half a day in the lake.
Day 15: Doubtful sound overnight cruise
Day 16: Drive from Te-Anau to Twizel (reaching late evening)
Suggest cut Twizel, drive through the highway to Invercargil and take the south scenic route from there to Dunedin, spend a day there and then to Chch. What you want to see in Twizel you would have seen already, unless you want to do fishing. On south scenic route from Invercargil to Dunedin and in Dunedin you'd have lots of wild life on the coast. Dunedin wild life tours, Albatros boat tours are awesome.
Day 17: Twizel
Day 18: Twizel
Day 19: Drive to Christchurch
Day 20: Drive to Christchurch
Day 21: Flyback (FIXED)

As you can see, I've cramped quite a bit. Still miss Cape Reigna, Waitomo,
Lake Taupo, Wellington in North. Kaikoura, Dunedin etc. (the east part) in South. Kids wanted beaches, trek, adventure, wife wanted cruise, natural
beauty etc, I wanted to drive as much as I can. So everyone had to
compromise.

Now for the questions:
1. Whats the average driving time I should assume?
Average of 60-70 KMPH.
2. Should I spend one day in Arthur's village and Fox Glacier OR spend
2 days in any one of them? (would miss Punakaiki as the high tide
time on the day I'd be there is at odd time)
Not to worry about tide in Punakaiki, the place and the drive is awesome, you'd see some of the blow hole there anyway. I'd skip Arthur's village if I've covered Fox.
3. Would milk/curd/vegetables be readily available in most places?
Milk no problem, our kind of curd difficult, vegetable in plenty, some of the best I have seen in the world.
4. Any special pre-cautions while driving?
Avoid night driving, if possible. If it rains, it can anytime, it would be tricky.
5. Can we get Indian grocery in Queenstown?
Yes, you can. Just pic up curry masala from a punjabi store in Auckland, rest you can get in Q town. Will give you contact number of a friend there, he'd help you.
6. Motel reco in Rotorua and all the places in South Island?
Motel iin Rotorua, choose where I stayed, will give you direct numbers, will save money, will give you rest in due course of time. I think from Auckland, you can drive to Rotorue via Waitomo, kids would love it, not much of a detour and roads very green, scenic and good.

Prasad

[prasad14]

Originally Posted by ramkya1

Thanks for those posts, I was loosing interest to post as mine are the only ones mostly. Would not want to bore readers

@ Prasad: Thanks. My comments in bold, a lot of time and good plan, overall.

Keep them coming. Atleast there is one person keenly watching!

Many thanks for answering my queries. A few more questions:

1. You mentioned "Amazing world" in Wanaka. Did you mean "Puzzling World"?
2. Are the rates mentioned in the websites of these motels the final ones
or are they rack rates? Can we get better price if we contact them
directly via phone/email?
3. What is the best way to get a local SIM there?
4. Are ATMs/money-changers generally available in towns?
5. I saw you've parked the car in a few places. Would there be designated
view points to park or can we pull over in any place without obstructing
the traffic? Any restriction on having a picnic (for packed
breakfast/lunch) on the road?
6. What about toilet facilities enroute? Would petrol pumps have them?
7. Is Queenstown-Milford-Milford cruise-Invarcargill doable in a single day?
8. Do you've any information (or point to one) on unguided walks in Fox/Franz Joseph glacier?

I'll drop Twizel and Doubtful sound for sure. Just wondering taking Milford overnight cruise just for the experience of staying overnight anchored in
some remote place. If I leave Milford around 10:30AM, can I reach Dunedin via Invarcargill by evening (480kms)? Or do you reco to stay for a night in
Invarcargill and explore it?

Thanks,

Prasad