Planning a trip to NZ in late february/march 2017
Original post
Hi!
I`m the new guy ;) I`m 41 years old and from Germany. I`m currently planning a trip to NZ. Maybe you have some ideas for me, on what to change, or what to add.
Here`s my idea:
I`m planning to fly from Hamburg to Auckland on 18.02.2017, and I will arrive there on 20.02.2017. I will stay in Auckland for 2 days, to do some sightseeing, and to organize some things, like gas tank for the cooker, maybe a tent,if I don`t bring my own, sunscreen, insect repellent.
I want to get the Intercity Flexipass with 60 hours, and stay on campsites, except in the bigger cities, as the campsites are too far away from the city centre. I will not rent a car, as it is too expensive. Also, I want to travel by bus,and meet fellow backpackers.
I want to go to:
- Paihia ( do the Eco Dolphin Cruise and visit Cape Reinga)
- Coromandel ( take a trip with the Town Driving Creek Railway and maybe the glass bottom boat at Whitianga)
- Rotorua ( discover the area, maybe take a trip to Waitomo and do the blackwater rafting, and I really must try Zorbing!)
- Taupo ( cruise the lake)
- Wellington ( do some sightseeing)
- Picton ( Do the delivery cruise)
- Nelson ( discover the Abel Tasman Coast by boat and walk)
- Franz Josef ( maybe do a walk on the glacier)
- Queenstown ( do some sightseeing, ride a jet boat, cruise on the Milford Sound, cruise on the Doubtful Sound, maybe visit the Glow Worm Caves in Te Anau)
Then fly to Auckland on the 21.03. in the morning, and back home in the evening.
How much, do you think, will I have to spend on food and beverages, if I mostly cook for myself, using the gas cooker?
Hi mate, welcome.
Obviously you have money, because those are some expensive options you're choosing!
As this is a tramping site, and not a travel agency, and you don't appear too fussed about tramping except for a bit of a walk in Abel Tasman, I'm going to keep it brief.
Your itinerary will cost around $5000, probably more. Food for a month, don't be stingy; budget $1000, even if cooking. More if you plan to eat out. Probably another $1000 for alcohol, because hey, stuff happens on holiday. So call it$7000, $8 or 9k to be comfortable. I came here for the first time 13 years ago, and two of us spent $15 000 in 3 weeks. Yep.
Just don't drink and do any of those things you listed, especially walk in the wilderness (including on well-formed tracks).
Whatever you do, PLEASE respect this amazing country, and ensure you pay the small fee for any campsites/huts you stay in, don't leave rubbish lying around, and listen to any advice - especially regarding weather and track conditions - that locals give you.
Follow those simple, courteous and respectful rules, and you'll have a great holiday without dying, getting rescued, or damaging/rorting NZ's great outdoors.
Well, no, I don`t have much money, and normally I don`t do all the very touristy stuff. Right now I`m still planning the trip. The things I have mentioned sound nice, but, you`re right, they are expensive. The thing is, this might be the only trip to NZ I can afford, so I would like to see as much as possible.
Hiking, or tramping, is something, I do like. I did some day tramps in the swiss alps, and a tramp around the island of Fehmarn ( 80km, 5 days, stayed on campsites along the track, but the terrain was flat). So, I`m not a very experienced tramp.
So, if I would leave out the expensive and touristy things, I had mentioned on my first post, could you recommend some great tracks? I have 30 days, and I would like to see as much as possible of this beautiful country. Start and end point of this journey will be Auckland.
I just thought about doing the Great Walks, except the canoing one. Do you think, this is a good idea, a good way, to see as much as possible?
Another thing is, it is recommended, that, before you start, you tell somebody, where you`re going, and when you expect to be back. But I don`t know anybody in NZ, and I`ll be travelling alone. Whom do I inform?
Ok, just got hooked on the tramping idea :) So I did some more research on the net, and came up with the following idea:
- Auckland ( think,I need 2 days, there, one to get rid of the jetlag, and to buy some equipment, like sunscreen, insect repellent, fuel for the stove, freeze dried food)
- Te Paki Coastal Track, full length
- Cathedral Cove Walk Coromandel
- Rotorua, discover the area, Zorbing ( must do this)
- Wellington for sightseeing
- Picton for sightseeing
- Abel Tasman Coastal Track, full length
- Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere Franz Josef
- Kepler Track, full length
- Queenstown for sightseeing and cruise on Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound
This would still leave some time for rest and relax, I would see a lot, without doing touristy things.
What do you think?
no, the Kepler track is out of your depth, the weather is terrible and its tough going, stay away from difficult tramps,
Ok, I`ll not do the Kepler.
Does anyone know, how to get to the starting point of the Te Paki Coastal Track, from Paihia? And from the end of the track back to Paihia.
There seem to be some tour busses, but they don`t seem to stop there.
I often tramp (hike) in places where I don't know anyone. I inform two people:
Someone back home, someone who is reliable.
And especially when on a new and difficult track, the local police.
When telling someone your tramping plans, be specific. If you want to change your plans, make sure you update your plans with your contact people.
If you can't get in touch with your contact people, DO NOT CHANGE YOUR PLANS!
And once you've completed each tramp, make sure you let your contact people know you've finished. Plenty of searches have commenced because some moron simply failed to let their contact person know that they were ok.
I agree with Wayno. Skip the Kepler. Bring your best tent (I saw your other post), and make sure you buy hut tickets. The time of the year you're traveling, you'll have to book ahead into huts, especially on Great Walk tracks.
As your experience is limited, I suggest finding someone to do these walks with you.
All the best with it!
Another track option for you is the Queen Charlotte Track. In your first post you mentioned you were interested in the delivery cruise from Picton.
You can book a boat to take you to the Northern end of the Queen Charlotte Track (Ship Cove) and then walk the track (or a portion of it as you can arrange boat pick up).
The Queen Charlotte is a nice easy track but you will need to book huts.
Don't listen to Oskar der Griesgram, the Kepler in February will be perfectly fine to do. This will probably be the best weather period, and there will be dozens of other people on the track to walk with. Do it anti-clockwise the way DOC recommends, to get the big climb over and done with and to assess the alpine weather easier. Take your time, swim in Lake Manapouri, enjoy yourself!
The Routeburn and Milford are also well worth walking if you have the time. You should plan on visiting Milford Sound so you might as well walk there via the Milford Track! All 3 Great Walks are very different experiences, I prefer the Routeburn myself.
Oskar der Griesgram has tramped extensively since the 1980's all around NZ.
kepler can get bad weather any time of year i've seen people fil to complete it in jan and feb, even snow in jan, hypothermia in jan its not a good place to start for the inexperienced you have to have reasonable fitness and know how to handle yourself exposed to bad weather , your gear has to be correct, appropriate cold weather clothing , wet weather gear, pack with bags in it to keep any water out...
a lot of NZ is extremely wet getting torrential rain and high winds at any time of the year, you can have blue skies in the morning and snow in the afternoon in the mountains, get some experience elsewhere, i've seen people struggle badly and panic and abandon their packs in a summer storm on the kepler
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| Forum | Tracks, routes, and huts |
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| Started by | Gizmo |
| On | 22 August 2016 |
| Replies | 47 |
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