Things to do south island

bizidea

Heading to the south island for 3 weeks in March anyone suggest things to do there or must see attractions any suggestions appreciated

Caranica

If /when you go to Queenstown do the Hydro Attack shark. I'm not a thrillseeker so this was pushing my limits but I'm so glad I did it!

barneygumble99

bizidea wrote: »

Heading to the south island for 3 weeks in March anyone suggest things to do there or must see attractions any suggestions appreciated

Queenstown is the obvious stop off but so many other places are really worthwhile. Christchurch is a beautiful city. Pm me for more details.

bizidea

Will be heading to Queenstown so I'll put it on my list

barneygumble99

bizidea wrote: »

Will be heading to Queenstown so I'll put it on my list

I’ll send you some info later on today.

bizidea

Hydro attack looks good

bizidea

Thanks barney would appreciate that started to look at YouTube vids of things to do but there just seems to be so much to do you wouldn't know where to start

EagererBeaver

Fergburger so you can tell people you've been there. Milford Sound obviously. I loved Dunedin and the Otago peninsula.

bizidea

EagererBeaver wrote: »

Fergburger so you can tell people you've been there. Milford Sound obviously. I loved Dunedin and the Otago peninsula.

Milford sound on the list wiil be staying in Dunedin for a lot of the trip by any chance would anyone know anything about gold panning out there wouldn't mind giving it a go for a day

Caranica

In Dunedin you should try to walk up the world's steepest residential street, Baldwin Street. Looks easy but it isn't!

EagererBeaver

The three lakes on the way to Queenstown are pretty spectacular - Tekapo, Puhaki and I forget the third. There's an observatory beside Tekapo where you can do some incredible star gazing. The southern sky at night is stunning. You could also head to Mt. Cook. from there.

Wanaka and Arrowtown outside Queenstown are great too.

duffman13

Dunedin is a bit dull in my opinion, steepest street is about as good as it gets. Queenstown is obviously a hive of things to do, Franz Josef and Abel Tasman are two great natural spots for a bit of hiking and exploring. The glacier walk is brilliant.

Wasn't a fan of Christchurch myself, found it underwhelming compared to the other cities of NZ.

elbyrneo

Skydive in Queenstown (or Wanaka, slightly cheaper). Whale watching (sperm whales likely seen if time of year right) in kaikoura. Kayak in Milford sound. Heli-hike Franz josef glacier. Marlborough wine tasting. Hiking (tonnes!!).

North island neglected all too often. Bay of islands and swimming with dolphins. Tongariro crossing. Rotarua mud pools and geysers.

Enjoy (jealous!!!).

wirelessdude01

Whale watching in Kaikora (sp)

Gaia Mother Earth

Caranica wrote: »

If /when you go to Queenstown do the Hydro Attack shark. I'm not a thrillseeker so this was pushing my limits but I'm so glad I did it!

We did the shot over jet in Queenstown, that was cool too. We also did a sky dive there too. Lots of people do Bungy jumps but I wasn't brave enough!!

bizidea

Will be heading to wanaka and arrowtown and hopefully doing a bit of fishing on one of the lakes have accomodation sorted for some of the time is it expensive there to eat and do things what should I be bringing euro wise for 3 weeks

alchemist33

The west coast is bleak but memorable. Worth a bus trip or drive. Walking up franz josef was great too.

bizidea

Lol think I'd rather the bungee jump than jumping out of a plane and praying a parachute opens once they don't leave the bungee cord too long your sound

Ardent

We did mountain biking in Queenstown. It was pretty awesome with unbelievable views.

Gaia Mother Earth

bizidea wrote: »

Lol think I'd rather the bungee jump than jumping out of a plane and praying a parachute opens once they don't leave the bungee cord too long your sound

I think the safety of being strapped onto a rather hunky French guy took the nerves away from me. Ah takes it all back, I must dig out the photos of me looking like I have 2 enormous gob stoppers stuck inside my cheeks.

waterfaerie

duffman13 wrote: »

Dunedin is a bit dull in my opinion, steepest street is about as good as it gets. Queenstown is obviously a hive of things to do

That depends on what you're into. Dunedin is an amazing place in my opinion. If you like nature, there are a million things to do. I'd highly recommend going to see the albatross at Taiaroa Head, for one. It's also a great place to meet locals, go to gigs etc.

Queenstown is just a beautiful place that's packed full of tourists and Irish people. It's obviously the go to place if you're into the adventure sports. The scenery is incredible but you get that in so many of the more off the beaten track places, too.

3 weeks is not long enough to see the whole South Island properly. You should plan your route carefully and not try to do everything. Where are you flying in and out of? Will you be in a campervan / car with tent? What kinds of things are you into?

fits

I recommend driving south down the west coast. Westport to queens town. It’s an amazing drive. We loved mount cook. And glenorchy. Lots of hiking.

bizidea

Gaia Mother Earth wrote: »

I think the safety of being strapped onto a rather hunky French guy took the nerves away from me. Ah takes it all back, I must dig out the photos of me looking like I have 2 enormous gob stoppers stuck inside my cheeks.

To be honest I wouldn't fancy being strapped to a hunky French guy if it was a hot French lady noe that would be a different story lol

bizidea

waterfaerie wrote: »

That depends on what you're into. Dunedin is an amazing place in my opinion. If you like nature, there are a million things to do. I'd highly recommend going to see the albatross at Taiaroa Head, for one. It's also a great place to meet locals, go to gigs etc.

Queenstown is just a beautiful place that's packed full of tourists and Irish people. It's obviously the go to place if you're into the adventure sports. The scenery is incredible but you get that in so many of the more off the beaten track places, too.

3 weeks is not long enough to see the whole South Island properly. You should plan your route carefully and not try to do everything. Where are you flying in and out of? Will you be in a campervan / car with tent? What kinds of things are you into?

Flying into queenstown will be staying in wanaka for a while I'll probably rent a car was thinking of heading north and then down the west coast and seeing after that 3 months and you probably wouldn't see all the south island I'd say .into outdoor s bit of fishing maybe a bit of hiking after that I'm easy enough

waterfaerie

Flying into Queenstown will be amazing in itself for the view. Make sure you get a window seat.

I'd recommend this as a general route, although it's always worth detouring off the main road.



You could head all the way up towards Nelson either but it would add a lot onto the journey. The Nelson lakes are lovely, though, so it might be worth it.

To get to Milford you need to backtrack a lot but that's also worth it. Make sure you allow lots of time for that drive and stop in all of the DOC sites on the Milford Road from Te Anau. Milford itself is nothing compared to the stunning drive there and there are some great campsites along the way.

If you plan on camping (I'd recommend it) you should check out the DOC website. They have some amazing free or really cheap campsites.

If you're into fishing, hiking and the outdoors you'll love NZ. I'm getting really sad now!

Cookie_Monster

Cardrona Bra Fence, Bungie Jump at Kawarau Gorge, The Pillar of the Kings from LOTR is just across the road on an access road to Chard Farm Winery, try catch a super rugby game in Dunedin, drive the west coast, if you go up as far as Greymouth the rocks at Punakaiki 45km north are worth seeing
Shotover Jet Boat
Slower paced: The Earnslaw cruise in Queenstown, Dunedin Preserved Railway (http://www.dunedinrailways.co.nz/), Chch to Greymouth on the Tranz Alpine,

If you've got the cash to burn fly from Queenstown to Milford, expensive but incredible and you get there super early and avoid the packed boats. The drive is not fun.

opawaman

You forgot Nelson.