New Zealand in October - School me!

[Gatorubet 30184]

it’s about 90% sure I’ll have a week to 10 days in New Zealand starting about the fifth or sixth of October. 

I’ve wanted to go there for sometime and so I’m looking forward to the trip.  I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts on what I need to see and what I need to skip.

[Butch Had Not 2969]

Get a camper van. 

[Deej 76751]

Spring in NZ is fantastic. 

[Deej 76751]

I'm also going to warn you that that is not enough time. It takes a good week to get over the jet lag from that long flight and to adjust to the change in hemispheres. You'll be flying back right about the time you start feeling normal. 3 week minimum if you go.

[Mo Horn 8818]

2 minutes ago, Deej said:

I'm also going to warn you that that is not enough time. It takes a good week to get over the jet lag from that long flight and to adjust to the change in hemispheres. You'll be flying back right about the time you start feeling normal. 3 week minimum if you go.

The 2 times I flew to Australia and the one time to New Zealand I didn't have much issue with jet lag. You fly all night and get there in the morning. As long as I could stay awake that first day to at least 9:00 I'd get a solid 7 or 8 hours of sleep and then felt pretty adjusted. The next night was pretty normal. Now coming back was a different story. Some of the worst jet lag I've had was then. 

[Deej 76751]

The season difference fucked with me hard. Plus a week is not enough time in New Zealand. It just isn’t. 

[Blotto 23486]

I could happily spend 10 days in Queenstown alone. But I suspect its a lot more expensive than when I fucked around that area 20-ish years ago

In total, I spent close to 4 weeks in NZ and never made the north island other than a connecting flight to back to the states. If you're into hikes and outdoorsy shit, the south island is hard to beat. If you can get down to the Te Anau/Milford Sound  area to check out the fjords, do it.  Bonus points if the All-blacks happen to be playing in a major tournament at the time. 

[SeattleHorn 117]

New Zealand is only a 4 hour difference from Pacific time, so I didn't have much trouble with that. The season change was wild though -- we went in December and flipping from 8 hours of sun to like 16 was bizarre.

- Rent a camper van
- Don't take the bus or drive to Milford sound. It's nice but not that amazing, so it's only really worth it if you fly.
- We did a canyoning outing (put a wetsuit and hike in a stream at the bottom of a canyon) and it was great. Good activity for decently athletic people (I think the age range is like 10-60)
- Eat as many meat pies as you can
- Pretty random, but be on the lookout for deer farms as you drive around. Apparently they raise them for the felt on their horns. 
- If you're in the area, stop here and buy a bunch of raw salmon and eat it while looking out at the lake. 

[Deej 76751]

Best fish and chips in the world. 

[Deej 76751]

53 minutes ago, SeattleHorn said:

we went in December

The Great New Zealand Shutdown. When everyone is off work for a month for Christmas and New Years and it's summer. 

They do it right. 

[52-80 19142]

Highlights for me was whizzing around in a rental being in awe of how different the flora was to what youre used to. It was evocative of a textbook drawings of some dinosaur-era scenery. 

Visiting farms and trying sheep shearing and playing with adorable little lambs was fun. And then I found activities like ATV treks, mountain biking, things like that. 

Shit was definitely expensive though. 

[Deej 76751]

1 hour ago, 52-80 said:

and playing with adorable little lambs was fun.

[Mother mopar 3318]

Christchurch is phenomenal, take the ferry to the "mountains", just breathtaking.  I was there in Sept/Oct years ago and had a blast. Night life is legit and kiwis are a trip. 

Edited September 6 by Mother mopar

[Deej 76751]

When it's windy in Christchurch, though. Damn. Blue shed wouldn't stand a chance.

[Gatorubet 30184]

Thanks for the input.   The bad news is I can’t spend more than the 7 to 10 days I will be there.   Good news is the first class airfare and hotel is free - as a friend has business there and the employer comped a guest ticket.  

Don’t care. Will see New Zealand.  From what y’all said, I will consider this my exploratory trip for my next extended visit.