AKL and beyond for a week

[munitalP]

Dan, most of the things mentioned so far IMHO are tourist traps in NZ... Knowing your love of adventure, this is what I would suggest you do... (I can show you pics of it all )

Day 1. Arrive in AKL / cab to somewhere in town, have a bit of fun during the time left, Notzacs bars are on the mark, also, theres a couple of extremely good spots on the North Shore as well as Newmarket.

Day 2. Take the ferry to Great Barrier Island - ~75km from AKL. Hiking, diving, whale watching, exploring the area - awesome rugged island unspoilt mainly by man. Tryphena has a good selection of eco-motels and the like.

Day 4. Ferry back to the mainland. Hire car and drive south to Waitomo, ~3 hrs, start with a tour through the glow worm caves, stay local at the hotel

Day 5. Black water rafting at Waitomo - BRING IT ON!!! Drive to Taupo, ~2 hrs. Enjoy some excellent dining in Taupo, go evening Trout fishing on the lake

Day 6. Drive south to National Park, check into the SKOTEL or if the finance's are good, the Chateau. Go up the mountain for the view. Enjoy the bars and dining at the Chateau

Day 7. Take the track from the Chateau and up and over the Tongariro as suggested by previous post - make sure you have some good boots and take a towel - there are hot springs on a northern facing slope with views forever, if in winter, you can push snow into the pools to get the best temperature - yep, seriously! You will need 2 days and you can arrange a pick up at lake Rotoira

Day 9. Drive to Whakatane with a stop in Rotorua to have a look at the Geysers and mud pools and take in a bit of Maori culture, ~ 5 hours drive in total. Whakatane has great motels and great restaurants - I suggest eating at the Whakatane Big Game Fishing Club

Day 10. the highlight of the break - take a tour to White Island - an active volcano approx 60km off shore - this is a must do in your life!

Day 11. Drive back to AKL and home.

Mr!

 

[Keith009]

Well, it seems someone spent most of their time at Courtenay Place.

And not much time elsewhere

Well yeah, what's the point otherwise?

 

[MissBurrill]

Day 11. Drive back to AKL and home.

We can drive home from Auckland? Sweet! No need to rent a car. We'll just drive mine there.......

Fantastic suggestions. Lucky person who gets to holiday with Flashware.

 

[anat0l]

We can drive home from Auckland? Sweet! No need to rent a car. We'll just drive mine there.......

Whoa! You got an Aqua-Car? :mrgreen:

Lucky person who gets to holiday with Flashware.

You're talking about Flashware travelling in J, right? just kidding

 

[tuapekastar]

Thanks for the great suggestions Chris!

So should I be going to/fro Auckland for each of the places, or start in Auckland.... then go from place to place, and then make our way back to Auckland?

Whatever you do decide to do, don't try and see 'too much' in one trip (unless you really like driving)! It's so easy to try and take in too much...

 

[MissBurrill]

Whoa! You got an Aqua-Car? :mrgreen:



You're talking about Flashware travelling in J, right? just kidding

Chitty chitty bang bang!

 

[Flashback]

Thanks Mr! That's quite a trip you've put together! Will we survive booking accommodation as we go, or best to book ahead?

Whatever you do decide to do, don't try and see 'too much' in one trip (unless you really like driving)! It's so easy to try and take in too much...

Start to read anat0l's TR from the EuroMegaTrip.... you'll see that I'm more than capable of doing it that way

Yes, karens will be the lucky suitor cohabiting with me on this trip

 

[MissBurrill]

Yes, karens will be the lucky suitor cohabiting with me on this trip

Will you be old enough to rent a car then?

Gotta dash back to work. Oh well, I get tomorrow afternoon off.

 

[Flashback]

Will you be old enough to rent a car then?

Gotta dash back to work. Oh well, I get tomorrow afternoon off.

Yep! Turning a quarter century on Easter Sunday

 

[anat0l]

Yep! Turning a quarter century on Easter Sunday

Old! :mrgreen:

Will you be old enough to rent a car then?

He'll be old enough to rent a car without having to pay the 25-years-and-under surcharge. That's the main thing.

 

[Flashback]

Old! :mrgreen:

He'll be old enough to rent a car without having to pay the 25-years-and-under surcharge. That's the main thing.

25 and under... sounds like if you're 25, you still have to pay it then? Looks like karens is renting......

 

[QF WP]

Flashware and karens, there have been some excellent suggestions here. Not sure what both you like, but munitalP seems to think he knows, so I'll go with him.

Mrs LW and I (with a young mini LW #1) did a 7-10 day trip to AKL and down to WLG in 2008 - I'll dig out my notes and see what we did.

 

[anat0l]

25 and under... sounds like if you're 25, you still have to pay it then? Looks like karens is renting......

Come to think of it, some enforce it for 25 and under, and some are just for under 25s. You'll have to check the agreement beforehand on the web.

You can also use some special corporate codes and that'll eliminate any age bias whatsoever.

 

[MissBurrill]

25 and under... sounds like if you're 25, you still have to pay it then? Looks like karens is renting......

You calling me OLD Flashware? I will get on the next flight to Perth and punch you if you are. It would be worth going AWOL just to hit you right now. :evil:

 

[Flashback]

Come to think of it, some enforce it for 25 and under, and some are just for under 25s. You'll have to check the agreement beforehand on the web.

You can also use some special corporate codes and that'll eliminate any age bias whatsoever.

Yeh, when I was up in KTA a few weeks ago I rented a Landcruiser (rented and paid for by the company that sent me up) and the person didn't even flinch when I produced my ID showing me as being 24...

 

[Flashback]

You calling me OLD Flashware? I will get on the next flight to Perth and punch you if you are. It would be worth going AWOL just to hit you right now. :evil:

I'd like to see that. And no, I wasn't.

 

[Mal]

Auckland is a good base for day trips over a good portion of the North Island, but like has been commented, it really is a "short visit" town.

(Auckland to Wellington for example is 8.5 hours each way - so it isn't a day trip!)

Have a look at AA Maps - New Zealand Maps, Addresses, Businesses, Driving Directions and the other parts of AA NZ for some good ideas.

This thread already contains most of the ideas I would be suggesting, so can't really add to it.

 

[jesnz]

Auckland is a great city but the very centre (Queen St) is not much Parnell (great market on Sat am) and Ponsonby are more interesting suburbs ot explore. Other things woth doing in Auckland are: drive along Talaki Drive to St Heliers, catch a ferry over to the marine suburb of Devonport, cath a ferry to one of the Islands e.g Rangitoto or Waiheke, and finally a visit to one of the wild westcoast beaches such as Piha - dropping off for some winetasting on the way.

3 Days in Auckland would be plenty. North of Auckland the Bay of Islands (4-5 hrs) are great however April is not the best beach and boating time. If you want coatal scenrey Coromandel Peninsual 2 hrs awway would be a better bet. You could then go on to the thermal areas and Maori culture of Rotorua. Past Rotorua is Taupo with its lovely lake and 1.5 hrs from Taupo is Hawkes Bay. Hawkes Bay has many wineries lovely scenery and great food. April would be the end of Harvest, always a fun time. Napier is a lovely small town with many delightful Art Deco buildings - a consequence of the 1931 Earthquake. We stayed in a lodge in the Esk Valley about 15 mins from Napier and it was lovely. There is now much south of Taupo thats really worth the effort, though Wellington is a lovely small city. Equally the west coast does not have much to offer the tourist other than Waitomo glow worm caves. It is about 5 hrs drive from Napier back to Auckland, but if you had time you could head north and come back via Gisborne or through the scenic Waikaremoana route.

 

[futaris]

Other things woth doing in Auckland are: drive along Talaki Drive to St Heliers...

Tamaki Dr.

 

[QF WP]

You calling me OLD Flashware? I will get on the next flight to Perth and punch you if you are. It would be worth going AWOL just to hit you right now. :evil:

Oh no, he wouldn't dream of doing that karens...I'm sure he was merely stating the obvious that you are older than him and aged 25, so there aren't the excesses...

How am I doing Flashware?

P.S. Watch out Flashware, I heard she was in the army....