Whakanaka to Napier.

In article , JohnM says...
Incidentally, I don't intend to drive (that's how I will save the
money). I will be going mostly by bus or even backpacker bus (if I
must). I may on occasion rent a car. I will be alone and I am not happy
driving alone in remote areas. Do you think I will lose a lot by not
driving?

If you have the time to go by public transport, probably not a lot. New
Zealand really only has two industries - one is farming, the other
tourism, and you can get around almost anywhere without too much hassle.
You also get to meet a lot more people than if you drive where your
fellow travellers are usually just blurred faces in speeding windows.

Your needs are greatly different from mine, where I had two weeks to
travel the whole island with a wife and two teenagers. I like driving,
especially on New Zealand's scenic and uncrowded roads, so I had a lot
of fun, and it was the cheapest and most convenient option.

Current thinking is - made them 10 weeks.

for North Island

Week 1 Auckland
Week 2 Northland, rtn to Auckland
Week 3 Waitomo/Rotorua Whakatana/Gisborne
Week 4 Napier/ Taupo
Week 5 Taupo-Wellington.

for South Island

Week 1 Picton/Nelson/Kaikoura/Cristchurch
Week 2 Greymouth/glaciers/Queenstown
Week 3 Queenstown/Te Anau/Invercargill
Week 4 Stewart island/Dunedin - fly to Wellington
Week 5 Wellington-Chathams-Auckland.

Now I don't know if I should include Stewart Island and especially the
Chathams. Point is, I am interested in the Moriori and all that. Have
you been to the Chathams, Peter?

--
JohnM

Greeting John -

Multiple trips have brought me to say that, with careful planning,
most areas of NZ can be experienced, if one has 2 months. That said, I
do not mean that it will be in any great depth, but it will provide
enough information that future visits can be made knowing how much
depth you want to give to any specific area. Remember that you can't
do everything and compromises will be needed, therefore I suggest that
you drop Chatham Islands from your plans. My recommendations a

You can cover Northland in 3-4 days, especially if you do not include
Cape Reinga. You should include Hauraki Gulf islands - at least a day
trip to the Tiritiri Matangi Island nature reserve. A trip to Great
Barrier Island would take up at least 3 days, so you might want to
save that for another time, but it is a great place to experience.

For your third week, I suggest Auckland - Thames - Coromandel -
Whitianga - Tauranga - Rotorua - Whakantane - East Cape - Gisbourne.

Fourth week - Napier/Hastings - Taupo - then Hwy 1 to Palmerston North
then east through the gorge to Woodville and then south on Hwy 2 to
Wellington.

Week Five - Wellington area

Week Six - Picton - Nelson - then Hwy 6 to Queenstown via Westport,
Greymouth, Franz Josef, Wanaka.

Week Seven - Queenstown - Te Anau (I assume Milford or Doubtful Sound)
- Tuatapere - Riverton - Invercargill - Stewart Island.

Week Eight - Stewart Island - Invercargill - Catlin coastal route to
Dunedin - Oamaru - Christchurch.

Week Nine - Christchurch area

Week Ten - Wellington - coastal highway 3 and around Cape Egmont to
New Plymouth - Waitomo - Auckland.

There are many lesser known places to experience along these routings
that a good guidebook, such as Lonely Planet, can suggest. If you have
specific questions, email me.

Charles
nzvideos.org

Current thinking is - made them 10 weeks.

for North Island

Week 1 Auckland
Week 2 Northland, rtn to Auckland
Week 3 Waitomo/Rotorua Whakatana/Gisborne
Week 4 Napier/ Taupo
Week 5 Taupo-Wellington.

for South Island

Week 1 Picton/Nelson/Kaikoura/Cristchurch
Week 2 Greymouth/glaciers/Queenstown
Week 3 Queenstown/Te Anau/Invercargill
Week 4 Stewart island/Dunedin - fly to Wellington
Week 5 Wellington-Chathams-Auckland.

Now I don't know if I should include Stewart Island and especially the
Chathams. Point is, I am interested in the Moriori and all that. Have
you been to the Chathams, Peter?

--
JohnM

Greeting John -

Multiple trips have brought me to say that, with careful planning,
most areas of NZ can be experienced, if one has 2 months. That said, I
do not mean that it will be in any great depth, but it will provide
enough information that future visits can be made knowing how much
depth you want to give to any specific area. Remember that you can't
do everything and compromises will be needed, therefore I suggest that
you drop Chatham Islands from your plans. My recommendations a

You can cover Northland in 3-4 days, especially if you do not include
Cape Reinga. You should include Hauraki Gulf islands - at least a day
trip to the Tiritiri Matangi Island nature reserve. A trip to Great
Barrier Island would take up at least 3 days, so you might want to
save that for another time, but it is a great place to experience.

For your third week, I suggest Auckland - Thames - Coromandel -
Whitianga - Tauranga - Rotorua - Whakantane - East Cape - Gisbourne.

Fourth week - Napier/Hastings - Taupo - then Hwy 1 to Palmerston North
then east through the gorge to Woodville and then south on Hwy 2 to
Wellington.

Week Five - Wellington area

Week Six - Picton - Nelson - then Hwy 6 to Queenstown via Westport,
Greymouth, Franz Josef, Wanaka.

Week Seven - Queenstown - Te Anau (I assume Milford or Doubtful Sound)
- Tuatapere - Riverton - Invercargill - Stewart Island.

Week Eight - Stewart Island - Invercargill - Catlin coastal route to
Dunedin - Oamaru - Christchurch.

Week Nine - Christchurch area

Week Ten - Wellington - coastal highway 3 and around Cape Egmont to
New Plymouth - Waitomo - Auckland.

There are many lesser known places to experience along these routings
that a good guidebook, such as Lonely Planet, can suggest. If you have
specific questions, email me.

Charles
nzvideos.org

You will see Whangarei when you visit Northland.


I would suggest reducing weeks 4+5 into 1 to free an additional week for
the
South Island. Probably by deleting Taupo and drive to Wellington

Taupo includes the Tongariro crossing which I want to do. This is one of
NZ UNESCO sites. It only has three: Tongariro, Fjordland and the
Antarctic Islands where you can't really get to (at least you can go to
the Chathams).

As Peter notes, I am missing Waikato and Wangarei, Mount Taranaki...

--
JohnM

On Sun, 17 Oct 2004 19:37:11 +0100, JohnM
wrote:


What is the best way to go from Whakanaka (White Island) to Napier?
Is it the coastal route via Gisborn or the inland route via Rotorua and
Taupo. I was thinking of going to Rotorua then Whakanaka then Napier
then Taupo.


Some links for you:

http://aatravel.co.nz/map/about.shtml

http://www.infocus.co.nz/default.asp

http://www.franzjosefglacier.com/trips.html

http://www.queenstown-nz.co.nz/information/Activities/

http://www.west-coast.co.nz/

http://www.nzyourway.com/default.asp?lang=english

On Sun, 17 Oct 2004 19:37:11 +0100, JohnM
wrote:


What is the best way to go from Whakanaka (White Island) to Napier?
Is it the coastal route via Gisborn or the inland route via Rotorua and
Taupo. I was thinking of going to Rotorua then Whakanaka then Napier
then Taupo.


Some links for you:

http://aatravel.co.nz/map/about.shtml

http://www.infocus.co.nz/default.asp

http://www.franzjosefglacier.com/trips.html

http://www.queenstown-nz.co.nz/information/Activities/

http://www.west-coast.co.nz/

http://www.nzyourway.com/default.asp?lang=english

In article , Neil Raines
writes
You will see Whangarei when you visit Northland.


Damn those names... I met Wanganui. Thank you Neil. I had better sort
out my Whakanakas from my Whakatanes and my Whangareis from Wanganuis.
Incidentally, whatever possessed those missionaries to transcribe the
Maori F-sound to Wh ? The French over in Tahiti did it better IMO.

--
JohnM

In article , Neil Raines
writes
You will see Whangarei when you visit Northland.


Damn those names... I met Wanganui. Thank you Neil. I had better sort
out my Whakanakas from my Whakatanes and my Whangareis from Wanganuis.
Incidentally, whatever possessed those missionaries to transcribe the
Maori F-sound to Wh ? The French over in Tahiti did it better IMO.

--
JohnM

In article , texan.usenet@te
xas.removethisbit.com writes

-- snip snip --

Thanks. having a look, will return.

--
JohnM

In article , texan.usenet@te
xas.removethisbit.com writes

-- snip snip --

Thanks. having a look, will return.

--
JohnM