NZ fjords via Dunedin and Wellington?

Can't quite see how to sweep both Milford and Doubtful sounds into a
simple itinerary. With Freedomair service to Dunedin, that makes an
attractive southern starting point. Want to hit fjordland before
heading north towards Wellington, but catch22s seem to abound - any
ideas?

Dunedin has that Taieri Gorge historic railway which actually has a
shuttle extending to Queenstown. But Queenstown looks like a bad base,
because I'd have to redundantly travel the same 2 hours to Te Anau for
each fjord daytrip. Could take a coach from Dunedin to Te Anau, but
probably miss a lot of scenery and have to go to Queenstown anyway to
fly to Wellington?

So to get north out of fjordland, is a flight out of Queenstown the
main option? Looks like almost all flights require a change in
Christchurch, which I may not have time for. What does the Air NZ web
route map mean by having a dotted line connection between Queenstown
and Wellington; there seems to be no flights...

Well, those are poorly formed questions, but maybe there are
transportation alternatives that can be suggested (cheap and fast?)...

"(cheap and fast?)" are mutually exclusive!!

You can access Doubtful Sd from Invercargill too.

Personally I'd fly to Milford from Queenstown, then drive to Te Anau and on
to Doubtful!! But it would NOT be cheap!!




"dumbstruck" wrote in message
ups.com...
Can't quite see how to sweep both Milford and Doubtful sounds into a
simple itinerary. With Freedomair service to Dunedin, that makes an
attractive southern starting point. Want to hit fjordland before
heading north towards Wellington, but catch22s seem to abound - any
ideas?

Dunedin has that Taieri Gorge historic railway which actually has a
shuttle extending to Queenstown. But Queenstown looks like a bad base,
because I'd have to redundantly travel the same 2 hours to Te Anau for
each fjord daytrip. Could take a coach from Dunedin to Te Anau, but
probably miss a lot of scenery and have to go to Queenstown anyway to
fly to Wellington?

So to get north out of fjordland, is a flight out of Queenstown the
main option? Looks like almost all flights require a change in
Christchurch, which I may not have time for. What does the Air NZ web
route map mean by having a dotted line connection between Queenstown
and Wellington; there seems to be no flights...

Well, those are poorly formed questions, but maybe there are
transportation alternatives that can be suggested (cheap and fast?)...

In article . com,
dumbstruck writes
Can't quite see how to sweep both Milford and Doubtful sounds into a
simple itinerary. With Freedomair service to Dunedin, that makes an
attractive southern starting point. Want to hit fjordland before
heading north towards Wellington, but catch22s seem to abound - any
ideas?

Dunedin has that Taieri Gorge historic railway which actually has a
shuttle extending to Queenstown. But Queenstown looks like a bad base,
because I'd have to redundantly travel the same 2 hours to Te Anau for
each fjord daytrip. Could take a coach from Dunedin to Te Anau, but
probably miss a lot of scenery and have to go to Queenstown anyway to
fly to Wellington?


You can do what I did in reverse: go from Dunedin to Te Anau via the
Catlins and Invercargill. Then go Te Anau-Queenstown by coach. (I did
the reverse Te Anau-Invercargill-Dunedin). The Bottom Bus does this
journey Dunedin to Invercargill and it joins up with the Scenic Bus
Invercargill-Te Anau. It will take you all day but there are lots of
stops in the Catlins and various other places so you won't get bored.

There is also a small airfield in Te Anau which got very busy during the
summer so I suspect there are flights there.

--
JohnM

In article . com,
"dumbstruck" wrote:

Can't quite see how to sweep both Milford and Doubtful sounds into a
simple itinerary. With Freedomair service to Dunedin, that makes an
attractive southern starting point. Want to hit fjordland before
heading north towards Wellington, but catch22s seem to abound - any
ideas?

Fly to Queenstown, rent a car, drive to Te Anau and base yourself there. For
the Milford trip you can either go by bus or drive yourself, for the Doubtful
trip you can take the tour.

Te Anau is a nice town. Good motels, some good restaurants, nice scenery and
quieter than Queenstown. You could do some other things while you're there -
eg the Kepler Track and short hikes off the Milford road like Key Summit
(start of the Routeburn Track) and Marian Lake.

Geoff

--
Actually, I do have spots.

Dear dumbstruck

Can't quite see how to sweep both Milford and Doubtful sounds into a
simple itinerary. With Freedomair service to Dunedin, that makes an
attractive southern starting point. Want to hit fjordland before
heading north towards Wellington,

Easy! Through the Catlins to Invercargll, Tuatapere, stop at Manapouri
then do Doubtful Sound then up to Te Anau then in to Milford Sound and
back out to Queenstown.

I would recommend nights in the Catlins, Manapouri and Te Anau as a
minimum. A flight out from Milford to Queenstown would cap it all off!

Happy to help with booking the details if you like

Evan
Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track

Get off your bottom and do the Hump!

http://www.humpridgetrack.co.nz