Let`s
start with ‘my place’ MOTUEKA. Do I
have to say anything about the accommodation!? Stay @ Bakerslodge (NZ`s best
kitchen). If you want a garden stay at The White Elephant
(not that central, kitchen and staff not half as good).
Motueka is the perfect starting point for the Able Tasman Nationalpark (Lynley
and Wayne help you planning your trip). Hot Mamas is nice to sit and drink a
vine. pooltables are everywhere else. You`ll find heaps
of life-concerts on the weekends. “Dorf-Disse-Dancing” is Saturdays
at the Gothic.
Don`t miss the Riverside-community. 5km out of town the
Go for a swim at the river, that`s fun (ask at Bakerslodge for the way to the
rocks).
13km
north of Motueka is my ‘home-beach’: KAITERITERI
You have to had a swim there! You`ll have a
great view and find funny signs on the little hill north of the beach (and while
you are there, say hello to the crazy kayak-guides Nick and Cy).
MARAHAU – start of
the Able Tasman Coastal track. Have a look at the Art-Café! good
wood-carvings…
ABLE
TASMAN NATIONALPARK : Bush with lovely
golden bays and tourquoise sea. My favourite parts are around
Kayaking: one day guided tours: Kaiteriteri-Kayak-Tours are fun. Able-Tasman-Kayaks
has the nicest lunch (amazing…), but probably
the best bargain is the Sea-Kayak-Company $75 (with yha-discount) includes
lunch and pick up.
Even better is a two day freedom rental!
[2004: the prices are not the same anymore and Able-Tasman-Kayaks charges $12
for the lunch now]
Stay @ Somerset House in COLLINGWOOD and say
hello to lovely Chris, the owner. It`s cosy, small and overlooking the bay,
plus free bread and breakfast.
Wharariki Beach is stunning wild (east of Farewell Spit) and if you have time
and a car, go all the way around the Whanganui Inlet to Anatori River (one hour
from the main-golden-bay-road)
MURCHINSON – Just
stop if you need ice-cream or want to go rafting with Ultimate Descents. That`s
the only reason to be in Murchinson. If you need to stay overnight, there is
even a backpacker (Paddel Packer – I didn`t check it, but the price was
$12).
You
don`t need to see
GREYMOUTH – industrial town, nothing special. Stay @ Noah`s
Ark, a lovely decorated hostel. Ask Colin where you find the Railway Hotel,
they have BBQ for $3 or eat as many sausages as you want for $5 (vergetarian
option: two dodgy veggie-burger - salad and bread that come
with it are okay). A nice Internet-Café is right next door.
FRANZ JOSEF – nice view, surrounded by mountains. Food is
expensive, so buy as much as you can in Greymouth.
Glowworm Cottage is in general okay, but the mattresses aren`t the best. There
for with Spa!
Take a torch and funny people with you and walk the glow-worm-valley-walk to
the Tartre Tunnels.
If you do a guided-glacier-walk, choose a full day trip. The half day one is
not worth it, you wont see the ice-caves and the
cappuccino-waves. The Guiding Company was good.
FOX
GLACIER even smaller. Ivory Towers has small dorms
without bunks. Spa. A good
Video-selection. The nice owner drove me to Gillespie Beach <- not
good to hitch, 20km unsealed road without much traffic, but it`s really worth
it… superb waves, driftwood, mystic! Have a look at the Goldminer Cemetry
on the way.
Lake Matheson must be nice, if it`s calm and not cloudy. Hire a bike and go for
a sunrise-trip!
On the
way further South, stop @ Knights Point and enjoy
another amazing view (and give the driver a break)
WANAKA – place
with flair. A little lake-town surrounded by mountains.
Mt Roy, 1581m, 6km out of town. Boring
way up, but superb view over the lake and Mt Aspiring. Guess the
Rob-Roy-Walk is better, cause you walk through forest,
see glaciers and mountains… 54km out of town.
Puzzel World – the maze is a challenge. $7 including
puzzles and exhibition-rooms. (yha-members get
golf for free)
Stay @ the Purple Cow (and say hello to Uli). All rooms with ensuite, nice
staff, cappu for a dollar and an amazing view to wake
up with…
Nightlife: Paddy`s Bar (irish with nice barkeeper) and Kingsway (pool and table
football)
Kai Whaka Pai – good to enjoy eating, drinking and a chat (flat white is
bad, but perfect yummy cake!).
For your fitness: mountainbike around the lake. I`d recommend the Outlet-track.
Go to the cinema. It`s really different!
Don`t
take the mainroad to Queenstown. The
QUEENSTOWN –
expensive and touristic, but if you don`t care about that, it`s quite nice. Lovely lake with romantic lights in the evening.
Gondola up-hill is good, but if you are not too lazy to walk an hour, you can
save $14 and you get the way back down for free. It`s well worth it to overlook
lake, town and mountains. You can observe crazy bungy-jumper (just the 47m
ones) or join the ‘cheapest fun-sport in QT’ and go for a double
ride at the Ludge (1x scenic + 1x rasant = $7.5)
Nightlife: hard to find a place without ‘kiwi-experience`s independent
travelers’ -> don`t go to the Casbah, if you don`t want to meet them! *Pog
Mahones – irish pub (really irish on march 17th, but probably still funny
if it`s not St. Patricks Day) *Chico`s – cosy cappu @ sofas next to the
fire *The World – crowded, if you hold on until 10:30pm you deserve (and
get) longdrinks for $3 or doubles for $4. Can be funny if you don`t take it to
serious. **Buff – small club next to the Bottleshop in
Accommodation:
YHA – too big, but okay, cause of lovely staff and beautiful location
right at the lake
Hippo Lodge – on a bitch of a hill, which nobody wants to climb with the
backpack and later on twice a day
Deco – crazy owner, a bit up a hill, but not too bad. Therefore you get a
pretty view
Thomas Hostel – central! 4 bed-dorm with ensuite
and more $18
TE
ANAU
is a small track-starting-town. Beautiful, but boring.
Bailiez has yummy vegetarian Tortillas and huge Burgers. Olive Tree looks
cosier. $1-drinks from 8 to 9pm @ the ranch.
Accommodation: Te Anau Backpacker Lodge – 6 bed-dorm with mini-kitchen
and ensuite (it`s worth-while to ask for Milford Room, that`s way better than
room 13 and around) Huge Spa for $3. Email for $2 for 18min. kitchen is pretty
okay.
YHA – clean and nice, best showers, not too big, yummy cake awaits
you…
Road to
Milford Sound Lodge: live music on Sun- and Wednesdays. Accommodation okay, not
more, but you don`t have a choice anyway.
MILFORD SOUND – quite impressive. After 10am
anoiing airoplanes, which show you how small and tiny you and even them are
compared to the huge mountains.
Milford Sound is a Fjord. Kayaking was nice. If you do it, invest $10 for a
lift back to Te Anau. Rosco knows a lot about the area and stops at the nice
spots.
MOSSBURN sucks. All the
cars go to QT and we had to wait 90min to go away from this spot (what for is
there a mark on the map?) You can survive, but it needs a party-candy-mix.
LUMSDEN everybody stops
there. Nobody knows why.
INVERCARGILL not that bad
like everybody says (just the story about the bad haircuts is true).The town is
nothing special, but life is what you make it and you can have fun in the
$2-shop (buy a gift for each other). Southern Comfort is an excellent
Backpacker, it`s a cosy villa.
Up-date 2004: they stopped charging university-fees to attract young people and
bring life into this town. As far as I could investigate it works and gets
busier and happier.
Island with nice little beaches. Absolutely
lonely. Short walks: Horseshoe track (officially closed, but who
cares?). More Information @ the Doc-centre, ask Ulva Amos! Justcafe
isn`t cheap, but good (no sugar-sachets to ripp. Just magarine)
Accommodation: Ann`s Place is lovely, small and perfect to relax peacefully. Go
for the Double-Bed (best mattress, we tried them all) for $12. 10min walk from
town.
Go to the service 10:30am on Sundays. It`s cute! And
we got to know about the teapots -> smile and enjoy life!
CATLINS – that`s
how I imagined NZ, when I first heard about it: really green hills, heaps of
sheep, plenty little bays… dolphins! Penguins at Nugget
Point. It`s worth-while to drive along the coast and take your time
stopping everywhere. McleansFall is a lovely 15min-Walk through
rainforest… I did this catlins-Coaster-trip from Invercargill to
I arrived in the evening and did the mistake to stay at the
There for is
The steepest Street in the southern hemisphere ->
Sara and me made it to our mission to find an
alternative to the penguin palace for you:
Next Stop Backpacker - one big room where you can`t hide. No atmosphere, but
table football.
London Lodge for $10 doesn`t exist anymore!
Adventure Backpacker – quite small dorms (starts with two beder) but
windows just in the roof (in some rooms) there for fire-place, pool, nice
kitchen- & living-area and very central… closest to the ARC
Nightlife: to start with you have to have a Flaming Lamborghini @ the TOAST
(they have more good cocktails as well). DE LUSSA is another small bar with
good DJs and drinks (fresh yummy orange-juice, but their White Russian wasn`t
good at all). Next door you`ll find the POP – a downstairs bar with style
courtyard and nice cocktails.
All the small bars close at 3am,
p.s. don`t forget to check out the Surfers at St. Clairs!
Between
Moeraki-Boulders -> nice place for a morning stop, 130km north of
OAMARU – looks boring, long and flat. I
got stuck between Oamaru and Omarama (less traffic), but it`s a nice valley. I
slept when we passed OMARAMA and didn`t see a lot of TWIZEL (there is nothing to
see anyway). The Road to
MT
COOK - food is expensive so buy the stuff you need before
you go there. I had bad weather and couldn`t go into the mountains – just
did the Bowen-Bush-Walk. Nice, but only 10min.
The YHA is a nice one, wooden building and small enough to be cosy (so book
ahead if you want a bed)
Go out at night to enjoy the shining snow in the darkness!
The
Nice staff (John) @ the
Accommodation:
YHA – superb view, kitchen okay, not too big, clean.
Tailor-made-Backpacker: no bunks! Dorms for $16 or triple,
twin or double for $18. friendly staff. Small and nice cause in three small houses. Neat!
TIMARU a pretty place. Okay to stay one night and
stroll around.
GERALDINE – a small
small place. All you can do is enjoy sun, bakery stuff and taste juice, jam
& co @ the Bakers (yummy!)
ASHBURTON – nothing special, but shops and loos to
stop on the way.
The
The best place for internet is either the Arts center ($3 per hour) or the big
email-center at the north-east corner of the square for $5 per hour plus a voucher for another hour for free (to use after 6pm).
Java Jones (Cnr Colombo and
Sophies Café (Papanui St) yummy vego-burger.
Eye spy (
Check out `the Package` to find out what`s going on.
Accommodation:
Yha city central – really central, clean, nice rest- and kitchen-area. But too big, unpersonal. Thin walls and far too many
Japanese folks! Expensive: $20 Dorm, Twin for $23 p.P.
Vagabond (10min to town). Not too big. Looks all right, but not too cosy (I
expected more after I heard a lot about it. To be fair i`ve to confess, that I
just had a short look, cause it was `no vacancy` anyway)
Charlies B Backpack - central and cheap. Okay for one night, but not more.
Kitchen is far too small for 150 people and the hostel isn`t clean ($12)
Stonehurst (next to Charlies) big dorms with fridge, but prison bunks. I saw a
pool, but couldn`t find atmosphere.
Occidental – quite central. Kiwi-experience.
Smelly bar and dark building with less windows – I
couldn`t look at the rooms, but didn`t like it anyway.
AKAROA – I haven`t been to Akaroa itself,
but Le Bons Bay is pretty and a boat-trip for $18 shows a dolphins and more
(departs 9am from the Backpackers)
Le-Bons-Bay-Backpacker is sooo homely. $16 for a dorm, a bit more for a double
– if you want it more romantic ask for one of the cabins -> honeymoon
pure with fantastic views! All with free breakfast.
They cook dinner every night, mostly seafood or vegetarian option for $10
(includes salad and dessert). Garden as far as you can see
and a huge wooden table for the family-we-eat-all-together-feeling. Take
a bath under the stars!
The French Farm (maybe
LYTTLETON – surrounded
by superb landscape: sea, hills and harbour. Just 15min to drive to ChCh. Crazy
bar “wunderbar” <- you have to see it. Unique!!!
HAMNER
SPRINGS – your way to Hamner will be excellent. it
goes through picturesque valleys. Hamner is pretty, but nothing is going on.
The springs are a fake and totally commercial – better go to the
Cebtianel (?) Pool in ChCh ($3 for yha-members includes sauna, spa and
steam-room) simple, but all you need.
There is just one hostel and that`s okay.
KAIKOURA
–
i like it. yes, it is small. but
lovely!
Heaps of tiny shops where you can spend your money.
The Dolphin Swim was just amazing. That`s worth-while the money (more than
anything else): you think you are alone with the dolphins and if they come
close, look in your eyes and swim around in circles with you. you`ll forget everything else. It`s just overwhelming and
stunning…
The Whale Watch wasn`t exciting. It`s more the
imagination – you don`t see more than a bit black in the sea. The seconds
as the whale lifts up his tail are stunning, but to pay $90 for it ?!? I definetly prefer the dolphins – very playful
if you entertain them.
Don`t miss the `Sonic`: nice staff, live-music…. Pizza with garlic,
spinach, sunflower-seeds, pepper, mushroom, tomatoes and cheese served with hummus.
The salad is nice as well ($4.5 large Pizza for $14). [2004: new owner, more
expensive, but still nice]
Craypot – a bit more expensive, but style. Sometimes
you deserve this luxury.
Accommodation:
Dusky Lodge - definetly one of NZ`s better hostels. clean, atmosphere, spa,
sundeck, good kitchen
YHA - nice view, but out of town
Planet Backpacker - central, one large dorm, okay for one night (kiwi
experience...)
up date 2004: Lazy Shag - new, very nice, superb kitchen, free internet
NELSON
-
Centre of
Don`t be lazy, walk up the hill and be in the geographical-center of NZ.
I never staied in Nelson as a tourist, but heaps of people told me, that it`s
really enjoyable.
Victorian Rose is a irish pub with fun. But there are
more places to go in town, just stroll along
I didn`t like the YHA, it`s very central and all right, but no atmosphere. Paradiso
has a pool, a spa and a garden and is, there for, a ten minutes walk to town. (the BBH brochure will help you to find more hostels...)
Plenty of Shops, a few second hand shops and nice cafes.
Don`t miss the church on top of the green hill... it`s nice to look at and the
park around it is nice to rest in.
BLENHEIM - nice for a lunch-break. Haven`t seen
much of it (just new world, mc-donalds-icecream and the petrol station), but
the town center looks neat.
If you
hitch from Kaikoura to Nelson, there is way more traffic along the road
Blenheim- Renwick- Havelock. The option via Picton and the scenic drive to
PICTON in summer: sleep
in the park and you`ll meet interesting people waiting for the 5am-Ferry. Picton
is a small town which lives from the ferry-passengers. But it`s quite nice!
There
are two ways to cross the