Travel Answers

Hi all!

I know New Zealand/Queenstown is stunning almost any time of year. But my partner and I are looking to head down for a photography trip this autumn so our question is simple but important to us: when is the best time to visit Queenstown in the autumn? We really want to see Q'town in the "true autumn" period (when everything's just a riot of orange, red and yellow). We also recognise that the period is fleeting and the timing may shift from year to year. But we just want to maximise our chances of being there when it does happen.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Specific times (eg. "second half of April") would be most appreciated.

For background, this will be our second trip. The last was this past November - and WHAT a gorgeous country.

Thanks so much in advance!

Has anyone tried Break One Clay Target shooting? I've always wanted to do that and it looks like a great time. Any tips or info much appreciated!

hello all I am looking for advice about hiring a car in Otago. My plan is to fly into Queenstown and out of Dunedin - ideally I'd like to hire a car at Queenstown airport and drop it off at Dunedin airport, but if that's going to be very expensive I might decide to drive back to Queenstown and drop the car off there. Any advice? I want to pay the lowest rate possible - am I crazy to expect that from a smaller town? Also, I am arriving the day before the long weekend in March, will that affect prices, do you think? thanks for any input Karin

Hello there I would like to travel all over the south island in this november and have no idea to pack how is the weather and would I need any equient or winter coat to visit glacier area? Cheers

Hi, my family of four (2 children aged 10 and 12), will travel to South Island in early Feb 2013. We would like to have a relax holiday without lots of driving in a day. I have made a preliminary schedule below and please comment if it is fine: ++++++ Feb 1 to 4: Stay in Queenstown to explore the Gondola and luge rides, beautiful views over Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu, Coronet Peak, The Remarkable and Arrowtown Feb 5: Checkout hotel in Queenstown and drive to Te Anau (2 hours) for old steam train at Kingston and take a short walk into the last part of the Kepler track to the Moturoa Hut. Feb 6: Check out hotel in Te Anau and drive to Milford Sound from 6 a.m. (2 hours) and take Mitre Peak Cruise for the cruise to Milford Sound. Accommodation in Milford Lodge. Joint canoeing through Milford Lodge. Feb 7: Half day mountain tracking in Milford Sound. Feb 8: Check out Milford Lodge, drive to Wanaka (5 hours) for Wanaka Lake and Puzzling World. Accommodation in Wanaka. Feb 9: Check out hotel in Wanaka, drive to Fox Glacier (3 hours) for Lake Matheson and some short walks near Fox Village. Accomodation in Fox Glacier. Feb 10: Join half day tour on Fox Glacier walk, then visit Franz Josef Glacier. Accommodation in Fox Glacier. Feb 11 Check out hotel in Fox Glacier and drive to Wanaka. Accomodation in Wanaka. Feb 12 Check out hotel in Wanaka and drive back to Queenstown for Route 6, Lake Dunstan, Cromwell, Kawarau Gorge, Glenorchy, Gibbstone Valley Wine Caves and tour. Accommodation in Queenstown. Feb 13 Fly back to Auckland. +++++++++++ Thanks a lot! It appears that the accommodation in Fox Glacier is very tight as many people will go there at that time. Once the above schedule is confirmed, I need to book the accommodation in Fox Glacier soonest possible. Thanks again.

Is it possible to view the sealions and seals in the Catlins during the day in August, or do they go somewhere else in winter? What about the penguins at Nugget Point and Oamaru? cheers

Hi, Me and my wife planing to go Queenstown & Chrischurch in early January 2013. We have planned to spent 10days over there. Our main interest on snow,mountain,lakes,falls.We will land Chrischurch first then go to Queenstown.We liked to hire a car but not sure from where it will be suitable in our journey. Could you please advise us what best interesting places we can visit during our tour.If you also please give us some tips on car hire and accommodation. Regards Ramkrishna

Hi, my friend and I are going to tge Otago/ Dunedin are for three months from beginning of July. We are Australian citizens so don't need a working visa, but can anyone please assist with websites to find accommodation or trustworthy recruitment agencies? Also is it Dunedin in the Otago region or is the whe area Otago and Dunedin is like a suburb? Silly question I know but I'm confused!! Is it nice? We were thinking there because with the Uni the rent looks cheaper and it's not on a fault line! Plus it looks oh so pretty..

We are a family of 9 (4 adults, 1 senior and 4 children between 8-15 years), from INDIA. We shall be arriving in Queenstown on the 12th May 2012, at about 4.00 pm or so, from Rotorua by the Air NZ flight. We are staying the night at Crown Plaza. The next day 13th, we have kept at free, before visiting Milford Sound on the 14th May and proceeding to Franz Josef on 15th May. What is you advise for us to do on our free day? Thanks sandeep garg

Hi All, My daughter and I are travelling to NZ at the beginning of March and have been going crazy trying to plan this trip.We arrive in Queenstown and depart from Christchurch and we have 10 days to fill in. There just seems to me to be too many beautiful places to see but time is limited so can anyone give us any suggestions please of what to see and do. We are planning on hiring a car from Queenstown and driving to Christchurch taking 10 days to do the trip. Any help would be much appreciated.

Is it possible to see the albatrosses flying about without joining the tour?

Hi, we are going to ireland v italy game on 2nd october( last minute tickets), we have a camper van but all campsites powered and unpowered seem to be totally booked up as well as any type of accommodation. can anybody help? We are more than happy to sleep in the campervan but know that we cant just pull up on the side of road. any help would be appreciated!Thanks!

My friend and I are 2 avid 65 year olds travelling to Dunedin for the game on October 2nd and would like a bed for the night please. Can recipicrate if you want a bed in Christchurch sometime. thanks a million, Shirley

We're hoping to visit Cairns, Sydney, Queenstown, and Fiji in late April to mid May 2012. I've checked weatherUnderground, and the "what to pack" section of several travel sites but I'm a bit confused. I'm used to dressing in layers but it seems that it rains frequently in OZ all year round. Is April/May really a bad time to travel? Or, would I still be comfortable in layers? Is the weather clear enough to take pictures? I live in Pennsylvania and am used to change of seasons. Are the changes in OZ more severe than here? Is NZ the same? Read more: VT Forum temporarily unavailable

Hi, My 3 friends and I are going to be in Dunedin for 1 night on the 2nd October for Ireland v Italy game and we can't find accommodation anywhere. Could someone reply if they know of anything going? Thanks in advance, Eamonn

Hello there! My partner and I are skiing/boarding in Queenstown from Monday 25 -Thursday 28 July and I was wondering if there are any recommended packages for ski/board hire and lift passes for Remarkables and Coronet Peak. I've been researching and have found some great rates for ski/board hire at Green Toad, but not having any luck with the actual lift passes... are there any good combo rates for both hire and lift passes? We've hired a car as well, but not sure we should drive to and from the mountains or if it's easier to just pay for the shuttle? Any advice would be very much appreciated!! Thanks from a fellow traveller, Rebecca

Hi, Is it advisable to go Milford Sound and LOTR during winter? Will the place be covered in snow? Will there be visibility issue? Any recommendation which agency shld I go with to these places? Thanks in advance!! Nora

Hi, Is it advisable to book for the day tour on the day I reach Queenstown? I'll be in Queenstown next week and still have not plan what to do on each day yet. Not too sure if I shld book later or book online now. Thanks in adv! Cheers, Nora

Hi, We are coming to Queenstown for a weeks skiing holiday in July and was wondering about ski and clothes hire for grown ups and kids. Cheers Pup018

Myself and my partner have booked our trip to South Island and are planning to drive around. I was wondering if it's safe to drive out of Queenstown during evening and to reach Christchurch early next morning? Our trip date is early-June.

I am doing all that is mentioned in the title. I was wondering if I am best to purchase some hiking shoes for the glacier hike or do most places allow you to hire them? Also am I best to take some surf shoes (shoes made out of wetsuit material) for the rafting? Your opinion would be appreciated. Angie

We will be going to the west coast, Franz Josef Glazier, etc, from Dunedin. Looking at the map, there are two possible routes. Which of these two is the fastest ? Going north, Dunedin-Palmerston-Ranfurly-Clyde-Cromwell-Wanaka ? Or going south, Dunedin-Mosgiel-Milton-Roxburgh-Clyde-Cromwell-Wanaka? Or is there any other fastest route ? From the map, the northern route passing thru Palmerston look shorter. But the shortest route may not be the fastest. Thank you. Khalid48 Malaysia

I'm visiting Dunedin next week by cruise ship and am just wondering how easy it might be to get to the Southern Cemetery from the cruise terminal please. My 2x great grandmother is buried there. We only have a day in port and of course we also want to go into the city. My last visit to Dunedin was in 1974, also only a brief stopover! Thanks very much for your help.

Is white water rafting on the shotover river in Feb a waste of time? I have read that river levels can be low so there are hardly any rapids. I don't want a calm peacefull ride

Can any one recommend a tour company for a tour to Milford Sound from Queenstown?. I'm interested in the Bus-Boat-Fly option. There seem to be a few different companies... all around550. Are there better tours than others Thanks

Gidday Just looking at planning a cycle tour along the Otago Rail trail in April 2011, have found plenty of info on the rail itself but as we would be flying into Queenstown I trying to find away to get from Queenstown to Clyde, Im am not sure of the distance involved but have been told its about 80-90 klms, I have found some info that there is a bus service that runs but nothing more that, does anybody know of a service that picks up in Queenstown and drops off in Clyde and for the return Middlemarch back to Queenstown, we would be bringing our own bikes as luggage. Would have to return to Queenstown for return flight, whether we would have to go via Dunedin then onto Queenstown? Many Thanks Thommo

I found this combo package that includes: * 4WD into Skippers Canyon * Photo stops + commentary * Skippers Canyon Jet boat Ride * Helicopter Flight from Skippers to Skyline (10 minutes) * 5 x Luge Ride * Gondola ride to town Adult: NZD$289 skipperscanyonjet.co.nz/comb... It is the only one that I have seen that goes to the canyon by 4wd. Is it good value, worth doing, would the helicopter ride allow us to see great views of queenstown?. Is this a reputable company?. Thank you.

I know it's cold at this time of the year. But is the dry cold or wet cold? I'm trying to gauge what toiletries we need to bring. Thanks.

Does anyone know the EXACT LOCATION of markets in Queenstown? I read that there are markets at the Arts Centre in Christchurch, Cathedral Square and others. Do they operate in the week or only on weekends? What do they sell? Market produce or something more? Thanks.

Hi, hope this isn't too vague. But I've been tasked to look for these two venues for our trip. I know one of the things we can do in Queenstown is the gondola. But does anyone know if there's only one location that provides the gondola activity? Because I'm looking for one that also has a restaurant, according to the description. Anyone knows the FAMOUS burger joint in Queenstown? I don't know the name though. Thanks in advance.