3/3/17 Dawn Princess Excursions

You all gave me great advice about Dunedin. I am posting our booked ship tours. If anyone knows of better, private tours or suggestions for other activities we would really appreciate it. We are really looking forward to this cruise.

Dunedin Nature's Wonders & Otago Peninsula

Taiaroa Head at the tip of the Otago Peninsula, Nature's Wonders, 8-wheel-drive Argo, Penguin Beach, brief city sights tour.

Akaroa Wildlife Cruise

Board the vessel "Into the Blue" with 6th generation skipper with fascinating commentary on a variety of interesting subjects. Onuku Maori marae, spectacular Cathedral Cave, fur seal colonies or Scenery Nook, pass by the Akaroa Salmon farm and Mussel farm.

Wellington Te Papa Museum & Cable Car

Te Papa Tongarewa, 111-year-old Wellington Cable Car, Cable Car

Napier Mohaka River Float Trip

Mohaka River to the rafting base to Titiokura Saddle mountain pass to the other side of the range to begin seven-mile grade 2 float trip through low canyons and native vegetation.

Tauranga Wai-o-tapu Valley & Rainbow Springs

2 hours at Wai-O-Tapu, active geothermal area,.drive to Lake Rotorua for lunch buffet cruise on Lake Rotorua. Rainbow Springs for a guided tour of awesome landscape.

Auckland Muriwai Gannet Colony & Country Farm

Muriwai Beach Gannet colony, family-run Haumoana Farm on South Kaipara Peninsula w/sheep dogs in action, sheep-shearing and barbeque buffet lunch is served overlooking Kaipara Harbour.

Bay of Islands Glow Worm Cave & Puketi Kauri Forest

Kawiti Glow-worm Caves, Kawakawa, Puketi Forest, and Kerikeri

Sydney Debark Tour - Spectacular Blue Mountains:

Featherdale Wildlife Park, Blue Mountains, village of Katoomba, 20 minute photo op at Echo Point, a lunch of Fish and Chips within the Scenic World complex and ride on the Scenic Cableway.

Thank you,

Debbie

Hi Debbie

For Akaroa, we did a private trip with this company,

https://www.akaroadolphins.co.nz/about/akaroa/

Looks to be the same as your ship booked one, it departs on the same wharf as the tenders come in.

We booked online, got an early tender, had a walk around the town, picked our tickets up from their office then did the cruise. The tender wharf is in the main street and everything is very walkable in Akaroa.

Check the prices compared to the ship tour, you may save a bit.

Wellington, the Cable car and museum are very doable on your own.

They run a free shuttle that takes you into the town where you can walk to the cable car, then walk to the museum and catch the cable car back. Pick up a local map, easy to do unless mobillity and walking are an issue. Check out googlemaps to get your bearings first.

I would keep your ship booked tour for Tauranga / Rotorua, and Dunedin.

Bay of Islands, if you want to have a tour free day, you can walk to the Waitangi Treaty grounds and Museum from where the ship tender to. From there, there is a free shuttle into the town of Paihia. They usually have some markets, and there are lots of tours on offer. We caught a ferry over to Russel, but there are helicoptor scenic rides etc, all bookable from their tour offices on the wharf.

I cant comment on Napier as I have been there as a cruise stop.

As chezandy said, in Wellington the shuttle bus drops (small cost for suttle) you around the corner from the cable car and from there it is a 5 minute lovely walk along the harbour front down to the Te Papa Museum which has free entry.

It has been a few years since I was there I hope it is still free.

These things will be marked on a map.

There will be lots of volunteers handing maps out in the cruise terminal as you get off the ship.

You can also walk down through the gardens from the top station of the cable car if flowers and rose gardens and glass houses are your thing.

New Zealand is a wonderful place to vist and we have really enjoyed our NZ cruises and driving holidays.

All the best for your cruise.

Just a quick note to say that Akaroa Dolphins put on a terrific tour! Just used them in Akaroa last month.

Get to the wharf early, as you can then get prime seating up front on the catamaran. Truly great day and great tour.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Cheznandy,

Akaroa Dolphins is the same tour I’m booked on with the ship. It is the morning tour and it’s sold out on their site. I can get tickets for the noon or afternoon tour directly with them. There is a difference in price but my husband is concerned that there might be a better chance of seeing wildlife a calmer waters in the morning.

After comparing the ship tour with the hop on hop off bus it looks like the museum they visit is free. Their shuttle is more of a van than a bus and having a crush of tour passengers in port can sometimes make it impossible to get a seat. We are good walkers and knowing that they are within walking distance really helps.

I really appreciate your suggestions.

Debbie

Hi Cheznandy,

Akaroa Dolphins is the same tour I’m booked on with the ship. It is the morning tour and it’s sold out on their site. I can get tickets for the noon or afternoon tour directly with them. There is a difference in price but my husband is concerned that there might be a better chance of seeing wildlife a calmer waters in the morning.

After comparing the ship tour with the hop on hop off bus it looks like the museum they visit is free. Their shuttle is more of a van than a bus and having a crush of tour passengers in port can sometimes make it impossible to get a seat. We are good walkers and knowing that they are within walking distance really helps.

I really appreciate your suggestions.

Debbie

Yes, keep your tour in the morning for Akaroa then if the cost difference isnt much.

You can then have a walk around the town afterwards:)

We were on the QM2 when we stopped at Wellington in 2011, The shuttles were large airconditioned buses and were free, so not sure if it was a Cunard thing;)

We took the tram up and back then walked to the Mueum. It is free to enter but there may be a charge for some tours and exibitions.

https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/

As stated above, it is a lovely walk along the harbour, lots of tourist and souvinir shops too!! There are bars and restaurants near the water for a break. The day we were there, there was a boat festival and races.

The NZ cruises are quite port intensive, so I would suggest either Bay of Island or/and Auckland to do you own thing, or pick up a tour in the port.

At Auckland you will dock right in the city, there are local and hop on hop off buses, day cruises you can book when you get there. It is a friendly easy city to wander around in.

https://www.fullers.co.nz/

In Auckland you dock very close to the ferries. (about 2 minutes walk away)

We have caught the ferry over to historic Davenport on the other side of the harbour and had a nice time walking around over there as well as a horse and cart ride tour which we paid the driver for (for memory about $10 each). I hope that the friendly older gentleman is still there with his horses.

I have always found in Auckland there to be lots of friendly volunteers ready to help with maps and information when you get off the ship.

Hi Debbie, Sorry to take-over an old thread but I was wondering if you ended up doing the "Sydney Debark Tour - Spectacular Blue Mountains"? If you did, could you tell me whether it finished at the airport or did it drop you back at the ship? The tour description on Princess says nothing about it. Thanks! Cathy

EDITED TO ADD: Never mind - Princess has gotten back to me and advised that the tour terminates at the airport! Hope you had a great trip!

I agree with the comments that Wellington and the Te Papa museum are very easy to do on your own. Another attraction that we enjoyed in Wellington is the free tour of Parliament House. A kiwi engineer designed a method to 'earthquake-proof' existing buildings. On the tour, visitors are taken into the basement of the old building where you can see how this is done.

Cathy,

We did do the Sydney Debark Tour to Blue Mountains and it does terminate at the airport. We had terrible weather...rainy and foggy...we couldn't see anything at Blue Mountain. We did have a great trip and hope you have one too.

Debbie

Cathy,

We did do the Sydney Debark Tour to Blue Mountains and it does terminate at the airport. We had terrible weather...rainy and foggy...we couldn't see anything at Blue Mountain. We did have a great trip and hope you have one too.

Debbie

Thanks Debbie! I've been to the Blue Mountains before so won't be terribly disappointed if we get rained out. I like the idea of a debark tour, something to counter the end-of-cruise-blues. :)