excursion help

[j!m]

we will be in auckland,wellington,christchurch and dunedin and are looking for private excursions

 

would appreciate any suggestions available

 

thanks

[Como Cruisers]

we will be in auckland,wellington,christchurch and dunedin and are looking for private excursions

 

would appreciate any suggestions available

 

thanks

 

Did Rhapsody in January. This is what we did:

Dunedin - hired car (Pegasus) went to Nature's Wonders (fabulous), Albatross Centre and toured city. Hubbies did Speight's Brewery tour and loved it.

 

Christchurch - walked around city, Botanical Gardens, went punting on Avon River (try to get Vincent who sings to you in Italian and Spanish - magic!)

 

Wellington - just went to city, Te Papa, wonderful museum.

 

Auckland - used free bus around city, went to top of Sky Tower

 

Car company brought the car to the dock which was a wonderful, convenient service.

[ConnMom]

I also recommend Nature's Wonders in Dunedin. We visited it as part of a private tour with Awesome Tours; it was our most fun port day on the cruise. The tour also included a brief tour of city highlights with time to climb the world's steepest street if you are feeling energetic, a drive by the Albatross Center to see Albatross, and a tour of Larnarch Castle. It was a full day with a great guide.

We also loved punting on the river through the Botanic Gardens in Christchurch and then doing our own touring on foot to other city highlights. We also took a city bus to the Gondola for great views of the surrounding area.

In Wellington, the Te Papa was great. We also enjoyed taking the cable car one way for great city views, and walked back down to the city through the Botanic Garden to the Parliament buildings as well as some historic churches, etc. We walked everywhere there, which was generally fine, but difficult toward the end of the day when we were tired and the winds kicked up.

In Auckland, the Auckland War Museum (only part of it is about war; it mostly focuses on culture and history with an excellent section on Maori culture) is an excellent museum. You could spend several hours there.

If you are in Auckland for more than one day, gong to the Bay of Islands is a great day trip. We took a tour bus, which included a very scenic drive, a tour of the Waitangi Treaty House and an afternoon cruise around the bay to the hole in the rock.

I hope you have a great trip.

[margord]

The Artic Cente in Christchurch was quite interesting.

[SheilaNC]

Do Christchurch on your own...take bus to the city, trams in the city, go to the botanical gardens, Cathedral, walk along and across the river, do the punt boats on the river, museums, Arts Center, flea market....lots to do at little cost in a lovely city. In Dunedin, we went to the Albatross center, Penguin Preserve, etc. They are several tour companies that do a good job...suggest you search this forum. Auckland is another do it on your own...take ferry to Devonport or one of the extinct volcanos, free red bus around the city getting on and off when you please, city bus for longer ride to see more, Wellington, don't miss the Te Papa museum, my all time favorite. take cable car up to the railroad museum - great picture taking at the top, walk down through the Botanical Gardens - see the lovely rose gardens and begonias in greenhouse, then wander through the government plaza area. Enjoy my favorite place on earth!!

[kiwijo]

There are some great private tour operators with full and half day tours in and around Wellington - have a look at http://www.wellingtonnz.com/sights_activities?filter0=&op=go&bookit=go&dateIn=16%2F04%2F2009 for local operators you can book online. If you've got a special interest, there's a good chance there'll be a tour for you - foodies, wine touring, beer, city sights, arts etc. We're all back star spotting again as The Hobbit goes into pre-production, so Wellington is a great place to do Lord of the Rings tours. And Te Papa is a standout - I was there at the weekend with friends which reminded me just how much there is to see. Hope you have a blast!