NZ South Island Trip
Hey guys im going to head to NZ in July and was just after abit of info on a couple of the places i havent been yet.
My very rough itinerary consists of:
Flying to Christchurch, then heading out to board at Mt Hutt for a couple of days, staying in Methven. Now i havent been to Mt Hutt before or Methven, can anyone recommend good places to stay, eat, go out etc? (good value, nice people etc)
After that ill be catching a “naked” bus down to Queenstown.
Once there, ill meet up with a few mates, board and party for a week or so before heading to Wanaka.
My plan is then to stay at Wanaka for about a week and board at Cardrona and Snowpark. I havent been to Wanaka either so any advise would be wicked! 
From all reports its a top spot so im keen to check it out.
Ill then head back to Queenstown for some more fun. Then fly home.
Thoughts/ Comments? fire away.
Thanks in Advance!
I stayed in the YHA in Methven, Can highly recomend it it was great, cheap and central to the whole (small) town. I didnt actually get to ride mt hutt when i was there it was closed due to high winds :-(
That sucks about the wind man! I guess thats the risk in NZ, there’s no trees anywhere!
So YHA, you say. Ill look into it, cheers.
I stayed in the YHA in Methven, Can highly recomend it it was great, cheap and central to the whole (small) town. I didnt actually get to ride mt hutt when i was there it was closed due to high winds :-(
I cant seem to track that one down, in Methven, there seems to be ones in Wanaka and Q-town but nothing there? hmmmmm
Is it just you by yourself in Wanaka? If so then one of the youth hostels would probably do…but if it is a group of you, check out http://www.holidayhouses.co.nz and get yourself a pad. A group of us last year got a sick house and it only cost us about $22 each per night, so if there is a few of you, it could be an option. You could probably do that in Queenstown as well, maybe.
I love Wanaka and I am really in actual love with snow park. Been for a visit the past two seasons and am negging out big time that I might not be able to go, this year! It has the best vibe & has something for everyone.
sounds like a sick trip!
sweet as, cheers Cords.
In Wanaka we should have a fair crew so a house might be the go.
How long did you stay there last year?
Spewing you cant make it this year…
Mt Hutt is ok… but definitely not as good as the other mountains…
Personally I’d try to get 2-3 days in Wanaka for TC and Cadrona (the better 2 free ride mountains) then 3-4 days in Queenstown for Remarkables (Awesome park) and Concrete Peaks (goes to Ice in the arvo like Thredbo). Make sure you have a day in between to rest, 7 days straight of full day riding will definitely take it out of you!
Hey man,
When you stay in methven, there is a camp ground with cabins, this is where I used to stay when I was a student. I can’t remember where it is exactly but you’ll be able to ask at the blue pub (or anywhere else in town) which is in the center of town, and probably where you’ll be drinking that night.
Already been said but yeah, Mt Hutt or depending how you know it Mt Slutt or Mt Shut definitely isn’t the best mountain in NZ. If you get the chance, try Porters, which is in the same area as Hutt basically.
sweet as, cheers Cords.
In Wanaka we should have a fair crew so a house might be the go.
How long did you stay there last year?
Spewing you cant make it this year…
Was there for 2 weeks last year and 10 days the year before. The first year we stayed in Queenstown. We visited snow park and had so much fun - we then ended up driving there every single day except for the day we went to Heli-park!
Last year we were in Wanaka the whole 2 weeks. Treble cone, in my humble opinion, is only worth visiting if there is some fresh & if the wind is favourable. If it snows, get up there really early to avoid the crowds. Cardrona is a fun mix of slopes and park, but the park is definitely aimed at the advanced riders. It also seems to be a lot more susceptible to the weather than Snow Park, even if they are on opposite sides of the valley. I’ve had bluebird days at snowpark when Cardrona has been closed.
Remarks is the pick for sure in Queenstown, as TJ says. A good place to go if there is fresh while you’re in Q-town.
Hey man,
When you stay in methven, there is a camp ground with cabins, this is where I used to stay when I was a student. I can’t remember where it is exactly but you’ll be able to ask at the blue pub (or anywhere else in town) which is in the center of town, and probably where you’ll be drinking that night.
Already been said but yeah, Mt Hutt or depending how you know it Mt Slutt or Mt Shut definitely isn’t the best mountain in NZ. If you get the chance, try Porters, which is in the same area as Hutt basically.
Heaps of good info there, it seems the consensus is to skip hutt. I might just do 2 days there before road tripping it to Q-town. Im thinking ill be driving now (as in hiring a car) instead of busing it. more freedom to explore.
Ill definitely check out porters.
Thanks!
I recommend Affordable car rentals in christchurch. They accommodated us flying in and flying out at all hours. We got AWD wagons and they were the cheapest I found after a lot of research (and not nasty!)
I will recommend juicy car rentals, cheapest cars in aus/NZ. plus you get a free pass to treble cone each day you hire with them I believe http://www.jucy.co.nz/special-offers/ski4free.aspx
Jucy seems cheap on the outset but it doesn’t end up like that with additional costs. I spent many, many hours doing research on this. The other good one is shoestring rentals.
if you get the budget car then it works out cheapest. got it last year. I also did a lot of research on the car rental topic and juicy is by far the cheapest from what I looked at
Juicy, cheap and nasty!
I cant remember who i got my car through the last 3 years, but it was decent price for a 4wd (which i think is a must if less experienced drivers are with you i.e. my gf)
cheap but not nasty. . . If I was going to NZ this year I would be going with them for sure. When we went to mt hutt from christchurch we hired a car with hertz and it was 450 for two days. It was 450 for the week at queenstown with juicy. You dont need a 4wd for remarkables, coronet and cardrona. But mutt hutt is maybe for the 4wd plus if you are under 21 or on your p plates other companies will bump up insurance prices and excess prices because of this. Juicy doesn’t.