Let’s start planning my NZ 14 trip!
Ohh yeah, while I think of it!!!!!
If ya end up drivin to Milford, they have Kayak Tours of the fjord, and while I didn’t do it, I saw a group that were while we were there, and reckon it’d be pretty cool!!!!!
Just incase ya weren’t aware of it?????
There’s a big Supermarket right near the Airport in Queenstown too, so you can stock up on cheap food items that’ll keep ya budget lookin better!!!!!
Not sure about grocery prices/options in Wanaka though????? Jez can answer that one!!!!!
As for eating out/fast food, there would have to be 20 times the options in Queenstown as opposed to Wanaka, so there’s bound to be quite a few cheaper options there as well!!!!!
Is the quote for ya flights the same of ya swap the arrival/departure around?????
Cheers mate. If I do fly into Christchurch I’ll need to find a supermarket option early as well as I might need to buy bedding for the van if I can’t fit it in my luggage.
I don’t mind spending $$ if the food is good! I’ll probably DIY cereal for breakfast and hopefully on snow lunch is a little more Japan than Oz! Dinner is my reward at the end of the day but from everything I’ve read I should just be having fergburger every night for 2 weeks 
Yeah mate that’s what I tried with the flights and it’s $200+ more flying into QT and out of Chr than the other way around.
Ohh yeah, while I think of it!!!!!
If ya end up drivin to Milford, they have Kayak Tours of the fjord, and while I didn’t do it, I saw a group that were while we were there, and reckon it’d be pretty cool!!!!!
Just incase ya weren’t aware of it?????
Sounds right up my alley! Probably very cool if you fall in! I’ve only had a chance to flick through the brochure (which actually looks pretty decent) but it’s little nuggets like this that will easily fill my days.
Once I make a decision on where I’m flying in to I should be able to knock up a course to drive fairly quickly from there it will be the fun bit of filling in the must see/do’s!
Like I mentioned before, Atlas Beer Cafe is good for a feed, along with Hikari!!!!!
I also hit The Bunker for an upmarket feed that was top notch, but maybe a little too exxy for you????? The Cow was also good!!!!! Kebab joint in Wanaka was good, and the Cardrona Hotel is worth a feeding at also!!!!! Plus a couple of glasses of Speights!!!!! Prob a good place to sleep in the van o’night too, as its also close to the entrance to Cardrona Resort for the mornin!!!!!
But yeah, Fergburger and its co business Fergbaker are easy options!!!!!
Pretty sure the group I saw on the Kayaks had Dry Suits on too????? Don’t quote me on it though!!!!!
If Cheese, Wine, Bread is an interest, go to the Cheesery in the Gibston Valley, and a drive that’s worth doin for a couple of nice views out to Cromwell!!!!! (It’s the road that leads around the valley to Wanaka, so this is an option for when you’re without chains)
How did I not know about this place when i was there last year?! Cheese, wine and bread are three of my favourite things ever!
Flights to NZ seem really expensive lately. We went last year in July - flew out during Australian school holidays and flew back during NZ school holidays and it only cost us about $450 return with Qantas and Air New Zealand cos we got sales fares. It was a bit cheaper cos we flew in to Auckland and out of Christchurch (about $180) but even then the flights out of Queenstown were only about $250. I’ve been checking out prices for next year cos we are looking at going in uni break (probs mid July) and flights seem to be around $600-$700 return. I’ll be keeping a look out for sale fares again between now and July!
Hopefully the snow next year is as epic as this year, if so you’ll be sweet for plenty of boarding! We got there around the 12th July and there was an abundance!
the cheap jetstar flights go on sale in march, I think. Pretty sure last time we went (2011) we got return from sydney to c-church for $220
We paid under $300 SYD>QT>SYD!!!!!
If Cheese, Wine, Bread is an interest, go to the Cheesery in the Gibston Valley, and a drive that’s worth doin for a couple of nice views out to Cromwell!!!!! (It’s the road that leads around the valley to Wanaka, so this is an option for when you’re without chains)
How did I not know about this place when i was there last year?! Cheese, wine and bread are three of my favourite things ever!
Yeah at the Cheesery I had one of the best freshly baked baguettes that I’ve ever eaten!!!!! 
And if ya follow the road all the way through the valley to Wanaka, you’ll come across a heap of vineyards that each have a cellar door, plus one joint (Can’t remember the name at the mo, but it’s next to the Car Museum) that has most of the local wines all under the one roof!!!!! Really friendly staff in there as well!!!!!
Flights to NZ seem really expensive lately. We went last year in July - flew out during Australian school holidays and flew back during NZ school holidays and it only cost us about $450 return with Qantas and Air New Zealand cos we got sales fares. It was a bit cheaper cos we flew in to Auckland and out of Christchurch (about $180) but even then the flights out of Queenstown were only about $250. I’ve been checking out prices for next year cos we are looking at going in uni break (probs mid July) and flights seem to be around $600-$700 return. I’ll be keeping a look out for sale fares again between now and July!
Hopefully the snow next year is as epic as this year, if so you’ll be sweet for plenty of boarding! We got there around the 12th July and there was an abundance!
Hmm so going by that $574 for direct Syd>CHC then QTN>Syd (with both flights in the NSW school holidays) may not be too bad? I can actually get Sydney to Christchurch return for $394 right now (Emirates/Qantas).
Yeah an abundance of snow sounds good to me! Will likely be my first time on the snow since the shred!
the cheap jetstar flights go on sale in march, I think. Pretty sure last time we went (2011) we got return from sydney to c-church for $220
Thanks cords. Was that school holidays and with baggage?
with baggage but late july/early august, not school holidays.
Azz did a trip report from our trip there in 2011, have a look at it. Actually there’s good stuff in that thread from a lot of people…
here
We’ve been to Wanaka, QT, stayed at both for extended time. Been to pretty much all the mountains, done all the stuff you guys speak of. We could happily move there tomorrow. Actually we would be pretty damn excited about it too.
Wanaka is totally awesome,just love it.
QT is amazing. Quite like the Goldy, but inland, with many many international tourists, BUT that being said, there are so many things to do…. and most of them don’t involve a heap of $$
Driving is fine, the hire vehicle situation is pretty easy and inexpensive and I’m sure that if you get a Juicy or equivalent they can do linen hire as well. There’s a supermarket pretty near the airport in CCH, maybe 5km away towards town. The supermarkets are pretty awesome. Pick up a card at the checkout, and you’ll get discounts along the way too. Kind of like a woolworths card (which doesn’t work), when you get to the checkout, it discounts certain products.
We have always self catered over there when we can, and actually sometimes you have to, as there’s a lot of nothing on some of those drives.
You haven’t mentioned any of the club fields. Mt Hutt can be amazing, but it isn’t called Mt Shut for nothing! There’s Porters, and a whole heap more out there with amazing drives to get to them (let’s face it, it’s all gorgeous). Have a look at them, please!
How would you get down to QT if you drove? It’s a fair drive, any way you do it. Took us about 8 hrs in summer from memory, and we went up the middle. The east coast road is probably the least attractive driving experience, busy, slow, bad drivers….
The most embarrassing thing for us was getting hauled aside at customs, because we didn’t declare that we had hiking stuff in our luggage. Kids went through ok and out onto the street, but bad parents got stuck inside for about an hour while we had our boots washed and disinfected. So first, make sure your boots are clean, and declare anything! (I recall we’d just come from the shred at thredbo the first time, and there was a fair bit of Thredders mud on the snowboard boots too).
Anyway you do NZ I’m sure you’ll love it.
with baggage but late july/early august, not school holidays.
Thanks Cords, I’m not going to get my hopes up of getting a great fair like the one you and Mizu got during school holidays.
I’m actually pretty happy with the $574 Qantas option at this stage (especially after looking up the exact same flight on Qantas’ site only to find it $660 there) Haven’t booked yet but tempting.
Azz did a trip report from our trip there in 2011, have a look at it. Actually there’s good stuff in that thread from a lot of people…
here
Thanks Tambo, will definitely have a read through that ASAP. Appreciate the tip on the linen that’s a good option!
You haven’t mentioned any of the club fields. Mt Hutt can be amazing, but it isn’t called Mt Shut for nothing! There’s Porters, and a whole heap more out there with amazing drives to get to them (let’s face it, it’s all gorgeous). Have a look at them, please!
How would you get down to QT if you drove?
I’m glad you asked as I just did a bunch of research/planning regarding this last night.
Unfortunately Miz/K2 I just don’t think I can make a QT arrival work budget/plan wise ($200+ more and I lose a day or so with flight times). So I’m now pretty locked on a Christchurch arrival/Queenstown departure and with the coin I save on the flight I can justify doing a bit more to take in the beauty around QT while there.
Having said that the driving route was the next thing to sort out. I think I’ve decided on taking the west coast route. This would go something like:
Christchurch>Arthurs Pass>Greymouth>Franz Josef>Fox Glacier>Haast Pass>Wanaka>Queenstown.
I would then bounce between Wanaka and Queenstown depending on which vibe I liked as well as snow conditions (riding at Treble Cone and Cardrona if conditions allow). With day trips planned to Te Anau/Milford Sound/Glenorchy/Arrowtown and possibly Dunedin (if things are slow)
Now I picked this way as I seem to get a fair bunch of the natural wonders ticked off during that drive. The downside is I miss out on Mt Hutt, Mt Cook and Oahu.
Are there any notable club fields along my planned route?
How does that very early plan sound to everyone?
Don’t forget to drive out to Glenorchy for the views!!!!!
Had I had the time, I would’ve also driven down to Invercargill!!!!!
Freddy and I went down to Invercargill in 2010 and just a bit further south is Bluff, the southernmost mainland tip of NZ.
Wasn’t exactly anything too amazing there but fun to go check out anyway 
Don’t forget to drive out to Glenorchy for the views!!!!!
Had I had the time, I would’ve also driven down to Invercargill!!!!!
Yep I have the Glenorchy drive as one of my side trips.
So it looks like the touristy side of the trip is pretty much sorted (but please keep the alternate driving routes and destination information coming), let’s talk snowboarding!
From what I’ve gathered Treble Cone is the pick when based in Wanaka and Cardrona when in Queenstown?
What does everyone do lift ticket wise? I’ve just had a quick look at the sites and it looks like there’s a “OnePass” ticket but it doesn’t seem to offer much in the way of discounts, there’s standard day tickets and there’s also “Season” passes which can also be purchased in 5 or 10 day lots ~$350AUD for .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Full price tickets are ~$83AUD/day.
Obviously that early in the season and multiday pass is a calculated risk so I’m interested to hear if people just buy day to day and if they tend to head to a bunch of different resorts.
unless there is fresh pow then I wouldn’t bother with TC.
Cardrona and remarks is where I’d spend my time….especially now that Snow Park is closed 
So the tickets you can use at either TC or Cardrona are probably a good idea!
And then leave a few days to spend at remarks as well.