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May 18, 2010
Overall - Great Trip
I thought I would give you a recap of our trip ! First, Sandi and I were very pleased overall with the trip no major complaints so our negative comments are relatively minor except with one exception.
- Green Island - a lovely resort and first class. The number of day visitors is somewhat negative but did not prove to be a problem. Food was very good as were the accommodations.
- Pacific International Hotel in Cairns - average hotel, good for one night use. Good location for us given proximity to the wharf.
- Wait-a While Rainforest Tour - generally good, did not see as much wildlife as we expected. Guide was good but the guide smoked too much, comes with the territory. His name was Wayne. He did a good job overall .
- Sails in the Desert at Ayers Rock - very nice hotel and grounds are excellent.
- Tour there with AAT Kings was good , they do a good job for the group tours they do.
- Kings Canyon Resort was also good. As was the tour there.
- Majestic Roof Garden, Adelaide- hotel was average, had a room on the street and a bit noisy.
- Kangaroo Island - outstanding tour with Exceptional Kangaroo Island tour group. We loved the Island and wildlife. The accommodation at Stranraer Homestead was probably the highlight of our accommodations. The owners are outstanding.
- Tasmania- my error in not allowing enough time there. Cradle Mountain Lodge was very nice but we did not have enough time there. Lenna of Hobarthotel was very nice. Probably needed 4 days in Tasmania. I would consider a return visit to Tasmania as a possible trip . Leisure Inn Penny Royal was an old facility and needs some updating. Below average hotel.
- Self Drive in New Zealand Package. In general the boss, the wife, felt staying two nights at each location would have been better however, I realize this is a package to fit a two week trip. Driving a bit hectic with one night stays. Overall we were happy with the package.
- Sebel Suites, Auckland is outstanding in facilities and location.
- Puka Park, Coromandel Peninsula is an outstanding facility and location. I booked tour with Kiwi Dundee and was very pleased with that tour. Food at location was very good.
- Millennium Hotel, Rotorual. Unfortunately the room they gave us did not have a working air condition/heater system. We went out for a while and requested that they look at it. Unfortunately nothing was done in our absence. Eventually when they did send the maintenance guy, he did not fix the problem. We requested to be moved to another room which was done immediately, but unfortunately the problems with the first room prevented us from relaxing and enjoying the hotel.
- Mitai Villagewe liked the Maori meal and the show.
- Bayview Chateau, Tongariro National Park is an outstanding hotel. This was only location were the weather hurt us, rained and overcast. I had booked a flight tour to see the volcanoes with Mountain Air which we could not do.
- Copthorne Oriental, Wellington is also a great hotel and location. - did not have enough time here given tight schedule. Went to the local Te Papa Museum there and loved it.
- Interislander Ferry from Wellington to Picton was enjoyable.
- Grand Mercure Monaco, Nelson in our opinion is an average to above average facility. Drove over to Golden Bay and saw the sights- enjoyed the drive.
- The drive to Fox Glacier was very long ! but guess no way around it.
- Te Weheka Inn, Fox Glacier is a nice facility which we liked. Did a Heli-glacier hike at Franz Josef and loved it.
- Moorings, Wanaka we thought was an average hotel in a nice nice location. Did a scenic flight tour with Southern Alps and loved it.
- Heritage Queenstown- great facility and location. Did Doubtful Sound tour.
- Distinction Te Anau is an older hotel which needs updating but probably the best in the small town.
- Grand Mercure, Dunedin is an old hotel and my wife thought the lift was from a Humphrey Bogart movie. They tried to stuff me in small room but pointed out I booked a Superior room and they gave me a better room. Good location. Did the Elm Wildlife tour and loved it.
- Crowne Plaza, Christchurch is a great hotel and got a great room. Great location. Did Whale Watch tour up the coast, loved it.
OVERALL: Down Under Answers did a great job and of course that is mainly you. Qantas airlines is very good and loved the Qantas Clubs. Thought food was expensive in Australia and New Zealand. (offset in NZ is US dollar is worth more then in AU). People were very friendly. Hertz did a good job on rentals. Internet access at hotels is not as good as US. WIFI is hot or miss, but technology is the missing link. Was not a major problem.
May 21, 2009
Hamurana Estate
“Many thanks for the warm and wonderful hospitality we experienced at Hamurana Estate, We thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Merci beaucoup”
May 21, 2009
Hamurana Estate
“We had a lovely time at the Hamurana estate, the room was so comfortable and the food - EXCELLENT! We left there fat and happy. Thank you and all the best . . . .”
January 29, 2007
Rough Guide to New Zealand book
We highly recommend the Rough Guide to New Zealand. After looking at several guidebooks here, we took along the Rough Guide and read it daily. The Rough Guide map was also the best of all the maps we picked up along the way. Their descriptions and recommendations were right every time. Their assessment of a restaurant as “overpriced but adequate” was so accurate it was funny. It’s well written, up-to-date, balanced and highly informative.
January 29, 2007
Top Ten Holiday Parks
9 out of 11 nights on the South Island were spent in Top Ten Holiday Parks, and we think that’s the way to go. They are all independently owned, but they’re part of a franchise that offers very good facilities and predictable quality. The two campgrounds that weren’t Top Ten were noticeably inferior.
January 29, 2007
New President Hotel
The New President Hotel in Auckland was ideal for us: comfortable, clean, good kitchen, and in the middle of downtown. It’s five or six blocks from the waterfront and right beside the Sky Tower, their Space Needle.
January 29, 2007
Milford Sound
In a move that satisfied everyone, we decided to take a plane from Wanaka to Milford Sound (instead of campervan). We had no problem making a reservation a day in advance, and we were lucky to have the good weather needed for flying. In a small Cesna plane, we flew for an hour over the “Southern Alps” and landed on a small airstrip at the start of the fjord. From there, we took a two-hour cruise on the fjord out to the sea and back. This was a spectacular and thrilling way to see the mountains and Milford Sound, and probably the highlight of the trip for me, although I’m not sure I want to choose just one. For $850 (US), it was well worth the money.
January 29, 2007
Rotorua In General
Rotorua was the most touristy place we went, and it included some fun things for the kids. The sheep show at the Agrodome was just right for them. We highly recommend the Brylin Motel: delightful and helpful owners, nice rooms and kitchen, pleasant, and laundry facilities, which we needed by that point.
January 29, 2007
Shotover Canyon Swing
The younger three of us (our 27 and 24 year old sons and 20 year old daughter) chose to do the Canyon Swing instead of bungee, although if we’d been there longer they probably would have done the bungee also. The Canyon Swing was too much for me, but they found it pretty thrilling.
January 29, 2007
Milford Sound Trip
Because of our limited time, we chose the airplane flight Milford Sound cruise option. The plane ride through the Remarkables mountain range was spectacular, and the cruise in Milford Sound was very nice also. Both provided great photo opportunities. In the sound, in addition to the spectacular scenary, including dozens of waterfalls, we saw a leopard seal, several fur seals, and penguins.
January 29, 2007
Shotover Jet
Outstanding jet boat ride on the Shotover River and through narrow canyons. Lord of the Rings fans will recognize the canyon from the movie. There are also jet boat rides on the lake offered by a different company. I don’t see how they could compare to the ride on the river and through the canyon.
January 29, 2007
Skyline Gondola
A nice way to get a mountaintop view of the city, lake and surrounding mountains. The kids also did the luge ride and enjoyed that.