Going to New Zealand in 2 weeks - suggestions?

In My Humble Opinion
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Hello! I’m going on a 10 day vacation to New Zealand in a couple weeks. There will be 4 of us, staying in Auckland at the Ascott Metropolis.

We have a sort-of itinerary already that I’d like to share with the NZ Dopers. What would be great is if you could give me positive or negative feedback about the places we’re planning on seeing, any cities we have to see along this route, plus any sightseeing / restaurant and bar recommendations in Auckland.

Note: We are fully aware that we should visit the South Island, especially this time of year, but we don’t have the time (or money) to do so this time.

OK, so here it is:

Friday - arrive, chill, check out Auckland

Saturday - ferry to Waikehe Island for wine tasting

Sunday - check out Auckland

Monday - drive to Rotorua and Taupo (wine tasting)

Tuesday - drive to Napier (different wine tasting)

Wednesday - Napier (cabin)

Thursday - back to Auckland

Friday - Auckland

Saturday - Auckland leave that night

Notice a pattern there? :slight_smile: We live in San Francisco and our friends live in Monterey, and we are intimately familiar with Carmel Valley, Sonoma, Napa (our least favorite), Anderson Valley, Alexander Valley and Amador County. We’re very excited about the wine regions in NZ. Any suggestions about specific wineries that we have to visit would be greatly appreciated.

I also love to fish, so if there’s any good fishing you can recommend in the Napier area, that would be a plus. I know there’s a fantastic lake in Taupo but I don’t know much about how good the fishing there would be.

Finally, some general quetsions. Do you tip the cabbies? Bartenders? Is there a certain beer we should try? If we go to a nice restaurant, do we have to dress up? (You don’t have to dress up hardly anywhere in San Francisco, so we would probably be underdressed unless told otherwise). How will the weather be in two weeks? Are we going to get a hard time about being American? (We deserve it, IMO, but let’s not get political). Is there a local dish that we have to try? Is there a local dish we have to avoid?

Thanks in advance!

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Take me too!

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In general we don’t tip, but you’re welcome to do so if you want. It’s not usually expected. In the main, we like Americans. Yes, I mean it. :slight_smile:

Got a message from a fellow Kiwi named TheGunnersDream who posts over at G’Dope but hasn’t come here yet:

Weatherwise, things are picking up. Here in Auckland, it’s sunny, very warm (almost summer). Should be great as time goes on – but it could also be rainy for no apparent reason. Come prepared. BUT – don’t worry about “dressing up”, just go smart-casual at most. We’re fairly relaxed here.

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Trouble Again and I can vouch for that one - they put up with us. :smiley:

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Thanks for the replies so far. Do you think I should post a link to this thread on G’Dope?

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If you’re in Auckland on Saturday the 27th, make an effort to check out the Grey Lynn Festival. There’s some great local bands playing, along with excelent stuff for sale by locals.

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Pikers. South Island kicks North Island ass. :wink:

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City-wise, the South Island doesn’t hold a candle to either Wellington or Auckland. However the South Island is cheaper than the North and, scenery-wise, it’s just mind-blowing. I spent a month or so driving (being driven, really) around the west coast last summer. Beautiful.

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Hi, Dooku. I’m from G’Dope already, and manx comes by now and then. There aren’t many of us Kiwis on G’Dope, as it is mainly Australian in flavour, so I think your answers will come via here. I saw TheLoadedDog’s heads-up, s’why I came over.

I will put in a link to this thread on another board called Kiwi Clan. If they come up with any extra info, I’ll let you know, or they may pop by.

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I second the suggestion about the West Auckland wine trail - there are tours which specialise in carting you about so you can get good and loaded without having to drive: Babich and Kumeu River are particularly recommended wineries.

If you have time while out west, try and take in some of the beaches: Piha and Karekare are nice, although it may be a tad cold for swimming at this time of year.
Fantastic scenery, though, and you can stop off in Titirangi on the way back - some nice little cafes there - The Hardware Cafe and The Long Drop are good.

Beers? Anything by Monteiths or Macs; Speights also do an excellent “boutique” range: try their porter, which is like a chocolate/coffee flavoured stout. It’s a sipper, not a skuller, but there’s nothing nicer after a hard day’s sightseeing.

If you had more time, I’d suggest a couple of days on Great Barrier Island, which is the most beautiful place on earth {and has hot springs in the middleof the bush!} - there are regular ferries from Auckland, or you can fly out. Fantastic beaches, fresh fish, and it’s about 80 miles from anywhere - no mains power, which means that at night you can see more stars then you ever imagined. Best way to experience this is going to The Curragh, a {actually THE} pub in Tryphena, drinking a lot of Monteiths, and then walking across the road to lie on the beach.

Yes, we do like Americans.

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Waves the Tauranga flag. Hey don’t diss the North. We have some excellent beaches-I was taught to surf when I was 5 at Papamoa :smiley:
My father worked as a window-cleaner/gardener on the kiwi estates at Te Puke and Kati Kati.
And avoid the wildlife.Most of it bites.
:smiley:

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I’m going to Sydney on business in a week and will be going to Auckland for a few days afterwards. It looks like I may be getting there at the end of your trip oddly enough.

I asked about things to do on the G’Dope board and got some great advice from the friendly folks over there.

Check out this thread: http://p090.ezboard.com/fgdopefrm1.showMessage?topicID=714.topic . Most of it is about Sydney but there is some Auckland info too.

Haj

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Beer: Middlecase’s suggestions are good. Mac’s Gold is quite superb. Food: whitebait, mutton pies.

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::furiously writing all of this down::

This is great stuff folks. We will be there the 27th, so we will most definitely check out the Grey Lynn festival.

Thank you all for the great suggestions. Keep 'em coming!

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I’ve only just noticed this thread and would like to add a few things.

For dining while in Auckland the Viaduct has many restaurants to choose from. The Rikka Japanese restaurant at Newmarket is quite good also the Iguacu Restaurant in Parnell. A visit to the Sky Tower is a must and the Orbit restaurant. Pick a nice day and you will have to book for the restaurant.

:slight_smile: my suburb. If you were planning on visiting Titirangi, we also have a morning market on the last Sunday of the month. For wine I personally think the Matakana wine region is a better experience than the west Auckland trail and it’s only about a one hour drive from the city centre. Maybe you could do both.

As for fishing at Taupo, there are plenty of charters on the lake and trout fishing in nearby rivers but you must have a licence for fresh water fishing so you will need to use one of the fishing/charter companies if you wish to fish.

While in Rotorua if you are interested in Maori culture, visit theTamaki village. Rotorua and surrounds has many activities available which I’m sure you already know.

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Upcoming events in Auckland City, Manukau City, Waitakere City, and North Shore City. Also Napier and Rotorua

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As jastu has put in a plug for the Titirangi market, I’ll do the same for the Avondale Market, held in my home suburb, on the Avondale Racecourse. Great mix of the multi-ethnicities that make up modern Auckland there, every Sunday from dawn to midday.

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I’m not a Kiwi, so I’ll defer to the locals on this. But when we visited down there one attraction we enjoyed on the North Island was the glowworm cave south of Hamilton. That may be too far from Auckland - I don’t remember. The locals may consider this way too touristy… I don’t know. I just thought it was cool.

With abject apologies to the North Islanders, if I went again I would spend all of my time on the South Island. I lived in Wyoming for years, so the North Island’s geothermal attractions weren’t that exciting for me. It’s only a matter of personal taste, no offense intended. And the people on both islands were marvelous to we Americans as well. (Of course, we didn’t have “Dubya” 9 years ago…)

Have a great trip.

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I think tpayne is talking about the Waitomo Caves. Haven’t been there in years, so don’t know how “touristy” it may have become, but it is a cool place to see. Not too far from Auckland.

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Heh. They not only put up with us, they encourage us! :smiley: