Two Week South Island, New Zealand Itineraries

Wonderful. It was well planned and went off without a hitch (other than the rain/flooding in NZ.) Our travel planner is well informed on the area. He listened to what we were looking for and the itinerary reflected that. It was action-packed but the activities did not repeat themselves. We did change a few of the hotels from what the planner initially suggested (as we wanted a king bed) and in hindsight--those were the least liked hotels (especially the hotel in Sydney and the Villas-a bit shabby.)We have friends that did Shotover River Rafting which is probably a more thrilling ride through the Gorge but due to the weather we were glad we were on Dart, as Shotover wasn't running. We did the the Queenstown Steamship cruise (the lunch option) on a day that one of the days that our 4 tours were cancelled due to the raining/flooding and really enjoyed that. Also the Sydney Harbor Lunch was very nice. The weather temperature was pretty good and heard from Franz Josef through Te Anau that the substantial rain was a century event.The tour guides did an excellent job, really enjoyed our guide from Walkabout Cultural and our guide from the Doubtful Bay Kayaking (Doubtful was really more stunning than Milford). We did hit a Millers Point hotel on our first day in Sydney (nice late afternoon activity/view) and would recommend restaurants:1. An international dish restaurant in Port Douglas (best dinner of the trip)2. Makers of the best peanut butter (for a novelty PB snack) in Wellington3.Seafood and Vegetarian restaurant in Christchurch4. Italian in Wanaka (best to make rsvps)5. Hamburger restaurant in Queenstown (for the novelty) and the Pub on the wharf for a good $20 dinner and live music at 8pm 

This was a trip of a lifetime.  We worked well together, came up with an awesome itinerary for 6 weeks to New Zealand and Australia.  You name it we were going to do it.  This truly was an itinerary with planes, trains & automobiles.  Let's not forget to include boats, helicopter, camel and kayak.  We had such a variety of things planned including wine tasting in both NZ and Australia.  I can't say enough good things about our travel company!!!  In the planning stages they even spoke to us about where and when to go as far as seasons and which way to go whether it be Australia first or NZ. As it turned out, the recommendation to go to New Zealand first was perfect. We were saved the experience of Australia for only a few weeks and maybe being stuck there!  No stone was left unturned, even when the fires occurred in Australia.  Our impact was going to be minimal.We left the US on March 9th for NZ arriving on the 11th.  No problems with Covid-19, we continued on with our itinerary.  Sailing in the harbor in Auckland, wine tasting on a beautiful little island outside of Auckland.  On to Queenstown which is delightful and Milford Sound for an overnight on a ship.  Absolutely beautiful.  Glad we did this vs a day trip or boat ride.  We flew back to Queenstown, which I'd recommend because you have a great overview of the mountains.  Breathtaking!!  Picked up a rental car and drove to Franz Josef to climb the glacier.  We're an older couple, but this was an incredible, first-time experience! My husband still marvels! We took a train to Christchurch which is still suffering the after effects of the 2011 earthquake.  Again a train up the Pacific Coast which is beautiful to Nelson.  Kayaking, hiking and a catamaran in the Tasman Sea.  What scenery!!  Up to Rotorua for more fun.  Well this is where the wheels starting coming off of our fun.  Things got cancelled because of Covid-19 and the ever changing environment of new shut downs and what the government was asking of people and vacationers.  Starting on the 15th of March our travel agent was continually in contact with us about Covid-19 and how our itinerary was going to be impacted.  She made alternative suggestions, we made the decision to extend in NZ.  As our trip went along, things kept changing....  NZ decided to shut down on March 25 midnight.  Our new flight home was March 29, then March 27.  She worked with us so closely and was so helpful she actually got us a flight home on March 25.  While we were having fun and enjoying ourselves, this company was working for us behind the scenes.  You can't ask for more than that!!  By the way, we came home and quarantined.  To date, we're healthy.

Overall, we were happy with the itinerary and the hotel choices (details about each location below). All the transitions were smooth and hassle free. Fiji Sofitel was a great choice for us. The accommodations were clean, comfortable, and with views. The staff were all super friendly and approachable. There was even free laundry facilities. The lounge area and pool were superb. We loved the complimentary breakfast (lots of fresh fruit and pastries). Dinners at the buffet were OK, good food and service, but nothing special. We also appreciated how close Sofitel was to the port so we could go there for dinner as well. We did take a snorkeling day trip with a travel company partner in Fiji used by this travel company, which was fun. Fortunately the weather was good that day. The main downside of Sofitel (and all of the nearby hotels) is that the beach and water are not really good (thank goodness Sofitel had a nice pool area). If we were to go back to Fiji, we would probably want to explore more of the remote islands. Auckland Scenic Hotels was again a great choice for us. The central location was great, and the room was clean and comfortable. We thought that having both the bus tour and the cruise was maybe too much guided touring of the city. Jeff enjoyed the bus tour because it gave us a chance to get oriented and check out some of the different areas which we may not have had a chance to get to otherwise. We probably could have done without the Harbor Cruise, though. Both the Waitomo caves and Hobbiton tours were better than we expected. However it was a very long day on the bus with many transfers. Too bad the sites are so far away in New Zealand! Rotorua Ibis Rotorua was again a good choice for us. Clean and comfortable, with a nice location. One of the things we really enjoyed was the walk along the lake. We were pleasantly surprised to come across geothermal features right along the hike. We enjoyed the morning at Te Puia. We probably could have spent more of the morning there (and maybe skipped the Agrodome and/or Rainbow Springs). Rainbow Springs looks like a great place to take families, but we could have probably done without. The Mitai experience overall was enjoyable but did not feel authentic, and honestly the food was not good. I'm not sure if any of the other Hangi dinner experiences are any different, but I expected more (especially given the cost!) Christchurch Of all the places we stayed, we thought the Cotswold was the worst experience. Although it looks cute from the outside, the rooms are kind of frumpy and the walls are thin. The staff in the lobby were not particularly friendly or helpful, and the location was not ideal (a bit of a walk to Merivale and far from downtown Christchurch). The TranzAlpine trip was wonderful! Probably not something we would have known to book for ourselves - so it was a treat. The weather cooperated! Franz Josef Punga Grove was a great place with very friendly staff and clean/comfortable rooms. We enjoyed doing hikes around the area. Although we weren't able to go with the guided tour, we went on several of the self-guided hikes, which were nice. Queenstown The Copthorne has a nice lobby, nice rooms, and gorgeous views. Strangely, the hallways were very dingy looking. The tour with the travel company partner in New Zealand used by these travel specialists to Milford sound was great (and seemed like to best tour company). Our driver was Maori, and told us about the legends in both Mauri and English! Although this was also a long bus day, the tour company's bus was more comfortable than other buses we had been on. The Milford Sound experience was also very nice. In general - as I mentioned earlier, all the transfers and pick-ups went very smoothly. We're were a little surprised that our airline seats were not pre-assigned, and we didn't have the ability to pick out the seats for some of the airlines. Is this typical for the airlines (e.g. Air Pacific)?