Skip to main content

Decisions, decisions, decisions!!

Well, after four itinerary changes, I think we're finally set for our trip to New Zealand.

We leave the end of February, bound for Queenstown, spending the first 3 days at the Stoneridge Estate.

From there, we plan to visit a few wineries of the Central Otago region, as well as take a tour of Milford Sound (that seems to be on everyone's list of sights to see), and take a jet boat ride (or maybe kayak) up the Dart River (it goes by some Lord of the Ring sites).

Beyond that.we have nothing specific planned until we get to Auckland, where I have 4 nights booked at the Westin Auckland, Lighter Quay. (I've used my Starwood points, so I can change those dates if needed without a penalty.) Total time on the ground in New Zealand - 17 days.

Touring the wineries is easy, we have a car, but how to best experience Milford Sound and the Dart River is proving a lot more daunting than I had expected.

There are just too many different tours to choose from, with prices ranging widely, especially for Milford Sound, which involves a helicopter ride (not my favorite form of transportation, but.....).

Anywaze, so I've decide to resort to asking for advice and suggestions (I'm hoping all the NZ links I've put in this post will get to someones attention), from those in the know, who either live in New Zealand, or have visited there, and can offer some recommendations.

Our hosts at the Stoneridge Estate, have recommended the Glacier Southern Lakes Helicopters company, and Dart River Safaris as the best tour operators, but there is at least one other helicopter company that offers tours.

Price isn't a major obstacle, as I've always regretted being cheap, and then missing out on something, but at the same time, I want to be sure I'm getting good value for my dollar (even with the favorable exchange rate).

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

History IS repeating itself

I didn't grow up during the rise and fall of Hitler and Nazi Germany, so for me to claim it feels like those are the times we are living in now, must be taken with a grain of salt. But I have seen enough movies, and read enough history to know, if the times we're living in now are not akin to the rise of a Nazism and Facism in Europe in the 1930's and 1940's, then we're not far off. If you can't see the parallels with Nazi Germany, then you must be living in a different country than me. Republicans and other right wing extremists will stop at nothing to subvert the will of the majority, forcing their beliefs, that they are the superior race and have been appointed by God, to impose their will on America, while they blame all our problems on immigrants, blacks and Jews. As I speak, Mitch McConnell, and his minions are raising roadblocks to all legislation designed to help average Americans under the guise of fiscal responsibility. They condone violent and verba...
Post a Comment
Read more

Vaccine Mandates, what are they good for?

Not much, that's for sure! Simply showing evidence of receiving a Covid-19 vaccine (whether fake or not), does not mean you are protected from getting Covid-19, nor spreading it, if infected. We are all different, and too many of us, i.e. people who are immunocompromised/ immunosupressed, the elderly, or others for various reasons, do not [cannot] mount an immune response as good as younger and healthier individuals. What is evidence of immunity is a quantitative antibody test showing you have developed antibodies, and to what degree, either from natural immunity or the vaccine.  That is what we should be testing for. That is what is important. But for too long, many, i.e. the FDA, doctors, and other health experts discouraged people (and still are) from getting antibody tests, because there was little knowledge about what level of antibodies are needed to impart immunity to the virus. That of course is true, to some extent, but how can we ever find out [learn] the a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Open letter to all Democrats

Stop the nonsense! Continuing to go after Trump, without any hope of getting a conviction, does nothing more than provide Republicans with an obstructionist dialogue (now that they have come up with the unconstitutional talking point) in addition to giving Trump much needed publicity, when we should be ignoring him. It's the pure definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result! Instead Democrats need to be laser focused on what is important to all Americans, i.e. healthcare, Social Security and Medicare, infrastructure reform, the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, to name just a few. And when you do talk about Trump, simply steer the conversation as to how the Trump administration botched everything, how Trump is responsible for the deaths of 400,000+ Americans, due to his inaction and the down playing of the pandemic, plus the deaths of 2 Capitol policeman during the insurrection Trump provoked and incited on January 6, 2021. ...
Post a Comment
Read more