Self Drive in NZ


P

petetherock

Senior Member
Oct 9, 2006
1,659
4
38
 

Going for a road trip in Feb 2010... any fellow CS members going to the South Islands?

PM me if you are interested to join my party of friends...
 

If anyone is planning a quick getaway to NZ, all flights are full right now and you will need to transit via Australia.

But you get nice flight deals from NZ air now...
 

Got my tickets booked. Gotten the Qantas ones gotta transit at Australia due to last min leave issues

ryan
 

giantcanopy said:
Got my tickets booked. Gotten the Qantas ones gotta transit at Australia due to last min leave issues

ryan
Click to expand...

When do you fly bro?
I will be in Christchurch 20th Feb. Road trip after a meeting in Wellington.
 

sk8 said:
You may want to check out the Wellington events here: http://www.wellington.govt.nz/services/events/annuals/summer/summer.php

Some great photo opportunities at those events. Best of all they are all free entry.


Cheers.
Click to expand...

Thanks mate, appreciate the link, but all I can say is they are really trying hard to spice up the quiet town.... :)

I will be spending my time in S Islands.
I was there last year, this year is a refresher with friends and doing a few new things:
LOTR tour, F Josef Glaicer walk, Lake Tekapo etc.

Cheers
 

petetherock said:
When do you fly bro?
I will be in Christchurch 20th Feb. Road trip after a meeting in Wellington.
Click to expand...

will be reaching on 18th Feb but will be at Cook on 20th already. A 2 week honeymoon road trip ard south island!

ryan
 

giantcanopy said:
will be reaching on 18th Feb but will be at Cook on 20th already. A 2 week honeymoon road trip ard south island!

ryan
Click to expand...


Well done!
If we bump into each other, wave... BTW H Choi (class of 2002) will be with me, know him?
 

petetherock said:
Well done!
If we bump into each other, wave... BTW H Choi (class of 2002) will be with me, know him?
Click to expand...

nope. but i sure will recognise ya if i meet u on the streets or zip pass u on the highways :bsmilie:
 

Any one went for the night star viewing trip organised by Earth & Sky at Lake Tekapo ? Fun ?
I will be bring my camera along, hoping to piggy back or learn to shoot some night skies

ryan
 

Still in kiwi! The night observatory was worth the bucks, skies was cloudless, and the environment was so dark i can almost not see my fingers. And the bare naked human eyes can see the milky way spaning on top. The two Magellanic Clouds were totally visible like little fluffs. If u r planning to go there, bring a DSLR with timer remote to do some long exposures on their uber heavy duty motorised mounts. The staff was saying that if i brought along a 600mm lens, he could shoot some nice stuffs too!

But do stay ard Lake Tekapo cause it will be easier. Our trip ended 12 ish and a more than 1 hr drive back to our hermitage hotel at night was a long and tiring trip!

ryan
 

giantcanopy said:
Still in kiwi! The night observatory was worth the bucks, skies was cloudless, and the environment was so dark i can almost not see my fingers. And the bare naked human eyes can see the milky way spaning on top. The two Magellanic Clouds were totally visible like little fluffs. If u r planning to go there, bring a DSLR with timer remote to do some long exposures on their uber heavy duty motorised mounts. The staff was saying that if i brought along a 600mm lens, he could shoot some nice stuffs too!

But do stay ard Lake Tekapo cause it will be easier. Our trip ended 12 ish and a more than 1 hr drive back to our hermitage hotel at night was a long and tiring trip!

ryan
Click to expand...

A windy place, but great views, I am sure you will get nice pics and share them...

Also try the Glacier walks, nice but I am not sure if your wife will be able to take it.
 

petetherock said:
A windy place, but great views, I am sure you will get nice pics and share them...

Also try the Glacier walks, nice but I am not sure if your wife will be able to take it.
Click to expand...

Yes very windy atop Mt John observatory, and super cold.

Here is a small peek at a shot taken with a 24mm. I took some other shots at the 12 mm end and 85mm end as well.

4389957405_4f82ce4394_b.jpg

( I got no PS here, so just posting the original jpeg. Apologies if it did not turn out as it shld have been la cause me never take star shots before .. but die hard astro fellas would love the place )

We only did the DIY Fox/Franz Josef glacier front walks which were great thanks to fantastic weather. We did a heli hike for 4+ hrs at Fox Glacier and was superb. Tried to capture sunset at Bruce Bay today but was too ridiculously ridden with sandflies :bsmilie:

Will try to post some stuffs when i get back in singapore.

Ryan
 

Hi all,

Should you ever visit the North Island, I would strongly recommend visiting White Island (Whakaari in Maori language), which is an active volcano situated around 50 km away from the shore in the Bay of Plenty.

It's only accessible by authorised tourist operators, by boat from Whakatane or by air from Rotorua, Tauranga and Whakatane.

Only problem I had with the whole thing was the very bumpy and choppy ride I had by boat which left me quite sea sick...

However the trip was very worth it, as the volcano presented a unique lunar landscape which you can't really find else where (not that I know of).
 

Giantcanopy, I am going South Island in 2 more weeks! Was considering the Mt John Star Gazing tour, then saw your photo.
That sky really worth the NZ$80. What time did the tour start?
And will join the Fox Glacier Hike too. Hope can finish the 4-hr hike ....
Hope to see more of your photos when u are back to SG!
 

The sky gaxing tour has a few sessions a night, depending on whether it is summer (after 8.30pm) or winter (earlier).
They get booked out fast, so once you arrive, go to the info centre in Lake Tekapo and book.
 

petetherock said:
The sky gaxing tour has a few sessions a night, depending on whether it is summer (after 8.30pm) or winter (earlier).
They get booked out fast, so once you arrive, go to the info centre in Lake Tekapo and book.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Hope it is still available when we reach Lake Tekapo.
 

Best seafood in Christchurch is in a place called Lyttelton - nice coastal town after the tunnel, worth it for the sunset too:

26650_499315285426_763085426_11317291_6505731_n.jpg
 

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