Excursion recommendations?

Hi everyone!

My husband and I will be heading to New Zealand (Auckland, Tauranga, Gisborne, Wellington, Akaroa, Dunedin) and Tasmania for the first time so we are just wondering what excursions shouldn't be missed? We are in our 20's and are quite active.

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone! My husband and I will be heading to New Zealand (Auckland, Tauranga, Gisborne, Wellington, Akaroa, Dunedin) and Tasmania for the first time so we are just wondering what excursions shouldn't be missed? We are in our 20's and are quite active.

Thanks in advance!

Welcome to these Cruise Critic boards. Lots of helpful and smart people here. Keep asking good questions. Don't be shy. The only "dumb" question is the one you don't ask.

Tell us more on your detailed interests, budget flexibility, etc.? You can check out many more ideas from my live/blog connected below with lots of pictures, tips and options. How much are you interested in nature, history, wildlife, culture, shopping, wildlife, etc.?? Tell us more!!

You might consider the Queenstown overnight excursion. See below for more potentials in doing that visiting to the "Crazy Capital" of the world. Great to see that part of the scenic NZ South Island. Here is a short summary: We got off of our Solstice ship and did, along with other several couples in our travel group from Central Ohio, the two-day, overnight Queenstown excursion. It's a choice, not cheap. There are pro's and con's to consider. As previously noted, Milford Sound is suppose to be the best of the three you will visit. BUT, the biggest roll of the dice is the weather. These fjords can be spectacular, but you can have iffy weather. Maybe great and sunny. Maybe rainy with overcast, etc. Possible a little of both as your travels that day cover a varied amount of distance/travel among the three different areas.

What did we do on this two-day excursion? WOW!! What a great trip. Loved it ALL so much. Not just charming Queenstown, but seeing a wonderful rainforest area, the charm of the interior of NZ's South Island, a cute old gold-rush town, a winery, the bridge where bungee jumping got its start, etc. On the Queenstown side of the mountains, there are less weather challenges, etc. With our tour, we still got a nice sampling of Dunedin, its very special train station, etc.

Either one can work well. Much depends on what you most like, seek and enjoy most. Below are a few visuals to give previews for what you can see in this excellent part of the world. Many, many more on the full live/blog starting late on page 15 and continuing at the top of page 16.

Worth it? It was for us and the others in our group. Personal choice!! The NZ South Island is amazing and being able to sample it was very important for us to "feed" our personal interests to see and learn more about this unique part of the world.

Below are also a couple of pictures from our Akaroa excursion doing the JetBoat, rail adventure, etc.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 160,392 views for this posting.

With the NZ JetBoat, we loved the THRILLS doing these fast, roaring shots up and down this narrow and scenic section of this river. I was fortunately seated right behind our excellent driver, Greg Peacock. I didn't get very wet, but those on the right side got more of the "showers". No extra charge. But, nobody got too wet. It was all part of the fun. At a couple points during our about 25-minute trip on the river, Greg stopped at a scenic location in this river/gorge to give us more background on these boats, experiences in doing this work since 1998 for him, etc. These Hamilton Jet Boats were developed around 1960, including work done at this site to perfect the design and test the models/designs. Notice the great background/dramatic areas that we were "sailing" up and down?:

Here is a picture that my wife loved. Notice her hands and those of others in our row super tightly gripping the safety bar? That says so much about the speed and thrills while roaring up and down this amazing stretch of scenic river near Christchurch. I showed my wife this picture (and several others like this one of her where the wind was blowing her hair in the opposite direction). She liked this picture so much, that she said to put this one in her obituary (not that this need is upcoming anytime soon). It showed her having fun and she said this ride was the most fun of the whole cruise/trip. We had lots of great moments on this trip, but one was a unique and special ride in a location that is spectacularly world-class. And, perfect weather with good friends added to the great joy!!:

Our first stop after getting off of the Solstice and boarding our bus was a major rainforest areas in the Fiordlands National Park. Amazing site and stop!! Yes, there was some rain that morning. But, here are some facts to consider. In the Milford Sound area, they get an average of 23 feet (that's right FEET) of rain each year. At times, it might go as high as 46' yearly. That means most ever day gets some rain as the churning Tasman sea air loaded with moisture hits these South Island mountains. By sharp contrast, just 25 miles away (across the mountains), Queenstown averages only 30 inches of rain annually. Big difference!!:

Here is a view of the main street in Arrowtown with lots of character and charm. Plus, many shops! High-quality ones!! Just the kind that my wife and others love. There were historic places for beers, cheese, etc., too! Not just clothing and jade/jewelry.:

Here is one of my visuals in connection with this steamship sailing leading to the dinner at the sheep station at the other end of this scenic lake near Queenstown during the two-day Solstice excursion. You will see lots of scenic mountains and areas during this sailing that is a key part of this evening fun. And, there was food!!:

Here is one of my pictures from the Kawarau Suspension Bridge and its dramatic gorge nearby to Queenstown. It's a classy bridge design in a setting that is world-class. This bridge is narrow, being built way before cars and trucks had been invented and built.:

I just gave recommendations for Akaroa, Wellington and Dunedin on this thread

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2437651

Hope that helps!