places to see without doing shore excursion,

good evening , i have some questions for those who know theses areas

what can we do with out it being a ship excursions we rather meet the locals and have fun and enjoy our selves with out paying the ship. so im open to suggestions please

Dunedin . one port , next is christchurch . thride is wellington , fourth is bay of the island thank you in advance our cruise takes place december 2011 ,, my husband wants to get out and meet the locals and have fun so pubs.. with in walking distance of the cruise termails if at all , just give me what you locals do and where to go thanks,,

Hi thrusday :)

In most of the New Zealand Ports if you do your home work / research you don’t need to do a ship excursions.

Dunedin . one port ,

In Dunedin you don’t need to do any ship excursions, you can do your own thing; you just need to take a bus in to town as you dock in a working port.

Like you can just wonder the town if you like or go to the Cadburys Chocolate Factory or to the Dunedin railway, or go to the Speights Brewery tour (This can be a poplar place (especially if there is two ship in), so you may not get in if you want to go here your self, so if you want to do this, then a ships tour could be good here)

next is christchurch .

I don’t know if you will be going to Christchurch, due to the Earthquakes they have had, I think you may go to Akaroa instead (if that’s the case I cant help you there, as I have not been there before), but I suggest you keep an eye on this forum as once the NZ Cruise season starts again in October, we will have a better idea if cruise ships will go there or not.

thride is wellington ,

In wellington you don’t need to do any ship excursions, you can walk of the ship and walk in to town or get a cab in to town and either to go to the Bee Hive and do a tour and lean about the New Zealand Government or go to the cable cars and go up the hill and get a great view of wellington!

fourth is bay of the island

I have not been to the bay of the island on a cruise ship, only on land holidays, but I think you can do your own thing here as well, with out too much hassle, although the ship could book out maybe a couple of the tour companies, so its worth checking to see if you can do the tours you want on your own.

Just a few ideas on what to do here in NZ!

I figure from the time of your posting that you are from either the USA or UK..probably USA as all the poms are in Wedding mode.

Its certainly a little hard to not be a tourist when away from home, especially when the accent is different, but a can well relate to any desire to mix in with the locals rather than be just a sightseer.

We have been to NZ (from OZ) a couple of times, and we are going again at the end of this yer, but I will comment only on Dunedin and Christchurch.

There is limited tour operators in Dunedin, and from my experience unless you are with one of the ships tours you are very much on your own. That said a leisurely strole around the city is rewarding. You do still need to catch a shuttle bus from Port Chalmers however. My suggestion is to do the Pub Hop tour (offered by Princess, don't know about other lines). This inexpensive tour visits 3 local pubs (including the historic Cary's Bay pub ) as well as Speights brewery. You do get an opportunity of meeting and mixing with locals on ths tour.

Christchurch situation is unresolved , but I am planning on the ship calling at Akaroa. This will mean a tender disembarkement and tours will be extended significantly. My plan is to just explore Akaroa, which I have found from my research, was founded by the French, back in the times when France and England were in bitter dispute about possessions in the Pacific. Imagine if things had turned out differently we could be talking about L'Australie and Nouveau Zealandie...viva la difference.

cheers

thank you both we are on halland amercia so yes they have tours but my husband isnt wanting to budge on these ports even though i tried to explain to him that the frist port is a working port, he insist we can walk, now i wander if holland will have bus to take people to town , or not , or find out how much a bus fair is , as this is all new to me

As you get off the ship there is a small tourist cabin where you can get some local info. I think all ships will offer a shuttle from Port Chalmers into Dunedin (30 min drive) and drop you off in the centre at Otaga Square (there was a craft maket in the Square when we were there) . In Otago Square there is another tourist office, lots of restaurants, snack bars and bars plus shops. It is an easy walk to the Railway Station, and Cadbury´s factory (they are almost opposite each other. The town is very ´Scottish´, but they do have some intersting small shops (including a lovely bead shop) It´s easy to catch a local bus (9 or 29)to visit Baldwin Street (the steepest street in the world) and from there on to the Botanic Gardens. When we visited last October we had plenty of time to look round the town. One of the local Cafés did wonderful warm cheese scones with a pot of tea. (also had free internet there). We found the people in NZ to be very helpful.

Sandy

what can we do with out it being a ship excursions we rather meet the locals and have fun and enjoy our selves with out paying the ship. so im open to suggestions please

Dunedin . one port , next is christchurch . thride is wellington , fourth is bay of the island ....

I forgot to add on my post for Dunedin that we found it quite windy there.

For Christchurch we docked in the bay at Akaroa then caught the tender. Akaroa is very small, but pretty. It is the oldest colonial town on NZ South Island. The bay is almost enclosed by hills and there are only a very few shops around the wooden jetty (tourist info office, swimming with dolphins office and a Pearl shop) At the end of the wooden jetty is an information tent.) We had pre-booked a bus into Christchurch (Akaroa Shuttle) It took about 2hr to get to Christchurch, but the drive was very scenic and the local driver gave us plenty of information. In Christchurch we took the tram around the city centre and the driver gave us information on local pubs to visit. We were there in October 2010, before the earthquake. At Akaroa I was bitten by sand flies on the grassy area by the jetty.

In Wellington, the ship docked close to the city centre. We had pre-booked a private tour which included a city centre tour, Victoria signal station, botanic garden, cable car ride and a visit to Te Papa museum. I would say even if you don´t visit anywhere else go to the Te Papa Museum. It´s free and absolutely wonderful. You can learn about NZ history, nature etc and there´s also a cafe and shop.

Have lovely trip

Sandy in Spain

thank you both we are on halland amercia so yes they have tours but my husband isnt wanting to budge on these ports even though i tried to explain to him that the frist port is a working port, he insist we can walk, now i wander if holland will have bus to take people to town , or not , or find out how much a bus fair is , as this is all new to me

Yes, Holland America should have bus to take people in town in Dunedin.

thrusday, when is your cruise? as your Itinerary should unusual, as you should also be stopping in Auckland, before the Bay of the Island.

kiwi cruiser yes we do stop in auckland but i have a friend of 12 yrs we have been friends on line and on reg mail ,so that day is being spent with her and her husband ,they plan on taking us around lunch and all that, so i didnt worry about something to do in that port, as its covered , the other ports i didnt mention is because we have ship tours for those as well. just the ones my husband didnt want to do ship tours on,

I was in all those places in January, on a bus tour.

We had some free time and managed to see quite a few things at little or no expense.

Dunedin. Dunedin has a very unusual cathedral. If you walk there and have a look around it, you will see why. It wasn't all built at the same time, so the style could not be continued (costs). There was a man in there overseeing visitors and he was very happy to talk to us about the history.

It is a beautiful cathedral and well worth a look around.

There is no fee but there is an opportunity to make a donation and this is what we did.

We then walked to the railway, which looks nothing like a railway from outside. Again, some great photo opportunities.

There is a Cadbury factory almost opposite the railway and I know they have tours, but you would need to check times first.

There was also a garden. Not sure now-either a chinese or Japanese garden, but we were out of time. On the way to these places, we passed a couple of lovely coffee shops with beautiful (and huge!) muffins and coffee for about $6 a person. Yes, we went in!

Christchurch.

I don't know what to say about this one, as I think, from looking at some websites, that they plan on being open for business in a few months, but when ship tours will return there I am not sure.

This was a great city for doing your own thing. If you do go, you must see the Botanic gardens-exceptionally good, and they have or had little train rides round the ground to show you everything, or gondola rides on the river there. Almost right next to the gardens is the museum, which is well worth a visit, with a beautiful tea room-wonderful outlook. Down the road from there is a hotel serving Dux D'Lux, which my husband enjoyed trying. Walking around Christchurch used to be a treat-so beautiful, and lots of quaint buildings.

There also used to be the cathedral and other things in the square, but I am not sure what will be open there now.

Wellington.

This was my least favourite place to be honest, but it wasn't too bad. There is the Te Papa museum and all the govt buildings eg beehive, which others have mentioned.

Bay of Islands

The first day we were there, the Sun Princess was in (which we cursed as the palce was so crowded;):p).

But oh boy, what a wonderful place.

First off, if you wanted to, you could go on Darrly's lunch cruise. That is right in on the wharf where the tenders all dock, I think, and you could just walk into their office there. We went on the dinner cruise which has more atmosphere I assume, as it goes into the night, but the cruise takes you along a river to a waterfall, while you are served a very nice meal. If you have limited time though, this may not be your best option.

Or you could wander around the shops and area near the port section. When we were there, it was hopping. There was a man doing portraits, if you fancy having one taken, there were helicopter rides, also in the same place. On the weekend, Saturday I think it is, there is a market on across the road. It is a great market with some quality products, especially jewellery, but with prices to match. They take credit cards.

Then there is what everyone has on the 'must do' list- take a cruise out to the hole in the rock. This will take a couple of hours if you go, as it stops off at a couple of islands. If the weather is right, the boat will actually go through the hole in the rock.

The other thing you can do, which a lot of people raved about, was take a ferry over to Russell. This is again, straight from the wharf and cheap (about $7) and wander around there for a few hours. It was the original capital of NZ I believe (if I have my facts right) and contains a lot of old and historic type buildings, with some nice places to have lunch.

I forgot to add, we were staying at the copthorne, which was about a 20 minute walk away across the bridge (it means turning right as you come off the wharf there), but buses were available and would be a quicker option, because right near where we were staying is the original treaty house and the canoe. There is a fee to go through the treaty house but not too dear and worth doing. Outside, just down from the flagpole, is a coast walk. I wouldn't advise doing all of this as it is about 4 or 5 hours round trip I have been told. But my husband and I did about an hour of rambling, then back. Lovely views.

I am sure there would be something at the wahrf advertising tours to the treaty house.

Ooh, I tried to edit and add some pics to my previous post but the system won't allow me, said I am too slow.:p

Here are some pics though.

This is the wharf at Bay of islands, where everything is pretty central, easy to do your own thing. Most bookings can be made on the actual wharf and lots of buses leave from there.

Darryl's lunch or dinner cruise (looks small but was bigger on board.

2 courses, choice of mains, best lamb cutlets I have had in my life. How the chefs manage on a small boat impressed me!!

That is the bar and kitchen towards the right of the photo.

Just outside the treaty house and showing where you can start the coast walk.

Virtually next to the treaty house-large war canoe with a lot of info. It doesn't look big but it was.

Okay, system wouldn't let me do 7 photos either, so here is another post!;)

Hole in the rock, we sailed through this. That part is okay but the real thrill was in the trip-saw all sorts of sea life, dolphins following us etc

Hi Pete,

We have done the NZ cruise before so not interested in repeating Dunedin, however we would like to have a look around the town of Port Chalmers, how far from where the ship docks would this be. Should we just hail a cab from the port - or will the Princess shuttle (is this free) just drop us off on the way to Dunedin.

Thanks Lynda

Hi thrusday :)

 

In most of the New Zealand Ports if you do your home work / research you don’t need to do a ship excursions.

 

 

 

In Dunedin you don’t need to do any ship excursions, you can do your own thing; you just need to take a bus in to town as you dock in a working port.

 

Like you can just wonder the town if you like or go to the Cadburys Chocolate Factory or to the Dunedin railway, or go to the Speights Brewery tour (This can be a poplar place (especially if there is two ship in), so you may not get in if you want to go here your self, so if you want to do this, then a ships tour could be good here)

 

 

 

I don’t know if you will be going to Christchurch, due to the Earthquakes they have had, I think you may go to Akaroa instead (if that’s the case I cant help you there, as I have not been there before), but I suggest you keep an eye on this forum as once the NZ Cruise season starts again in October, we will have a better idea if cruise ships will go there or not.

 

 

 

In wellington you don’t need to do any ship excursions, you can walk of the ship and walk in to town or get a cab in to town and either to go to the Bee Hive and do a tour and lean about the New Zealand Government or go to the cable cars and go up the hill and get a great view of wellington!

 

 

 

I have not been to the bay of the island on a cruise ship, only on land holidays, but I think you can do your own thing here as well, with out too much hassle, although the ship could book out maybe a couple of the tour companies, so its worth checking to see if you can do the tours you want on your own.

 

Just a few ideas on what to do here in NZ!

Hi Pete,

 

We have done the NZ cruise before so not interested in repeating Dunedin, however we would like to have a look around the town of Port Chalmers, how far from where the ship docks would this be. Should we just hail a cab from the port - or will the Princess shuttle (is this free) just drop us off on the way to Dunedin.

 

Thanks Lynda

Port Chalmers is walking distance from the port. The town itself is small, but we enjoyed a walk around the hilly neighbourhood, admiring the beautiful small gardens.

Hi Sandy,

Do you remember who you booked for your private tour of Wellington, we are heading over to NZ in January, always nice to use someone who has been recommended.

Cheers Lynda

I forgot to add on my post for Dunedin that we found it quite windy there.

 

For Christchurch we docked in the bay at Akaroa then caught the tender. Akaroa is very small, but pretty. It is the oldest colonial town on NZ South Island. The bay is almost enclosed by hills and there are only a very few shops around the wooden jetty (tourist info office, swimming with dolphins office and a Pearl shop) At the end of the wooden jetty is an information tent.) We had pre-booked a bus into Christchurch (Akaroa Shuttle) It took about 2hr to get to Christchurch, but the drive was very scenic and the local driver gave us plenty of information. In Christchurch we took the tram around the city centre and the driver gave us information on local pubs to visit. We were there in October 2010, before the earthquake. At Akaroa I was bitten by sand flies on the grassy area by the jetty.

 

In Wellington, the ship docked close to the city centre. We had pre-booked a private tour which included a city centre tour, Victoria signal station, botanic garden, cable car ride and a visit to Te Papa museum. I would say even if you don´t visit anywhere else go to the Te Papa Museum. It´s free and absolutely wonderful. You can learn about NZ history, nature etc and there´s also a cafe and shop.

 

Have lovely trip

Sandy in Spain

Hi Sandy,Do you remember who you booked for your private tour of Wellington, we are heading over to NZ in January, always nice to use someone who has been recommended.Cheers Lynda

Hi Lynda, we used a guy called Des Harris (a native Maori) from Indigenous Trails for several excursions around NZ and they were all good. However Googling the company now their reviews are a bit iffy and in fact I think they might have closed down and their Facebook page no longer exists.

This is the info I had when dealing with him in Oct 2010 "Des Harris" <des@itrails.co.nz>

Sandy in Spain