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Advice on Dunedin and Tauranga


chaching8
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hi,

I was also after tours in these ports as we have a son in a power wheelchair and I like to have everything organised before we embark.

On researching on these sites and new zealand tourism sites I have found a couple of recommended ones.

For Tuarangua https://www.newzealanddiscoverytours.co.nz

offer a wide range of tours

and

https://www.zealandiertours.com

who i found most helpful in organising a wheelchair accessible vehicle for our tour.

For Dunedin

https://www.goodcompanytours.co.nz

were recommended by others on this site, not wheelchair accessible, but offer a wide range of tours also

Hope this helps.

maree

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Dunedin is pretty unimpressive to be honest, I think the main reason ships stop there is to drop the pilot off.so I’ve got nothing to recommend.

Tauranga is great,we used arrow tours but there’s a lot to choose from.

At the docks small tour companies have signs up.

There’s Rotorua,a must to see.

White water rafting.

The hobbit movie set.

Even the town is nice to walk around after your tour.

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  • 2 weeks later...
We used Good Company tours in Dunedin and did the city and Larnach Castle Tour and Ship Trips and Tours in Tauranga to go to Hobbiton.

Recommend both companies.

 

 

 

Nothing to see in Dunedin. Could be a great stay on the shop day.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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Nothing to see in Dunedin. Could be a great stay on the shop day.

 

 

We enjoyed the Dunedin museum as it had an exhibit on the earthquake at Christchurch. Very compelling photos, video and artifacts such as a port a loo (no sewer post earthquake) and examples of the twists the electrical cabling turned into. As Vancouverites, we live in an earthquake zone, big wake up call to be prepared for us.

 

Many fellow passengers went on the brewery tour or for tea. The Taeri Gorge train ride was amazing and we loved that.

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We did a small group tour with Castle Cruisers and enjoyed it very much. Pick-up was at the Port Chalmers cruise port terminal. It included a stop at the train station and other local sites but the highlight was Larnach Castle. A guided tour is included and then time to explore on your own. A very scenic location with a beautiful garden. Entry to Larnach Castle is included in the price as is drop-off back at the port. Be prepared for a lot of jokes if Mark is your guide:p.

https://www.castlecruiser.co.nz/cruise-ships

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We did the train ride. It was $219 on RCI. We booked the same trip, different train, about the same timeframe for $99. Booked it at a Gov't tourist office in Wellington.

 

The differences: The independent trip left a little later but it was a longer trip. At the end point the local service club put on a barbeque beside the station. There was also a pub across the street. The RCI tour participants got a box lunch and either a beer or a small bottle of wine for lunch. We had to find our own way into town and back. Very inexpensive since there was a bus. Our tour started at the train station in town. The RCI tour started at the port....the train trip started there.

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  • 2 months later...

Shuttle into Dunedin.

 

We have used this a couple of times but only when arriving on a Princess ship.

We know it is organised by the locals, costs NZD 20 return, and you pay directly to the operator at the port.

 

My question is:

Is this the same system when arriving on Celebrity; ie: no involvement regarding payment through the ship ?

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5 minutes ago, Tranquility Base said:

Shuttle into Dunedin.

 

We have used this a couple of times but only when arriving on a Princess ship.

We know it is organised by the locals, costs NZD 20 return, and you pay directly to the operator at the port.

 

My question is:

Is this the same system when arriving on Celebrity; ie: no involvement regarding payment through the ship ?

If you go into the teminal they sell tickets .make sure you have photo ID they can be a bit overzealous with security.

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2 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

If you go into the teminal they sell tickets .

Thanks,  just wanted to check that the shuttles remained independent of the ship.

 

Another query for anyone.

In the past on the Eastbound Tasman crossing we've had NZ officials onboard for immigration clearance during those sea days.

This allowed for a speedier departure off the ship in Dunedin.

Do the cruise lines still do this, and if so which ones ?

 

 

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2 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

Thanks,  just wanted to check that the shuttles remained independent of the ship.

 

Another query for anyone.

In the past on the Eastbound Tasman crossing we've had NZ officials onboard for immigration clearance during those sea days.

This allowed for a speedier departure off the ship in Dunedin.

Do the cruise lines still do this, and if so which ones ?

 

 

I don’t know how long ago your last cruise and from experience the customs and immigration can be overzealous in the South Island.

But in this day and age everything is electronic.

swip you’re passport when you get on the ship and that’s it even when you get home just walk off.

Edited by Chiliburn
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I enjoyed Dunedin, we did the Taieri Gorge train and then just wandered around the city centre last time.  This time we are having a tour around the town and outskirts including the castle.

 

Last time in "Tauranga we did Hobbiton, this time the kids are going to Rotarua and we are doing a wine tasting tour.

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If you walk a short distance up the Main Street, you can take the public bus into Dunedin. It leaves every 1/2 hour and costs $6 each way, drops you off in the middle of town and you can pick it up where the shuttle buses pick up passengers to take them back to Port Chalmers. Just ask the driver for guidance, they are very friendly people there

Edited by Hotshot80
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In Dunedin, we did the Taieri Gorge train and City Sites combo tour with Good Company Tours. Very good tour and cheaper than doing a ship tour.  Our ship tour was on a train that went to the same area we did.  Spectacular scenery!  And the ship tour did not do the city tour like we did.

 

In Tauranga, we did the Hobbits and Geysers Shore Tour with Cruise Tauranga.  A very busy and very interesting day.  Loved seeing the Geysers and a bit of Maori culture added in at Te Puia and then walking through Hobbiton where much of the Lord of the Rings was filmed.  Finished with an ale at the Green Dragon and on our trip back got to see the “Misty Mountains,”. Again, two different sites for less than seeing one via the cruise ship.

 

both tour companies are very aware of getting you back to the ship on time so no fears about that!

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On ‎12‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 6:10 PM, mertziek said:

In Dunedin, we did the Taieri Gorge train and City Sites combo tour with Good Company Tours. Very good tour and cheaper than doing a ship tour.  Our ship tour was on a train that went to the same area we did.  Spectacular scenery!  And the ship tour did not do the city tour like we did.

 

In Tauranga, we did the Hobbits and Geysers Shore Tour with Cruise Tauranga.  A very busy and very interesting day.  Loved seeing the Geysers and a bit of Maori culture added in at Te Puia and then walking through Hobbiton where much of the Lord of the Rings was filmed.  Finished with an ale at the Green Dragon and on our trip back got to see the “Misty Mountains,”. Again, two different sites for less than seeing one via the cruise ship.

 

both tour companies are very aware of getting you back to the ship on time so no fears about that!

In Dunedin, did Good Company pick you up at the pier or did you need to get yourself to another meeting point?  Thanks!

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1 hour ago, farmgirl63 said:

In Dunedin, did Good Company pick you up at the pier or did you need to get yourself to another meeting point?  Thanks!

They picked us up at the port and took us to the train station building.  On return we got into the same vehicle for our city tour.

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10 hours ago, farmgirl63 said:

In Dunedin, did Good Company pick you up at the pier or did you need to get yourself to another meeting point?  Thanks!

 You will be met by a company representative in the terminal building at the end of the pier - look for a sign for your tour. The coach will be waiting outside for the group to board. It was later than expected that passengers were able to disembark but fortunately the train for private passengers was delayed by 30 minutes. So I would suggest you make sure you are off as soon as possible. Our coach driver/guide was Josh who was very knowledgeable and very passionate about his home town.

 

Leigh

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We did our own thing in Dunedin but booked a tour to Hobbiton through Zealandier at Tauranga. I blogged about our visits if you are interested.

 

Dunedin

https://tanyastravelblog.wordpress.com/2017/12/14/from-fiords-to-frosty-and-we-arent-talking-snowman/

 

Tauranga

https://tanyastravelblog.wordpress.com/2017/12/17/land-of-the-vertically-challenged/

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For Dunedin - we booked a tour directly with the Royal Albatross Centre (RAC) web site.  A van picked us up directly from Port Chalmers (by special request).  We were offered to be dropped off at the iSite in Dunedin or taken back to Port Chalmers.  

 

It was an excellent day and amazing to see the work done at the RAC.  This site is the only mainland breeding colony of Albatross in the world.  The birds were nesting (incubating), so very little aerial activity and we via their observational rooms (we could see out, but the birds could not see in), had very good views of the birds close to the observatory.  Our tour included the Fort as well (very interesting history!).

In addition to the Albatrosses, you can view the critically endangered Otago Shag and if you go down to the beach observatory platform, there are fur seals as well (we didn’t do the latter, but would do again in the future!).

My blog review of the excursion is here:
https://baskeytravels.com/dunedin/

In addition, here are a couple of photos that I took:
NZ1_0040%20RAC-L.jpg

 

NZ1_0059_RAC-L.jpg

Edited by hvbaskey
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  • 2 weeks later...

We did the Hobbiton tour through Zealandier when we were in Tauranga and did Dunedin on our own using the ship's shuttle to get into the town. I blogged about both ports and our day there if you are interested.

 

Tauranga

https://tanyastravelblog.wordpress.com/2017/12/17/land-of-the-vertically-challenged/

 

Dunedin

https://tanyastravelblog.wordpress.com/2017/12/14/from-fiords-to-frosty-and-we-arent-talking-snowman/

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