Driving from Queenstown to the West Coast of New Zealand can be the slow descent (or ascent) away from the civilized world. From the adventureland that is Queenstown where you can do anything from bungee jump to hot air balloon to wander for days in the Southern Alps, heading to the West Coast takes you away from traffic lights, supermarket lines, anything too fancy, and the hassles of modern living.
By the time you get to the town of Hokitika (www.hokitika.com) and start heading northeast coming out of the Southern Alps into the flat farmlands of Christchurch, New Zealand's third largest city behind Auckland and Wellington, you're used to small towns with populations below 1,000 people, the cold fall air, and not seeing another car for more than an hour at a stretch. The move back to city life in most cases might be jolting.
Not here in New Zealand as the topography shifts as you drive through Arthur's Pass (tel. 64 3 318-9211; www.doc.govt.nz/Explore/001~National-Parks/Arthurs-Pass-National-Park/index.asp), a large gap in the mountains where the western part of the South Island meets the eastern part. It's like a gigantic mesa forming a golden, green windy table in the mountains with a road built in 1865.
Becoming a tourist destination in its own right, Arthur's Pass is a quaint town with a big bite. The Pass offers day hikes in the area and a few two or three-day tramps, or long hikes where New Zealanders stay in mountain huts that can sleep up to 26 individual hikers on twin beds on a first come first serve basis on their long camping-style walks. Weather permitting, these long walks are explained in detail, right down to the routes, on New Zealand's Department of Conservation's website (www.doc.govt.nz). For short walks that allow views of the expansive pass from the ground floor, check out the 30 minute to four hour walks. Allow yourself a little extra time to stop for photographs and talk to anyone you might meet on the way. New Zealand even has some passes or trails that are wheelchair accessible for short spans.
The thing to remember about New Zealanders -- when they say it's drizzling, that's a three-day downpour; going for a little walk could mean a three day hike from one end of a mountain clearing to another; a snack is a rack of lamb.
"New Zealand can get a little messy underfoot," said one sixty-something New Zealand-born Australian resident traveling with her husband who I met on a little three-hour walk through the wilderness. She's got it right.
Still, returning to city life with actual asphalt instead of glacier underfoot was a small adjustment. Fortunately, Christchurch (tel. 64 3 379 5575; www.christchurch.org.nz) is a clean, sophisticated, hip town full of backpackers playing bongo drums in the town square, small wine bars, and people embarking or returning from the natural elements of New Zealand life and sightseeing. A starting point for drives down the East or West coast's of the South Island, the city is surprisingly design-conscious with antique furniture shops, used book stores and New Zealand's newest clothing designers.
Also, Christchurch offers plenty of affordable places to stay around the middle of the city. The Camelot Cathedral Square Hotel (tel. 64 3 365-2898; www.thecamelot.co.nz) has rooms starting at US$66 from now until mid-June. The solid, spacious, three-star hotel is located across the street from the main Cathedral on the Square where an iSite tourist center and a Starbucks are located. Rates go up only about $10 during the high-season.
Young backpackers cruising through town on their way to ski and snowboarding destinations, the X base Backpackers (tel. 64 3 982-2225; www.basebackpackers.com) Christchurch has private rooms with a bathroom starting around US$55. Special packages include US$21 for one night plus one cocktail at the bar next door, one hour Internet access, and one free base lanyard, a savings of US$8. A similar package is with a gondola ride thrown in for two nights costs $48. The Christchurch X base is located right next door to the Camelot across the street from the Cathedral Square.
For a boutique hotel high on local art and concept with good rates, free Internet access, and a well-designed art-conscious boutique that takes its cue from New York City locations such as the Mercer Hotel and Soho House, Off the Square (tel. 64 3 374-9980; www.offthesquare.com) is by far the chicest and hippest place in town, or at least it's trying to be.
"We're going for a real cutting edge Manhattan thing here," says Tim Nicholls, the hotel's owner and designer. "If you're looking for a beige box, please go somewhere else."
Off-season rates start around US$96 for the small boutique-type sleekly furnished room with colorful bedspreads, low slung beds, and good location from which you can hear the church bells ring. Antique and vintage clothing shops and wild-on bars of Oxford Terrace are steps away. In the high season of the summer months, rates start at around $116. Deluxe rooms start around $130 in low season.
Fortunately, getting to Christchurch isn't too hard right now. Go Today (tel. 800/227-3235; www.gotoday.com) has Auckland and Christchurch specials starting at $1,869 that include round-trip airfare out of Los Angeles into Auckland and then four nights in Auckland, the flight to Christchurch, four nights in Christchurch, and all hotel service charges and taxes. Air departure fees and security taxes are not included. Add $480 for all departures east of Chicago. Hotel choices include four star properties including the Sky Hotel in Auckland, a hotel located in walking distance to the Viaduct wharf area and the downtown stretch of restaurants.
Another 12-day deal to New Zealand from Gate 1 Travel (tel. 800/682-3333; www.gateonetravel.com) starts at $1,999 with round-trip airfare out of Los Angeles on Air Tahiti Nui. It visits Auckland, Queenstown, Christchurch and other Kiwi Cities. In all, included in this package trip is the airfare, nine nights hotel in five cities, round-trip airfare from Auckland to Christchurch, all transfers, 10 meals, sightseeing trips, and daily breakfast. Departures available are on August 6, September 6, October 11, and November 15, 2006. The trip also departs out of New York. Call a Gate One Travel representative for prices.
For a do it yourself drive trip that includes airfare from Los Angeles to Auckland and back plus six days in a four door mid-sized car with unlimited mileage, Gate One has a fly and drive trip with 2006 departures leaving three to four times per month from May until November. Prices start at $1,079 for this self-guided tour where you can stay where you want. Again, the website for Tourism New Zealand lists almost all accommodation options throughout the country.
In Auckland, Sky City (tel. 64 9 363 6000; www.skycityauckland.co.nz) is the place to stay. Rates start around US$110 for a room in either the Sky City Hotel or the slightly more luxurious and business-friendly Sky City Grand Hotel across the street. Both hotels are part of the same large center complete with a casino, restaurants, a Visitors Center, stores, a convention center and the great Auckland Sky Tower, offering stellar views of the "harbour" and surrounding bay. A package at the Sky Hotel including one-night, a bottle of wine, a full buffet breakfast, valet parking and a two for one Sky Tower admission costs approximately US$158. Unwind at the East Day Spa (tel. 64 9 363 7050; www.eastdayspa.com), part of the hotel complex. Offering a full-range of massage in a Balinese setting that immediately takes you away from the outside city, East Day offers a wide range of herbal and organic products that can smooth away jet lag or prepare you for your trip home. A sixty-minute massage goes for US$64. For savings in the Auckland area, pick up a free copy of the Auckland A-Z Visitors Guide 2006. The middle of the book has pull-out coupons offering savings on hotels and restaurants as well as activities.
A cruise around the Auckland Harbour from the folks at the Pride of Auckland (tel. 64 9 373 4557; www.prideofauckland.com) goes for US$32 for adults and around $20 for children. Kids under four go free. From the sailboat ride you can see the surrounding bay area, the bridge, and one of the world's largest marinas.
Finally, New Zealand cuisine might be catching up to its world-class wine. Perhaps the refined wine palates raised the food bar, but Auckland and the rest of the country are now full of new restaurants serving creative and innovative cuisine. The Grove (tel. 64 9 368 4129; www.thegroverestaurant.co.nz) in central Auckland serves hearty New Zealand fare with a nouveau twist in a combination dark, elegant and downtown New York type setting. Roasted crayfish in a cauliflower puree and pomegranate molasses top the appetizer list along with oxtail tortellini served with seared scallops. A Cloudy Bay (tel. 64 3 520 9040; www.cloudybay.co.nz) Sauvignon Blanc goes well with both. A filet of beef with parmesan and truffle butter pairs well a Central Otago Pinot Noir from the Chard Farm (tel. 64 3 442 6110; www.chardfarm.co.nz) vineyard.
Wines from Central Otago (www.tco.org.nz), on the East Coast of New Zealand's South Island, are drinking especially well right now and are beginning to dominate the fresh Pinot market. Local chefs and hoteliers are more than excited. Almost all New Zealand vineyards offer daily tasting, and you can bet your bottom dollar that in New Zealand, nobody spits.
Next up: New Zealand lists and French Polynesia.
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