23 Jan - 7 Feb 2012 (16 days) New Zealand South Island on Air Asia (CHINESE NEW YEAR FALLS ON 23 JAN 2012)
Cost Rm4,000 (per pax for Group of 12 pax), Rm3,800 (per pax for Group of 13 up to 16 pax)
Excluding Air Asia flights
Update 17 Aug 2010 - Trip is confirmed with current numbers 14 pax. Max for this trip is 16 pax. As Chinese New Year is peak travel, its best to book early. FYI normal fare (not promo fare) ticket can be transferred to another person with admin fee by Air Asia. If you like to cover the North Island, we can help provide advice and info assistance. You can fly in and out via www.airnewzealand.co.nz or www.jetstar.com at reasonable cost. Or plan to fly AA to Christchurch and out Jetstar via Auckland. Please free to contact us by email or phone.
Update 2 Apr 2010 - Air Asia is offering some promo fares until 5 April 2011. All in fares without baggage n meals are at time of writing is Rm1541, compared to Rm4235 for Singapore Airlines. If you are interested please inform me quickly. Once we have min 12 pax confirmed, we will instruct Group to purchase their flight tickets. Period of travel covers three holidays i.e. Chinese New Year, KL City Day and Thaipusam, meaning 8 days of annual leave. Please check the terms and conditions at the bottom for full details of exclusions. We advise Group to purchase Travel Insurance in case of cancelation due to illness/death of member or immediate family members. If the dates are not suitable, please let us know. We can shift the dates to accomodate the group.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
This is meant to be a "free and easy" budget trip. Participants should be relatively fit, with a good sense of humour, and above all, have the right attitude for close travel with others through possibly some trying times. Most definitely, this is not a trip for prudes, whiners, fuss-pots, and other similiarly assorted types! Although every effort will be made to stick to the given itinerary, ground conditions may change and cause some disruption and/or deviation from the norm. Otherwise, have fun!
We fly into Christchurch and do a loop starting
in Kaikoura, then moving westwards to Greymouth, then south to the land of
glaciers before returning to Queenstown. We proceed on to Te Anau, Milford
Sound, Invercargill, Dunedin and Mount Cook before returning to Christchurch.
Please pay carefull attention the following remarks. We hire vehicles and self-drive. We stay in motels with cooking facilities. To economise, we'll prepare our
breakfasts and dinners. The group is expected to help in meals preparation,
cleaning up, driving and carry own luggage. A group fund of Rm500 is collected from each participant to pay for provisions and fuel for the vehicles. Excess will be returned and if insufficient, members will have to top up.
Day 1 KLIA:
Meet in KLIA by 10PM 23 Jan 2012 Monday (Chinese New Year day) for Air Asia flight to Christchurch departing 1140PM arriving 255PM the next day. flight time 10:15hr. Overnight Plane.
Day 2 Kaikoura: Arrive 255PM and travel 188km/2:46hr to Kaikoura. Overnight Kaikoura.
Day 3 Kaikoura:
We have a full day in this famous whaling town including lavender farm and the Peninsular
Cliff Walk in Kaikoura to catch the sunset. Stay Kaikora.
Day 4 Greymouth: We leave early for a
soak in the thermal springs of Hamner Springs before proceeding on to the
pancake rocks and blowholes of Punakaiki 374km/5:25hr on our way
to our night-stop in Greymouth 44/0:38hr.
Day 5 Glaciers:
Our first stop for the day would be in Hokitika 44km/0:38hr, known for its greenstones
or jade. Later we proceed to Fox Glacier 159km/2:18 for an optional guided 3.5hrs walk
on the Glacier. We go onto Lake Matheson for a view of Mount Cook before going
on to the Haast 117km/1:42hr for the night.
Day 6 Queenstown:
We drive through UNESCO listed Mt Aspiring National Park on our way to Wanaka's
Puzzle World, famed for it's first 3-D maze in the world. There are numerous
photo stops namely at Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka. Our final destination
is the popular town of Queenstown 215km/3:06hr.
Day7 Queenstown: We spend a whole day in this town doing the various sites including the
skyline gondolo ride, Kiwi & Birdlife Park, Arrowtown, bungy jump-site
at Kuwarau and the jet-boating at the Shotover River. Stay Queenstown.
Day 8 Te Anau: We leave for Te Anau 174km/2:32hr
on our way to Milford Sound 120km/1.5hr. There are numerous photo stops
on this very popular route. Those interested can also go the famed Milford
Cruise. We stay in pretty Te Anau.
Day 9 Invercargill: We go on the less
visited "Southern Scenic Route" all the way to Invercargill 159km/2:19hr, the least developed town in New Zealand with its many quaint old
buildings and residential houses. We visit Bluff, nearest point to Australia
and drive along the wild southern coast. Overnight Invercargill.second largest
city of the South Island and was founded by Scottish settlers.
Day 10 Dunedin: Early departure for Dunedin 290km/4hrs, named
after Dunedin in Scotland. This is the second largest city of the South
Island and was founded by Scottish settlers. On the way, we visit the many
sights of the beautiful wind-swept area of Catlins.Overnight Dunedin.
Day 11 Dunedin: In the morning we'll
visit the hilly Peninsular area with its birds and seal colonies. For the rest of the day, we visit the Cadbury Chocolate factory, Speights Beer Brewery and the World's Steepest Street.. Overnight
Dunedin.
Day 12 Mount Cook National Park: We start early for Mt
Cook National Park 334km/4:50hr with a stop to see Maruaki Boulder's Beach. Mt Cook is the highest mountain in NZ. We'll
do the Hooker Valley walk with vista views of snow-capped mountains including
Mount Cook. Overnight Mount Cook.
Day 13 Christchurch: If there are participants
for white water rafting, we will drop by Peel Forest and the grade 5 rapids
on the Rangitata River. Other stops on the way to Christchurch 263km 5hrs
would be Lake Tekapo and the Church of the Good Shepard. Stay Christchurch.
Day 14 Sun Christchurch: We will visit one of the many weekend markets. We spend the rest of the time relaxing in the park and walking around the Malls. Stay Christchurch.
Day 15: Full day drive up to Arthur's Pass and back. We also do some walks in the area before returning to Christchurch.
Day 16 Home: Free time in the morning for last minute shopping. Transfer to Airport at 2PM for flight taking off at 410PM arriving LCCT at 1025PM 7 Feb 2012 Tuesday (10:15hr).
