The land of the long white cloud- south island

[Benno18 (Ben)]

Hi everyone.
Just as call out to the guys across the ditch or those who have been.

The family and I are heading over in October, and we are in need of a few activities for the little kids to do. Mainly on the west coast of the southern island. They will be four and two, and we are finding that a lot of the activities on websites and in the books are for 6+. All good for the big boy but not for the others.

Money isn't really an issue, I figure we made it that far, so......
And the time on the west coast will be around four to five days.
Also will there be any restrictions in Christchurch? Haven't heard anything at all about the aftermath of the earthquakes.

Any advice would be great and very much appreciated!!!!
Cheers
Benno

[Octane (Humayun)]

Watch the sun set at Gillespie's Beach.

H

[BPO]

Much of the west coast is pitch black, but often cloudy. It's on the "wrong" side of the Southern Alps, copping heavy orographic rainfall for much of the year. That said, on clear nights the views are amazing.

To be brutally honest, unless you're into tramping/hiking or climbing, it would be difficult to keep most adults entertained there for 5 or 6 days, letalone small children. It's a beautiful place but the options are somewhat limited (in my personal opinion).

[Bassnut (Fred)]

Originally Posted by BPO

Much of the west coast is pitch black, but often cloudy. It's on the "wrong" side of the Southern Alps, copping heavy orographic rainfall for much of the year. That said, on clear nights the views are amazing.

To be brutally honest, unless you're into tramping/hiking or climbing, it would be difficult to keep most adults entertained there for 5 or 6 days, letalone small children. It's a beautiful place but the options are somewhat limited (in my personal opinion).

Pancake rocks, Milford sound, glaciers, seals, beaches strewn with driftwood. I've been around a bit, it's singularly the most atmospheric, weird place I've been to .

And often the worse the weather gets the more interesting it gets.

[BPO]

Milford Sound is in Fiordland, not on the West Coast. The Pancake rocks are unlikely to entertain some littlies, and the glaciers would probably leave them cold too. ( ) Seals aren't that easy to find in most spots on the West Coast, and beaches strewn with driftwood may get boring after a few days.

But it is very atmospheric much of the time, although that may be lost on small children, especially after days and days of rain and sand flies.

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Have to agree, it's not really a 'littlies' sort of place. Very empty countryside most of the time. We drove from Greymouth to Hamner Springs and only saw about 10 cars and about the same number of people in a 200km drive. Wet,moody, the land of Mordor.

Nelson, Blenheim and Kaikoura have more attractions and options for the younger folks I'd say. Whale watching, dolphins, tourist type attractions etc. Anywhere in the south island means long distances between small outposts of cute civilization. Stunning scenically but low in entertainment value.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

A Kiwi , here but from OZ . the west coast of the south island , is awsome , but take a can or 2 of ' Bushmans ' as the mozzie's there are even worse than what we have up here in Darwin , blardy wicked !!..
Enjoy your holiday , I know you will .
Oh yea most of NZ is good dark skies , away from the major centers .
Brian.

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Originally Posted by brian nordstrom

A Kiwi , here but from OZ . the west coast of the south island , is awsome , but take a can or 2 of ' Bushmans ' as the mozzie's there are even worse than what we have up here in Darwin , blardy wicked !!..
Enjoy your holiday , I know you will .
Oh yea most of NZ is good dark skies , away from the major centers .
Brian.

Blimey, I though Aust had the monopoly on things that bite. Bushmans is a GOOD idea !!

If you get anywhere inland see if you can make it to Lake Tekapo and the Mt John Observatory. Town is 'astro friendly' shade lights etc and the road up to the Ob should still be snow free I think.
Can you take a wee grab and go ? Or just a good pair of binoculars because it is just one of the best places in the world to look up from.

Anywhere in the Sth Island is dark ... West Coast looking seaward should be pitch black I reckon. Only Australia to light up the sky in the distance ... Yeah Right !!

[PCH (Paul)]

You paint a very vivid picture BPO.

I read an article on the news ezine this morning that talked about how Kiwis are flooding into WA mining jobs. I think I'm beginning to understand why -

All the best,

Originally Posted by BPO

Milford Sound is in Fiordland, not on the West Coast. The Pancake rocks are unlikely to entertain some littlies, and the glaciers would probably leave them cold too. ( ) Seals aren't that easy to find in most spots on the West Coast, and beaches strewn with driftwood may get boring after a few days.

But it is very atmospheric much of the time, although that may be lost on small children, especially after days and days of rain and sand flies.

[BPO]

Originally Posted by PCH

You paint a very vivid picture BPO.

Truth is the most beautiful thing of all.

I read an article on the news ezine this morning that talked about how Kiwis are flooding into WA mining jobs. I think I'm beginning to understand why -

That's where the money is. Not much around here!

ZeroID was correct with regard to conditions at Lake Tekapo and the surrounding Mackenzie Country. So far on my mountaintop site 58km SW of Mt John I've luxuriated in more than fifty completely clear nights since the third week of March. Long may it last.