Don Libby
Well-known member
We're in the early stages of planning a trip next year (2016) to Hawaii and New Zealand. The thought is to stop over in Hawaii for about 3-4 days shooting landscape and trying to stay away from the crowed areas with people. From there we'll fly down to Auckland renting a car and spend 2-weeks driving exploring both the north and south islands stopping in Christchurch before dropping off the car and flying back to Hawaii where we'd spend an additional 2-3 days before heading back to Tucson.
I realize there's no way to avoid the crowds in Hawaii so what we're looking at is a primetime to visit New Zealand when the weather is nice the sky has clouds and the tourists are not as plentiful. Current thinking is a timeframe between Nov and Feb for the trip and let the chips fall where they are for Hawaii. New Zealand is the main attraction and we're leaving Hawaii as a nice place to be for a short while.
I've been to New Zealand before but never ventured beyond Auckland, beside that was close to 20-years ago. One of the areas I'm interested in is Bruce Bay or somewhere similar. Primary interest is landscape both inland and beach. Any comments are welcome. Also need a little information on hotels/motels I need to see how plentiful they are.
Regarding Hawaii, again I'm interested in landscapes, waterfalls, lush forest, beaches, and of course lava. I'd also like to visit Kalaupapa if time permits either coming or going. The only tourist activity will be to pay respects at Pearl Harbor.
Any thoughts, suggestions on the trip are very welcome. Currently the plan is for Sandy & I to visit Hawaii then meet Ken Doo in New Zealand so it looks like a party of 2-3 for the trip. My main worry is being able to rent a vehicle large enough for 3-adults (remember I'm 6-9 and Sandy is 6 and Ken is what 5'7) and all our equipment.
Don
I realize there's no way to avoid the crowds in Hawaii so what we're looking at is a primetime to visit New Zealand when the weather is nice the sky has clouds and the tourists are not as plentiful. Current thinking is a timeframe between Nov and Feb for the trip and let the chips fall where they are for Hawaii. New Zealand is the main attraction and we're leaving Hawaii as a nice place to be for a short while.
I've been to New Zealand before but never ventured beyond Auckland, beside that was close to 20-years ago. One of the areas I'm interested in is Bruce Bay or somewhere similar. Primary interest is landscape both inland and beach. Any comments are welcome. Also need a little information on hotels/motels I need to see how plentiful they are.
Regarding Hawaii, again I'm interested in landscapes, waterfalls, lush forest, beaches, and of course lava. I'd also like to visit Kalaupapa if time permits either coming or going. The only tourist activity will be to pay respects at Pearl Harbor.
Any thoughts, suggestions on the trip are very welcome. Currently the plan is for Sandy & I to visit Hawaii then meet Ken Doo in New Zealand so it looks like a party of 2-3 for the trip. My main worry is being able to rent a vehicle large enough for 3-adults (remember I'm 6-9 and Sandy is 6 and Ken is what 5'7) and all our equipment.
Don