Touring SI with Dream Girl. Need advice

[3L4NS1R]

So I'm heading back down south (someone, please make a joke of that?) for the second time this year, this time with 4 wheels, and the girl of my dreams as company (she's back in NZ on holiday from Aussie).

What I need is advice from locals or people with specific knowledge of a few key areas as to where to stay each night/take her each day.

In particular, I need advice for the Nelson/Hanmer region, as I have only been there as a clueless 5 year old, and know nothing of it.

We are planning on camping/car camping most nights, to keep the prices down, so nice pretty places to wake up in would be an excellent plus (you know how girls get mushy when they wake up to that sorta stuff.)

Like most girls she likes sunrises/sunsets, scenic stuff, cute little animals, and heaps of money (planning on impressing with the first 2-3 items, 'cause the 4th is currently not viable).

Any suggestions? We have 7 days in the South Island.

[Tank]

Before we can offer fair, impartial and helpful advise - we need a pic of said missus.

[EJK]

Could hedgehogs be considered "cute little animals"? There are heaps of em in my backyard.

Sorry can't really help you but good luck and have fun :niceone:

[yod]

Arthurs Pass -> (Devils) Punchbowl Falls

luvverly wee spot

[Virago]

As a "campaphobic", anything I could suggest will probably be over your budget.

However, a really extravagence in the Upper South Island area is a night at Maruia Springs. See posts 7 & 8 in this thread:

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?p=2005652#post2005652

It ain't cheap, but I think it is well worth it.

[jim.cox]

Go camp on a west coast beach, light a bonfire and watch the sun go down...

[Beemer]

As a "campaphobic", anything I could suggest will probably be over your budget.

Yay, someone else who hates camping! Everyone thinks I'm odd because I've NEVER been camping (sleeping in a caravan at Sweetwaters is the closest I've ever got) but I know I won't like it so why bother!

Hanmer Springs is lovely - we stayed at a reasonably priced motel there - not all are hideously expensive.

Good luck, hopefully she'll be blown away by the scenery and you'll be sweet!

[Laava]

pretty places to wake up in would be an excellent plus (you know how girls get mushy when they wake up to that sorta stuff.).
I thought they only liked 5 star?
On 2nd thoughts, you better hang onto that one!

[Anarkist]

Put it in her pooper

[Laava]

Errr! Wrong forum? Did you mean to go here?http://dr1.com/forums/clown-bin/67322-proctology-exam.html:buggerd:

[Goblin]

Yay, someone else who hates camping! Everyone thinks I'm odd because I've NEVER been camping (sleeping in a caravan at Sweetwaters is the closest I've ever got) but I know I won't like it so why bother!I reckon you must be odd for saying you hate something you've never tried. There's nothing better than finding some out of the way spot where no one else is, setting up ya Taj Mahal (tent) and spending a night in the wilderness. Not everyone's cuppa T but you never know 'til ya try.

Take her over Takaka Hill to the salmon farm for lunch. You get to show her your manly skills at catching one and they smoke it right there in front of you. Yummmm!!

West Coast is always stunning(even when pissing down!). Take her gold panning and go see the glaciers.

I still get mushy when I think of waking up at Haast and Pukekura. There's deer and thar at Pukekura and you can hand feed them and eat them. :drool:

The only downside to touring the South is the ferry from Picton.

[sunhuntin]

if you can, go to wanaka and see if theres anywhere on the lake where you can camp. i really love the lakeside there, just picture perfect... its like a postcard you can actually touch and feel.

enjoy your trip matey... in the south island, its damn near impossible to go wrong scenic wise.

[Laxi]

Put it in her pooper

kb is full of helpful sugestions:clap: the best way to do this is the oops wrong hole routine, her reaction will have you amsed for hours:rofl:

[RantyDave]

So I'm heading back down south ... with the girl of my dreams as company

Any suggestions?
Do exactly whatever the fuck it is you want to do. If you hit it off, sweet, it was obviously "meant to be"(tm). Otherwise, well, find a girl with an Aprilia.

Dave

[AllanB]

Take her over Takaka Hill to the salmon farm for lunch. You get to show her your manly skills at catching one and they smoke it right there in front of you. Yummmm!!



Yes sir - great set-up and oh soooo yummmy. I'll be back then in Jan with the family :yes:

Nelson way - Motuekua has a nice camp site, if it's fine Kaiteriteri Motorcamp is excellent - on the beach with Takaka a hour or so over the hill. north of Takaka is Pupu Springs - worth the short walk in.
These are fairly small towns but full of character.
While up that far go all the way to the top of the South Island (which is further north than the bottom of the North Island) If you have the time you can pay to go on a ride out to Farewell Spit - by all accounts well worth it and on my 'to-do-list'.

Of course the big smoke up there is Nelson and well serviced with motorcamps.

Weather can be dodgey at this time of year - take warm clothing.

[MyGSXF]

We have 7 days in the South Island.

When is said trip happening?? Tis getting quite chilly to be camping out down here at night now...:cold: then again.. you could always snuggle to keep warm.. :whistle:

Def take her over the Takaka Hill & right out to Farewell Spit. There's a magic cafe overlooking the Spit.. lotsa swans & nice walks. The road between Takaka to Collingwood & onto the Spit is amongst my favourite pieces of road in the South! :first: The Collingwood camp is rather quaint!

Do a Google search for camping areas at Hanmer & Maruia Springs. The hot pools at either are magic! You can hire private pools at both places, which are gorgeous.. & very romantic! :rolleyes:

Go down the West Coast, where you can watch the sun set into the sea!! :yes:

Enjoy!!! :woohoo:

[Gremlin]

Blue pools near Haast Pass are supposed to be very good...

A trip on Doubtful or Milford Sound may be recommended?

[tigertim20]

if she is as mushy as you say, take her somewhere with a beautiful sunset, as as the sun sets in the sky, tell her all the reasons why you think she is amazing, then tell her you love her. If shes as mushy as you say she wont give a fuck where yaz are or what your doing after that. Plus youll probably get more pussy you can poke your dick at.
P.S. This also works if you dont really love her at all hahaha:whistle:

[3L4NS1R]

Before we can offer fair, impartial and helpful advise - we need a pic of said missus.

You know I would if there weren't a chance of it getting back to her. Please note: her status is currently "the one that got away... twice." This is the great redeeming trip. Hopefully.


you could always snuggle to keep warm.. :whistle:


There is nothing more romantic than the classic spoon.


Cheers for the advice people! I'm finding it hard to remember that we'll be in a cage.. travelling times change!

At the moment I'm thinking the places to hit are: Hanmer Springs, Mt Cook, Wanaka, Milford, and Franz. Any advances on that?

Any super secret locations around those areas I should know about?

[CookMySock]

The biggest problem you will have sleeping on the ground is getting enough quality sleep. Can get a bit tetchy after 3-4 days of no sleep, and then any romantic ideas go out the window real quick.

Steve

[3L4NS1R]

Blue pools near Haast Pass are supposed to be very good...

A trip on Doubtful or Milford Sound may be recommended?

Milford is a definate must. No trip to the SI is complete without.

Blue pools? Wasn't tooooo impressed with them last time I saw them, however that may have been a combination of the hangover and the 400+ ks I had already done that day...

[Goblin]

Try holding out until the fourth night and she will be begging for it!:love:

[3L4NS1R]

The biggest problem you will have sleeping on the ground is getting enough quality sleep. Can get a bit tetchy after 3-4 days of no sleep, and then any romantic ideas go out the window real quick.

Steve

Seen. This may call for the occasional night in a motel/backpacker. Will make some enquiries.

[Tank]

You know I would if there weren't a chance of it getting back to her.

come on ... if you cant trust a ton of strangers on KB who can you trust?

[Squiggles]

Motueka (awesome patisseries (sp?)) and just up from there for some awesome views and cool people :niceone:

[Timber020]

Be very well prepared, nothing will piss a girl off more than if shes uncomfortable and sees little options of getting more comfortable and she sees you as the unprepared and hopeless cause of this! Have alternative plans and back up things to do if option 1 make her less likely to be a happy camper.

Make sure you have a gas cooker and billy plenty of warm dry clothing, an extra sleeping bag and comfort food and insect repelant and first aid kit. Big cheap warehouse tarp and some rope would be good to. You can get ration packs on trademe that have all sorts of food in them.

If you have a hatchback a single blow up matress will fit in with the seats folded down. I spent 3 months traveling in the back of a 92 ford laser in the states this way with a girl and it was pretty comfortable and when the weather crapped the bugs got bad or the bears got interested it meant a warm place to stay. Try it out before you go out to be sure its all fits. Get some payless plastic bins that will fit behind the front seats to help flaten the whole back out when the seats are down and they will work well to keep food in and be small tables when your eating outside.

Lots of clean water to. 4 2l coke bottles are probably enough.

Women are so much work.

[Gubb]

There is nothing more romantic than the classic spoon.

Well, Tank never complained. I think he was upset that he was always the "little spoon" though.

FUCK YOU FOG!

[Gremlin]

Gillespies Beach has a camping area, beach just over the dune, but reasonably exposed...

[Forest]

Leave early one morning and drive through the Marlborough back roads as the sun comes up. This is always a highlight for me.

Make sure to drive into the visitor carpark for Lake Rotoiti in the Nelson Lakes National Park. Stand back from the jetty and enjoy the epic landscape. Every time I visit there it seems like I've stepped into a dream.

http://images.google.com/images?q=lake+rotoiti+jetty

[3L4NS1R]

Be very well prepared...


some awesome advice there! cheers dude!

Already got the rations, water, and other supplies. Will test out that bed thing tonight! I've got a large cefiro stationwagon, one of the beautiful features of it is the seats fold down flat, extending out to the backs of the front seats. That makes a pretty large area where even I (at 6'3") can lie flat (almost). I'm thinking possibly a double airbed? (I have one of those already...)

[gijoe1313]

You truly are a brave fellow sir! I salute your preparations ... and as you well know, no plan survives contact with the enemy. Hope you can think fast on your feet and knowing is half the battle! :msn-wink:

Get a copy of the BBH hostel guide for back up in case there needs to be a roof and amenities needed at times! :yes:

[3L4NS1R]

no plan survives contact with the enemy.

Indeed! No plan survives h-hour.

Got me a copy of the bbh, and a motel guidebook just in case...

[Indiana_Jones]

Drunk chicks don't say no....

-Indy

[MyGSXF]

I'm thinking possibly a double airbed?

Go to an op shop/recycling station & pick yourself up a proper double mattress! It won't go flat on you, in the middle of the night.. plus I think it would be warmer than an air mattress. :niceone: Those silver survival blankets are good too.. you can lay it under the mattress, to offer some extra insulation!

I lived in a Lada Station wagon for nearly 4 months, while traveling the South Island many years ago..:whistle: was a fantastic experience!! :first: & you can go to lots of out of the way places, that regular "tourists" don't go to.. :yes:

Get a solar shower that you can fill with water & lay it in the back window to heat through the day while you are traveling, so when you find some magic hidden place to camp for the night, hang it up in a tree & you get to have a nice warm shower..:woohoo: (whilst terrorizing the local wildlife..:shutup:)

[Virago]

...pick yourself up a proper double mattress! It won't go flat on you...

Damn you - if you had said something about "going down on him during the night", it would have opened up a whole line of jokes...

[gatch]

Fuck all that, a case of bourbon/wine will get you the same thing in the end.

That and an hour with a hypnotherapist to tell her thats what she wanted and will come back for more next year.

Have a good week.

[MyGSXF]

Damn you - if you had said something about "going down on him during the night", it would have opened up a whole line of jokes...

weeeell.. funny you should say that.. :shutup: when I originally wrote the post.. it said exactly that.. :lol: thank god for "preview post"... :whistle:

[3L4NS1R]

hmm... will check if my bed mattress fits tommorow.. like many things I possess, i think it may be too large for any good :P

my thinking about the double air mattress is that it would be able to be inflated to what ever size was needed.. (probably a bit less than normally?)

[Max Preload]

hmm... will check if my bed mattress fits tommorow.. like many things I possess, i think it may be too large for any good :P

You mean your delusions and ego, right? :woohoo:

[3L4NS1R]

Just got back last night from the most extraordinary trip I've ever done. Since the last one...

While the weather was threatening a few times, it seems we had a bubble of fine weather as we travelled.

Turns out, a sunset cruise around Milford Sounds just after a snow fall is a quick way to make any female go all touchy. Highly recommended.

What isn't recommended considering the circumstances is a morning jet boat ride in -2 degrees. These generally don't end well when romance is involved...

[gijoe1313]

Remember, what goes on tour stays on tour! :msn-wink:

Glad to hear you had a good time, so did you show her your battle scars from your last motorcycle entertainment? :whistle: And did you use the mattress in the back of the car in the end? Or did you end up flashpacking it?

Pics? :innocent:

[3L4NS1R]

Haha, battle wounds are a must show. They increase your man points threefold.

Car camped a grand total of 2 nights. Was too cold to even contemplate it for most of the trip (even with the sacred spoon)

Pics coming as soon as I get home. Downloaded them onto the home computer last night...