Austrian Bed and Breakfast - possible Tiki-tour for the guests?

Oooooookay - so these guest's  arriving - need - urm - to see
S O M E  of our beautiful spots (apart from me)!!  I know - having frequently being told - that I am handsome/masculine/stunning and very furry and well - ok - (am not)   :D ,   you get the picture - but I assure you 3 weeks of me is not ideal - soooooo we talked about decisions that need to be made.  After all how much time can one spend doing a proverbial navel gaze?

The meremaid and little princess have an advantage here - having already been on a teeny weeny tiki-tour and almost successfully avoided the Colonel Sand-ers at Milford sound.   The deal with Colonel Sand-ers     (hmmmm - I may have to go down there later in the year and broker a new deal ^^ )!  She may well pass on hints for the others (and I do recommend a daily dose of Marmite), indeed I hope they can meet up at some stage.

Meanwhile - I kinda put together a summary of what many many tourist's are doing. It can be broken down in two groups - those that can spend only about 20-25 days here and then those who can afford to spend way more time - like 4-6 weeks.  In truth even that is not enough to see the bulk of it.  Those with much time fly into Auckland and head north - then double back down through Central Island (often with a de-tour via Coromandel) down to Wellington where they catch a boat and then travel through the South Island.  Here they follow a very well trodden path already.

Then there are those who have 3 weeks time and thy usually fly into Christchurch and head across to the coast - either via Arthurs Pass or Lewis Pass and then south - Franz Joseph - Queenstown - Milford sound - Invercargill back north via Central (Mt Cook / Mckenzie country) and eventually back to Christchurch.  Both images have a red line to illustrate where folks usually travel.

Problem is -
a; - you need time - L O T S of time, and
b;- a decent campervan, and
c; - you still miss 75 - 80% of some of the better sights.

Then there are distances to consider. If you travel from Invercargill in the south to Picton in the north - bank on traveling 2 days comfortably, or if you want to punish yourself - 10 hours with no rests. ^^

What to do - what to do??

Doris / Wilfried - below is a list of places and stuff to do while here.  It is nowhere near complete.  Everything -- place/activity etc you read can be found via google . . .
There are places I can take you of the beaten track that are just as stunning . . . . .  if not better then the "traditional" places tourists go to.
Meremaid - next time - ^^ urm (boys may have left home by then - so there is a semi permanent free room)   :D

Come to think of it - I like the idea of the first picture - I shall get a large NZ Map and plonk that on a wall in our house and then print ONE (only allowed one) image from each place/town/beach/nature hike-walk/ sunset /  we have been to as a holiday or so since I lived here.  It will fill a full 3mx6m wall comfortably.   Now there is an idea - wonder if Mammabear approves ? ?  ? ?




Christchurch -- Botanical gardens / Sumner beach / Port hills etc / Akaroa /

Kaikoura -- Whale watching / Walks / crayfish

Hamner Springs -- Hot Pools / Forest walks / Skiing base in winter

Westport  -- Coal museum / Denniston / Karamea - end of Heaphy track

Reefton -- Electricity / Gold mining

Greymouth -- Shantytown / Coal /

Punakaki -- Pancake rocks / Walks / Paparoa National Park

Barrytown -- Knife making / Beach

Hokitika -- Jade (greenstone) / Gold / Treetop-walk / Hokitika Gorge / Lake Kaniere / White heron / Wild food festival / Start for 'Coast to coast' race

Ross --  Gold / Walks / Beach /

Franz Joseph -- Ice / Glacier /

Fox -- Ice / Glacier / Lake Matheson / Gillespie Beach / Salmon farm / Alpine Fault line

Haast -- Jade / Walks / Fishing / Salmon farm

Wanaka -- Lake / Walks / Skiing

Queenstown -- Tourist Capital nz / Skiing / Walks / Jetboat / Earnslaw / Kingston flyer / Bungy jump / Arrowtown - Gold

Te Anau -- National Park / Manapouri / Milford Sound / Milford-Routeburn-Kepler tracks / Mirror lakes

Invercargill -- Southern Town - Bluff -- Stewart island / Fishing / Oyster capital nz

Catlins - Last wilderness on mainland / Walks / Water falls / Petrified forrest / Disappearing Lake / Beaches!!

Dunedin - Scottish town / Railway station / Larnach Castle / Albatross colony / Penguin colony

Morakei -- Boulders / Fishing

Oamaru -- Heritage buildings / Blue Penguin colony /

Omarama -- Several power-stations / Glider capital NZ

Lake Pukaki -- Mount Cook / Church of the Good Shepard / Mckenzie basin / Lake Ohau / Skiing / hiking / Hot pools / Rowing Center for NZ / World heritage park for Observatory at Mt John

Fairlie -- ex Dam-construction town - access to skifields / summer hikes

Geraldine -- Barkers / Farming town / Strawberry fruits / Bush / Logging

Ashburton -- Farming town /

Akaroa -- French settlement / swim with the Dolphins / Fishing (Akaroa Cod) / French Winery / Cheese /


Have fun - googling places / activities