Dnls_mum:

tisha:

Hi Dnls_mum,


Just the person I need at the moment. We are off to SI next weekend.
We decided on Tranzalpine so that DH need not hit the road on Day 1. And he too will get a chance to enjoy the scenic beauty without the hassle of driving.
We have booked our rental car with Apex. We will be collecting it at Greymouth and returning it at Christchurch.
The trip is not so fully planned in details. But I've printed out your trip report for reference

I do want to check with you on a few things.
Other than Jackets, what other gear do we need to pack. Did we need Hiking Shoes or just normal sneakers will do for the walks? Also what kind of clothes did you use for the Milford Sound Cruise?

Hi Tisha,
Your itinerary looks great! I considered the Transalpine too, but decided otherwise in the end. Do tell us your experience when you are back. We also booked our car from Apex. No problem and car was decent.

We wore normal track shoes as we did not do serious hiking. Track shoes are fine for the walks. I didn't pack any special wear. They provided the hiking shoes and jackets for the helihike in FJ.

For the Milford cruise, we wore our 2 layer jackets. Under it, we had long sleeve tshirts and jeans. Preferable that your jackets have hoods. If you have single layer jackets, preferably it is padded or thick. It is pretty windy. Wear layers as on the way there u will stop along Milford road for the various stops and it could be warm depending on sun and around midday.

We went in Dec. it may be colder in SI in early Nov compared to Dec.

Thanks a bunch for the clothing tips. After reading some posts and review on TA I was worried I would need waterproof hiking gear, if not we will be doomed. But your inputs assures me. We too are not looking for any serious hiking, just some walks and stuff.
Would also like to check with you, how do we know where to stop for the walks/falls, picnic lunch, photo stops on the way? Are there clear directions?

MysticPurple:

Hi,


Our family will be going to NZ South island for holiday from 17-24 Dec....

Understand it is summer time there but weather wise it seems kinda cold with temperature dropping to 10 degrees at night?

Would appreciate some advice on what clothing to pack.

Thanks !

:hi5: we too are going to SI next weeks. Will share some tips with you once we are back.

Hi Dnls_mum,


Just the person I need at the moment. We are off to SI next weekend. We are following the itinerary suggested by you.
Day 1: Arrive Christchurch - Botanical Gardens, City tour
Day 2: Tranzalpine to Greymouth - visit Punakaiki.
Day 3: Drive to Franz Joseph
Day 4: Franz Joseph - Ice Explorer
Day 5: Drive to Queenstown
Day 6: Milford Sound Cruise
Day 7: Explore Queenstown - Gondola Luge
Day 8: Drive to Lake Tekapo - Star Gazing
Day 9: Day trip to Mt Cook
Day 10: Drive to Christchurch
Day 11: Catch early morning flight back to SG.

We decided on Tranzalpine so that DH need not hit the road on Day 1. And he too will get a chance to enjoy the scenic beauty without the hassle of driving.
We have booked our rental car with Apex. We will be collecting it at Greymouth and returning it at Christchurch.
The trip is not so fully planned in details. But I've printed out your trip report for reference

I do want to check with you on a few things.
Other than Jackets, what other gear do we need to pack. Did we need Hiking Shoes or just normal sneakers will do for the walks? Also what kind of clothes did you use for the Milford Sound Cruise?

Hi All,

Thanks for your tips and votes. DH too voted for self drive. So going for 10 day self drive of SI.
Booked the flight tickets and a couple of motels.
Will need to do detail planning for each day of the trip. Will turn to you for tips. :lovesite:

sparks:

I am definitely for self-drive too as you can choose where you want to stay & not miss out on the fabulous types of accommodation there. However, South island is too big to explore properly if you have 2 weeks & intend to drive only 2-3 hours per day.


We went on 2 separate trips, one for lower half of SI & the other half in the following year. Lower half of SI is very touristy, whilst upper half is much less touristy. In fact we hardly see any tourists along the way except in tourist towns such as Kaikoura. It is a good way to meet & see locals. We love SI. If your itinerary permits, do plan to go up north of SI to towns like Nelson (Wheelhouse inn is a great choice!) & Picton. They are very charming esp in Picton, you can take a ferry to see families living on small islands accessible only by sea. It did made us think if we want to retire there. One memorable experience we had in SI was the Crazy Kiwi buggy rides. It was absolutely memorable. http://www.wildtracks.co.nz/home/. If you are in the vicinity, don't miss it. Your kiddos (if they love rollercoasters), they will love it!

Have great fun!

Thanks sparks. In the limited time we may not go to the northern tip of SI.

insider:

Dreamgear:

Yes. Immediate and without compensation.

My practice:

If gross misconduct like stealing colleague's money, then dismiss on the spot and that staff has to pay me notice in lieu (if notice of termination is 1 month, gotta pay me 1 month. If 2 months, pay me 2 months, etc).

Bit harsh I would say, but if employee signed with open eyes, before joining, yes then must follow.

My understanding is, for corporates, termination(Firing) is different than retrenchment.

Firing - because of employee performance, fraud, cheating, professional misconduct. BTW one of the misconduct can even be habitual late coming inspite of repeated warnings. But then each company will have its own list documented. For those with flexi working hours or work from home, late coming may not be an issue. But for those that really, physically close shop by 6pm, late coming means not working for the minimum number of hour per day.
For firing I don't think any company will pay any compensation. Cheat also need to pay compensation meh?
Retrenchment - is a company decision, could be for cost cutting, head count reduction, or whole project got outsourced to another country. The employee is not at fault. Even the best performers can get retrenched. Company pays compensation.
In this case I think it is firing for misconduct. So no compensation to be paid. But being a church, I think it is not documented. Then need to go by the law of the land. And since there is no law saying that adultery is punishable by termination of employment, MOM says, \"dismissed without sufficient cause within six months of her delivery date\". So need to pay compensation.
So church also right, MOM also right.
But if it was documented by the church and employee is aware and signed, then no need to pay mah.
Having said that, the church could have given her some compensation(not necessarily full, since they already gave her a second chance) then the whole thing could have been settled amicably.

Those who went group tour, please do share your experience. How did you plan the ‘day at leisure’? How did you get around?

Attolia:

JR:

I have not been to South Island, so I can't advise on that. But in general, do ensure the driver has enough rest between places of visits. Have a thought for the driver as he/she would not really seeing the great scenery along the way as he/she is concentrating on the road conditions. For me, I do glance around as I drive. Luckily there are places along the way to stop to soak in the sights (and get a breather from driving too). Do park at the designated stops wherever possible. I would advice not driving for more than 2 hours at one stretch. That should be the maximum.


Even for experienced driver, the roads conditions are different than in Singapore. Most are only one lane type and very often have many bends and can be sharp. Do follow the road signs for speed limits for safety. Beware of the one lane bridge when you come across them and be considerate. Don't drive too slow too as that would confuse other drivers.

I would also suggest you plan the itinerary carefully with some buffer time for rests so as not to stress everyone up. It is a holiday, you know.... Self-drive is recommended as I like to be free and easy and New Zealand really offers such holidays. After so many self drives holidays, I rather not be constraint by fixed times of tour groups.

Have a great trip. Love to hear from you when you are back as I would like to plan for a trip to South Island too...

If you're planning a winter trip to the South Island, you have to go to Kaikoura to visit the wild baby seals at Ohau stream/waterfall. At the right time, there can be up to 100 baby seals playing, swimming, fighting with each other. We had a couple come right up to us. So cute!

Do share your trip report Attolia. :please: How many days was it, which places did you see?

JR:

I have not been to South Island, so I can't advise on that. But in general, do ensure the driver has enough rest between places of visits. Have a thought for the driver as he/she would not really seeing the great scenery along the way as he/she is concentrating on the road conditions. For me, I do glance around as I drive. Luckily there are places along the way to stop to soak in the sights (and get a breather from driving too). Do park at the designated stops wherever possible. I would advice not driving for more than 2 hours at one stretch. That should be the maximum.


Even for experienced driver, the roads conditions are different than in Singapore. Most are only one lane type and very often have many bends and can be sharp. Do follow the road signs for speed limits for safety. Beware of the one lane bridge when you come across them and be considerate. Don't drive too slow too as that would confuse other drivers.

I would also suggest you plan the itinerary carefully with some buffer time for rests so as not to stress everyone up. It is a holiday, you know.... Self-drive is recommended as I like to be free and easy and New Zealand really offers such holidays. After so many self drives holidays, I rather not be constraint by fixed times of tour groups.

Have a great trip. Love to hear from you when you are back as I would like to plan for a trip to South Island too...

Thanks a lot for the tips from the driver's POV.
And yes, I'm planning the trip carefully so as not to be too tired to enjoy it.
That's why I still in a dilemma to do self drive or group tour.
How many days was your trip, how many hours were u driving per day?