New Zealand & Fiji

Could anyone recommend a 4/5 star resort in Fiji for honeymoon? Also have hired camper van in New Zealand (South Island) what are best places to visit??

Hi Tarad,
I was in down that end of the world on my honeymoon last summer!
We also toured the South Island of New Zealand by car.
We started in Christchurch- not a lot to do there- nice restaurants though.
We drove to mount Cook village-some spectacular lakes/scenery on the way there. We stayed in Mount Cook village in a chalet for two nights- it was beautiful lots of snow. Plently of walks/hiking in this area-well worth visiting.
From here we went to Queenstown- a must to visit, we spent 4 days here. Its got a lovely ski-village type atmosphere to it. We went bungy jumping and white water rafting- great spot for activities.
We went on a day trip to milford soud from here- we drove in a bus to Milford(very long journey) and then went on a cruise around the sound. We then had the option of flying bach to queenstown in a small 6 seater plane for a fee. As we were on our honeymoon and the distance was far from Milford to Queenstown we paid the extra money for the flight back. It was one of the most spectacular experiences I've ever had-flying over snowcapped mountains etc. Milford Sound is deffo worth going to.

From Queenstown we went to Franz Joseph Glacier- we stayed in a place called "Punga Grove"- very nice and very reasonable. We did a half day glacier trek- well worth the experience.

From the Glacier we drove up the west coast(very different to the rest of the island- almost like hawaii except colder!)
We got the transalpine back to christchurch and stayed there for 2 mre nights- went to a rugby game in Jade stadium.

As you can imagine after this we were a bit tired!
Our stay in Fiji consisted of 1 night on the mainland and 6 nights on a small island an hour away called Matamanoa Island.
http://www.matamanoa.com/ This is a 4 star resort on a very small island- i absolutely loved it. Stayed in a beach front bure with little distraction- it really is cut off from the world. Really enjoyed our time there- there is snorkelling/diving/day trips to other island for those who don't like the solitude.
Well from here we went home through LA,
Hope this helps,
Its certainly made my morning brighter remembering happy days!
Mark

Thanks so much Mark, New Zealand trip sounds fab and Matamona is one of two choices on our list for Fiji so I think you may have made our mind up for us! Can I ask what time of year you went? thanks again

Hi Tarad,
I went from Aug 5th to about the 26th i think.(2006)
New Zealand is in winter time from june to september so this is something you need to consider- for weather/clothes and also for driving( for the most part driving was absolutley no prob but up in the mountains it can be quite difficult- to be honest i wouldnt worry about the weather in NZ- the wintry weather adds to the experience, plus you've always got fiji.

It does get dark quite early in Fiji in August- around 6.30pm if I can remember- however plenty of sun during the day- very hot (a bit windy so be careful easy to burn)
When are you going?

Thanks again Mark, we are going in March so slightly different weather conditions.

For the camping side of things, check out [broken link removed] for fully serviced holiday parks. We went to one of these every, say, 3 days, to charge up the mobile fon. Didnt need it otherwise as the shower/toilet facilities were fine - and my hubby is 6ft 2in, so what seemed like a tight fit was fine! You'll know what i mean when you get ur van, the toilet is in the same 'space' as the shower!!! On our last night in the south island we stayed in the Akaroa top 10 park and the view was spectacular from there. we got to the park early and had the choice of parking spaces and it was a lovely way to spend our last night. Akaroa was within driving distance of the airport as well for the next morning.
http://www.akaroa-holidaypark.co.nz/?ref=top10

For cheaper camping options, check out the Dept of Conservation website as it has a wealth of info
http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/ByRegionLanding.aspx?id=37039

On the west coast of the south island, there are lots of lakes that we just parked at and stayed there for free!

Thank you for your tips, thats really helpful.