Travel routes and accomodation

Tasmania
1. Hobart

We touch down in Hobart approximately 36 hours after we take off from Stockholm. On our way here we will have had
one change of flight in London,
one technical landing for refuelling in Singapore or Hong Kong,
and one overnight stay at the airport hotel in Melbourne,

... before finally landing here early morning dec 15th. Staying at Hobart Hostel for two nights to relax a bit before we pick up a car and head to St Helens via

2. Wineglass, or Coles, Bay

No over night stay here, just a stop before leaving for

3. St Helens

We'll spend one night here at St Helens YHA. By afternoon we will be on our way to

4. Launceston

Two nights will be spent here, and will include a trip to nearby Cradle Mountain. We will be staying at Backpackar Hub Launceston.

5. Queenstown

Arriving in Queenstown dec 20th, we'll check into Empire Hotel and spend just one night here before heading back to Hobart, where we'll end our trip, and stay at the same hostel as before (Hobart Hostel).

Dec 22nd, we'll board a flight and head to...

New Zealand

1. Auckland

We'll spend all of Christmas in Auckland. Landing Dec 22nd we'll have Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and boxing day here. Our guess is that there will not be much activity going on in the city, and we are pretty sure that it will NOT be snowing this winter for us :) However, it sure beats the grey, soggy, swedish non snowy winters of late.

We are planning on doing some day trips to Waiheke Island, Piha Beach, and of course Auckland Tower. Apparently the highest building in the southern hemisphere...

We will be staying at Hotel Formule 1.

2. National Park

Leaving Auckland for National Park by bus, to see and hike to Mt. Doom in the Tongariro region. The hike will take approx. 8 hours... which is considerably less than Frodo and Sam took to get there. On the other hand, they were really small sneaky little hobbitses with real tiny legs so I guess its understandable.

We will spend two nights at National Park Backpackers. Perhaps we will also do some rock climbing here. Who knows.

3. Wellington
Wellington will not be explored at all. We will only sleep here, at YHA Wellington City, before taking the ferry across to the southern island and Picton.


4. Picton
Staying in Picton just long enough to catch the bus for Nelson. Really, I dont know why this is even on our travel route on the map above. We won't be staying here. We'll barely have time to catch the bus... then again, if we miss the bus... we might be staying here indefinately.

5. Nelson
Arriving in Nelson, the sunniest city in NZ, Dec 29th, staying one night at YHA Nelson Central, then heading out on a two day kayaking trip on the 30th, of the Abel Tasman National Park. This is one trip we are really looking forward to. Two days of kayaking, and camping on the beach. Woo!



Late afternoon Dec 31st, that is New Years Eve, we'll arrive in Nelson once again, to celebrate New Years with our Swedish friends Annica and Erik, who we recently realized were going here at the same time. Its a small world, even if it is on the other side of the globe.

We're staying two nights in Nelson, because supposedly we will have some sobering up to do on the 1st. Seems like a wise choice, and we will probably be grateful for it, come New Years Day.

6. Christchurch
2nd January, arriving by bus in Christchurch, and staying at Cokers Backpackers. Before we leave for Mt Cook and Queenstown, we are going to do some swimming with dolphins and hopefully we'll spot this giant Kiwi!

Or well... we're not actually gonna go looking for it, but we thoughts since we've seen a giant Echidna, a giant shrimp AND a giant crab, we might as well just go see the giant Kiwi.

7. Mt. Cook

Picking up a rental car on the 5th of January, we'll head for Mt. Cook Village to see and hike in the vicinity of Mt. Cook. Staying two nights here at the YHA Mt Cook.

8. Queenstown

Arriving here Jan 7th, we will spend 6 nights here at Coronet Peak Hotel.

Activities here include some horse riding, parasailing, national park visit, some hiking, and a visit to a restaurant overlooking Queenstown.

9. Franz Josef

Leaving Queenstown for the Franz Josef Glacier and some hiking of the glacier, we will be staying at YHA Franz Josef for two nights.

10. Arthurs pass

Crossing the south island for Christchurch, we will make an overnight stop at Arthurs pass for some hiking.

11. Christchurch
Arriving once again in Christchurch, we'll leave the car, check in at Cokers Backpackers, perhaps do a trip of some nearby vineyards, and then prepare ourselves for the long, long, long trip back home.