places to stay

[phish_slaying]

ariving in Auckland march 04, staying there for two nights. Then traveling to rotorua for three nights. Then traveling to lake taupa for two nights. Then going to finish off in naiper for a couple nights. Any suggestions on places to stay. Rivers or lakes to fish. Things to see. First time going there. Let me know.

[Firebird]

Kiwi's and Aussie's are very accomidating and will usually put you up. The only catch is, when they come here, they expect the same treatment.......sometimes for several months!
I'm speaking from experience.

[Rotowarriors]

Flag the river and lake stuff, head out to Whakatane(1.5hrs from Rotorua), Yellow Fin Tuna fishing going off at the moment, Striped Marlin starting to make an appearance and Whakatane is home to some of the biggest Yellowtail Kingfish in the world. You could ask on our local forum (hope mods don't mind) The Fishing Website - Fish New Zealand Snapper, Kingfish, Marlin, Trout - HOME, I'm sure someone will be able to take ya for a fish. Sorry m8 you're going in the wrong direction for me to take ya. Good Luck

[DavidM]

On the road between Taupo and Napier just over half way you will cross the Mohaka river. You can access the area immediately by the bridge easily from the road and side road on the Taupo side. A little further towards Napier there is also a road on your left that acesses parts of the river if you follow it for a while. It is on the map so you will find it easily. I wouldn't spend all day in this area, but good for an hour or two and a leg stretch.
From Napier there are a lot of rivers available to you within 60 - 90 mins drive. Without a bit of local help you may not see the best of any of them, but if you are feeling fit my personal choice for at least 1 of the days would be to drive over the Napier - Taihape Road until you reach the bridge over the Taruarau. From memory approx a 90 minute drive. Park in the flat area on the Napier side of the bridge, put your head down and walk upstream past those goergeoous pools and runs for at least 45 minutes. By this time you will be well into the bush (forest). Only start fishing after you have walked hard for the 45mins or more. You will walk past some great water, but by March the easily accessible sections will have seen a lot of anglers and what trout are there still will be very spooky. Do the walk first and you will have a much better day. Taruarau is a small/med size river with plenty of relatively easy crossings if it is in typical March flows. If there has been some heavy rain just before you arrive, you may find some crossings a bit tough however.
On the way to the Taruarau you will also cross the Ngaruroro. This is a bigger river and I whilst I love to fish it, it would be a tough river to navigate on your own for the first time. Some crossings are quite difficult.
Some less adventurous options would be to fish the middle reaches of the Tutaekuri River approx 30minutes drive out of Napier (check the map). You can also access the middle reaches of the Ngaruroro in a number of places and these can also be seen on the map. Another option worth considering is to try some evening dry fly fishing out the back of Havelock North (30 mins from Napier) on the Tukituki river. The Tukituki is also worth a look during the day, but for me it is first and foremost a place for the evening rise.
Another more adventurous option would be to drive out to Puketitiri whee the road crosses the Mohaka river just above the Ripia River junction. Fish the larger Mohaka or cross the bridge and walk down to the Ripia and fish up the smaller Ripia. Again, on the smaller rivers walk first and fish once you are well away from the easy access areas. On the rivers as large as the Mohaka this is not so critical. If you fish the Mohaka or it's tributaries early morning, note that the Brownies will often lie in just 6 inches or so of water and you should fish teh edges before attacking the deeper lies. By March you will probably find the Rainbows more in the deeper and more oxygenated waters.
As an even more adventurous option (needs a 4x4) drive out towards Puketitiri but trun off to the Blue Gums. This is the road access into the upper reaches of the Mohaka. Just follow the track upriver into the bush and drop into the river wherever you want to fish. Real nice wilderness fishing for Browns and Rainbows.
In all the above rivers the average Kiwi angler will probably nymph, with a dry fly option in the evening (evening rise) or during the day on the smaller rivers. Fishing a nymph with a Cicada pattern dry fly as your indicator would cover a lot of your day time options. In the evening you can usually get by with a pattern such as Twilight Beauty or similar, although sometimes you will need to experiment with an emerger style fly fished just under the surface.
Have fun!

[phish_slaying]

Thanks for the advise. I am getting a guide for a couple days so hopefully I will do good. Any ideas on places to stay that my wife would enjoy. Or things to see

[Orca]

In Rotorua, try the Studio Motel. Very nice place, quiet, hot tub in the bath fed from thermal hot springs, kitchenet reasonable prices. I paid 45 US for a single with hot tub, king bed, TV, kitchen. Right on the main drag close to down town and near the Maori cultural center, hot springs geysers etc. Fishing on Rotorua lake is good but I wouldn't pass up a trip on the Pursuit with Rick Polack. $210 US for an over nighter to White Island for Kingies.

Studio Motel - more info »
315A Fenton Street, Rotorua, Bay Of Plenty 3010, New Zealand
(07) 346 0867 -

White Island Marine Charters Ltd.
62 Arawa Road,
Whakatane,
New Zealand Phone : +64 7 308 5442
Fax : +64 7 308 5448
Email : pursuit@xtra.co.nz

[Az.monkey]

Originally Posted by Orca

In Rotorua, try the Studio Motel. Very nice place, quiet, hot tub in the bath fed from thermal hot springs, kitchenet reasonable prices. I paid 45 US for a single with hot tub, king bed, TV, kitchen. Right on the main drag close to down town and near the Maori cultural center, hot springs geysers etc. Fishing on Rotorua lake is good but I wouldn't pass up a trip on the Pursuit with Rick Polack. $210 US for an over nighter to White Island for Kingies.

Studio Motel - more info »
315A Fenton Street, Rotorua, Bay Of Plenty 3010, New Zealand
(07) 346 0867 -

Is that the Seniors discount Don ?...All kidding aside mates, thanks for the great dope lads, this will help me plan my 25th anniversary with my wife next year

[DavidM]

Napier has an interesting history. It was destroyed by Earthquake in the 1930's and a lot of the town was rebuilt in the 'art-deco' style which was the latest fashion in the 30's. If your wife is into history or architecture there are tours/museums that explore those aspects of Napier.
If she likes wine, Napier is in the middle of dozens of vinyards and there are plenty of tour options.
If she likes cafe's, Napier has a pretty reasonable selection in the central town area.
There are also some public gardens, Marineland, and a few other such things to explore. Any motel/hotel you stay in should be able to advise you.
If you don't want to do your own cooking, I would suggest getting a motel room on the Marine Parade (a street opposite the beach) and make sure it is not too far from the town centre. I can't remember the names of the hotels/motels, but there are quite a few that should give you a room with a decent sea view and be within comfortable walking distance of the town centre cafes and restautrants. If you go to Google , click "pages from New Zealand" and search for "motel Marine Parade Napier" you will find some options. Note that Marine Parade is a long road and not all the motels will be close to the town centre. You can also search in the same way for "Napier Attractions" and find plenty of extra ideas for the wife.
Temperatures in Napier in March are likely to be moderately hot during the days with maybe a bit of chill early morning/late evening. Pretty much my favourite part of the year weather wise.