kaddy

Here's the plan so far.....

Day 1 Christchurch
Day 2 Christchurch
Day 3 Twizel
Day 4 Omaru - Dunedin
Day 5 Dunedin
Day 6 Invercargill
Day 7 Te Anau
Day 8 Milford Sound - Ten Anau
Day 9 Queenstown - Wanaka
Day 10 Haast - Frans Josef
Day 11 Greymouth
Day 12 Hamner Springs
Day 13 Kaikoura
Day 14 Picton

Day 15 Wellington
Day 16 Wanganui
Day 17 Taupo
Day 18 Rotorua
Day 19 Rotorua
Day 20 Coromandel
Day 21 Auckland
Day 22 Auckland

Is this a reasonable travel schedule?

Thanks

Kiwi_acct

Kaddy

This is a doable trip. You are certainly not overstretching yourselves. I am assuming you are doing this trip in a car and not a camper van. If you are in a van then you may spend longer than you had thought on the road. In saying this though, none of the travel legs look like you would be spending more than about four hours in the vehicle on any given day.

Just a quick question, why Wanganui? It is off the beaten track and certainly not on the route to Taupo. It is a pleasant enough place but no great attractions there. You may be better off spending an extra day down in Queenstown/Wanaka as there are way more things to see and do there. Dropping Invercargill may also be an option again you are not missing much and it is a bit of a schlep to get down to Invercargill then back across to Te Anau.

BTW if you are travelling in winter you want to be flexible with what day you go to Milford Sound as the road sometimes gets blocked by snow. Another option though would be to fly in from Queenstown or Te Anau.

Hope this helps

Steve

kaddy

Thanks Steve,

Yes - we will be travelling by car and stopping over in motels or holiday parks/cabins.

There is no great reason for us to stop over at Wanganui. I just threw that in this morning without much research. It was more to do with breaking the drive North. Would going via Hastings be better?

I am still debating Invercargill. Would it be better to go via Gore? We did want to stop by Nugget Point on route. Though I see Dunedin to Te Anau is about 3.75 hours. Would that be right? We could do that in one day.

We are travelling during April.

Thanks

Kiwi_acct

Kaddy

Your change of choice to Hastings is a better one.

Hastings is in the centre of the Hawke's Bay which is home to one of New Zealand's wine regions. There are may vineyards in the district which you can visit and which have tastings. (I would recommend Alpha Domus, Ngatarawa and Te Mata Estate) There are also organised wine tours run out of Napier and Hastings the two major towns of the area.

If you are staying in the Hawkes Bay I would recommend Napier over Hastings as it is a better looking town with some nice Art Deco touches. The visitor centre is on the waterfront. Use their facilities to get local maps etc. They can also put you in touch with accomodation options.

In fact all the towns you are visiting have visitor centres (identified by the large "I" symbol) these are great for getting to know about local areas.

Getting to Hawkes Bay from Wellington is dead easy. Take Highway 2 From Wellington and don't turn off. It goes straight into Napier. The trip should take approx 4-5 hours at a reasonable speed

Getting from Napier to Taupo is also an easy trip on the aptly named Napier Taupo highway. It only takes about 1 1/2 hours.

If travelling south from Dunedin to Invercargill you go through Gore you could be impetuous and make the decision whether to turn there for Te Anau or head south for Invercargill. But for my money if I was touring down there I would turn for Te Anau and spend the extra time around Te Anau, Queenstown, Arrowtown and Wanaka as these areas have a lot more going for them.

When I was in Invercargill in December the only memorable thing that happened to me was getting a speeding ticket so maybe my judgement is coloured.

A bonus for going through Central Otago and Northern Southland in April is that you should still get all the Autumn Foliage on the trees which looks pretty impresive. You should not have any trouble with snow as it usually does not come till around June/July.

Hope this helps

Steve

kaddy

That's a great help Steve. You've sold me on Hawkes Bay and Napier. I will take your advice on Invercargill too and stay an extra day in Queenstown or Wanaka.

Thanks for the advice

Melnq8

Kaddy -

I'll only comment about the South Island portion, as I'm more familiar with it than the North.

While I certainly understand the temptation to squeeze in as much as possible on a trip to NZ, I think you might enjoy yourself more if you try to do a little less.

You've already decided to skip Invercargill, which is what I would have suggested. I spent three nights there a few years back, and while I enjoyed my stay, I feel no need to return. It's basically an agricultural town, not much to it really.

I assume you?re staying overnight in Twizel so you can go to Mt Cook? You might want to consider spending that night in Lake Tekapo instead (it's very pretty - several walks in the area.) Twizel is :45 from Mt Cook, Lake Tekapo is 1:15 so either would work. Lake Tekapo is 2:45 from CH, Twizel is 3:30.

You've not left much time for exploring Dunedin or Queenstown(one day each) and there is alot to do in both places, so you might want to consider adding a day.

The drive from Queenstown to Franz Josef takes about five hours with no stops. If you plan to do any glacier walking, helihiking, etc you should consider staying at least two nights. The West Coast gets alot of rain and glacier activities are cancelled quite often. We visited the area four times on four separate trips before we were able to take the helihike (and we stayed three nights each time!)

Franz Josef to Greymouth is 2:15. Unless you have a specific reason for staying overnight in Greymouth, you might want to consider forging on to Hanmer Springs, which takes 4:35. That way you can save a day which can be used in Franz Josef, Queenstown or Dunedin.

No matter what you decide, I'm sure you'll have a great time. NZ is a wonderful place to visit. We've been five times and are currently planning trip #6!

Travel times taken from the following site:

http://www.accommodationz.co.nz/distances.html

Have fun!

kaddy

Now a new dilemma Where do I spend the extra day saved by skipping Greymouth? I am travelling with two children ages 10 and 13. Apart from a jet boat ride - all the extreme stuff is out. One request I havent looked into yet is horse-riding. We would like to go on a glacier hike but nothing too strenous.

Thank you. All the advise is helping me refine our trip.

Kiwi_acct

Kaddy

I take it from your last message that you're not that keen to throw your kids off a bridge with nothing more than a rubber band attached. It is a great feeling but each to his own.

There are other activities in Queenstown from Gondola riding, a luge, steam boat rides on the lake, bush walks, all sorts.

If you have any extra time spending it in Queenstown (or local area) is probably the best. Near to Queenstown is Arrowtown which has a historic feel to it. There is also I believe the chance to pan for gold there. Arrowtown is an old goldmining town.

If you choose not to stay in Greymouth there are at least a couple of things you could do to break up your trip through there. On the south side of Greymouth about 5 Kms from town is shantytown. There is an old bushrailway there and yet more gold panning (when I was there you had a guaranteed result which you keep)

North of Greymouth about an hour is a place called Punakaiki. There are "pancake" rocks there and if the tide is right the blowhole is fairly impressive. There is not alot else there though apart from a cafe and visitors centre.

At least when you do get to Hanmer Springs you will enjoy the end of the day as there are some great hot springs there to soak away any aches or pains and the kids will probably enjoy it there as well.

Have a great time on your travels.

Steve

Melnq8

Here's some info about horse riding near Queenstown.

http://www.trelawnb-b.co.nz/Horse_riding.htm

Your kids might also enjoy the Dart River Safari trip out of Glenorchy (40 minutes from Queenstown). Gorgeous scenery via jet boat.

Personally, I'd spend that extra day in Queenstown - I think the kids would like it alot.

TriMaui

I would second the motion. Napier is a quaint little town, the better of the two. I would add Esk Valley to the wineries. If I remember correctly it is on the left as you leave the Hawkes Bay area headed for Taupo.

Jon

cwkiwi

You could also look into this site that has suggested itineries. purenz.com
You seem to be doing a lot of travelling and not spending enough time in some places. 2 night stops would be better in some places I would have thought.
If you would like more information send me a reply.
cwkiwi

JADFEL

I have been several times to NZ and would have to recommend adding more time to the South Island, Fiordorland portion. This area is absolutely breathtaking and if you like hiking it can't be beat. Plus if you like any adventure sports, you will need more time in Queenstown.

With your current schedule, you will definitely see a lot but I am not how much of the local flair you will take in.