I'm looking for some help with an itinerary on the South Island for the 2nd week of July. Here are the places that sound most interesting to us but being that we only have 7 days (arr./dep. Christchurch) I need some help narrowing down the list:
Queenstown
Milford / Dooubtful Sound (overnight cruise)
Catlin's Coast
Mt. Cook
Franz Josef / Fox Glacier
Haast
Kaikoura
It'll be the 2nd week of our 2 week honeymoon (the 1st will be spent lazing around on a beach) so we're ok with being a little busy but we don't want to be too rushed either. We're also tossing around the idea of just winging it but we're afraid of not getting back to Christchurch in time for our outbound flight, especially with it being winter and all.
Any suggestions?
7 days on SI - need help deciding
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The odd one out there is the Catlins, you are going to spend the best part of two days to get there and back. It is a very lovely area but I would suggest skipping it, particularly as the days will be short in mid winter.
In summary
Day 1 Christchurch to Queenstown
Day 2 Queenstown.
Day 3 Drive to Milford and overnight there.
Day 4 Milford to Wanaka ? stop for a ride on the Kingston Flyer.
Day 5 Haast Pass and the glaciers, drive as far north as comfortable, Hokitika or Greymouth.
Day 6 To Kaikoura
Day 7 Whale watching at Kaikora, I assume that is the attraction, then drive to Christchurch.
That is quite a lot of driving and the days will be short, but the scenery should be great.
I agree with the previous poster about skipping the Catlins - it's quite a distance from your other interests, and July wouldn't be the best time to visit that area IMO.
Have you considered flying from CH to Queenstown to save some time? The drive takes about six hours.
If you haven't looked at travel times/distances yet, you might want to look at the following site. It could be very helpful in planning your trip.
http://www.accommodationz.co.nz/distances.html
Good luck and have fun.