see_the_world7

We've adjusted a bit and plan to buy tickets and start making bookings soon. Decided to post it in a separate topic.
Here is the current plan:

18 June: depart England
19 June: travel
20 June: Arrive Christ Church - pick up rental car, check in and just explore the town a bit. We'd like to stay awake once arriving and just plan on a fairly early bedtime. Stay overnight in Christ Church
21 June: Drive to Kaikoura for whale watching - overnight in Christ Church
22 June: extra day in Christ Church area - maybe go to Akaroa - overnight Christ Church
23 June: Drive Arthur's Pass - stopping whenever for photos. Plan to reach Punakaiki before the end of the day to see the pancake rocks. Overnight near Punakaiki.

24 June: Drive to Fox Glacier area, stopping to hike to Franz Josef on the way - overnight at Fox Glacier.
25-26 June: Fox Glacier area - helihike one day, explore Lake Matheson and Gillespies Point the other. Overnight Fox Glacier
27 June: drive through Haast Pass and Mt. Aspiring National Park toward Queenstown. Overnight in Arrowtown (since Queenstown is quite busy at this time).
28-30 June: Queenstown/Glenorchy/Arrowtown area - possible jet boating, possible skiing - overnight Arrowtown
1 July - drive to Te Anau - overnight Te Anau
2-4 July - Te Anau area: Doubtful Sound one day, Milford Sound another, local area the 3rd. - overnight Te Anau
5 July - drive to Mt. Cook - stay in Mt. Cook Village
6 July - Mt Cook area - possible helicopter flight, Hooker Valley walk - overnight Mt. Cook.
7 July - Mt Cook area then drive to Lake Tekapo - overnight lake Tekapo
8 July - Lake Tekapo area - overnight Lake Tekapo
9 July - drive to Christ Church - stay near airport
10 July - depart for home

We think we might have 1 extra day and would fly out on the 11th instead of the 10th.

Any suggestions where we should add it? I thought perhaps another day at Mt. Cook since it seemed there might be several hikes in the area?? Anything sort of on the way we could add in?

Thanks for the feedback!

mlgb

You don't really need a car for exploring Chch city sights (feet and trolley/transit work fine), if you'd prefer to pick it up the following morning. There are city car rental offices.

If you are going to Kaikoura it isn't necessary to backtrack all the way to Christchurch, you can cut inland at Rangiora. There are a number of little country towns that have some lodging, or it would not be that difficult to reach Arthur's Pass. Check aatravel.co.nz, search Springfield, Rangiora, Darfield,& Amberley. Also try bnb.co.nz, there are some in Oxford.

Is there a reason you are overnighting 2 nights at Lake Tekapo? It can be seen as you're leaving Mt Cook. I did that my last trip and found it to be a mistake. Lake Tekapo, the lodgings are not great. Twizel has better options. I did find a fairly nice accommodation on Rte 72 in Mt. Somers if you're just trying to get partway to Christchurch (with an excellent restaurant..this is the place to have venison or lamb)
http://www.stronechrubie.co.nz/

Why not move the Christchurch day (22 June) to the end of the trip, just to give some flexibility in case you run into weather delays.

see_the_world7

Thanks for the feedback mlgb. We usually try to do at least 2 nights in most places since my husband's serious hobby is landscape photography. When we travel he is up early most mornings before sunrise and out at sunset since he believes that is the best light. He likes to get a bit of a feel for a place and that's hard to do in just 1 night. We also just like to do short hikes and scenic drives and Lake Tekapo looked pretty. We had found a self-catering cottage in that area that was available for 2 nights, but nothing is booked. We don't always stay at least 2 nights (like we only plan 1 night in Punakaiki) but Lake Tekapo looked really scenic.

Part of the reason for 3 nights at the beginning in Christ Church was because we aren't sure how jet lagged and tired we'll be from traveling so long. Our first full day really might end up just relaxing and taking it easy, so we'll have to see how it goes.

I see Rangiora on the map so I'll look in to possibly cutting in there instead of going back to Christ Church. It makes sense to go ahead and start that way instead of heading back to Christ Church but that also means we have to pack up that morning and leave our luggage in the car all day, which isn't ideal, especially if we're out whale watching for a good part of that time. I'll see what I can find though since that would give us a little more time to spend on the drive the next day.

We thought about stopping in Wanaka for a night, allowing us to stop more in Mt. Aspiring Park on that drive day, and then continuing to Queenstown/Arrowtown the next night. Or we thought about going from Tekapo to the Mt. Hutt/Rakaia Gorge area for a night. Is Mt. Summers nicer than the Rakaia Gorge area?

mlgb

In that case I think you could just overnight the 21st in Kaikoura, that saves you driving back in the evening when you're likely to be the most jetlagged. Kaikoura is very scenic especially with snow on the range, and the walk along the waterfront and up the overlook south of town is worthwhile. And just in case your whalewatching is scrubbed, you'll have another day. Then I might overnight at Arthur's Pass on the 22nd, especially if you can find stay at one of the Mountain House cottages.

Lake Tekapo is indeed scenic so if you have found a cottage (and don't have to stay in one of those awful hotels)then you should be okay.

Any of those inland towns along Rt 72 should give you some nice rural scenery backed by snow capped mountains, if it is clear. That scenery is very similar to what you'll see as you're traveling through the Canterbury Plains toward Arthur's pass, so I don't know that I'd take time away from anywhere else for Mt. Summers/Rakaia Gorge (I'd probably just want to time my drive to catch dinner at Stonechrubie!)

Ive not driven around NZ that time of year, so can't advise on what possible snow storms might do to your plans, but I think your plan is slow paced enough and has some wiggle room. Most innkeepers are very willing to move you around due to weather.

Wanaka gets you more time along the west coast. I'm not sure how passable the Cadrona Road is in winter. Another option is to stay that night in Cromwell which is on the main highway.

Melnq8

Curious about which cottage you're staying at in Lake Tekapo..we spent three nights in a cottage there one year during the winter months and it was pretty grim.

I love Rakaia Gorge, but have never spent the night in the area. There's a fantastic walk along the gorge. I'll look it up if you want details. There are jet boat trips through the gorge too - lovely spot, often overlooked by tourists. Fantastic area for photos too.

see_the_world7

melnq8, I found a few options for Tekapo on http://www.holidayhouses.co.nz/. We only made inquiries for the dates, not reservations yet. There were at least 3 on the same street called Murray Place. I used googlemaps and it is across the road (further from the lake) then the main hotels, but still not a far walk so that would be fine for a couple nights for us.

Melnq8

Those look promising. Our bad experience was with Lake Tekapo Cottages on Sealy street.