nikidi

we are a couple travelling with 14mnth and 3 yr old girls. after much research on this forum and much appreciated help from melnq8 here's our itinerary for our trip to nz in mid December. alpine scenery will be a highlight for us.got the drive times from the AA website.

arrive late afternoon in AUK.
1N - Auckland -next day, early morning drive to Rotura (3.20mins)
1N - Rotura - Wai O tapu, Mitai maori Perf and hangi.polynesian spa.afternoon drive via taupo lake. Huka falls walk.(2hrs dr) to tongariro.
1N - Tongariro -break journey.morning drive to Wellington(4.40mins)
1N - Wellington -Tepapa museum.Morning ferry to Picton (4.30mins). drive via queen Charlotte drive to nelson.(3hrs)
3N - Nelson -abeltasman short trek, vineyards, fruit picking.Morning drive back to blenhiem(1.30mins). Day tour at a vineyard.continue drive to Kaikoura (1.50mins)
2N - Kaikoura-whale watching trip,dolphin swim,seal colony.Morning drive via Arthur's pass to punaikiki(5.25mins) do the devils punch bowl/bridalveils fall walks.
1N -Punaikiki -break journey.pancake rocks, porori river track.afternoon drive to Fox via franz joseph glac (3.30mins dr)
2N -Fox Glacier-Lake matheson, fox glac tour.afternoon drive to Wanaka(3.45mins)
1N - Wanaka -break journey.wanaka lake.afternoon drive to Queenstown(1.40mins)
2N - Queenstown - arrowtown, day trip to glenorchy,shotover and luge rides in QT.
afternoon drive to teAnau.(2.25mins)
3N - TeAnau - glowworm caves, Milford cruise, short treks in the area.morning drive to twizel/mt cook. (6hrs dr)
2N - Twizel/mt cook - glacier explorer tour. lake pukaki,lake tekapo. afternoon drive to christchurch.(4.45mins dr)
2N - Christchurch - Kaituna orchard for cherry picking. afternoon flight to Auckland.
2N - Aukland

Questions!
**we have one extra night. where should we add it? which destination needs it most
*should we avoid the 1N break-journey stops at tongariro/wanaka and add them to rotura/fox instead?
**should we base ourselves in twizel or mt cook??
*do we need to pre book the glacier explorer/milford cruise before or can we wait for the same day to check for the weather forecast.
*if you need to pick one vineyard to visit in the marlborough region which would you visit (for the day tour in blenheim)
*suggestions for orchards in nelson/moteka, Christchurch area for fruit picking?
*any other suggestions!!

thanks very much for your help. this forum has been a goldmine of information in planning this trip.

Melnq8

I'd add that extra night to QT. One full day there isn't enough time to do all that's on your wishlist.

Hard to limit all those lovely Blenheim wineries to just one...maybe Cloudy Bay, or Seresin, or Villa Maria Estate or...

While in the Nelson area, I'd suggest you pop into The Grape Escape, where you can try wine from the Te Mania and Richmond Plains (organic). They also have an arts gallery and a cafe.

Between Twizel and Mt Cook I'd choose Mt Cook.

You can generally just walk up and get on a cruise in Milford. You're traveling at a busy time though, and NZ school holidays begin around Dec 20, to keep that in mind.

You'll find some pick-you-own fruit farms here:
http://www.pickyourown.org/newzealand.htm

Suggest you contact the Christchurch, Nelson and Motueka visitor's centers to enquire about others.

nikidi

melnq8, thanks, as always for ur helpful reply.

what do yo think of the 1N break-journey stops in togariro and wanaka. is it necessary? or is it better to just add them to the previous destinations(i.e. rotura/fox)and do longer drives?

anyother tweaks to the itinerary?

Melnq8

Hi nikidi -

Personally, I don't like one night stays. You can get to QT from Fox Glacier in about six hours, and you could combine this with a short visit to Wanaka if you just want to see the place. Other than the lake, IMO the best of Wanaka is in the surrounding Mt Aspiring National Park anyway, and as these areas are a bit of a drive from Wanaka township, staying just one night won't allow you to see much of them.

If you're interested in some in-depth exploration of Wanaka, you might consider putting your extra night here, giving you two in Wanaka and two in QT.

I think two nights in Fox is plenty, unless you plan to do some major hiking, which I kinda doubt since you've got young kids.

I'd add a night in Wanaka, making it two, OR add two nights to QT and skip overnighting in Wanaka, making it four nights in QT.

I can't answer your queston about the night in Tongariro, never been there.

nikidi

ok so 2N QT(base closer to arrowtown) and 2N at wanaka.

also, how about if we make it 1N at christchurch for the flight to AUK- (not very keen on citylife)and add the extra night to either tongariro/QT or mt cook?? or another more dereserving place?? difficult to figure out which place warrants the longer stays...

would love to see more alpine scenary!!any chance of snow in dec in any high altitude places?

Melnq8

That might work, but not sure if you can still fit in the cherry picking.

Have you looked into picking fruit in Cromwell? It's less than an hour from Queenstown and chockablock with orchards.

http://www.cromwell.org.nz/

nikidi

thanks a load for that link. it says that cromwell is just 25 mins from arrowtown, which sounds fantastic we were looking at staying away from QT, closer to Arrowtown.

any ideas on the route from wanaka to cromwell -40mins? or is it better to go from wanaka to QT(arrowtown) and visit cromwell.
(so i guess we should add that extra day from Christchurch to QT now for fruit picking)

with ur more than 6 visits nz, if you have come across any lovely farmstays we could use in any of our destinations, please let me know, as the kids would love to see sheep, horses etc.

u've been fabulous.many thanks!!

nikidi

also any thoughts on short walks for alpine scenary/snow?

nikidi

with further thought..scrapping the 1N at tongariro and adding that to wellington in order to have more time there.
so in line with your "no 1N at any destination" except rotura punaikiki and Christchurch

mlgb

You'll see snow capped peaks when you are in Queenstown and the glaciers.

A nice flat walk with great scenery around the glaciers is Lake Matheson. Best done when the wind is down so you can see the lake reflections.

Melnq8

There's a nice walk around Lake Hayes near Arrowtown, which will give you some nice mountain views:

http://www.worldisround.com/articles.../photo128.html

Lots of walks in/around Glenorchy with wonderful views:

http://www.worldisround.com/articles.../photo129.html

And near Wanaka:

http://www.worldisround.com/articles.../photo152.html

niteshchandra

Mel, in your pics Punakaiki & around seems exceptionally alluring!!

nikidi

thnx. the areas do look amazing..

any ideas on the route from wanaka to cromwell -40mins?(scenic?) or is it better to go from wanaka to QT(arrowtown) and visit cromwell from there.

melnq8,re nelson, i know you always recommend staying at upper Moutere area..do you have any ideas of a B&B where there is a farm attched to it so that kids will get a chance to see farm animals during our stay.we were looking at harris properties but thats in nelson!
also in te anau if possible - cos we have more time ot relax in nelson/te anau areas.

thnx again!

mlgb

I haven't been on the highways between Wanaka and Cromwell. But I don't think they would be BAD scenery.

The road Queenstown-Arrowtown-Cromwell passes thru the Kawarau Gorge and is very scentic in that part.

The shortcut Cadrona/Crown Range between Wanaka to Arrowtown- also scenic but some people find the switchbacks above Arrowtown too scary (or car sick inducing).

I

Melnq8

You can reach Cromwell from Wanaka via SH 6 or SH 8, I've done both, and found them both scenic. I particularly liked the area between Cromwell and Alexandria, if you want to explore beyond Cromwell a bit.

http://www.cromwell.org.nz/maps.asp

We enjoyed this place in Upper Moutere, it's a cottage with supplied breakfast and they had some animals on site:

http://www.maplegrove.co.nz/

I have no first hand experience with these, but they might fit the bill. They all appear to be in the vicinity, although you'll want to double check location:

http://www.lemonadefarm.co.nz/
http://www.riversidefarm.co.nz/index5.html
http://www.doonecottage.co.nz/
http://www.charmingaccommodation.co....-farmstay.html
http://www.rivingtoncottage.co.nz/content/1/

Here's a listing of accommdation in the area:

http://www.harlequin.co.nz/nelson/Ac...comCoastal.asp

This one isn't in Upper Moutere, but is on the hill that separates Motueka from Takaka:

http://www.kairurufarmstay.co.nz/

nikidi

thanks melnq8. now in the process of checking availability at our choices. hopefully we are not too late, given its peak times.

wondering if we are overloading in QT area too much - 3N QT(need this for the activities planned), 3N Te Anau and 2N wanaka, if the scenary is similar in these locations.especially as only very few walks/treks will be doable with little ones in tow.??
not sure whether i should reduce a night from te anua or wanaka to add to Christhurch or Rotura (currently 1N each)?

if CH, then 31stDEC would be in CH, else we will be in mt cook. should i weigh that in as well in deciding?

haven't had this much trouble icoming up with an itinerary in other countries visited.nz definitiely requires much more time than our 25days

mlgb

I am not sure I would spend moe than one night in Wanaka, and more than 2 in Te Anau. Wanaka and Queenstown are similar. Te Anau has a different heavier rainforest, not the snow covered peaks. I don't find it particularly interesting, just a stopover if you are taking excursions around Fiordland or doing some of the hikes across the like. So it depends on what you are planning around that time.

nikidi

Hi mlgb,

our current route is - 11dec - 1N rotura, 2N wellignton, 3N nelson(visit Blenheim wineries on the way to kaikoura), 2N kaikoura, 1N punaikiki, 2N fox glacier, 2N wanaka, 24-26dec,3N queenstown(to do cromwell and glenorchy as well)3N te anau(milford day cruise), 30-31st dec,2N mt cook, 1N christchurch and 2N Auckland(departure in the afternoon.

coming from sl, snow peaks will be a highlight for us!..and this would be our only trip to nz.
ideally would love to see dunedin and also add one more night to rotura/Christchurch.

do you recommend any changes??

mlgb

I would drop the second night in Auckland, you could add it to Christchurch. I really am not an Auckland fan.

To really see Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula you would want probably need to shave at least 3 nights off of various spots so its a matter of how much you really want to keep moving. I know that I always say I will go more slowly and I never seem to do it, so maybe it will be nicer to just keep things pretty much as they are.

nikidi

well we have booked an late afternoon flight back to auk from ch. having just 1 1/2 days in auk to spend time with extended family.
so i guess we cent be flexible there. maybe reduce 1 from wanaka then back to christchurch. (although i did add a night to wanaka as we were advised that its worth while to do some mt aspiring short walks)??