New Zealand South Island Itinerary

Old Jul 19th, 2015, 07:43 PM
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New Zealand South Island Itinerary

OK, this is my first rough outline for an itinerary, so I'm looking for the Kiwis and experienced NZ travelers to poke holes in it. We are a couple in our mid 40s (no kids on this trip) returning to NZ to re-do and out-do our honeymoon. We have 15 days in early to mid Feb. A bit of background to help with determining if this itinerary makes sense - we are from Texas and routinely drive 8-18 hours for major vacations, so we are used to and not opposed to long drives. That said, we'd rather not have long drives but this first pass itinerary favors a few long drives (with options noted to break them up) so that we have more days at each location. Our honeymoon was 1 day in each location and move on, so we wanted to avoid that.

Day1: Arrive 10:30am Christchurch, spend day there
Day2: Activity in Christchurch
Day3: Early AM departure to QT (8 hrs if we stop at Lake Tekapo?). Variation is to stop at Mt Cook, which is what we did on our honeymoon, but we'd rather spend an extra day in QT and Fiordlands.
Day4: QT activity
Day5: QT activity
Day6: Early AM departure to Te Anau, drive to Milford Sound for tour of some kind
Day7: Te Anau/Doubtful Sound
Day8: Early AM departure to Fox Glacier (7 hrs?). I'm concerned that this is actually a longer drive than 7 hrs but I haven't found a credible source for this time yet. Option is to stop back in QT or Wanaka first to split the drive up, but I'm not sure if there is anything in Wanaka worth seeing yet.
Day9: Glacier activity
Day10: Glacier activity
Day11: Early AM departure to Nelson (7 hrs?). We did this on our honeymoon with a stop at Punakaiki pancake rocks and I know it is a long drive but I can't remember how long. Option is stop at Punakaiki or Westport.
Day12: Able Tasman kayak/hike coastal track
Day13: More Able Tasman or Nelson Lakes National Park (worth it?)
Day 14: More Nelson area stuff
Day15: Leisurely drive to Christchurch, maybe stop in Kaikoura, to catch a 7pm flight out

All of the driving times are in question. If anyone has a better idea, please correct me. I went from either guide books or MapQuest when in doubt. There are three options in there to break up the longer drives. I am torn right now between shorter drives and more time at the key locations. A simpler view is this:
2 days Christchurch
2.5 days QT
2 days Te Anau
2.5 days West Coast (glaciers)
3 days Nelson
3 travel days

Thanks for any input.
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Old Jul 20th, 2015, 06:40 AM
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Yes, Christchurch to QT is a long one, about seven hours without stops.

Your itinerary kind of falls apart on Day 6, which will involve four hours to reach Milford, then two hours back to Te Anau, not leaving you much time to see Milford. The highlight of Milford is Milford Road IMO - loads of hiking tracks, all of which you need time to explore. You will have long daylight hours in your favor though.

Day 8 - I think this is nuts. You may not consider me a credible source, but I've made over a dozen trips to the SI and I would NEVER consider this drive. It takes a good 6-7 hours to drive from QT to the glaciers, and Milford is another two hours from Te Anau. You may recall that the roads in NZ are narrow and winding, and it's slow going even under he best of circumstances. You'll be there at the height of the summer season, which means loads of camper vans on the roads, plenty of confused wandering tourists and higher than usual traffic...and only so many roads.

Another reason this drive takes so long is that the drive from QT to the glaciers is beautiful...there are many, many reasons to stop, take photos and explore walking tracks en route. If your plan is to flat out drive w/o stops, you'll be missing the main reason myself (and many others) go NZ in the first place, to enjoy the spectacular scenery, and not just from behind one's windscreen. I suggest folks get out there and really experience it, breathe it, don't just whiz by in their cars hurrying on to the next destination.

Not anything in Wanaka worth seeing? You've obviously not been there! It's a beautiful place, with lots of walking and water activities. It's the gateway to Mt Aspiring Nat'l Park, which is stunning. You'll need time though, at least a full day to drive into/walk in the park. There's plenty to do around Wanaka, believe me - there's also a beautifully situated winery (and more near Cromwell), a small beer producer, river fishing, Mt Iron, and Puzzling World, which doesn't excite me much, but is a huge hit with others.

Fox Glacier to Nelson? I wouldn't do this either. I recently drove from Punakaiki to Motueka and it took 8 hours with a few short stops - it was exhausting. These roads are seriously squiggly. For reference purposes, Punakaiki is three hours north of Fox Glacier, and Motueka is about 30 minutes short of Nelson.

Abel Tasman 'worth it'? Absolutely, but only if you have time to enjoy it. You're visiting at the height of the summer season - it will be busy up there. Abel Tasman is NZ's most poplar walking track - some 200,000 walkers descend on it in the summer months. You'll probably want to book your water taxi transport into the park in advance.

That leisurely drive to Christchurch from Nelson could well take you 8 hours, it has me.

I understand your thought process - drive more to get where you want to go - but, that's difficult to accomplish in NZ, which is as different from Texas as chalk and cheese. If you plan to flat out drive, no stops, it might work, but I would never recommend a visitor do that, even those accustomed to driving on the left.

Other than the obvious drive issues, the biggest flaw I see with your itinerary it that you're incorporating the south and far north of the SI in the same trp. That's all well and good if you have 3-4 weeks to work with, but not sensible with only 15 days.

My suggestion? Pick an end - north or south, and go from there. I think you'll be glad you did.

And for what it's worth, I have several very detailed trip reports posted here on Fodor's which include my personal experience with drive times, where and how often we stopped, etc. They might be helpful. Just click on my screen name and scroll through my numerous trip reports.
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Old Jul 20th, 2015, 04:52 PM
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Great info, melnq8. That's why I asked to poke holes in it ... you ripped some craters open. Understood re: the long drives and why they are occurring (doing far south to far north). The reason for this is that we had to skip both the Fiordlands and Abel Tasman on our honeymoon because we had an even shorter time to see both islands. So by hook or by crook we would like to see both on this trip as it will be our last one here for a looooong time (so many other places we plan on going). So I need to figure out how to best do that. Though you wouldn't recommend doing both, some ideas on how to do it better would be appreciated. Maybe cutting a day out of QT since we did spend a good deal of time there before? I hadn't thought of that, but it could be an option. Let me address some of the other points.

Day 8, I agree. I questioned the 7 hours I got from MapQuest knowing what I know about what we did the last time, so that's why I threw it out for debate. Sounds like that's a good trip to break up into 2 days and add Wanaka.

Re: Wanaka, sorry, you misunderstood me. I never said there was nothing worth seeing. I said I wasn't sure if there was anything because I hadn't researched it yet an we didn't stay there last time. Sounds like this will be a good stop.

Re: Fox to Nelson, yes, I remember that drive well and would like to avoid it also. Is Westport worth a stop? Or someplace else you recommend?

Re: Abel Tasman, I guess I wasn't clear there either. The "worth it" comment was regarding Nelson Lakes National Park. Should we spend the extra day in ATNP or NLNP?

Thanks again!
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Old Jul 20th, 2015, 05:11 PM
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Fair enough paulg. I hope my crater ripping wasn't too harsh. I'm a wee bit passionate about the SI.

So, Milford, Doubtful and Abel Tasman are must dos. This helps.

Are your flights booked?

I can make some suggestions that involve internal flights, but it would help to know what if anything you've already booked.
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Old Jul 20th, 2015, 05:20 PM
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Melnq8, a couple more things. Thanks for the tip on your travel reports ... I'll be sure to check them out soon.

Just thinking on the fly here, another option would be to drop the second day in Christchurch and use the extra day for another travel and mid-way stop day. I know there is a bunch to see in Christchurch, but would that be a decent option since we are more in NZ to see the diverse landscapes and scenery.

Finally, IF, and this is a big if right now, we were to focus on either the north end or south end, I'm leaning toward south. Would you agree if this was your one chance to see NZ again? (you have to step out of your shoes where you are able to go and see everything you want in multiple trips

Thanks
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Old Jul 20th, 2015, 05:21 PM
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Oops, cross-talk. Yes, flights are booked. Arriving 2/5, leaving 2/19
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Old Jul 21st, 2015, 06:13 AM
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As Fiordland and Abel Tasman are at the top of your list, how about flying from Christchurch to QT on your day of arrival instead of driving?

You could pick up a car at the QT airport, spend some quality time exploring QT, Fiordland and Wanaka, then fly from QT back to Christchurch, rent a car and head up north...or fly to Christchurch and then fly on to Nelson to explore the Abel Tasman area. Flights into Nelson are limited, you'd need to check on that one.

This would cost more true, but it'd save you some serious driving and still enable you to see the places you most want to, with the added bonus of allowing more time to explore each area.

Just a thought.
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Old Jul 21st, 2015, 06:17 AM
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PS - it's even possible to see a bit of the West Coast - not as far as the glaciers though. The drive to Haast is easily doable as a day trip from Wanaka.
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Old Jul 21st, 2015, 06:18 AM
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And we haven't even talked about Glenorchy yet.
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Old Jul 22nd, 2015, 05:06 AM
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Thanks, Melnq8 ... I'll look into pricing.
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Old Jul 22nd, 2015, 06:02 AM
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Forgot to address your question about whether if in your shoes I'd choose the north or south end of the SI.

I'd choose the south end.
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Old Jul 22nd, 2015, 02:09 PM
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it's difficult to rival Mel in her knowledge of the SI, but for what it's worth, it is possible to drive from Nelson to FJ in a day [or vv] but you only want to do it if a) you have no alternative and b) you are well rested [ie you haven't done a lot of driving the day before] and you are going to have a good rest the day after.

We were going to do something not dissimilar to you but soon realised [actually before we got to the SI] that it wasn't going to be possible and we managed to change our itinerary.

I would drop your 2nd day in C/C and, as you've been there before, a day in QT. You also really only need one day in FJ itself - a day on the Glaciers is probably as much as you will want or need.

Day1: Arrive 10:30am Christchurch, spend day there
Day2: Early AM departure to QT (8 hrs if we stop at Lake Tekapo?)
Day3:. QT activity.
Day4:: QT activity. late pm drive to Te anau
Day5 drive to Milford Sound for tour of some kind
Day6: ,Te anau - Doubtful Sound
Day7: Drive to Wanaka, stay o'night
Day8: Early AM departure to Fox Glacier (7 hrs?). I'm concerned that this is actually a longer drive than 7 hrs but I haven't found a credible source for this time yet. Option is to stop back in QT or Wanaka first to split the drive up, but I'm not sure if there is anything in Wanaka worth seeing yet.
Day9: Glacier activity
Day10: Drive to Punakaiki or Westport.
Day11: AM departure to Nelson (3-4 hrs?).
Day12: Able Tasman kayak/hike coastal track

it's still quite a lot of driving, and too many 2 nighters for my liking, but you do get to see everything on your hit list.
Day13: More Able Tasman or Nelson Lakes National Park (worth it?)
Day 14: Drive to Marlboro - to get closer to C/C
Day15: Leisurely drive to Christchurch, maybe stop in Kaikoura, to catch a 7pm flight out
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Old Jul 22nd, 2015, 02:43 PM
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Thanks for another pair of eyes, annhig. I've come up with about 3 or 4 alternative itineraries (not including flying yet), some of which get close to what you are proposing, including hacking off days in Chch and QT.

Regarding the glaciers and the comment about only needing one day, can you explain further? Last time we only did Fox for one day. Is it not worth it to do Fox and FZ, or is it a "once you've seen one NZ glacier, you've seen them all?"

Thanks
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Old Jul 22nd, 2015, 04:55 PM
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While we wait for annhig, just thought I'd stick my head in to mention that a minimum of two nights at the glaciers works quite well, giving one a full day to explore, with driving days on either side.

If you plan well, you can walk around Lake Matheson and walk to the terminal face of both glaciers in a day and still have time for dinner and a nice soak in the Franz Josef hot pools. I've done it myself several times. Of course, this assumes the weather is cooperative, which it often is not on the West Coast.

The disadvantage is that you'd need to travel to/from whichever village you choose to stay in, or spend one night in each place to avoid backtracking. I prefer the former, but you may feel differently.

The villages of Fox and Franz are about 30-40 minutes apart via a very winding road, then there's a short drive out to each glacier.

Should you prefer a helihike or guided glacier hike, you'd probably want to book in advance (with only one day to play with), and hope for spectacular weather on the day.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2015, 03:08 AM
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Regarding the glaciers and the comment about only needing one day, can you explain further? Last time we only did Fox for one day. Is it not worth it to do Fox and FZ, or is it a "once you've seen one NZ glacier, you've seen them all?">>

at the risk of incurring mel's wrath, it was for us. when we were there in Dec 2013, the only glacier that you could walk on was Fox - FJ had receded too far. we did a half-day walk which was quite enough for us. They bus you to it from their base in the middle of Fox, then there is quite a long walk out to the glacier after which you walk up onto it, see the various formations and colours and walk back off it again. After that we had some lunch and drove to Lake Matheson to enjoy the view of Mount Cook and feed the sand flies.

a heli-tour would probably be better but you are very weather dependent.

so I agree with Mel that a minimum of 2 nights at the Glaciers is required, and with any luck, only 2 nights and driving either side.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2015, 05:43 AM
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No wrath from me annhig
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Old Jul 23rd, 2015, 08:01 AM
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Phew.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2015, 08:02 AM
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This is a wrath-free zone. Thanks to both of you for the additional input. Sounds like shaving a day off of the glacier portion is a potentially good option.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2015, 08:19 AM
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I'm just sticking my nose in this thread to clarify that now both Fox and FJG have receded so much that neither have tours that have you walk ON the glacier without a helicopter to take you up to the more stable parts.

You can still walk UP TO the terminal faces, although there will be borders to keep you a safe distance away. Please respect these borders (usually just a rope) as two Australians were killed in 2011 because they wanted to walk up and touch the ice of the terminal face wall. It came down - need I say more?
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Old Jul 23rd, 2015, 06:29 PM
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Thanks for the info, deShenke. We walked to the face on the last trip, so this trip is going to be a helicopter trip.

And you're not sticking your nose in ... it's open to everyone. The more info and viewpoints the better. I use this as one of many resources for the planning.
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