Hi,

I'd really appreciate it if people would look over this proposed itinerary and tell us if it's simply too much or doesn't make logistical sense. The only thing purchased are the airline tickets and I'm not opposed to rearranging our activities. We love hiking and just being outdoors.

Day 1--Land in Christchurch, explore city, overnight in Christchurch

Day 2--Tranzalpine to Greymouth, rent car, drive to Fox Glacier stopping at FJ along the way to explore. Overnight in Fox.

Day 3--Helihike, spend the night in Fox. Question: should we drive to Wanaka after the helihike or would there be more to see in Fox? This is important because it will determine where we spend the night.

Day 4--Spend the day in Wanaka. Very excited about puzzle world and cinema paradiso! Question: Should we spend the night here or continue on to Queenstown?

Day 5--Wanaka to Queenstown, spend the day exploring QT.

Day 6--Routeburn day hike (we really wanted to do the 3 day/2 night hike, but I can't seem fit it in!). Overnight in Queenstown.

Day 7--Milford Sound cruise or Te Anu for glow worm caves? Not sure what to do here. I know a day trip to Milford sound means 8 hours in the car which doesn't thrill me.

Day 8--Queenstown to Mt. Cook. Explore Mt. Cook. Overnight in Mt. Cook.

Day 9--Mt. Cook to Christchurch. More time in Christchurch?

Day 10--Afternoon flight home.

Thank you in advance for your help. We need it!

It's a lot but not impossible. Look more closely at the travel times between places and how much time you want to spend hiking, etc.

Wanaka and Queenstown are pretty close together. To avoid moving too often, I'd pick one or the other.

You can book a bus for the Milford trip. Yes you'll be with other tourists but you won't be doing all of that driving.

Hi sheeponahill -

Your itinerary will keep you on the move, but it's certainly doable.

Just a few comments -

Day 3 - If you have a morning helihike you'll have time to drive to Wanaka, which is 264 km from Fox (3:45). There are plenty of walks in/around Fox should you decide to stay over however. Here are a few ideas:

Walk around Lake Matheson - great views of Mt Tasman and Mt Cook reflected in the lake on a clear day (one hour walk)- best views are in the morning

Take the Chalet Lookout Walk for a different view of the glacier (1.5 hour return). This is my favorite walk in the area.

Take the River Walk (40 minute return) and the Moraine Walk (40 minute return)

Visit the glow worm dell (at night)

Day 4 - there are lots of great walks not far from Wanaka, but I doubt you'll have time to fit them in, especially if you'll be arriving from Fox Glacier the same day.


Day 6 - Keep in mind that the Routeburn Track starts from near Glenorchy. Glenorchy is a 40 minute drive from QT, then you must travel some distance on dirt roads and cross some fords if there's been rain. Allow yourself plenty of time to access the track in addition to time needed to walk it.

Day 7 - Yes, Milford Sound is a LONG day trip from QT, but people do it all the time. You can reach Te Anau in about two hours from QT. There are some nice walks from Te Anau as well.

If you don't want to drive back to CHC, you might consider flying back to CHC from QT. This will give you a little extra time to work with, but may put a wrench in your plans regarding Mt Cook.

Mlg, thank for for the suggestion of a taking a bus trip. It really might come to that.

Melnq8, thank you for the great hiking suggesitons. I think we will definitely stay the night after the helihike in Fox so we can do some of them.

As far as your suggestion to fly back from QT to CHC, do you know what would be the cheapest airline? I don't think I mind skipping Mt. Cook as it would give us a day in Te Anau.

Does anyone think the Mt. Cook is a must see? From what I have been reading, it seems like the scenery will be similar to what we are seeing in Fox? Also, the lodging options don't seem that great. True?

Take a look at Air NZ, although I don't know if they'd be the cheapest. There may be other airlines as well.

Regarding Mt Cook -

Yes, the lodging options are very limited and the Hermitage, NZ's most famous hotel, is very expensive. Mt Cook village is a tiny settlement.

For some, a stop at Mt Cook (village) is a must do, but frankly, you can get some very nice views of Mt Cook from elsewhere.

The scenery around the glaciers is gorgeous, especially when the weather cooperates.

Actually, Melissa5 found a new reasonable motel at Mt. Cook. She has a good trip report that you should read. I stayed in a private room at the YHA at Mt. Cook.

I think the drive CHH to Mt. Cook including Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki is worthwhile. IF the weather is clear in the Mt. Cook park, the scenery is right up there with anything else in the SI. (The glaciers aren't the only attraction). Those beautiful blue lakes and lupines are something special.

We did a similar itinerary -- a few things to note. The drive from Greymouth to Fox is a bit long, though we made a detour up to the Pancake Rocks after getting off the train - which was great. We also stopped in Hokitika (sp?) for about an hour to stretch our legs. The Greymouth-Fox drive is totally do-able, but doesn't leave a whole lot of time to dilly dally.

There is hardly anything to do in Fox other than the helihike which was truly the highlight of our 3 weeks in NZ! We arrived after dark one night, got up for morning helihike and then just relaxed the rest of the day. The drive on to QT is too far to have done after the helihike. Just be prepared that Fox doesn't have much more than 2 restaurants and a bunch of hotel/motels. And I highly recommend the Westhaven, it was one of our favorite hotel/motels. http://www.thewesthaven.co.nz/

As I mentioned the drive to QT is long from Fox, but gorgeous and pretty easy.

As for the Milford trip - we opted to drive from QT to Te Anau and stay overnight. Then we jumped on a Real Journeys bus in Te Anau to get to Milford. Going by bus was fantastic, especially after ALL the driving we'd been doing. It was so relaxing and easy. When we got back to Te Anau, we drove ourselves back to QT.