Advice on NZ itinerary/trip
 

The information on this site has been extremely helpful in planning our trip (we're leaving in about 3 wks), and I just wanted to see if anyone had last minute advice on my itinerary:<BR>Day 1 Fly LA to Auckland, Auckland to Blenheim, rent car (to return in Queenstown), tour wineries, stay at B&amp;B (St. Mary's Convent I think)<BR>Day 2 Drive to Nelson, day mostly free (tour wineries? art studios? 4X4 ATV tour?), Bronte Lodge for 2 nights<BR>Day 3 Abel Tasman National Park (still deciding between water taxi/hiking on our own for the day or a kayak tour: any advice?)<BR>Day 4 Drive to Arthur's Pass (via West Coast), stay at Grasmere Lodge (I know it's a really long drive but wanted to see this + only have limited time), horseback riding there<BR>Day 5 Drive to Hokitika, stay at Villa Polenza + do cave rafting (in Greymouth)<BR>Day 6 Drive to glaciers, helihike, stay at Glenfern Villas<BR>Day 7 Drive to Wanaka, day free (any ideas for a 1/2 day activity?), stay at River Run<BR>Day 8-11 Drive to Queenstown, stay there 2 nights at Evergreen Lodge and in Glenorchy 1 night at Blanket Bay; while there, plan to do an all day helicopter tour to Milford Sound, Dart River (haven't decided which one of their tours yet), Shotover River (is this a waste to do both? they sound fun, Dart River more scenery, Shotover more adrenaline), all day horseback from Glenorchy; none of this is finalized yet except the helicopter and lodging<BR>Day 11 Fly to Auckland, rent car and drive to Waitomo (any lodging recommended?), do Lost World abseil<BR>Day 12 Return to Auckland, flight home at night<BR>Anything that I should change/add at this point that would be feasible (so no major changes), little tips for any of the places I'm going, any advice on things to make sure I bring that I might not think of, etc? We are in our mid 20's and are interested mostly in outdoors/adventure activities and also scenery (mostly avoiding the bigger cities). I realize that we're packing a lot into a short time, but can't take any more days off school and want to see as much as possible. Thanks so much!

Oh, I forgot one other question: we'll be in Queenstown on Good Friday/Easter Sunday. Will this cause a big disruption? (i.e. will the whole town shut down) Will the tours/activities/restaurants shut down on these days? If so, any advice on what to do? Thanks!

Queenstown is the major tourist destination in NZ so no, most things will be open all over Easter.

Thanks for the good news about Easter. Any other tips? Anyone?

Sounds pretty good to me if you can keep up with the pace that you have set yourself. Waitomo has some nice motels or if full up the next best is Otorohanga or Te Awamutu, both within a short drive of Waitomo..<BR>