My husband and I are turning 50 in December and wanted to celebrate it in a big way so we are headed to Australia and New Zealand October 17 - November 6.

Here is my proposed itinerary. I know it is recommended not to do both Oz and NZ but we decided to anyway since we have no idea when we will get back to that part of the world. I was last in Oz in 2002 so I've seen Uluru, Alice Springs up to Darwin. While I am more adventurous my husband is less so but he is game to try anything at least once. So I thought we would hit the South Island of NZ and the Daintree, Great Barrier Reef and Sydney area of Australia. Here is the plan. Please advise. Would love to know any budget and unique places to stay. We have booked in the Daintree Rainforest Lodge and are staying with friends in Sydney. BTW, we snagged a great price of $1400 each using the Discover Australia Pass with Qantas (LAX-Auckland-Cairns-Sydney-LAX).

October 17 - depart LAX to Auckland, arrive October 19
October 19 - stay overnight in Auckland, tour the city
October 20 - Fly Auckland to Christchurch (separate flight on Jetstar) - spend 2 days exploring CC area (recommend hotel and good day trip??). Also celebrating our 15th anniversary.
October 22- 23 - Drive CC to Queenstown, staying overnight en route ???? What special adventures should we do in the Queenstown area?
October 24 - Drive Queenstown to Greymouth, staying halfway overnight en route?
October 25 - Drop off car; take TranzAlpine to CC (leaves at 1:45 p.m.). Overnight CC
October 26 - Fly CC to Auckland, overnight in Auckland
October 27 - Fly Auckland to Cairns, pick up car and drive straight to either Port Douglas or Palm Cove?
October 28-30 - Stay in Rainforest Lodge
October 31 - Day trip to Reef
November 1 - Fly to Sydney from Cairns
November 1- 5 in Sydney - any great day trips you can recommend. My husband loves wine.
November 6 - Sydney to LAX and then on to Houston.

Many thanks for any advice on the above.

Charli50

October 24 I don't think so

Aslo why not just drop a car off in Greymouth take the Train to Christchurch one way?

Too much time in Auckland. Spend it in and around Queenstown/Arrowtown/Glenorchy.

Do you mean too much time in Christchurch? I was planning on dropping car off in Greymouth. Do you think I should go to Franz Joseph or Mt. Cook. Was your comment about October 24 I don't think so mean it is too much, not possible to stay ovenight. I just wasn't sure what this meant.

Thanks for replying so quick.

No I mean too much time in Auckland. Auckland is worth about one day. I would not spend that first day/night there just continue onward to the South Island since you're already at the airport. Normally the flights from LA get in first thing in the AM and it is easy to connect.

Oct 24 not enough time to do what you have planned.

Oct 24 to glaciers, overnight there. However be aware that weather can be very bad in the late spring with storms up from Antartica. Going on the east side (Mt. Cook) may be a safer option. Or just keep it flexible til the day before.

Oct 25 half day glaciers then onward (would only stop in Greymouth if dropping of the car and take the train back). Otherwise I would overnight Oct 25 in Arthurs Pass. October 26 you can reach Christchurch. Take a late plane if you want to Auckland (I usually prefer to get back there the day before the international flight).

Hi Charli
Too funny -- Mr SB and I are flying from LAX the day before you! Click my name to see many other posts about the trip -- we're celebrating retirement at last, and trip has grown from 4 to 8 weeks to fit everything in! Keep in mind that we haven't acutally DONE any of this yet; we've just been totally immersed in planning and anticipation.

We're going to Sydney first, then loop north and around Australia and Tasmania. We fly to AKL mid-November: visit far north and Rotorua, then head to South Island.

We found the SI planning really hard -- so much to see. Maybe we'll just have to go back... . In the end, we decided to start at Abel Tasman (Ocean View Chalets), then Blenheim for vineyards (including a night in a cottage in a vineyard!) Drive from there to Christchurch for the day trip on TranzAlpin, and to Akaroa. Next to a high country sheep station near Methven -- that was a must-do for me. We'll wend our way through Dunedin (wildlife and albatross) and Te Anau (the sounds), and finish in Queenstown. We're staying at The Ferry B&B, a bit out of town on the road to Arrowtown, near the Shotover River bridge. Looks great -- historic house in the country: http://www.ferry.co.nz/

To be more specific, in Christchurch we're staying at the City Centre Motel for convenience to train (super helpful managers, and very good reviews on TA). http://www.citycentremotel.co.nz/ Then we'll spend a couple of nights at Le Petit Hotel on the beach in Sumner -- sounds charming, and a good place from which to explore and see Akaroa area. http://www.lepetithotel.co.nz/.

We'll have a couple of separate nights in Auckland, and are using points to stay at the Westin for one of them. But for the last night of our trip before heading back to LA, we decided to stay at Sunderland House in Herne Bay/Ponsonby. http://www.sunderlandhouse.co.nz/ We wanted one last NZ B&B experience before we left. In emailing back and forth with all the places we are staying, I've been impressed by the friendly approach and help we've received from owners and managers.

Good luck with planning for the adventure!

Wow, what a great reply. Can we come with you guys??? it is easy to get overwhelmed with the options and not really understanding the travel times.... I will go devour your itinerary and see what we need to do. I wish we had as much time. How are you getting to Abel Tasman - just driving?

Thanks mlgb. Great idea about going straight on to Christchurch..hadn't thought of that. There is just too much to choose from (either we stay in the upper half of the south island, plus Wellington?, or concentrate on the lower half... It is easy to get overwhelmed by choices.

C

I think you could allow a little more time in FNQ - if the weather's not suitable for a reef trip on 1st November, you don't have any flexibility to go another day.

THANKS. Sorry, but what is FNQ. I am sure I will be sorry I asked this.

FNQ = Far North Queensland. Lots to see besides the reefs -- as I have learned here! If you're staying in the Daintree, you'll start there -- there's also Cape Tribulation (who could resist that name?) and the Atherton Tablelands, and more. Bokhara is a lot more qualified than me on that topic, for sure!

About Abel Tasman: once I had seen pictures, I just had to go there! We're taking the ferry from Wellington to Picton, then driving to AT (staying at Marahau, just outside the park). Takes about 2.5 hours. From there, you could head south via east or west coast, depending on where you are headed.

I've spent a LOT of time poring over maps because I was completely clueless when we started planning!!-- but I love that stuff. If you do a google search, there are some good websites with driving times for Oz and NZ. Here's one I liked for Oz: http://www.auinfo.com/australian%20d...alculator.html

And this one for NZ: http://www.aatravel.co.nz/main/td-calculator.php

Happy trails!

I agree that you should fly directly from Auckand to the SI.

On such a short trip, I'd probably give exploring Christchurch a pass too, because there's just so much better to do on the SI, but of course, this depends on your particular interests.

Keep in mind that if your plan is to drive from Christchurch to QT via the east coast (Highway 1), you'll be driving through the most UN-scenic area on the SI. This is not a pretty drive - it's generally flat, industrial and busy with local traffic.

There are backroads which would make a much prettier drive. Better yet, you might consider taking the Tranz Alpine from Christchurch to Greymouth, collecting a rental car there and working your way down the West Coast towards Queenstown, stopping for a few nights along the way.

You could then drive back to Christchurch via Mt Cook and Lake Tekapo or fly from QT back to Christchurch.

Do I understand correctly that you've allowed 10 nights for the SI?

What is it you most want to see?

LOTS of wonderful wineries on the SI too.

Blue Mountains out of Sydney for a day trip.
Ku Ring Gai Chase and Park Royal National Parks
Darling Harbour and a harbour cruise or just ride the ferries.

Thanks everyone...here is a new, revised plan. Big question is whether Wellington is worth the time.

October 19 - arrive Auckland, direct on to Wellington. Pick up car drive to Featherston to Greymouth (late lunch?). Overnight Greytown or Martinborough?

10/20 - 1/2 day to do winery go back to Wellington and cross over on ferry (will have to find out time) and drive to Bleheim/Picton jaunt.

10/21 - Blenheim to Kaikoura (is this worth it), then on to Nelson Lakes National Park. Overnight here or in Saint Arnaud

10/22 - 1/2 day NLNP then on to Charleston on to Franz Joseph. Overnight FJ

10/23 - 1/2 day FJ and then drive to Mt. Cook

10/24 - 1/2 day Mt. Cook to Lake Tekapo. Overnight?

10/25 - Lake Tekapo to Akoura, overnight in Akoura

10/26 - Akoura to Christchurch in time to catch 9:30 a.m. flight to Auckland (seems to be the only time on Jetstar).

I know we will miss Queenstown so maybe giving up Wellington is the thing to do to make this happen. REally wanted to do the Milford Sound but just don't have enough time and we don't want to be constantly driving.

I still feel a little lost.... Which wineries do you recommend and is is wise to spend more than one night at one?

Thanks everyone. I promise to do a thorough trip report when I get back.

SB_Traveler,
Could you tell us more about the high-country sheep station near Methven? Sounds interesting!

Hi, we made a similar trip last year at the exact same time. It was marvelous, Spring in NZ was wonderful. We did not rent a car, we are Americans and driving on the "wrong" side of the road was a bit of a concern, and we are Floridians and driving mountain roads in torrential rain and snow was definitely not something we wanted to do. We flew into Auckland took a bus to Rotorua visiting the glow worm caves on the way. We then flew from Rotorua to Queentown (our favorite placed on the whole trip). We took a day trip to Milford Sound from Queenstown ( the sound was beautiful but it rained the whole day) and after a 3 day visit we left traveling by bus trip to Fraz Josef (on route it rained, poured and snowed), from there we took another bus to Graymouth where we caught the Tranz Alpine to Christchurch. We flew from there to Sydney, where I suggest the aquarium, an evening cruise in the harbor and a day in the Blue mountains. I am sure you will have a fantastic trip.

I'm sorry your plan is still entirely unrealistic unless all you want to do is drive. Suggest you find an itinerary on newzealand.com and try to mimic it as much as possible.

For example, the half day at the glaciers and then drive all the way to Mt. Cook is just crazy. Most have a hard enough time doing a half day to Wanaka.

My rule of thumb on realistic drive times on the South Island is 50 to 60 km per hour. That route is 500 km.

This is for caligirl:

Here's the link for the sheep station (Lake Heron): http://www.lakeheron.co.nz/ (they also organize guided 3-day hikes from Lake Heron.) I think it was an article about them in NZ Life and Leisure <http://www.lakeheron.co.nz/images/NZLL_Feature.pdf> that really piqued my interest

In the same general area, we also liked the sound of this one:
http://www.truenz.co.nz/TourismWebsite06.php?id=1342

MelInq had suggested TrueNZ as a resource for various kinds of farmstays: http://truenz.co.nz/farmstays/index.html
What's nice about this site is you can see farmstays large and small, camping, b&b or self-catering, all over NZ. I had no idea there was such a variety, and some of them are really fancy (and expensive!)

And for charli:
What I had to do in the end was spread a map on the table and build a schedule with driving times, where we would stay, and some thoughts about what we would do each day. I also had a list of what we'd decided was a must-do, and what was more nice-to-do, so we could set some priorities. It's not being OTT, ;-) it just helps you to see what's realistic in terms of timing and maintaining your sanity.

For example, in your list this day --
10/20 - 1/2 day to do winery go back to Wellington and cross over on ferry (will have to find out time) and drive to Bleheim/Picton jaunt --
sounds unrealistic to me. Ferry takes 3 hours plus an hour for checkin, and afternoon ferry doesn't dock till 5-ish. Not much time for Blenheim...

charli47 -

This itinerary doesn't make much sense to me. You're trying to do too much. Don't underestimate the travel times involved. For instance:

-------

10/20 - 1/2 day to do winery go back to Wellington and cross over on ferry (will have to find out time) and drive to Bleheim/Picton jaunt.

---------

Most wineries don't open until 10 am, the drive from Martinborough to Wellington takes an hour, you'll need time to locate the ferry terminal, check in and get your car sorted, the ferry from Wellie to Picton leaves at 2:05pm (or 6:25 pm), and takes about three hours, which puts you in Picton at 5:15 pm or 9:25 pm respectively. Then you have to pick up a new rental car (if you're not taking it on the ferry) and drive the 30 minutes to Blenheim. You'll arrive in Blenheim in time for dinner and/or bed. Businesses close early in NZ, you might have trouble even finding dinner depending on whne you get there.

<Big question is whether Wellington is worth the time>

What time? There is no time.

-------------------------
10/23 - 1/2 day FJ and then drive to Mt. Cook

---------------------------------

The drive from FJ to Mt Cook is 498 kilometers and will take over seven hours. There goes your to half day at the glaciers.

---------

10/25 - Lake Tekapo to Akoura, overnight in Akoura

-----------

This is a 310 km, 4.5 hour drive. Plus a 90 minute drive back to Christchurch early the following morning to catch your 9:30 am flight. What's the point?

Sorry to be a bummer, but I just don't see how you're going to carry out this itinerary.

My advice....

Sit down with a map and a travel time/distance calculator - such as this one:

http://www.aatravel.co.nz/main/td-calculator.php

Decide which areas you absolutely don't want to miss, and then go from there.

Curious as to why you selected St Arnaud...

SB_Travlr--Thanks for the links!