Should we rather spend 2 nights in Wanaka and 1 in Te Anau? Cue- honeymoon, romantic, scenic, more amazing lodging options..

It's okay, I think you may be disappointed in Hanmer Springs..I went once and the vibe is "public swimming pool" but I have rarely met a hot spring that I didn't like to some exent.

Flying Nelson to Chc is not something I ever considered.

To me Wanaka and Queenstown are very similar,(a bit overdeveloped for my taste) so I don't know if I would split time.

There is somewhere beyond Queenstown that I fell in love with but it is a little bit buggy. But check out Kinloch Lodge and see if it appeals to you. Great restaurant, too!

http://www.kinlochlodge.co.nz/

www.kinloch

Thanks mlgb. Kinloch seems wonderful!!

As per your advice we are cutting out Hanmer, and heading straight to kaikoura instead.

In addition, to sample the Tranz-Alpine route, we will go from Marahau to Punakaiki to Greymouth to Arthurs Pass, stay the night and then move on to the glaciers via Hokitika.. That lets us sample the beautiful scenery from Marahau to Greymouth as well, though we miss out on the authentic train experience.. One can't have it all, after all!!

If you do go the campervan route, there is a campground across from the Kinloch Lodge at the head of Lake Wakatipu. Then you could sleep in the van and eat at the Lodge!

I do recommend driving rather than taking the ferry across because the drive takes you by the "Hillocks" which is one of my favorite landscape views in NZ. (In the first part of this album)

http://picasaweb.google.com/kiwifann...radiseKinloch#

wow, great pics mlgb..thanks for sharing..kinloch does seem like a fantasy world..