Dunedin to Milford Sound and back in 7 days ?
 

We have 7 days to spend in South Island. We are flying into Dunedin on a Sunday afternoon and will fly out one week later on Monday early AM.

One goal we have is to visit Otago University therefore we'd like to spend at least our first two nights in Dunedin.

Please recommend routes that you think would maximize our time . We'd like to see Milford Sound and also spend a couple of nights in Queenstown.

Should we drive a loop via Invercargill to Te Anau then to Queenstown and back over inland ?

Thank you for your help.

Doubtful Sound is also an option instead of Milford .

Another question I would appreciate help with : our flight out of Dunedin Airport leaves at 650 AM . Is the drive from Dunedin to the airport really an hour ? If so, is there a hotel near the airport we should consider instead of staying in town ?

You can start with this rough itinerary:

Sun and Mon nights -Dunedin
Tues night - Catlins
Wed- through Invercargill to TA
Thurs -day cruise either Doubtful or Milford
Fri- to QT, stay Sat night. (You could also go to QT on Thurs.)
Sun- back to Dunedin via inland.

The airport is approx. 13 miles west of Dunedin. I don't remember how long it took us to get there. ((*))

Thank you Jed.

Is driving from Dunedin to Te Anau all in a day too much ?

Can you recommend a map ? I've read of HEMA and AA ?

Te Anau to Dunedin takes 3-1/2 to 4 hours. We frequently do a return trip for a day's shopping, so no big deal.
THe airport is south of the city, about 10 minutes from the city boundary. from central Dunedin would take about 30 minutes if you got a good run, 60 minutes or more if there are traffic holdups.

<Is driving from Dunedin to Te Anau all in a day too much ?>

It depends on how you go. If you go through Gore, then it is OK. If you want to go through Invercargill, then you are talking about driving via the Southern Scenic Route. In that case, you should consider staying overnight so you can get the benefit of the area. ((*))

PS - Do you play the trumpet?

okoshi2002-

You will have no problem at Dunedin airport. We departed around 7am and the flight desk didn't even open until 6:15am. The airport doors were locked until then, and after checking in there was NO type of security at all!

Have fun!

My 14 yr old son plays the trumpet- why do you ask Jed ?

Is Invercargill are good place to overnight ?

Wondering whether Doubtful Sound might be a better choice for us. The drive to Milford must be beautiful but long. If we don't take the overnight trip on the Milford Sound, that is going to be a long day driving back to Te Anau from Milford.
The Doubtful Sound trip sounds a bit easier ? Am I right on this ? Any thoughts ?

Here are some thoughts. One: At the end of your trip, could you change your departure city to QT? That would save a travel day and burning a night back in Dunedin.
2nd: I'm bettin that vbca, who posted above, is from the Campbell Auto Lodge in Te Anau. Listen to his wisdom. We stayed at that neat motel in March of 06, and he and his staff were soooo friendly and helpful at all times. He is too modest to advertise here, but I will give his place a most enthusiastic recommendation.
Back to you okoshi2002, we drove from Manapouri to Dunedin, after the overnight on Doubtful. 3 hours max, if you don't miss a turn, when your navigator is sleeping.
The Dunedin airport at that hour of the morning is virtually deserted. Nobody to check your car into. I just left the car and keys in front of the little Hertz office. This is NZ, not USA. It works.
So: Tues:, early start to Manapouri for 12:30 PM start for the Doubtful overnight.
Wed: Return to Manapouri at noon-ish. Drive to QT. What? 3-4 hours.
Thu and Fri to enjoy QT environs.
Ok, extra night in QT, or the Invercargill route to Manapouri. Or a night on the east coast (though not much there except for Morekei) on the way back to Dunedin if you can't change departure city. Just some thoughts :)
There's a bunch of us here that love to kibitz on itineraries. While there's lots of info available here, sometimes it gets pretty confusing because basically, we have all found we don't have enough time in NZ to do it right. good luck.

I have read about the Southern Scenic Route - where does it turn in land towards Te Anau from Invercargill ?

Would it be better to stay overnight towards Dunedin or towards Te Anau if we are driving from Dunedin to Te Anau ?

Can you recommend a nice B&B for one night in the Catlins ?


Am still torn between overnight on Doubtful versus Milford. I am sure you see this same, old question over and over so I will not belabor it.

Can you recommend a good place a family of four can spend two nights in Queenstown ?

Thank you everybody.

We like this place in QT (they have 1, 2, & 3 bedroom units) -

www.villadellago.co.nz/

Bill's idea of leaving from QT instead of driving back to DUD is excellent. Do it if at all possible.

Also, <There's a bunch of us here that love to kibitz on itineraries.> Exactly. It shows how much we all loved our NZ adventure.

As to Doubtful or Milford, we reluctantly gave up Milford and did the Doubtful overnight, beacuse it was just too much driving and too much time to go to Milford. Now I do <i>not</i> regret the decision.

As you can see on this map, http://www.southernscenicroute.co.nz/Map/Default.asp, SSR goes from TA through IC, almost to DUD. But, we drove through Lunsden because we did not have enough time, and I thought that was the shorter route than going through Riverton. From IC we drove to DUD.

&lt;Would it be better to stay overnight towards Dunedin or towards Te Anau if we are driving from Dunedin to Te Anau?&gt;

Why not stay in one or the other?

As for the trumpet, http://www.answers.com/okoshi?gwp=11...7&amp;method=3 ((*))

As for QT, we stayed at The Point, http://www.queenstownthepoint.co.nz/ which was next door to Villa del Lago. We enjoyed it greatly. ((*))

What great web sites you have all sent me to! The SSR site is especially helpful.

Changing departure city to Queenstown is not possible. We will drive inland back to Dunedin- need a good map to figure out route from Queenstown to Dunedin. Any suggestion ?

The Wises map is my NZ Bible:

www.wises.co.nz

Thanks for the great plug BillJ. every little bit helps. Glad you enjoyed your time in Te Anau
As to Milford Vs Doubtful; as you say, it's a perrenial question, which really has no correct answer. Both have similarities, and one is sure to appeal to some people more than the other, but really it doesn't much matter, whatever you choose you will have a fantastic experience.
IMO Doubtful has a slight edge, because you are likely to see more wildlife, but you will still see seals, penguins &amp; dolphins on Milford as well.
As to overnighting between Te Anau/Manapouri and Dunedin. If you drive on the direct route via Lumsden and Gore, there is no need for an overnight. if youwant to go on the scenic route, which starts in Te Anau, and goes through Riverton, Invercargill, Papopowai, Owaka to Balclutha, then to Dunedin, you should probably look at breaking the journey, either in Invercargill, or perhaps Tokonui or Papotowai. There are a few good B&amp;B's between Invercargill and Balclutha, and a motel at Papotowai, but accommodation is rather limited, so you should have it aranged before you set out. The trip Te Anau/Dunedin via the Southern Scenic Route takes aproximately 8 hours alowing for a few stops, and if you don't intend stopping you might as well take the shorter route.
Whatever you decide will be the right choice. everything in Fiordland is fabulous.

As I read more on the Catlins I feel we should spend a night there enroute to Te Anau.

I'm not sure what to make of the B&amp;Bs, farmstays, etc in the Catlins.

Can anybody recommend one where they had a good experience ? Not looking for anything fancy- but a first-hand recommendation would be great.

We were on the doubtful sound overnight trip last week and it was the highlight of our 12 days in NZ. I will get to full trip report soon I hope. We were fortunate to have postcard weather. Great food, incredible scenery, wildlife........amazing!! We also did day trip to Milford ( we had fresh snow !) It was also lovely but as you have such limited time I would go Doubtful. You don't have to be to the boat until mid-day so could drive into Manapouri from your Catlins trip.

Sorry , just saw your question re accomodation in Queenstown. We stayed at Creeksyde Tourist Park (Top 10) in a park motel 2 bdrm full kitchen, laundry etc reasonable prices and great location. Virtually 2 mins to town, gondola, grocery store and very helpful. We drove to Queenstown after Doubtful sound trip . 3 hours max - still managed to do the Godola and luge in the afternoon comfortably.

Thanks for your input Wallos. Can't wait to see your trip report!

The trip from dunedin central has never taken me longer than 25mins, and at that time of day, knowing the roads etc no longer than 20mins. you only need to check in 30mins before your flight if its domestic so don't get to carried away with making sure you have extra time, unnecessary. you will be fine with the above suggestions, as i live in central dunedin myself.

i suggest going straight to queenstown from dunedin staying one or two nights as there is a bunch to do there, then driving to te anau from there, staying two nights there also and then straight back to dunedin, wouldn't bother with invercargil especially with your time constrants.

good luck with your trip and i hope this information is of use

merry christmas
Jonesy

http://www.smaps.co.nz/nz/dunedin/dunedin+central/

I really like Jonesy's idea. Fly or drive to QT straight away, then work you way south through fjiordland, catlins, etc. as you may wish.

I can give you a recommendation for a location in the Catlins, Kaka Point or Nugget Point, both right near the ocean on a beautiful bay. Most of the other spots are inland in small towns or farms. Unforunately I don't have any specific lodging but there are not a lot of choices. If you are in a hurry don't take the Catlins Heritage Road which is gravel, stick to the paved Southern Scenic Route.

Jonesy86 what is the best route to take directly to Queenstown if I decide not to go on the Southern Scenic Route ?

We could opt to spend our time in TeAnua/Queenstown, using our time to do Milford Sound or Doubtful Sound and not go around via Invercargil.

For accomodation near the Catlins definitely check out Cardno's (http://www.cardnosaccommodation.co.nz/). The host was fantastic.

I appreciate everybody's input.

To re-cap,to be sure I have understood this :

The most direct drive from Dunedin to TeAnau is via Gore and Lumsden which takes 4-5 hrs.

The only way to get to Queenstown from TeAnau is via Lumsden and takes 3 hrs.

The drive around the SSR via Invercargil takes 8 hrs if not stopping .

Realistically we should probably drive directly , otherwise we would be spending everyday driving.

I think we will spend our first 3 nights in Dunedin, the next 2 nights in TeAnau and 2 nights in Queenstown, and back to Dunedin for one more night to fly out.

I notice the overnight trip on Doubtful, if leaving from TeAnua leaves at 1130AM and returns at 1245PM, while the day trip leaves at 830AM and returns at 615PM. Why does the day trip return so late ?

Skipping Queenstown altogether and going to TeAnau and back to Dunedin would be another option, including Catlins on one of the legs ?

&quot;Why does the day trip return so late?&quot;

The trip to Doubtful Sound is almost as memorable as the Sound itself. You have maybe 30 to 40 minutes from TA to Manapouri. From the Manapouri dock, it is all of an hour across Lake Manapouri. The ride is not boring, because you will spend most of the time staring out at the awesome mountains as they come closer and closer. After arriving on the other side of the lake, you will board a bus for a 20 minute ride over the pass down into the Sound.

So, if you leave Te Anau at 8:30 it will be, what, 2-3 hours before you actually get to the sound. Figure 2-3 hours back adds up to 5-6 hours in transit. Leaves 4 hours or so on the Sound. (The Real Journey's web site says a 3 hour catamaran cruise.) I guarantee you will not want any less time on the sound than that.

If the REal Journey's description of 3 hours actually on Douobtful Sound is correct, your transit time is twice that.

I personally would not do Doubtful on a day basis because of the time required to get there. If I had only one day for a fjord, I would drive to Milford. A much more interesting drive, with much to stop / absorb / see / photo - while en route. The boat ride in the sound is terrific and comparable to a day version of Doubtful. However, nothing can compare to the overnight on Doubtful, IMHO.

Today/yesterday I left for Dunedin Airport (via supershuttle) at 8:05 am and was there at 8:30 am. My B&amp;B was a few blocks west of the Octagon.

Here's another thought, take the Taeiri train/bus from Dunedin to Queenstown, then fly to Te Anau or Milford Sound
.
The NZ autoclub website is useful for trip planning, also. (aatravel.co.nz).



Taieri Gorge train:

http://www.taieri.co.nz/

There is a great exhibit at the Otago Museum which is right near the university campus, called &quot;Southern Land, Southern People&quot;.

How about this :

Sun-Fly into Dunedin

Mon-Dunedin

Tues-Drive Catlins, overnight near Nugget Point or Invercargil

Wed-arrive TeAnau for overnight Doubtful Sound trip leaving TeAnau at 11:30AM

Thurs-overnight TeAnau

Fri- Queenstown

Sat Queenstown

Sun-drive back to Dunedin

Mon-Fly out from Dunedin (early)


We will be able to make the overnight trip leaving Teanau at 11:30 AM ?


The other option would be :

Wed- Arrive TeAnau, spend day at Glow Worm Cave ?

Thurs-Milford Sound drive and day trip, return to TeAnau to overnight

My children are teenagers- does one itinerary sound more appealing than the other ?

Bit of clarification, I think. The overnight to Doubtful sound acutally leaves from Manapouri, where you board a boat for the trip across Manapouri Lake. Manapouri is about 30-45 minutes south of Te Anau.
So what you might be saying is on Wed, drive liesurely from Invercargil (or where-ever) to Te Anau arriving mid day Wed.
If you like, take the Real Journeys trip across Lake Te Anau to the glow worm cave, the only way I know of to get there. We did not do that as the weather was quite gnarley at the time.
The next morning, an easy drive to Manapouri for the noon departure from the Manapouri dock for your Thurs night on the sound.
Friday, you will return to Manapouri from the Sound about noon. Drive to QT will get you there late afternoon.
You could cut out Te Anau all together, I suppose, by driving straight from Invercargil(?) to Manapouri if it is feasible to get there by the 11:30am schedule. (Actual departure is a little later than that, but they want you there early.) I have not driven that route, so don't know how long it would take. Could end up being a bit of a rush.
If you did this, and did not stay in Te Anau, you would gain a day for QT or someplace else.

Thank you BillJ.

Can anybody comment on the drive from Invercargill to Manapouri- can we get there for the 1130Am departure for overnight on Doubtful Sound without too much rush ?

Invercargill to Te Anau is 152 km, and Manapouri is only 19 km south of Te Anau. I'd allow about 2.5 hours to avoid rushing.

To Jed- I meant to say some days ago- Tiger is not related as far as I know but Okoshi is not a terribly common name in Japan so perhaps...

I think this thread is beginning to wind down and I appreciate everybody's input. I have a much clearer feel for what we have to look forward to. You all are a tremendous resource. Thanks!

Before you sign off-

<b>If</b> you are going directly from Invercargill to Manapouri, you don't have to go through TA. There is a shortcut called Hillside Manapouri Rd off of 94 directly to MP, which will save a lot of time. Check it out at http://maps.google.com/ ((*))

You do not have to go to Te Anau at all if you are going to the overnight Doubtful Sound trip. We left from Manapouri -check-in was 12.00. You can park your car at the top of the path above the Real Journeys office. We also did a full day at Milford and the Glowworm caves in the afternoon. It is about 2 hours in total- a boat trip across the lake included. Our teenage daughter really enjoyed the caves and Milford but not as much as the Doubtful Sound overnight. We were forutunate to have good weather, time to kayak on the sound, calm weather at the seal colony and lucky enough to see penguins. Our kids thought the Dart River safari from Glenorchy was ahighlight - jet boat trip 30km up river and then blow up funyaks(kayaks) downriver. They completely outfit you with gear. A full day with a great lunch- well worth the cost. Our kids enjoyed driving out to the Bungy Bridge and watching ( only because I wouldn't allow them to jump !! mean mother). We also spent the afternoon after our Doubtful sound trip at the Gondola - kids love the luge ride at the top. Our accomodation was spacious and handy to everything- Creeksyde Top 10 Holiday Park. We stayed in their &quot;Park Motel&quot;.You have plenty of time after the boat to drive back to Queenstown. We had a great lunch at Manapouri before leaving for Queenstown as our kids had met a family from Hawaii. It is a lovely cafe in an old church - the name escapes me but as Manapouri is so small you will find it easily.

Just re read my scrambled message. Our trip was from the west coast so the order which you are interested in is -Day 1 arrive Te Anau pm, did 2pm glow worm tour ( there is also a later one ), Day 2 drive to Milford stopping at Lake Marian and throwing snowballs at the Homer Tunnel ( a novelty for us),Nature Walk from info centre ( we didn't do a flight as we had done one at Fox Glacier) drove back stopping at the Chasm,Day 3 leisurely am in Te Anau 20 min drive to Manapouri. Depart on Doubtful Sound overnight,Midday back at Manapouri lunch and drive to Queenstown Spent pm at Gondola and luge.Day 4 Drive to Glenorchy ( about 50mins) for Dart River Safari,Day 5 last day vist Patagonia Chocolate shop yum ! and wander around town for some last min gifts, a short visit to Arrowtown for some lunch then out to AJ Hackett bridge to watch the bungy jump before going to airport for pm flight ! Hope that gives you some ideas as travelling with teenagers can be unique !!

Thanks Jed and Wallos for some good ideas. May come back with more questions after looking at my new AA New Zealand road atlas as a Fodorite recommended earlier.

Waiting for Hulmes Court in Dunedin and Hilltop backpackers hostel in Papatowai to reply . Will look at the Point or VillaDellago in Queenstown, and Campbells in TeAnau .

Thanks.