Feedback please on 2 week road trip on NZ’s South Island
 

Hi Seema -

Things look pretty good until Day 5 - the drive from Fox to Wanaka is a very full one, with lots of stops along the way - I don't see how you're going to fit in a safari in the morning too. A quick Google search indicates the safari is 2.5 hours, correct? Long days will be in your favor, but IMO this is ambitious.

Day 15 is worrisome too - it'll take close to four hours to drive from Tekapo to Akaroa, under the best of circumstances and without stops. What time is the afternoon cruise? Then a 90 minute drive back to Christchurch. Long, busy day.

Otherwise, it looks pretty good to me.

Well, you could re-consider that night in Lake Tekapo (night 14), and instead drive a bit further, putting you closer to Akaroa and making the next day more doable.

Maybe consider Geraldine instead? That would shorten your drive day to Akaroa to 2.5 hours.

You'd still have plenty of time to see the sights at Tekapo en route to Geraldine.

The drive from Mt Cook to Tekapo is pretty short (less than 90 minutes as I recall). And there's not all that much to see/do in Tekapo (assuming you're not going for the observatory, in which case you'd need that overnight).

I concur with Melnq8, maybe cut the overnight in Tekapo to accommodate dolphin swim in Akaroa. I wouldn't cut it that tight, as something could come up, you could get a flat tire, whatever, and end up being late for your dolphin swim. It'd be better if you didn't need to rush or worry about being on time.
There won't be as many cruise ships visiting Akaroa this year, as nearby Lyttleton Port is now up and running, but, if you should happen to time your visit at the same time as the arrival of one the larger cruise ships, make sure to book your dolphin cruise well in advance.
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I haven't done the river safari. Nor have I done the Milford overnight cruise, although I've taken day cruises many times.

For Milford, our MO is to arrive early, before the buses from Queenstown get there (they begin arriving around 11 am), take an early cruise (we don't usually book), then take our time driving back to Te Anau, walking tracks along the way. Or, take our time driving in to Milford, stopping to walk tracks en route, and arriving in Milford for the last cruise of the day and returning to Te Anau in time for a late dinner.

FWIW - the sound is quiet during the day too - it's just the drive in and the crowds at the ferry terminal that aren't. I've never felt the sound was 'busy' as the cruise boats are well spaced and the departure times are staggered.

I don't know how many people the overnight cruise accommodates, but I usually select a smaller boat for day cruises. Only once have I been on a big boat that felt too busy for me, and that was with Real Journeys.

I can recommend a good B&B in Geraldine too if you're interested.

I'd never even heard of the Waiatoto River Safari until you mentioned it--which is a good thing. I just read its reviews on Trip Advisor and looked at the following You Tube video:
It looks like it'll be fun, interesting, and take you off the beaten path that would otherwise be inaccessible. My personal concern would be the sandflies, but I doubt they'd get you while you were on the water and definitely not while the boat is moving. You'll mostly be covered up anyway, there won't be many surfaces to bite.

Please make sure you leave lots of time for the drive from Haast to Wanaka. It's a gorgeous drive. I especially love that stretch along Lakes Hawea and Wanaka. Oh my, the views on a clear day! You'll want to stop for photos or just to savor the moment (plus, you might not want to look and drive at the same time on this curvy, narrow stretch of road).

I've done the overnight Milford Cruise twice (weather was awful the first time, great the second time) and the overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound once. I've loved these experiences. You don't see anymore of the fiord than you would on a day cruise. Milford Sound is not that large. However, I enjoyed being able to kayak for an hour or so before dinner, going up to the top deck to look at the stars at night (on a clear night), seeing sunrise at the mouth of the fiord, watching the wildlife (in our case, dolphins, fur seals and albatross). The fiord is so dark and quiet at night; if the night is clear, the stargazing is wonderful. If you go up to the top deck to view the stars, they can turn off the lights in the wheel house/pilot house for you, making your viewing even better. There's usually an onboard nature guide, who'll give a talk about the fiord, Fiordland, and the wildlife.

There could be up to three boats on the fiord offering an overnight cruise, two from Real Journeys and one from Fiordland Discovery. But we only saw one other cruise boat, briefly, in the morning when we returned to the dock.

I asked my husband why he liked the overnight cruise (he was with me on the two overnight Milford Sound cruises, whereas I went alone to Doubtful Sound). He said he prefers to spend the night on the water, that is, on the boat, instead of on land, that the food was good, and that it was nice being able to spend more time on the water than having to turn around after a couple of hours and get in the car and drive again. He says he wouldn't think of returning to Milford Sound without doing the overnight cruise.

I've never found the boat crowded. In November, the boat might not even be fully occupied.

I also liked that we got back to the dock early enough (before 9 a.m.) to be able to take our time on the drive back to Te Anau. It gave us time to walk to Key Summit and make other stops.

Here you go:

https://truenz.co.nz/bed-and-breakfa...ichlyn-park-bb

Thank you!