Help with SI Itinerary please
 

Thanks Fodorites for your earlier feedback. My SI itinerary is shaping up and I would love your feedback on my tentative schedule for January 2011. We are renting a car for this trip.

My husband and I are struggling right now with optimizing the Kaikoura/Blenheim/Nelson part of the trip - so any comments here would be especially appreciated. We would like to spend a day touring 3-5 wineries in Blenheim, but also want to get closer to the Abel Tasman area so that we can wake up early the next day for an early departure for a 2 day overnight kayak trip. *Sigh* There is never enough time on vacation! :)

Day 1 Fly into Christchurch, Drive straight to Kaikoura/Stay in Kaikoura (2 nights)
Day 2 Whalewatch/Dolphin Swim/Scuba Stay in Kaikoura
Day 3 Whalewatch/Dolphin Swim/Scuba Transit /Stay in Nelson*
Day 4 Blenheim Winery Tours using Nelson as a base?/Stay in Nelson*
Day 5 Overnight Kayak Trip in Abel Tasman Trip
Day 6 Back in Nelson/Stay in Nelson* (1 night)
Day 7 Nelson Weekend Shopping Market /Transit/Stay in Punakaiki (1 night)
Day 8 Transit/Stay in Franz Josef (2 nights)
Day 9 ½ day or Full day glacier hike/Stay in Franz Josef
Day 10 Transit/Stay in Queenstown (4 nights)
Day 11 Milford Sound Cruise/Stay in Queenstown
Day 12 Routeburn Track/Stay in Queenstown
Day 13 Paragliding, rafting, etc./Stay in Queenstown
Day 14 Fly to Auckland/Stay in Auckland (1 night)
Day 15 Morning in Auckland/Fly back to States

*Not sure if should stay in Nelson/Blenheim/Kaiteriteri

have you checked out f\driving times for all these?

I don't understand why you'd stay in Nelson to visit wineries in Blenheim... There are loads of wineries in/around Nelson. All you need do is drive between Nelson and Abel Tasman and you'll have many wineries to choose from.

Here's a wine trail map:

http://www.owdjim.gen.nz/nelwine/

*Not sure if should stay in Nelson/Blenheim/Kaiteriteri

Blenheim doesn't makes sense here. I assume you're going back to Nelson because you want to visit the weekend market..have you considered driving from Kaikoura to Abel Tasman first? You could spend night 3 in Marahau or Kaiteriteri, giving you some time to explore the area before your overnight kayak trip on night 4, and then visit some wineries on day five, as you work your way towards Nelson. That way you wouldn't have to break up your stay in Nelson and would still be there for the weekend market.

Just a thought.

Here's another idea if you've got your sights on Blenheim...

Spend Night 3 in Blenheim, visit Blenheim wineries on Day 4, and then make your way towards Abel Tasman late in the day...spend Night 4 in Marahau, Kaiteriteri or Motueka...this will put you very close to Abel Tasman for your early start the next day. On Day 6 you can leisurely work your way to Nelson via the Nelson wine region if you're so inclined.

You can check travel times/distances here:

http://www.accommodationz.co.nz/distances2.html

Just saw some pics from Kaikoura and they were beautiful. We're looking forward to going there soon.

Thank you all, esp. Melnq8. I had no idea that the Nelson area also had good wineries to visit. I am now off to do some research on Blenheim vs. Nelson wineries. My husband and I enjoy wine a lot, but we did not plan this trip specifically to target visits to certain wine makers. We are certainly aware of some of the more famous ones near Blenheim, but I'll start digging through old trip reports and other blogs online to see if Nelson can satisfy this interest. Thanks again and will keep you all posted!

Hello again cng545 -

Yes, plenty of wineries in the Nelson Region. Many are boutique family owned wineries where you can meet the winemaker as you taste the wine.

I have a few trip reports posted here which mention some of the Nelson region wineries. Just click on my name and scroll down to Trip Reports.

Some wineries to consider in the Nelson area are Waimea Estates (great place for lunch too), The Grape Escape, Stafford Lane Estate, Kahurangi Estate and Neudorf.

Oops, I forgot about Seifried and Fossil Ridge!

Seifrid Pinot Gris is one of my favorites!