xxxxx

New itinerary based on original Dec 8 post. Thanks Otis for the feedback, (we incorporated a couple suggestions). Please critique. 5 questions follow itinerary. Thanks so much!


Day 1-- Flight arrives Christchurch
Day 2-- Christchurch (gardens, etc)
Day 3 --Akaroa (see town/ Banks
Peninsula)

Day 4-- Lake Tekapo (? plane tour
around MT. Cook and
not drive to Cook))
Day 5-- Queenstown
Day 6-- Queenstown (incl Dart River jet)
Day 7 -- Te Anau (arrive evening)
Day 8-- Manapouri (Milford Sound on late
pm boat ride)
Day 9-- Manapouri (Doubtful Sound day
trip
Day 10-- Dunedin (drive Southern Scenic
Route
Day 11-- Dunedin (town, Otago peninsula
Day 12-- Wanaka (hike/relax)
Day 13-- Wanaka (ditto)
Day 14 -- Wilderness Lodge Lake Moeraki
(only couple hours at
glaciers; seen others before)
Day 15 -- Punakaiki
Day 16 -- Golden Bay (via Murchison)
Day 17 -- Golden Bay (hike north tip of
Abel Tasman; Takaka etc)
Day 18 -- Marahau/Motueka area
(Combined Kayak/hike tour in
Abel Tasman)
DAy 19 -- Picton (arrive evening
after visiting Nelson all day)
Day 20 -- Marlborough Sound (Queen
Charlotte Track)

Day 21 -- Wellington
Day 22 -- Wellington (Kapiti Island day
trip)
Day 23 -- Sydney (fly via Christchurch)
Day 24,25 -- Sydney
DAy 26 FLY HOME in PM

Questions:

1. Too much time in Christchurch area?-Is Akaroa very touristy or worthwhile?

2. Mistake not to actually drive to Mt. Cook?

3. Unwise to drive from Te Anau area to Dunedin via South Scenic Route in 1 day?

4. Skip Wellington/Kapiti Island and decompress itinerary by adding an extra day to, say, Southern Scenic Route/Dunedin and perhaps Nelson region?

5. Should we acually cancel Sydney segment and use the extra 3 days elsewhere? (NOTE: change costs $100/ticket since reserved on United using miles; we took advantage of free lay-over)

Otis_B_Driftwood

Christchurch - the most impressive sights for us were the Botanical Gardens (and adjoining Park) and the Antarctica Experience.

If you must do Akaroa, take the tour. Otherwise, you will have our experience of visiting a tourist town with no special interest. The drive over was very beautiful but you have to return the same way and the road is slow. Allow 4 hours for r/t plus time in Akaroa. On the tour, you will receive some personalized information and will (hopefully) gain an appreciation for the area.

On our trip, we had three days of clear weather (out of 21). Don't count on actually seeing Mt. Cook.

We stayed a couple of days in Glenorchy and watched the Dart tours come and go but the weather was awful (in December) and we chose not to take the jetboat/canoe trip. Not many others did either. Instead, we tramped around on some of the tracks for a few hours. This is a great walking area.

The Southern Scenic Route requires at least two full days if you are going to stop and see the sights. We had awful weather and some of the road was unsealed and under repair which made it slow going. If the weather is fine, however, this is a very scenic area.

We didn't stay in the Marlbourough Sound area for any length of time because of the high winds and stormy conditions. I'm sure it's beautiful in better weather. However, I'm not sure when that might be.

The only reason to visit Wellington is to see Te Papa. However, I'm not sure that's worth the ferry expense if you're only going to spend a couple of days there and not see the rest of the North Island.

Not sure when you are going, but you might want to add more time on to your Sydney stay if you are booked to go there. Three days is not enough. Sydney is one of the great places in the world to visit and the weather is a lot better than in New Zealand. You can actually swim there.

Jed

I would have to agree with jonesie from the other post (it would have helped to keep them together) that you are doing a figure eight. Seems like some excess driving, unless there is some reason. Also, Wilderness Lodge may deserve more time.

dotty

Hi. I would agree with Otis about taking a tour through to Akaroa, but would disagree with his impression of the place. And quite a few of his views too, I'm afraid. It sounds as if he did not enjoy his visit here, which is sad as there is so much to offer. Granted the weather has been dreadful this year - totally unexpected, and many NZers are fed up with it. I'm sure other countries have the same hassles with out-of-the-norm weather. Having said that, I must confess I am disappointed when the weather is not whatI expect when I am overseas.

I am pleased to see you are going to have at least two nights in Wellington. Te Papa is definitely one place to visit. When do you arrive in Wellington? Kapiti Island is worth a trip if you are interested in native birds and a peaceful day with the only noise being the rustle of leaves and bird calls! I have been to Kapiti Island, and it is certainly peaceful. You need a permit to go out there, and have to book in advance. Also be aware that this is weather-dependent.
Other things to do on the Kapiti coast are: Southwards Museum which has about 200 vintage / classic and historical cars / traction engines / and others on display- some very unusual exhibits;
Lindale Centre which has a little zoo / farm for tourists; a yummy ice-cream and cheese factory; restaurant and cafe; and general souvenir-type shops.
Will you have a rental car for this leg of the trip?
The drive to Mt Cook is lovely, but you cannot be assured of seeing the mountain. We drove out there in January, temperature 30+ degrees when we left Timaru, then Tekapo. As we got to within 20 minutes of the mountain the weather changed dramatically to heavy rain, and didn't let up for over 2 hours. As soon as we hit that magical border on the way back to Timru the weather was back to being hot and sunny!
The only other suggestion would be to see if it is not possible to drive from Moeraki Lodge through to look at Punakaiki, and then continue driving through to where you are staying in Golden Bay? It is not a long trip from Greymouth to Motueka - about 5 hours, and there is not a lot to see at Punakaiki. This could give you an extra day at Moeraki Wilderness Lodge if you should wish it.
When do you come to NZ?

dotty

Hi again.
Just realised my timing is out a little for Greymouth to Motueka. It is more like 7 hours driving time, sorry.
Dot.

xxxxx

I appreciate all of your feedback. We were going to arrive around Jan 10, however trip now pushed back to start 2nd week in February due to job issues. Perhaps this is for the best given the abysmal weather everyone is now reporting.

New itinerary:
Now arriving in Auckland, returning from Christchurch, staying 25 nights total

1st 4 days in North Island, fly to Christchurch day 5

Day 5-25 in south

Eliminated Sydney --> future trip

Dotty: thanks for your advice. we are still not sure about Kapiti, but it is close to Wellington. I think we still plan to break up the west coast by stopping in Punakaiki but I'm open to suggestions.

Jed: yes,I suppose it's 1/2 of a `figure eight', but we wish to see mountain scenery and not just drive around the coast (ie we wish to see Tekapo/MT Cook area, not the coast between Christchurch and Dunedin). Please let us know if you there is an alternative route.

Question for all:

1. What to do with 4 days in North Island before flying to Christchurch? (Note: we are seeing Wellington as part of South Island itinerary)

2. Where to stay in Queenstown?

ElendilPickle

What to do on the North Island? It depends on your interests. You could go up to the Bay of Islands or over to the Coromandel Peninsula for a couple of days; you could spend some time in Auckland, maybe getting over to Waiheke or one of the other islands nearby; you could go down to Rotorua for the geothermal activity and a glimpse of Maori culture...

Lee Ann

MD

It took us about from 2PM to 8PM to do the south route from Dunedin to Invercargill - and we skipped a lot of the places wher it said "Hike of 30 minutes". (It was bloody cold last month - there was little hail bits in Dunedin while I was filling the car). I would suggest you allow yourself a day for that bit.

However, some hike notes may lie. For example, it said 20 minutes hike to the whatsis falls (sorry don't have my notes at hand). It was 5 each way, max! It said 20 minutes from the nearest raod, across the field to the cape at thesouthernmost tip of south island - well, maybe if you spent all the time dodging sheep surprises. It was also, max, a 5 minute walk across some farmer's field from the (gravel) road. Bring a windbreaker!

The unexpected delights are the best. We had to pass a herd of cattle being herded (what else?) along the road, and I swear the bull was bigger than our RAV4. (Unfortunately, the camera's autofocus decided to act up at that time...!)

I assume you're talking about the shotover Jetboat? Expensive, but fun in Queenstown.

We also drove up the west coast. The all day hike up the glacier (Franz Josef) is fantastic if you're in reasonable shape. I didn't think I could go all day without a washroom break, but both my wife and myself did!

Oh, and whale-dolphin watching off Kaikoura!

etc.

And if you're in the Taupo area in the North Island, be sure to take the Zorb ride, like the people on "Amazing Race" did. Ride a giant beachball down the hill.

Enjoy yourselves.

xxxxx

Thank you all for your input. Another itinerary change: eliminating Wellington and instead heading for Kaikoura from Picton area at end of trip (sorry Dotty!) We fly back home from Christchurch, and `doing' Wellington would require ferry across to North Island and then a flight to Christchurch. Concluded not worth the added logistics given limited time. We'll simply drive from Picton --> Blenheim -->Kaikoura--> Christchurch.

`ElendilPickle' (Lee Ann), yes, I was not clear on our interests.
our priorities are natural beauty, scenic day hikes (up to about 6 hours!), and gardens. We enjoy beaches if especially scenic, not big fans for swimming/sunning. We try to avoid highly touristed areas but make exceptions for unique places.

Clearly, we can not cover Auckland, Northlands (eg Bay of Islands), Coromandel, and Roturua/Taupo area all in 4 days. So, we are tentatively focusing on Coromandel for 2 days (Coromandel Coastal walkway in far north sounds great), drive to Rotorua and spend a day seeing limited sites(Waimangu Volcanic Valley, Waiotapu, and maybe Hells Gate and/or Mt Tarawera flight), then final day in Taupo area hiking before flying to Christchurch. Are we mistaken to eliminate Northland/Bay of Islands?

"MD", thanks for the tips. We are now planning to stay overnight in Riverton (near Invercargil) on way from Te Anau to Dunedin. Sorry you had rather raw weather but sound like you enjoyed the Catlins nonetheless. Actually, we are considering the Dart River jetboat trip near Glenorchy, not Shotover. Supposedly more scenic (?)
Our itinerary now includes Kaikoura. Again, I appreciate all your recommendations.

Further critiques/suggestions regarding both our North and South Island itineraries will be much appreciated!

ElendilPickle

>>Clearly, we can not cover Auckland, Northlands (eg Bay of Islands), Coromandel, and Roturua/Taupo area all in 4 days. So, we are tentatively focusing on Coromandel for 2 days (Coromandel Coastal walkway in far north sounds great), drive to Rotorua and spend a day seeing limited sites(Waimangu Volcanic Valley, Waiotapu, and maybe Hells Gate and/or Mt Tarawera flight), then final day in Taupo area hiking before flying to Christchurch. Are we mistaken to eliminate Northland/Bay of Islands? <<

Not mistaken, just practical. You can always plan another trip to New Zealand and visit the Northland then.

Lee Ann

xxxxx

Thanks for all of your help. Here is our tentative final itinerary. Any last thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated. We are leaving in a few weeks.

Day 1 -- arrive in Auckland early a.m.; drive to Coromandel
Day 2 -- Coromandel peninsula
Day 3 -- Rotorua thermal areas; stay near Tongariro
Day 4 -- Tongariro crossing; stay near Taupo
Day 5 -- fly Taupo/Auckland, then Auckland/Christchurch (because of frequent flier ticket restrictions) ; overnight in Akaroa
Day 6 -- Akaroa/Christchurch
Day 7 -- Christchurch/Tekapo
Day 8 -- Queenstown
Day 9 -- Queenstown
Day 10 -- Queenstown/late drive to Te Anau
Day 11 -- Milford Sound; Te Anau
Day 12 -- Doubtful Sound; drive to Riverton
Day 13 -- Southern Scenic route to Dunedin
Day 14 -- Dunedin/Otago
Day 15 -- Dundedin; p.m. drive to Wanaka
Day 16 -- Wanaka
Day 17 -- Haast Pass; Wilderness Lodge
Day 18 -- drive West Coast; stay Punakaiki
Day 19 -- drive to Golden Bay via Murchison & Takaka
Day 20 -- hiking Abel Tasman
Day 21 -- Abel Tasman kayak trip
Day 22 -- Nelson
Day 23 -- Nelson area or M. Sounds
Day 24 -- M. Sounds
Day 25 -- Blenheim/Kaikoura
Day 26 -- Kaikoura; return to CC for evening flight