Our itinerary is almost finalized, and I hope you experts can help with one last detail.

Here's what we have:
Queenstown - 4 nights
Te Anau - 2 nights
Wanaka - 1 night
Fox Glacier - 2 nights
Christchurch - 3 nights

Now, I still have one extra night before we leave Christchurch for Sydney. I thought I might need to break up the drive from Fox Glacier to Christchurch, and considered staying one night in Greymouth or Hokatika. But it doesn't seem like a very nice area.

If we leave early from Fox Glacier and go up the coast a bit and then over Arthur's Pass - that's not too long a day to Christchurch is it?

In which case should I add a night to Wanaka? One more in Christchurch? What do you think?

I've booked our accommodations in Queenstown and Te Anau already, and am about to do so for the rest, so I need to get this one more day settled.

Thanks everyone (and Merry Christmas).

Alice

Instead of leaving the glaciers early, plan on spending most of the day in that area and overnight in Hokitika, Greymouth or Westport.

You can also use part of that day to take the short detour to Punaikaki.

I would then leave the west coast in the morning, and you would have a day to explore Arthurs Pass and Porters Pass on the way to Christchurch.

I wouldn't drive Arthurs Pass at night.

Consider going from Wanaka and staying in Wilderness Lodge Lake Moeraki for 2 nts, then Fox for 1 nt, unless you really want Fox for 2 nts. Or you could take a nt from CHC or QT. WLLM was a hightlight for us, but you need 2 nts.

http://www.wildernesslodge.co.nz/lakemoeraki/

I checked into the Wilderness Lodge at Lake Moeraki, but it's a little too high-end for us.

I'm leaning towards the suggestion of staying a night in Greymouth or Hokatika or Westport and then making a nice day of the drive to Christchurch.

Any suggestions as to where to stay are welcome, I hadn't really conidered this before.

Alice

I don't have a specific recommendation on the West Coast since it's been a while since I drove that stretch.

Depending on your budget there are a few options:

Motel chain such as Bella Vista (no atmosphere but they're a good value)

YHA Hostel in Greymouth, Westport or Punaikaiki (yha.co.nz). Most hostels have private rooms, and some are ensuite.

Independent hostel (check bbh.co.nz or hostelz.com for reviews). There are some nice ones on the west coast.

Homestay or Bed and Breakfast. If you haven't yet had a chance to stay in one, Coasters are friendly. A good website is bnb.co.nz or you can also check aa.co.nz listings.

We generally like B&Bs, I'll check out the links. Thanks!

Alice

If you're deciding between Westport, Hokitika, or Greymouth, I would exclude a stay in Westport as it really feels industrial and we found it to be the least pleasant of the three towns.

We stayed at the Best Western in Hokitika and highly recommend a stay in the town although it is small. There is a glow worm dell across the street from the Best Western that is worth checking out in the evening.

We didn't stay in Greymouth, however, if you do, I recommend taking the Monteith's Brewery tour if that is something that interests you. We had an excellent tour guide and samples.

I had seen several posts that said Greymouth wasn't a great destination, but more a place to stop overnight. I'll look into Hokitika, it DOES sound nicer.

My New Year's resolution is to spend time today and tomorrow, firming up some of these plans. Well, probably tomorrow, I'm having a New Year's Party HERE tonight, so I have a few things to do for that.

Alice

We stayed at Shining Star in Hokitika - http://www.accommodationwestcoast.co.nz/. This was a great location, near the beach and across from the glowworm dell. Although I didn't think much of the town of Hokitika, it made a good overnight stop between Fox and Christchurch.

On your way north from Fox, you might consider stopping in Whataroa and visiting the Wild Heron Sanctuary http://www.whiteherontours.co.nz/. We really enjoyed this.

Shining Star DOES look wonderful, and very reasonable. I'm going to check for availability, thanks so much for the tip.

And the Wild Heron Santuary has been put on my (evergrowing) list.

I agree, Hokatika isn't really a destination for us, but a place to break the trip between Fox and Christchurch.

Alice