We are driving from Lake Tekapo to Christchurch Airport for a late afternoon flight home. Is there a practical yet scenic route to take on our last day? Obviously, we would be leaving in the morning. Is this still too risky? We will already have visited Christchurch earlier in our trip.

There's not a lot of choice of route between Tekapo and Chch.
Heading north the next town is Fairley.
From there you can continue straight through the town, and end up at Washdyke, just outside Timaru. From here you are on the main north/south highway (Hwy 1). It's not very scenic.
If you turn off left in Fairley you can go through Geraldine. This is the shorter route, and the way we usually go. Not particularly scenic, although you could make a detour through Methven, which will take you close to Mt Hutt, one of our major ski fields.
Once you leave the MacKenzie Country at Fairley you are on the Canterbury Plains. As you might expect, these are basically flat, and featureless. (Someone will probably shoot me down in flames for saying that).
My recomendation would be to have a good sleep in, and a leisurely breakfast, then amble your way to ChCh via Geraldine, stopping at anything which might take your eye. Have lunch in Ashburton, (Try the Ashford spinning wheel factory. There's a craft village surrounding it, and the food is good. On the left as you go the bypass.)
If you have time in ChCh, and haven't already done it, the Antarctic Centre, by the airport, is worth a couple of hours. You might even have time to visit Orana Park, which is on the same side of the city as the airport, so not too much out of the way.

Hope this is some help, and that you have a fabulous holiday in our lovely country.

I don't mean to argue with a Kiwi, but I cannot believe that there would be any road in NZ that is "not particularly scenic" but I haven't been there yet! I was wondering about SH 72 that Rough Guide calls the "inland scenic route" or one of the minor roads called "Thompson's Track" as an attempt to make driving from the Mt. Cook area to Christchurch more challenging and scenic?

It is true! Rte 1 between Timaru and Christchurch is not especially scenic, but it is quick. I preferred going thru Geraldine and Methven/Mt. Hutt. You can estimate travel times using the aatravel.co.nz website.

Sibelius,

You are right, of course. Everything in NZ is fabulous. Its just that we are spoiled with a plethora of riches, and tend to be very critical of our own attractions, so the ones which are simply "Great" are relegated to the bottom of the heap.

SH72 is the route through Geraldine, past Mt Hutt, and Darfield. It's a nice drive, and I'm sure you will be happy if you do it, Whether happier than if you took any of the other options is hard to say, because as you know, every road is a new experience.

I must confess I haven't driven Thompson's Track. Don't know how it excaped my notice; probably because I have the pedal to the metal when driving Te Anau / Christchurch. Eight hours non stop if you keep to the speed limit (100kph).

To be honest, after you have driven to Milford Sound, everything else is a bit Blah. The final few k's of the drive in to Mt Cook is the last bit of really spectacular scenery you are going to see. You want to hold that in your mind, and start to wind down prior to your departure, otherwise you will get withdrawal symptoms once you return home.

My wife has this problem, except she gets withdrawal when we go on holiday. When you live amongst the most fantastic scenery in the world, where do you go for a vacation? She still never gets the high she does from a chopper flight over Fiordland, or waking up in Doubtful Sound when the mist's just clear of the water, and the sun is starting to break through on the mountains.

Just go with your gut feeling. There are no bad choices in NZ, just some more fantastic than others, and whatever you choose will be the right one for you.

Cheers,
Barry.

Barry---You (and your wife) rule! What eloquent and meaningful advice! They should put your travel quote about the scenery of NZ in the travel books. Anyway, where do you go for holiday? Disney World?
Steve

Hi Steve,

Well, we usually head for Surfers Paradise (Southern Queensland). It's Jenny's favourite place in the whole world. Not because of the scenery, but for the climate. The winter weather between Coffs Harbour and Arley Beach is just great. Any further south than Coffs is a bit cold, and north of Arley is starting to get into the wet zone; it's a bit hot and humid.

We also like SE Asia. Singapore is great for shopping, as is Bangkock. We used to go to Bali quite a bit, but have been rather put off that recently. Hopefull things will settle down, and we can go there again.

Have been around the western US. It's the only place which comes close to NZ for diversity. Zion NP and Yosemite NP would give Milford a run for it's money, and of course the Grand Canyon has no equal anywhere (on earth anyway)

So far haven't been to Europe, but that's next on the list. As I said, not much incentive to go outside NZ, but a quick trip to Aussie for a 'bitta culcha' (that's Strine), and Singapore for some retail therapy just about satisfies our travel urges.

You are going to absolutely love NZ. You didn't say when you were travelling, but from now until mid March is high season, so there will be quite a few visitors to share your experiences. After March it's a bit quieter, but still lovely. The best times weather wise is from now until Xmas, and February to mid April (Spring and Autum) but our weather is quite unpredictable.

Must get back to work and earn some money for our next holiday,

Cheers,
barry