Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - New Zealan- South Island

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New Zealan- South Island

We will be goping to NZ (South Island) for approx. 11-12 nights in December. We're planning on focsuing on just a couple of regions and not over-extending ourselves. If anyone can add some insight to the below plans, it would be greatly appreciated! Arrive in Christchurch spend 2 days. Take the Tranz-Alpine train to Greymouth and rent a car. We're also thinking about renting a motorhome, in which case, we'll skip the train and rent in christchurch and drive. Head south down the West Coast to the Glacier area. Is there a difference between the two areas? A better launching spot for travelling to them? How long is " long enough" to experience the area? Is Mt. Cook close enough to stay at for day trips to the glaciers? Is it a point of dpearture for guided trips? South to Haast take Haast Pass to Wanaka. It looks beautiful. what is there to do in the area? We also want to do Milford and/or Doubtful sound(s). Where is a good base to go to these? How do we go about making the trip? Thanks in adavnce for your advice!

I cant give you specific advice but check out this website: www.purenz.com It should have lots of information and links about all the areas you wish to travel to. 11 - 12 days seems like plenty of time for your proposed route. I'm sure it will be marvellous.

hi, i did a trip similar to this a couple of years ago and posted a vacation web page: http://www.mindspring.com/~quimbymoy/nz.html driving in new zealand is easy and very scenic. we rented in christchurch and returned in queenstown with no problems. the west coast includes the glacier area. it's really a great experience to get so close to the glaciers. we went heli-hiking on franz glacier and it was a big thrill. the hiking in the area is incredible as well. greymouth itself was ok. we went caving and saw the glow worms but the rain was so bad that we didn't get to go to punakaiki and the pancake rocks. we didn't go to mount cook, so i couldn't tell you anything about that. i would spend a day in greymouth and a day or two (if you have your heart set on heli-hiking or any copter ride, pray for a clear, not too windy day or else everyone cancels all the trips) at either glacier. wanaka is a really cute town. everyone there says it is what queenstown was 20 years ago. there are tons of activities: hiking, horseback riding, ballooning... it is also wine country down there so you can also go to the vineyards. to see milford or doubtful, base yourself in either queenstown or te anau. te anau is closer to milford and is a smaller town. the drive to milford was spectacular. again, pray for no rain, as it rains a lot there. tina

Hi dlh I have just done an itinerary for guests wh are doing 11 days in the South Island (They are currently on the last 3 days). What I would suggest is that you reverse the direction of your trip from South to North and from east to west. In that way you start on the dryer east coast (Canterbury/Otago regions) and you canmake decisions about the route to the west coast or to proceed up to the central areas avioding bad weather. Contact me if you want a copy. Kerry

Re glaciers - I'd suggest staying at Franz Josef and using that as your base to see Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glacier as there are several motels, restaurants etc there. We've found in the past that two nights are generally enough - one full day to walk Franz Josef and and a short time to look at Fox Glacier. Wanaka is a pleasant small town but Queenstown has lots more to offer for the tourist. You can take the gondala to the top of the peak for great views over the lake, take the boat across to Walter Peak station, do a trip to Arrowtown etc. The road to Mt Cook is on the other side of the mountain range from the glaciers and well out of driving range. When you are in the Mt Cook area, have a look at the church on Lake Tekapo - the altar window is worth seeing. There are two hotels at Mt Cook - last time we were there, they looked as though they were in need of refurnishment. An alternative is to stay at Twizel and go into Mt Cook for a day trip. There is only one small motel at Milford Sound so I'd suggest you stay at Te Anau and use this as your base to see Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound. You can leisurely drive to Milford Sound from Te Anau in about two hours (we tend to stop and look a lot). The boat trips to Doubtful Sound leave from Manapouri which is only about 10 minutes drive from Te Anau. Te Anau has lots of hotels/motels and restaurants. I'd suggest three nights at Te Anau which gives a full day for Milford and another full day for Doubtful Sound. Bear in mind that if you hire a car from Greymouth, you either need to return there to take the car back or pay a fairly hefty drop-off fee. Would you be better off driving across Arthurs Pass, then continuing south on your journey. We've had several holidays in New Zealand, the last two years ago. We didn't book any accommodation in advance and didn't have any problems in getting something suitable. The only small problem was getting into Queenstown late on a Saturday evening and finding all the motels full. We drove on another 15 minutes to Cromwell and found two nice motels at good rates. Hope this helps with your holiday planning.

Hi, I'm actually adding more questions rather than a response. Marg, you stated that the two hotels in Mt Cook were in need of refurbishment. Which two were you referring to? My son is planning to get married at Church of the Good Shepherd in Lake Tekapo and then go on to the Hermitage Resort for a small dinner reception. Did you see this resort? Would you reccommend a nicer hotel in Twizel? How far would that be from Lake Tekapo? Which resort there is the most deluxe? Thanks!