richarddd

We are traveling to New Zealand in November and staying for 15 nights. Our main interests are beautiful walks and scenery. One decision is how much time to spend in each of Franz Joseph Glacier, Wanaka and Te Anau.

We plan to land in Auckland and fly immediately to Christchurch (Millennium Hotel). See the town, including botanical gardens, either that day or the next, depending on how tired we are.

We would then drive to Abel Tasman NP. 3 nights (Ocean View Chalet). Various day hikes.

Next we would drive to Franz Joseph Glacier. 2 or 3 nights - which would you suggest? (staying at Punga Grove). Please recommend flight companies (helicopter or fixed wing), etc.

Then we would drive to Wanaka and stay a night or two. How much time should we stay? (Te Wanaka Lodge?)

Then on to Te Anau as a base (the Croft?) for Milford Sound cruise, Doubtful Sound cruise, day walks, including Routeburn and Milford tracks, etc. Again, how much time would you recommend?

Next we would fly from Queenstown to Auckland. How long we stay in that area and what we do depending on how much time we stayed on the SI.

Any and all suggestions would be very much appreciated.

thanks

Melnq8

Hi richardd -

For first time visitors to NZ with limited time, I'd suggest two nights in Franz Josef. One night isn't enough IMO, but two should be enough to see the major sights and not have to rush about. You're looking at a 6.5 hour drive from Abel Tasman to Franz without stops, so you'll have just arrived from a long day of driving. Staying two nights will give you only one full day to spend in the area before you head south, but with limited time, it might work for you.

We took a helihike with Alpine Guides (Fox Glacier). Keep in mind that flights are often cancelled due to poor weather, so it's good to have a back-up plan.

I'm not a huge fan of Wanaka, but there are some fabulous hikes in the area. Most are at least a 60-90 minute drive from Wanaka though, so if you plan to do much hiking, you should allow at least two nights, three if you can spare it. The drive from the glaciers to Wanaka is over four hours, so you won't have loads of hiking time on your day of arrival.

As for Te Anau, we spent four nights at the Croft in March, and could easily have spent more. We had fabulous weather which was a big factor - on previous visits we'd had crummy weather and wouldn't have needed the extra time. LOADS to do in/around Te Anau/Milford for hikers/walkers. I have a new appreciation for Te Anau since our last visit.

Queenstown is the touristy bit - nice scenery and plenty of walks, but an entirely different experience from the more remote, wild spots on the SI.

richarddd

Hi Mel,

Would this make sense:

Christchurch, 1 night
Abel Tasman, 3 nights
Glaciers, 3 nights
Wanaka, 3 nights
Te Anau, 4 nights

realizing that driving from place to place will take 4-6 hours or more each time? We would drive from Te Anau to QT for a 1:00 pm flight at the end. (Our 15th night would be in AKL before an early morning flight.)

Or would you rearrange days or add something?

Many thanks for your help on this and in other threads.

Melnq8

It certainly makes sense to me...

Let me know if I can help with walk suggestions.

richarddd

Walk (or any other) suggestions would be great!

Melnq8

Okay, here we go...I'm going to do a fast and dirty cut and paste from some of my past trip reports to save keystrokes:

The Abel Tasman Track of course, but if you have time, you might also consider walking the less traveled section from Totaranui towards Whariwharangi Hut.

Totaranui can be reached via water taxi from Marahau (or by car from Takaka, but you won't be on that side).

Excerpt -

'Totaranui is the final stop on the Abel Tasman track for boat and bus service, and many walkers stop here, yet the track continues on around the headland to Whariwharangi and Wainui.

This walk was undulating, with descents to three beaches, and ascents back up. The path meandered through meadow, rainforest and along the coast. It was narrow in spots with some steep drop offs, but it was a wonderful walk, and one of our favorites of the trip.'

It's about 6.5 miles to Mutton Cove and back, an hour further each way to Whariwharangi.

-------

Nice walks around Punakaiki (I assume you're driving to Franz Josef via Punakaiki?)

Excerpt:

'we decided to go to Charleston (north of Punakaiki) to check out the Coastal Bay overlook that we’d missed the day before. We walked both the Coastal Bay Loop and the trail to the overlook (35 min return). This walk freaked me out a bit - no guard rails, just sheer drop offs at the top of the overlook.' Nice views though...

The Truman Track - 20-30 minute return - easy walk through virgin forest to a beach. Begins near Punakaiki - well marked from the road.

Cave Creek Track(Punakaiki) - site of the 1995 bridge collapse and ensuing tragedy.

Excerpt:

'The turnoff was 2 km from the DOC office and then another 6 km along a very rough road with a few muddy spots. We walked to the Cave Creek Resurgence, which was marked with a touching memorial of rocks and ribbons made from leaves. This was a very sobering 2.5 mile walk (90 minutes return).'

Also from Punakaiki - Excerpt:

'We drove 1 km north of the DOC office and walked the Pororari River Track. This is a very scenic, easy path along the river and through a limestone gorge – beautiful – 7 km return (about 4.5 miles) – took us just under two hours.'

I've got a gazillion more, but it's late and I need to go to bed. Will try to post more tomorrow if I've not already bored you to tears.

mrwunrfl

My only suggestion is to buy your domestic NZ tickets sooner rather than later.

richarddd

Mel, very helpful and the opposite of "bored to tears."

I'm not the best with heights, so a freaky no-guardrail hike may not be the best.

We haven't really mapped out driving routes yet. Anything we should know, other than that some of the drives will take a very long time?

mrwnrfl, we already have tickets. QF red deal from AKL-CHC and ZQN-AKL were rather inexpensive (although domestic economy seats will likely be a shock after long haul business).

Melnq8

Hi richarddd -

I'm in the midst of an international move, so my trusty SI map and research materials are currently on a barge somewhere between Indonesia and Western Australia.

So, I've attached the links to my last two trips to the SI (apologize in advance if I posted these on one of your earlier threads) - we visited some of the same places you plan to visit - the driving routes might help you out.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35062577

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35118771

Here's a drive distance calculator that might help too:

http://www.aatravel.co.nz/main/td-calculator.php

I'd suggest driving from Marahau to Franz Josef via the coastal route (Westport, Punakaiki, Greymouth, Hokitika). It's going to be a long day, but it's a beautiful drive with lots of reasons to stop along the way.