New Zealand self drive trip
 

We are doing in self drive trip through New Zealand in March 2010.
We would like to spend about 6 days in the South Island and 3 days in the North Island.

We will arrive in Christchurch and depart via Aukland

Is this possible, what are the must sees?

arbeeo

Six days isn't much time on the SI, given the distances and time it takes to drive from place to place and considering how much there is to see and do. I suggest you consider flying to/from Queenstown from Christchurch, or perhaps drive one way, fly back, to save yourself time.

Queenstown would make a good base for your time on the SI as there's quite a bit to see and do, and it's a good base for day trips to areas like Glenorchy, Arrowtown, Cromwell, the wine regions, Te Anau and Milford Sound (LONG day trip) etc. There's also Skippers Canyon, Bob's Peak, numerous walks and lake activities. Easy to fill several days there. If Queenstown is too touristy for your tastes, you could stay in nearby Arrowtown, or somewhere along the fringe of Queenstown, yet still have access to the town and its attractions.

Depending on what time you arrive in Christchurch, you could collect a car and head down to Queenstown via Arthur's Pass and down the gorgeous West Coast, through the glacier towns of Franz Josef and Fox Glacier. You could detour to Wanaka, then drive to Arrowtown or Queenstown.

You'd need to break up the drive somewhere along the way, perhaps at the glaciers.

You might find this drive distance calculator helpful:

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

With 9 days, I'd stick to the South Island only - per square mile, one of the most beautiful places on earth. We spent 8 days/7 nights on the SI in 2004 and could easily have used more time to take it all in. For example, we missed out on much of the west coast (the glaciers, Pancake Rocks, etc). Fortunately for me I had been there before, but the rest of family missed out.

I agree with the above poster (particularly "per square mile, one of the most beautiful places on earth". Stick to the south island there is just so much to see! We spent 2 months (5 wks SI and 3 wks NI) and still did not see it all. We rented a campervan for the duration and for me this was the best way to see the country and there is nothing like waking up at dawn beside a beuatiful lake with no one else around and the flexibility it provides enables you to see so much more of the country.

Our blog;
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...tml#ENTRY_LIST

Entries 39-54 cover New Zealand

thanks for the suggestions. Since I last posted we have increased our stay from March 27th departing April 11th.
So we can add more, or spend more time in places. I like the idea of a homebase to travel from.
Any thoughts on the transalpine train, then renting a vehicle?
arbo

That's great arbeeo - more time is always better in NZ!

I took the Tranzalpine many moons ago on my first visit to the SI. I enjoyed it, but we took it roundtrip from Christchurch-Greymouth-Christchurch, which I definitely wouldn't recommend. One way was enough. These days I much prefer driving over Arthur's Pass, because it allows more flexibility, but either way is a good option. The Tranzalpine is a good introduction to NZ, particularly if you're not comfortable hopping off the plane, getting into a rental car and driving on the left for the first time.

There are a few car rental agencies in Greymouth, but you'll definitely want to book ahead of time.

ARbeeo here again!
New itinerary and questions, We arrive in Auckland and Depart from Christchurch.
And we extended our stay to 2 weeks.
Arriving Auckland Sat. March 27
Departing Christchurch, Sunday April 11th.
So we have 14 full days.
We thought we would do a cursory 2 day in the north island and head to the South Island Monday.
REading brings interest in so many things?
Are these possible?
Abel Tasman Park, with a day of Kayaking.
Arthur's Pass, Drive or Train? We are used to mountain driving.
Te Anau, Doubtful Sound or Milford Sound?
Christchurch,
Sheep...special exhibitions??

We are here in NZ now on our 8 day self drive tour of the south island.
We drove from Christchurch to Fox Glacier in one day. It was a long ride but towards the end the roads get windier just are you are getting really tired of being in the car. The scenery to AP was great, but when we got to AP it started snowing and just seemed like a little stop in the road. Because we wanted to do a few activities in Queenstown, we only stayed at Fox Glacier one night. Could definitely have stayed there one more day to be able to hike the lake and see the seal colony at Gillespie Beach. We did the Fox Heli-Hike and it was fantastic.

Next we are headed to Dunedin then up to Kaikoura. We are totally missing Te Anau/Doubtful Sound, but I think it depends on what you really want to do. I made good use of this forum and the Fodors New Zealand travel guide to help narrow down choices and make decisions.

Good Luck - it is really incredibly beautiful here (even though it's just the beginning of Spring and is a bit chilly)

I love spring in NZ - enjoy the rest of your trip silvernt.