New Zealand SI itinerary help
 

Hello,
planning a 16 New Zealand trip focused on the south island 12/23-1/8. Need help with itinerary! From what I've been reading the west coast has particularly scenic views which interest me the most. Some ideas we had:

arrive in Christchurch- stay 2 nights to catch up on sleep (would 1 be enough so we could spend more time in mount cook?)

drive to Mount Cook -stay 2 nights (or 3)

Mount Cook to Queenstown- 5 night stay for New Years. (accommodations already booked)

Queenstown to Franz Josef- 4nights (are there any day trips we could do?)

Franz Josef either back to Queenstown or Christchurch for the night and flight the next day.

Is this do able or are we going about it the wrong way.
Thank you!

One night is sufficient for catching up on one's sleep, but if you're interested in seeing Christchurch you will want that extra night.

I personally like three nights in Mt Cook, which gives one two full days to hike - you can see just about everything there is to see in that time frame. If you're not hikers, well, two nights might be plenty for you.

Three nights in Franz Josef is also plenty for exploring both Fox and Franz and Lake Matheson. If you're keen hikers, you might want the extra day, but personally, as a keen hiker myself, I find three nights plenty, particularly as the weather can be rather iffy.

From Franz you can easily reach Okarito - maybe take a night time Kiwi tour - the only one of its kind on the SI. Otherwise, it's not well placed for day trips.

I assume you plan to visit Milford or Doubtful Sounds from QT?

You might also want to fit in a few nights at Wanaka.

Instead of returning to QT from the glaciers (why backtrack for six hours?), keep heading up the West Coast - perhaps visit Hokitika (en route), and then cross Arthur's Pass to Christchurch, or continue driving beyond Greymouth and make the 90 minute return detour to Punakaiki - spectacular West Coast scenery up there and some beautiful walks.

There is no wrong way in NZ. Unless you forget you're in NZ and drive on the right side of the road:)

You could do this:

Christchurch
Drive Christchurch to Mt Cook
Drive Mt Cook to Wanaka
Drive Wanaka to Te Anau (I always suggest two nights here to see Milford Sound, more if you're a keen walker)
Drive Te Anau to Queenstown
Drive Queenstown to glaciers
Drive glaciers to Christchurch via Hokitika, Arthur's Pass and Punakaiki (highly recommend at least one night en route, at either Punakaiki or Arthur's Pass)
Depart Christchurch

Or reverse:

Christchurch
Drive Christchurch to West Coast via Arthur's Pass, detour to Punakaiki, overnight Punakaiki, then drive down West Coast to glaciers via Hokitiki
Drive glaciers to Wanaka
Drive Wanaka to Te Anau
Drive Te Anau to Queenstown
Drive Queenstown to Mount Cook
Drive Mount Cook to Christchurch
Depart Christchurch

The hard part of course, is deciding on how long in each place, but that will depend on you and your particular interests

Thank you Melnq8, this was exactly the help I needed!

Would it be worthwhile to drive Christchurch to Queenstown down the east coast and do either mount cook or glaciers on the way back or will there be more scenic/outdoor activities taking the west coast?

Melnq8's first itinerary recommendation is pretty much exactly what we did for 15 days and it was a very nice setup. You can't go wrong with that. As for your last question, it is answered in the details of the itinerary ... Mt Cook is on the way from CC to QT, and glaciers are on the way from QT to West Coast and back to CC. This is reversed in her reverse itinerary. Check out a map of the roads and you will see why this makes sense.

As explained by paulg, there's a reason this itinerary works - it hits all the highlights of the SI in a quasi loop. You have enough time to give this itinerary justice...unlike many first time visitors.

There is no shortage of scenery or outdoor activities anywhere on the SI.

I like the second routing since your first drive day you can stay in Hokitika (that night visit the glow worm dell). And stop at Castle Hill and Arthur's pass on the way for leg stretchy short walks. The Wobbly Kea cafe in Arthur's Pass is a good spot for kea sightings. If you're coming from the west coast of the US I find the jet lag is not a problem in the morning but kicks in in the later part of the day. Usually on Day 1 I stay up as late as possible an then by Day 2 I'm good.

I would certainly add a night in Mt Cook and drop one from the Glaciers. Hooker Valley Track is an easy walk there, and it ends at a glacial lake. Another set of good walks can be accessed by driving out to the Tasman Valley to the Blue Lakes shelter.
http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/par...ki-mt-cook.pdf

At the glaciers If there is a clear, calm morning (LOL) try to do the Lake Matheson walk (closer to Fox), you can also go out to the coast and hike to Okaratio trig (closer to Franz Josef) but be sure to put on the insect repellent anytime you are near water on the west coast.

http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-rec...alking-tracks/

I am not as big a fan as Melnq8 of Wanaka (which does cut an hour or so off the drive in from Queenstown), and Te Anau . I would stick with your Queenstown plans. It is a good central location for excursions to the surrounds (don't miss the Glenorchy/Kinloch drive or going out to the Kawarau Gorge). If you thinking of Milford are worried about the long day, instead of shifting to Te Anau, you can go with Real Journeys as a day trip from Qtown (as said there really aren't walks in Milford) . Skippers Canyon is another good excursion from Queenstown, which your car agreement won't want you to take. For another day, Glenorchy is easier from Queenstown and you can do a day walk from the Routeburn Shelter accessed Queenstown via Glenorchy. In fact if you were to add a night I would add it at Glenorchy or Kinloch. December can be bad weather an on my last trip it was Queenstown that had the best weather.

Info on Routeburn

http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-rec...getting-there/

On past trips I've saved on car rentals by ending or starting them with a few car-free days in Queenstown and booking excursions on those days. So you can apply that toward the excursion costs. Since you'll be there over the holidays, I'd reserve excursions and lodgings in the Natiaonal Parks ahead of time. Mt Cook and the Glaciers can be short of lodgings at peak times, even Christchurch can be an issue. The airport isn't far from the center of town if you wanted to stay there and start your car rental on your second day.