New Zealand South Island must see's please
 

Hi,

I have just booked flights, car hire and accomodation for my self, my husband and another couple for a holiday in NZ for end of January / February next year. Yeah !!
We will be self driving and I hope have allowed enough time at each stop to see the Must Sees. (My travel agent recommended the timing, we did not want to be sitting in the car all day)

The itinery is as follows:
Arrive Christchurch mid afternoon - 3 nights
Lake Tepako 2
Dunedin 1
Invercargill 1
TeAuan 2
Queenstown 3
Haast 1
Franz Joseph 2
Greymouth 1
Christchurch 1 -early Am flight next day.

Our priority is to see as much beautiful scenery as possible and wildlife.
We have allocated 1 day to Kaikoura from Christchurch, Mount Cook from Lake Tepako, Milford and Doubtful Sounds from TeAnau and Arthurs Pass.

Can anyone recommend other Must See things to do or comment on the timing?

Thankyou

<We have allocated 1 day to Kaikoura from Christchurch, Mount Cook from Lake Tepako, Milford and Doubtful Sounds from TeAnau and Arthurs Pass.>

Not sure I understand the Arthur's Pass reference, as it's located between Christchurch and Greymouth.

Personally, I'd skip the Greymouth overnight and add that to Dunedin. If you're going to drive that far south, you might as well spend a few nights. Staying two nights will give you a full day to see Dunedin, plus a few hours on your arrival and departure days. You could easily skip the overnight in Haast too - it's tiny - not much to do there unless you plan to hike - and you can drive from QT to Franz Josef in about seven hours with stops.

I loved staying at the Ocean View Chalet and exploring Abel Tasman. But it's pretty far from the other places in your itinerary. Not sure why you'd want three nights in Christchurch if you're looking for scenery.

I agree with Songdoc about length of stay in Christchurch. Our first trip we spent two nights there - the first day we wandered through the botanical gardens and worked on getting over jet lag. Then we had another full day to take in the sights of Christchurch. This was plenty. You will also have some additional time in Christchurch the afternoon/evening prior to your early a.m.flight.

If you add a night to Dunedin you can stay out on the peninsula. There are some nice hikes there, a few good restaurants and you can book a time at the albatross center that is late in the day when there is a better chance of the birds coming in off the ocean.

Highly recommend dining at Plato http://www.platocafe.co.nz/about.htm in Dunedin. Casual, with great food and ressies definitely required. It is very easy to get to if you are staying out on the peninsula.

If you will be in Christchurch and want to see some interesting scenery, you might consider Hanmer Springs. This alpine community is just about 45 minutes north of Christchurch.

We did a daytrip to visit the springs and enjoy the lovely mountains from our pool. It is mostly off the (international) tourist path.

http://www.hanmersprings.co.nz/

kc

Thanks for the replies everyone.

It was my travel agent who said we should allow 3 days in Christchurch, she loved it. I might try and take one from there and add it to Dunedin.

The Plato cafe dinner menu had my mouth watering, thanks PJTravels and I will definitely add Hanmer springs to our itinery, thanks kcdc.

Oh I'm jealous. The South Island is stunning. The boat trip through Milford Sound I would certainly rate as a must see. Some thoughts on your itinery. Definitely dont stay a night in Haast, there really isnt anything to do there. Greymouth is really only useful as a rest point. If you want to have an easier driving day then maybe only spend two nights in Queenstown and one in Wanaka. Then its a shorter trip to Franz Joseph. Wanaka is lovely too - like a less touristy Queenstown. Another thought, if you really want to see it all, is to fly the short trip to Stewart Island. If you dont do that, at least take the short drive from Invercargill to Bluff. You only need about an hour in Bluff but it's worth doing to see the views from the bottom of the world! Enjoy. :)

Hi, I would spend less time in Christchurch, and maybe not go as far as Invercargill and more time on the coast between Dunedin and Christchurch. Kaikoura for whale watching is really good, Hanmer Springs for the hot springs pool. You have to be flexible in Franz Josef to get a glacier flight as the weather can haul in quickly and flights get cancelled, but if you do get a chance it is magnificent. You can drive from Queenstown to Franz Josef in a day and miss out Haast, giving more time for another location.

Consider 1 night in Te Anau and 1 night on Doubtful Sound trip, magnificent.

We spent 9 weeks in NZ in January - March this year and I have loaded all the activities and the first 4 weeks of our itinery on my blog, http://superslimmer.blogspot.com. I will shortly be loading the last 5 weeks of our NZ itinery on the blog. We originally book 4 weeks in NZ but loved it so much we extended our trip by 5 weeks and went back round north and south island again! I know you will love your trip.

We were in NZ back in 2006 and more extensively in 2007. On the first trip, we only spent 3 days in Christchurch and the remaining 3 wks was in OZ. I thought that was a perfect time. One day, we did a full day of sightseeing driving to the Banks Peninsula and the town of Akaroa. We also stumbled upon the best restaurant, The Godley House (if still open) on Pidgeon Bay. It was a spectacular drive as is everywhere in the south island. Another full day was spent driving north to the Waipara Valley and Hammersprings. The third day (and one day or less is enough), actually exploring Christchurch. Sorry to confuse you further. In second adventure there, we also started in Christchurch (but only for a day). We left there for Arthur's Pass and spent the night in a lovely town, Hokitika. Then 1 night in Franz Joseph, two in both Queenstown and TeAnu and one in Invercargill, Dunedin, Twizel (to see Mt Cook) and one in Geraldine so we could spend a lot of time seeing Mt Cook without having to drive all the way back into Christchurch

Not too sure about Kasyork's comment about "spending more time on the coast between Dunedin and Christchuch". We locals consider that drive, particularly between Christchurch and Oamaru, to be one of the most boring in the South Island. Certainly, the coastal drives south of Dunedin and along the Kaikoura coast, north of Christchurch, are worthwhile, but they are destinations in their own right.

As a means of getting between Dunedin and Christchurch, the inland route is far the better choice. It takes longer, but you won't want to rush it anyway.

Thankyou all so much for your input. It is greatly appreciated.

NZSophie, is it possible to do a day trip (return flight maybe) from Invercargill to Stewart Island and then drive onto TeAnau the same late afternoon / evening?

The couple we travel with are happy to go anywhere and do anything, the only request being we go as far south as possible, hence I chose Invercargill.

The stop in Haast was only to break up the drive from Queenstown to Franz Joseph and to give us an early start for two full days at the glaciers. I really want to do the glacier flight and if possible a heli hike as well.I know it is dependent on the weather so 2 days gives a small window of opportunity.
Maybe I'll try to change it to Wanaka instead.

I had looked at the Doubtful Sound overnight cruise but was unsure that it would be different enough from Milford Sound to warrant the additional expense.

Kasyorks, in your blog (great reading thanks) you mentioned that you got the last 2 spots on the whale watching cruise.
Has anyone been there at the end of January and had trouble getting a seat?
I guess that question applies to all activities. I am aware it is the end of school holidays in NZ, but was hoping not to have to book activities too far in advance so that we could allow for the weather at the time. We got caught out in Queensland this year. We booked a private yacht charter a week before arriving and spent the day cruising the GBR in the rain. The day before and after were beautiful and sunny.
Oh well, thats travel I guess.
Thanks again everyone.

Regarding Stewart Island...

You can take a flight from Invercargill (20 minutes) but IMO Stewart Island isn't a fly in and fly out kind of place.. Most of the island is national park and you need time to explore it. Taking a water taxi to Ulva Island is a good option from Stewart Island, but once again, you need time to do it. The drive from Invercargill to Te Anau takes a little over two hours.

Personally, I don't consider Stewart Island a "must see" for a first time visitor. We didn't make it there until about our 6th trip.

I agree wholeheartedly with Rob about the east coast of the SI (between Dunedin and Christchurch, particularly from Oamaru to Christchurch). It's by far the most boring drive on the SI! Mostly flat and agricultural and it's all busy highway (by SI standards anyway). Ick.

Sounds like a great trip. When you are on the West coast I would head north of Franz Joseph and go to Okarito. Canoeing on the lagoon there will always live on in my memory as one of the most beautiful experiences - snow capped mountains in the distance, creeks to explore, gold to be panned for .... Have a wonderful time.

Hi, by taking more time between Dunedin and Christchurch I meant stop to see Moeraki Boulders and a 1 night stopover in Oamaru and Akaroa. Also, IMO, Lyttleton is worth seeing as well. My trip report details our first part of our 5 week extension covering the South Island and my blog has our full itineray for our around the world tour up until we extended.

Our first 4 weeks in NZ we followed a fairly standard itineray and drove from Christchurch to Twizel and then onto Dunedin but after spending the morning at the Sir Edmund Hilary centre (brilliant, we would love to stay at the Hermitage). We just had to head on to Dunedin as fast as possible and saw nothing. When we extended our trip by 5 weeks we revisted that coast and really loved the boulders, Oamaru and Akaroa, heading via Lyttleton and Christchurch to Hanmer Springs.

Giving yourself a large window of opportunity for the glaciers is very wise as we tried to do a glacier flight from the small flight centre on the way to the Sir Edmund Hilary centre but cloud stopped that. We had 1 night in Franz Josef on our way round NZ the first time and on arrival in the early afternoon we found that cloud cover was stopping flights again. We actually got as far as getting in the helicoptor before it was cancelled! We were asked back for 8.00am the next day for the flight and were lucky to be able do the flight and glacier landing - a real highlight.

Thanks again everyone.
Any suggestions on what needs to be booked ahead of arriving in NZ and what we can wait and do on the day?

Not clear on what specifically you want to do oneday, but definitely book the Doubtful Sound overnight and the Elm Wildlife tour in Dunedin if those are on your list.