Have 14 days South Island. 3 already taken with Routeburn Trek. Fly into Christchurch. If we go up to Kaikoura to whale watch then over to Abel Tasman to either take a water taxi and then walk back or kayak - then head down the west coast - we probably will have to skip going to Mt Cook. Are Kaikoura and Abel Tasman a must do? We love to hike, love the water. Thanks.

I'm not sure that I buy your assumption that you have to miss Mt. Cook if you take the route you anticipate. Kaikoura is not a far drive north of Christchurch, and the whale-watching there is superb. It is on the way to Abel Tasman, where I think that you will like the coastal hiking. Once you are there, you will presumably drive down the west coast, eventually to Fiordland for your Routeburn Trek. On the way back to Christchurch, it is not very far out of the way at all to take a side trip to Mt. Cook, via Queenstown, Omarama, and Twizel.

Please do not assume that you will get the opportunity to whale watch in Kaikoura. Weather is a factor. We paid good money for a tour from Christchurch only to have the boats cancel because of bad weather and rough seas. Not much else to do in Kaikoura. However we did enjoy a good lunch in town. This was in November.
John

In fairness to the people who operate Whale Watch, I think it should be mentioned that they do not charge you if they cancel the trip. Further, if you do not see a whale they will refund you ?up to 80% of the cost?. I must admit that I?m not sure what the ?up to? means.

I understand that John was charged for a tour ex Christchurch, whatever way you travel you have to incur costs in getting to Kaikoura, which you will not be compensated for. However, John, are you saying that you were charged for the boat trip that never happened? If so, please name the tour company.

Tangata:
Thank you for the reminder. We indeed were NOT charged for the boat trip. That was extra. Sorry to have mislead. My point was that we spent a day getting to and from Kaikoura without seeing any whales due to bad weather.
John

Thanks, Alf for info. We will not be returning to CHC. We fly out of Queenstown. Can you suggest any 10 to 15 mile hikes around Arthurs Pass, Mt Aspiring, Fjordland, etc? My husband and I love to day hike and its hard to get day hiking info here in the U.S. I have only been able to find trekking info. Thanks. Look forward to your response. Also, if we just wanted to walk just part of the Abel Tasman, would you suggest taking a boat one way and walking back from Bark's Bay or Awaroa Bay. Thanks.

At Abel Tasman, I would take a water taxi to Bark Bay, then walk back to Marahau from there. It is a very long trek from Awaroa to Marahau, and you will have to make the Tonga River crossing, which can only be managed at or near low tide. One fun thing to do (if you can afford it) would be to have a water taxi take you further along, to Anapai Bay, or Totaranui, then hike to Awaroa Lodge and stay there overnight. You could then get the really early morning start that you would need to get all the way back from Awaroa to Marahau. Alternatively, you could decide on where you want a water taxi to pick you up on the way back, such as Torrent Bay.

I responded earlier with some other ideas for day hikes, but we have not done many long ones like the ones you envision. I already suggested the Rob Roy Glacier hike in Mt. Aspiring Park. Other good choices would be to go up the East Matukituki Valley (Rob Roy is up the West Matukituki Valley) to Glacier Burn. Another good Mt. Aspiring hike would be to take the fairly rugged Roaring Meg Pack Track, over the Pisa Range.

In Arthur's Pass, look into doing part of the Cass Saddle hike, or climb up the Mingha River Valley to Goat Pass.

I finally dug through my little NZ library for some hiking guides. Our favorite was the Lonely Planer Walking Guide, 'Tramping in New Zealand'. Again, almost all walks cited in this guide are multi-day trips. I can no longer find my copy, but I think that you should get, 'Tramping in South Island Forest Parks', by Joanna Wright, from Reed Press, 1990. That book had many long and short day hikes. There are newer books as well - here is a bibliography:
http://www.natureandco.co.nz/travel_...lio_tramp.php3

Thanks, Alf for all your help and suggestions. Appreciate it!

Teri -

I've tried to reply to the e-mail you sent me, but I keep getting a failure notice.

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