I am currently planning a 16 day tour of the south island (Nov-Dec). My current itinerary is Christchurch(2)-west coast(3)-Queenstown(2)-Te Anau(3)-Wanaka(2)-Mt Cook(3)-Christchurch(1). I plan to stay in B&B and motels (NZ$150/night). Any motel/B&B recommendation will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help.

We liked Punga Grove in Franz Josef, Lake Matheson Motel in Fox Glacier and the Explorer Lodge Motel in Te Anau. I believe they all fall within your price range.

We really like Villa Del Lago in Queenstown, but it's quite a bit higher.

We have a booking at the De Lago Motel in Christchurch next month. Haven't stayed there yet, but it looks very nice and got some good reviews on Trip Advisor - $135 off season.

The Moorings in Wanaka gets good reviews here too.

We've also stayed at Bella Vista Motels in several NZ locations and we liked them too.

Are you familiar with wotif.com, which gives a good idea on rates, usually better than what is listed on the individual sites?

We stayed at the following locations and were happy with all of them:

Nelson / Abel Tasman, NZ
Hotel: Ocean View Chalets (
Address: Marahau, RD2, Motueka, NZ
Phone: 011-64-3-527-8232

Hokitika, NZ
Hotel: Shining Star Chalets
Address: 11 Richards Drive, Hokitika,
Phone: 011-64-3-755-8921

Fox Glacier, NZ
Hotel: Fox Glacier Lodge
Address: Sullivan Rd, P.O. Box 22, Fox Glacier
Phone: 011-64-3-751-0888

Wanaka, NZ
Hotel: The Moorings
Address: 17 Lakeside Road, Wanaka, NZ
Phone: 011-64-3-443-8479

Queenstown, NZ
Hotel: Outrigger at the Beacon
Address: 33 Lake Esplanade, Queenstown
Phone: 011-64-3-441-0890

Te Anau, NZ
Hotel: Campbells Autolodge
Address: 42-44 Lakefront Drive, Te Anau
Phone: 011-64-3-249-7546

Lake Tekapo (Mt. Cook Vicinity)
Hotel: Lake Tekapo Scenic Resort
Address: State Highway 8, P.O. Box 126, Lake Tekapo
Phone: 011-64-3-680-6808

Christchurch, NZ
Hotel: Copthorne Hotel Central
(http://www.millenniumhotels.com/MCIL.nsf/LU_HOTELDOC/83$$HotelDescription?OpenDocument)
Address: 776 Colombo Street, Christchurch, NZ 8001
Phone: 011-64-3-379-5880

Thank you everyone for the quick responses/recommendations. What is your opinion of my itinerary? My main interest is landscape photography. Have I covered the highlights of the south island without trying to cover too much?

Should Wanaka come between West Coast and QT?

I can recommend the following lodging:

Te Anau: Campbell Auto Lodge
http://www.cal.co.nz/

Fox Glacier: Te Wehek
http://www.weheka.co.nz/

Have a great time!

Jed:
I chose Wanaka for later in trip to cut in half the long drive from Te Anau to Mt. Cook.

A nice old style B*B in Christchurch in an excellent location on Armagh Street: Windsor Hotel. Very knowledgeable staff. The bathrooms are share although there is not any shortage and they are clean, and there is a cute little dachsund. The breakfast in the morning is huge.

Mt. Cook has some limited budget choices but the YHA has private rooms (share bath with others in the private rooms). It is popular but so book ahead. (You do not need to be a member). Melissa5 who has a huge trip report also found a motel in Mt. Cook, definitely search for her report and read it.

http://windsorhotel.co.nz/tariff.html

http://www.yha.co.nz/default

For Queenstown I would definitely use wotif.com.

Unless you are doing some mountaineering or long hikes, I don't think I would spend 3 nights in Mt. Cook, 2 would be plenty. Often the weather isn't so great there so you might want a back up plan.

mlgb:
Thank you for the advice. I will stay (2) nights in Mt. Cook and spend an extra night in Christchurch prior to leaving.

http://www.bealeyhotel.co.nz/

Bealey Hotel at Arthur's Pass has panoramic views, very affordable too and warm hospitality. No, I have no financial interest in that establishment.

I stayed in B&B's, found en route as I travelled around both islands of NZ. On average I paid about NZ$60 per night.

In the centre of large towns and places like the Franz Josef area will cost more.

Another good website for B&Bs and Homestays is bnb.co.nz.

My experience last year is that prices have risen and you're not going to find a Bed and Breakfast for $60NZ anymore.
Lucky if you can find anything under $80. But at $150NZ you will not have a problem.

Thank you for the great advice. I am planning my trip for late Nov/early Dec. Would you recommend reserving motels/ B&Bs in advance? Or would it be safe to prepare a lodging list but make no reservations and have an open/flexible schedule? My main interest is landscape photography. A less structured schedule would allow me to adjust my itinerary based on the local weather at the time.

I traveled during that same time frame last year. The two places that you should book far in advance are Mt. Cook (if you want to stay inside the park). If you want to stay flexible, two towns in Canterbury that almost always have something are Methven (a ski town) and Twizel (which seems to have a huge surplus of rooms). I think the YHA hostels had a reasonable cancel/rebook policy, but I can't recall for certain. I remember rebooking Mountain House in Arthur's Pass because the weather window had moved from the original forecast.

Also if there's a special event in Christchurch, it can be hard to find something reasonably priced. We actually had people staying with us at Mountain House who couldn't find anything in Christchurch.

I was really surprised at how busy it was during that time frame.

Oops, I edited out the other place: the west coast glaciers.

Here's a link to my photo site:

http://mysite.verizon.net/resrumyk/

I would try to get up to Glenorchy if possible (north of Queenstown) and the Routeburn Track.

The area around Lake Tekapo is fantastic for the glacial blue waters and the interesting cloud formations.

mlgb:

I am planning a day-long trip to Glenorchy from Queenstown (maybe more).

Did you hike the entire Routeburn track? I was planning on day hikes from Glenorchy and the Milford road.

Wonderful photos of Lupines along the shoreline of Lake Tekapo. Did you come across wildflower displays elsewhere? I had assumed Nov/Dec may be too early for wildflowers.

November/December is spring, so you will see some flowers, the Dobsons Nature Trail in Arthurs Pass was a good spot for the Mt. Cook Lily. There were also a few in Mt. Cook on the Glacier Overlook trail. Don't forget they've got beautiful gardens also. You'll probably be late for the rhododendrons but it's peak rose bloom time.

I hikes the Glenorchy end of the Routeburn as a day trip. Bring a tripod if you want to take bird pictures.