NZ Itinerary - 17 nights
 

Oh dear...I'm going around in circles on this trip! How's this one sound for a more leisurely trip? Are we spending too little/too much time anywhere? If you could go only to one - Milford Sound OR Franz Josef glacier, which would you do? We are a retired couple around 60....we like to walk around, but nothing too strenuous.

Fly to Christchurch in afternoon (figure 1 1/2 days lost for jet lag), stay 4 nights
Drive to Mt Cook, stay 1 night
Drive to Wanaka, stay 3 nights
Drive to Te Anau for 2 nights (but really only as jumping off point for Milford Sound Cruise)
Drive to Queenstown, stay 3 nights
Fly to Wellington, stay 3 nights
Fly to Auckland, stay 1 night and fly home to USA.
Your thoughts please? Also, recommendations for 3* hotels?
Thanks for your help.

Hi Susan! You will love NZ.
I think your itinerary looks great. Depending on when your flight arrives, you may not have much jet lag. Our flight arrived in Sydney at 8am and we had none!

I would personally take one night off of Christchurch and spend either two nights in Franz Josef or two nights in Mt. Cook. Then you can take a hike or scenic flight over the glaciers from either stop. (I think you can in Mt. Cook, someone please correct me if I am wrong.)

Definitely do the Milford Sound cruise-- and I am happy to see you are spending the night in Te Anau.

We can recommend all of the following motels:
Franz Josef: Punga Grove
Te Anau: Campbell Autolodge
Queenstown: Browns Boutique Hotel

I hope that helps! Liz

My 2 cents:

CC - 3 nights max. We felt there is less jetlag going west.
What do you plan for 3 nights in Wanaka?
My choice between glaciers and cruise is: cruise. Are you considering day or overnight? We did the overnight Doubtful and saw the TA glowworms without staying in TA at all.
AKL - 2 nights.
Would you consider going from CC across to Greystone and down the West coast to QT, so you could do the glaciers also?
Consider taking a day (or 2) from Wellington to stop in Rotorua overnight on the way to AKL. ((F))

If necessary to chose between the two, I would opt for Milford. Primarily because it does take a bit more energy to get more out of the glaciers, and often bad weather can obscure any view from the distance. There is a nice walk around Lake Matheson that gives a wonderful view if the weather is good. If the weather is bad in Milford, at least you will see waterfalls and can go inside for a hot cocoa. But hope you have good luck. You probably could drop one night of Christchurch, and I say that as a big Christchurch fan. Actually, you could also drop a night off of Wellington. I generally stay in smaller b&b's and motels, so can't help with the hotel recommendations. I like Armagh Street as a location in Christchurch, very close to the museums, gardens, Arts Center and on the tourist tram route. Try Dux de Lux in Queenstown or Christchurch for easy, healthy meals.

I agree that Milford would be a better option for you than the glaciers.

I also agree that four nights in CH is a bit much, but that's coming from someone who shuns cities, no matter the size.

Otherwise, I think your itinerary looks good and I applaud you for your leisurely approach.

As for lodging suggestions:

Te Anau - Explorer Motor Lodge
Queenstown - A-Line Hotel (ask for quiet room), The Lofts, Bella Vista Motel - all within walking distance of town

Have a great trip!

Hi Susanwr,
Pleased to see that someone wants to stay in Wellington for more than 5 minutes. There is so much to do here.
I would like to suggest you travel down the West Coast from Greymouth to Wanaka, but that would mean missing Mt Cook. However, then you have the advantage of visitng Fox or Franz, and driving through the magnificient Haast area etc. Alternatively you could take the TranzAlpine from Christchurch to Greymouth, hire a car (or catch a bus) to drive to Fox / Franz for a night then return to Christchurch to resume the rest of your trip.
I too would probably take one night off Wanaka. This would shorten the SI trip by a day, allowing you a day to spend in the Rotorua area if you wanted to.
Enjoy the trip to New Zealand.
Dot

Thanks all for your suggestions. In order to do it all, I've changed itinerary to:
Christchurch - 3 nights (but we will be coming from Bangkok-AKL-CHC that first night, so expect to be very tired)
Mt Cook - 1 night
Wanaka - 2 nights (we have friends there)
Te Anau - 1 night (unless we can't make it to Queenstown after the cruise, in which case we'd stay 2 nights)
Queenstown 3 or 4 nights (depending on Te Anau)
Franz Josef - 1 night
Drive to Greymouth, take the Tranzalpine to CCH, possibly fly same day to Wellington or spend another night in Christchurch
Wellington - 3 or 4 nights (see above)
Fly to Auckland for one night, then
fly home to Florida (via Singapore and Tokyo - straight through as per award travel rules. Sigh. Thank God it's business class. Hope to see a lot of Lord of the Rings sites in Wellington and Queenstown. I forgot to mention this is our second trip to NZ - last time we didn't get to south island. So, how does this "final" version sound...just right or too ambitious?

Your revised plan looks better. But I'm interested in knowing what you plan to do while in Queenstown. We felt that unless you are into the adventure things to do, we would have not stayed there. Especially since you are staying in Wanaka and also TeAnua.

Glas to hear you will spend time in Wellington. Dotty will tell you all about it, but VERY worth it.

Susan: The revised itinerary looks delightful. I think it's great that you're spending more time than most in Christchurch and Wellington--very different but equally fascinating cities. You might want to arrange to spend two nights in Auckland rather than one...there is so much to do there as well. If you wish, I will email you a copy of the articles I've written on the North and South Islands--based on my visits in 2003 and 2005--offering recommendations on dining, lodging, activities and sightseeing. Just drop me a line at [email protected] --John

Susan, be sure to pick up a copy of Ian Brodie's The Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook before you go. We found it very helpful most places, except for the sites on Mt. Victoria in Wellington, but we got some help and found what we wanted to see.

If you'd like to see pictures of our LotR-related activities on the North Island, visit http://community.webshots.com/user/ElendilPickle

Lee Ann

I may have missed when you are planning on being there, but I had to put my two cents in. While in Queenstown: they have an old steamer named the Earnslaw that takes you to a working sheep farm. There is a history/wine tasting tour and a sheep dog exhibition. They are both well worth the trip.