<<1) Day 1 - Melqn8 - do you have any recommendations for en route villages for an overnight en route from Christchurch to Mt Cook?>>

We like Geraldine. Our MO is to drive up to a few hours towards our first 'destination' on our day of arrival, get some exercise and fresh air with a walk and have a nice dinner and good night's sleep. Geraldine is a good spot for this, I can recommend a great restaurant and a lovely B&B.

Caveat: You'll probably be quite tired; exhaustion and driving don't mix, particularly if you're not accustomed to driving on the left. Be smart about this.

<<2) Day 6 - Is 3 nights in WAnaka too much?>>

No, three nights only gives you two full days to explore and there's quite a lot to do and see in/around Wanaka, some of it up to an hour's drive away. Don't shortchange Wanaka for some random place between the glaciers and Christchurch.

<<Can FJ and Fox Glaciers be done on the same day? Is it too much to see both Glaciers? Just wondering if people usually choose one or the other?>>

Yes, you can do both in a day, and also walk around Lake Matheson if you plan well. I've done this many times, in fact, did it in the TR you read. I prefer to do both, but say, if you spend a day in Fox, it's also quite possible to see Franz the day you drive to Christchurch, you just need to plan your day so you can fit it all in on your drive day.

<<Or alternatively, is it too ambitious to drive to Mt Cook on the day of arrival>>

Yes, too ambitious. Overnight flights and long drives don't mix. I've flown from Singapore-Christchurch many times, it's exhausting. As is the overnight from Perth-Auckland, which while only five hours, is still overnight and a four hour time change. These flights are exhausting, please don't plan to drive very far on your day of arrival. It puts you and worse, others, at risk.

<<13 - Franz Josef / Fox Glacier
14 - Franz Josef / Fox Glacier (too rushed to drive back from FJ to chCh??>>

Are these nights or days? Do you plan to spend one or two nights at the glaciers? One night will give you no time to see anything as it's a very long drive from QT (6+ hours) to the glaciers and 4+ hours from the glaciers to Christchurch.

Melqn8 - you're absolutely right that it's not a smart idea to go on a long drive on the day of arrival. It's better to be safe than sorry!

I like your idea of staying somewhere en route for the first night. Will check out Geraldine (I think this is where you stayed too per your TR).

For day 13/14, these are overnights in FJ or Fox. So in total, 2 nights in either of these places.

Looks like we have long drives toward the end of our trip (QT to FJ; and then FJ to Ch 2 days later). Therefore, I've re-jigged our schedule so that we switch QT and Wanaka which will shave off an hour of driving to FJ (i.e. wanaka is closer to FJ than QT). In other words, we'll go from Mt Cook --> QT --> Te Anau --> Wanaka --> FJ --> Christchurch. This will also give us the opportnuity to stay at the Criffel B&B in Wanaka over New Year!

Please shout if the above ordering looks off!

Here is the latest itinerary (denotes overnight stays):

1 - Christchurch or somewhere en route to Mt Cook(arrival day)
2 - Mt Cook
3 - Mt cook
4 - QT or near-by
5 - QT or near-by
6 - QT or near-by
7 - Te Anau
8 - Te anau
9 - Te Anau
10 - Wanaka
11 - Wanaka
12 - Wanaka
13 - Franz Josef / Fox Glacier
14 - Franz Josef / Fox Glacier
15 - Christchurch (for an early morning flight next morning to Auckland

Sounds like your plan is coming to fruition. Interesting that you're coming from BC, I'm currently researching a holiday there / Rockies in September so I'll have to pick your brain sometime. I'm hoping they hold up to South Island hehe (South Island holds up to Switzerland so figure they'll all be comparable).

My highlights, we'll I've been there lots and queenstown / west coast never get old. As I mentioned I spent New Years in franz josef (note the population is ~300 so you can blink and miss it). Had a beautiful dinner and then got up on New Year's Day and went to lake Matheson, mt cook / southern alps was my first memory for the year....otherwise just north of franz there is a turn off to a beach off the main highway, if you have 30/60 mins go down to the beach (the drive is 5-10mins). Raw west coast black sand, such a contrast to everything you will have seen up to that point and I don't think you have black sand beaches in Canada??? Everything should be open, it's all set up for tourism down there and Xmas / New Years is a peak period too.

Your itinerary sounds great to see the mountains and lakes (remember you can see mt cook from lake tekapo and lake Matheson you don't have to get up close, unless that's what you want..).

Re wanting to see the ocean. None of your itinerary includes much of the ocean other than Milford/ doubtful sounds, it's all mountains and lakes. Don't get me wrong this will be awesome BUT it's not beaches / ocean. So long as this is what you are aiming for then you'll have a fantastic time.

I'm going to throw a bit of a spanner in the works but if you do want ocean / beaches then it's worth going north to kaikoura / Abel Tasman national park at the top of the South Island...this might mean that you strip away some of the nine nights you are spending in the southern lakes district (te anua, QT, wanaka). Again this is completely personal preference and what you are looking to see while in NZ. You may go kayaking / walking in Abel Tasman...

Re QT accommodation. I like the novatel right on lake whakatipu foreshore. Otherwise the copthorne just up from the rose gardens is cheaper / older but it's only a short walk down to QT CBD. Was perfectly adequate last time I flew into QT for a conference.

Have a look at some photos of lake tekapo (mt cook), QT, wanaka, lake Matheson (mt cook), Abel Tasman national park, kaikoura and see which kind of scenery best meets your desires and go from there...

I think your itinerary looks great.

You'll get a taste of beaches and ocean on the drive from Wanaka to Fox-Franz-Greymouth. Don't miss Knights Point. There's also a great walk at Moeraki Beach, rainforest, beach and ocean on that one.

Melqn8 - thank you for your invaluable insight! I'll be digging in to your TR later tonight.

Osteoach - You'll love the BC Rockies. When I was in Switzerland, I wasn't too blown away so hopefully this means you will be plesaantly surprised with what the BC Rockies has to offer!