only 8 days in NZ South Island
 

My wonderful husband is taking me to NZ for my birthday in June as I saw an article on The Trans Alpine from Christchurch to Greymouth. We have booked Christchurch and the train, but nothing else. What would readers suggest we do for the rest of the time? Someone said we would be better at this time of year staying in Wanaka rather than Queenstown which will be ful of young skiers (which we are not either) Milford Sound also looks good, any suggestions on which tour to take? Any views on Franz Joseph or Fox glacier trips?
Thank you in anticipation.

Don't miss Queenstown. The Remarkables (mountains) and Deer Park Heights shouldn't be missed. Even the boat ride/sheep sheering tour was wonderful. Wanaka is a pretty little town and we visited friends there, but I'd still vote Queenstown over Wanaka. I assume you'll drive south from Greymouth, so it might work to stay in Te Anau for 2 nights and then drive to Queenstown. We did that so we could have a full day to drive to Milford Sound and take a boat tour and back in one day. We had snow at the end of November on the way to Milford Sound - find out if driving around in June could be icy/snowy. We are thinking of going back to south island in January 2010 to do the Nelson/transapline train/glaciers/etc. So please let me know more about YOUR itinerary as you firm up plans. Here is the actual itinerary we did: On our 2nd trip to NZ we concentrated on the Wellington and the South Island. We flew into Auckland and then flew to Wellington the next day for 4 nights; took the ferry to Picton and train to Christchurch, stayed 3 nights; rented a car drove to Wanaka via Twizel (for LOTR spot) and stayed 2 nights in Wanaka; drove to Te Anau and stayed 2 nights so that we could drive to Milford Sound on a day trip and short cruise which we thoroughly enjoyed; then drove to Queenstown, stopping at Deer Park Heights on the way - a must - and spent 4 nights in Queenstown. The island is gorgeous, the roads easy to drive and we had a wonderful time. Now looking to go back to south island to take the trans-alpine (or drive it) and visit the glaciers. We did NOT go to Mt. Cook Lodge because we heard the mountain is often socked in with clouds. If you'd like more info on where we stayed, let me know. SWR

At that time of year, Fiordland and the whole SW coast is going to be quite rainy. You should therefore not book a Milford Sound cruise or Fox/Franz Josef tour very far in advance. I would plan on spending 2-3 days in the Queenstown/Wanaka area, with alternate plans on things to do if the weather is foul. If there is a break in the weather, run down to Milford for a boat trip and on down the coast to Fox/Franz Josef to walk to/onto the glacier(s).

Most boats that take day trips on Milford Sound are similar, so you should just pick the one that works for your schedule. Also, there is not much difference between Fox or Franz Josef glaciers, so that too should depend more on your schedule. We really enjoyed taking a guided hike up onto Fox Glacier. If you can afford it, I would also recommend taking a helicopter hike at higher altitude, up near where the glaciers join.

We enjoyed Queenstown very much in August several years ago. En route to Queenstown, via car, we took a tour-flight over glaciers in the "glacier towns" and over to Milford Sound. It was wonderful. In fact, we are looking forward to doing it again in October.

We also thoroughly enjoyed the boat ride to the sheep station/sheering.

We like wine, so we visited a couple of wineries near Christchurch.

One more thing... there is a lovely town just north of Christchurch that has hot springs. It is a bit off the tourist-trail. We really enjoyed it.

kc

THank you all so much for your ideas. We will definitely go to Queenstown and Wanaka but at this stage have seen better hotel deals for Wanaka at the Grand Chancellor. Yes we do want to take a helicopter flight over the glaciers, and a boat trip on Milford or Doubtful Sound.
THat hot spring sounds enticing.
You have all given me something to think about. I will write up a report after we come back.
Thanks again
By the way I am also a susanw, but p not r.

We found Wanaka to just as full of young skiers/party animals as Queenstown. We prefer to stay in Arrowtown, which is a short drive from QT, but away from the hustle and bustle.