You are spot on re Rainbow Creek. We were sorely tempted to try the whole of Kepler Track but at 3-4 days we chickened out. Instead we started out from Rainbow Creek along the track to Lake Manapouri. (apparently, the river here was used as the location for the "Fords of Issen" in LOTR). It took us about 3-4 hours of easy walking with lots of stops along the way. If moss is what you are looking for then this is the place to find it! It is everywhere.
When we arrived at the lake it was totally deserted and shrouded in mist. As the mist lifted it revealed the mountains behind the lake.

@ mlgb:
Thanks - lake Matheson and Hooker valley are on the 2DO/2C list
Regarding lakes Tekapo and Pukaki I actually expected to be able to walk around them a bit as it takes a while to find the best framing for a photo. Can this be done?

@ crellston:
Excellent! Thanks for the reassurance. You mean it took you 3-4 hours until you got back to the starting point I hope. Whatever it took you it's probably gonna take us longer as almost every stop is 10-15 minutes easily. Did you hike via the Balloon Loop?

Yes I did mean it took 3-4 hours in total. I staop along the way and take an awful lot of pictures (but didn't use a tripod). Yes we did do the balloon loop to the other lake on the way. Early morning was a good time for us.

You will drive up the west side of L. Pukaki on the way to Mt Cook, and there will be lots of pullouts with great views up the lake toward Mt. Cook. The road also passes by the south sides of both lakes as you drive between them. Pukaki has the more brilliant turquoise color if you get the sun in the right position it is amazing. Tekapo has the lupines and the Church at the south end. Both are very scenic.

I know there are some pathways around the south end of Lake Tekapo. The DOC website has lots of info on short walks. They are very specific in the use of terms. If you want something easy those would be the "walks" and "walking tracks". Avoid the "tramping tracks". I recommend printing out the brochures to take with you. You can also pick them up at a loca DOC office, but hours may not match your schedule. If you happen to visit during open hours you will get good advice from the staff. (You can also do this for other areas you are visiting).

http://www.doc.govt.nz/publications/...aki-day-walks/

@ crellston:
>> take an awful lot of pictures
The you must have a couple from that area. Could you please share them (here/photobucket/email/whatever)?

photoprospect - I have added a few more photos(unedited) to the relevant blog entry

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...9600/tpod.html

mlgb provides excellent advice re the DOC. They really do provide excellent, in depth information and advice which is mostly free and far more useful than any guidebook. We made a point of making a visit to the local DOC site a priority when arriving at a new location.

The walks around the south end of Lake Tekapo are spectacular and IMO provide the best views of the lake the which is where I took these shots from
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...4160/tpod.html

There is also a thermal spa complex close to the campsite where we stayed which is worth a visit.

sorry forgot the link - http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...4160/tpod.html

@ crellston:
Thank you very much - you've got some beautiful photos here!
So it's decided - it's going to be the Kepler track between Rainbow Reach and Shallow Bay (and it's going to be a veeery early start that morning).

BTW, actually you didn't forget the link ;-)

This is our latest (and still tentative) take at the itinerary.
We have several issues with time allocation left open, namely:

<b>#1</b>
We might not have enough time for our planned activities in Blenheim, so the Auckland > Blenheim flight might need to be done one day earlier than planned.
We don't like it though as in case our flight from Bangkok is delayed we'll be stuck in Auckland.

<b>#2</b>
Glenorchy time seems a bit rushed and we'd like to add even more activities to that area, like jet boat ride up the Dart river (the whole area is recommended as one of the most beautiful ones).
We could take one night from Hokitika - is there something to do in Hokitika for a full day or more? This would make all the west coast part of the trip quite rushed...

<b>#3</b>
I'd love to spend one more night at Milford Sound in order to see it in different weather or just to improve the chances of finding an interesting image.
We could take one night from the Arthur's Pass, but the area was so highly recommended that I'd prefer not to rush this part either

<b>#4</b>
Rotorua area seems a bit rushed as well - we could fly to Auckland one day later, essentially leaving only the Underwater World as a place to see in Auckland


Would you make the suggested changes (taking into account that photography is a bit part of this)?
Do you have other suggestions?


___---===# The itinerary starts here #===---___

NORTH ISLAND
============
1 <b>Auckland</b> - land @ 13:20

SOUTH ISLAND
============
1 <b>Blenheim</b>
- Landing from Auckland
- Rent a car
- Wine tasting

1 <b>Picton & Havelock</b>
Picton
- Swimming with Dolphins
Havelock
- Queen Charlotte Drive

1 <b>Murchison</b>
- Rest stop
Westport (on the way to Hokitika)
- Cape Foulwind
- Tauranga Bay

2 <b>Hokitika</b>

2 <b>Fox glacier</b>
- Heli Hike @ Fox glacier
- Lake Matheson @ Franz Josef

2 <b>Arthurs Pass</b>
- Devil's Punchbowl hike
- Bridal Veil Falls hike

1 <b>Lake Coleridge</b>
- The lake itself
- Rest stop

4 <b>Lake Pukaki, Mt Cook, Lake Tekapo</b>
- Glacier Explorers - Boat ride on the Mt Cook glacier's lake
- Glider flight in Omarama
- Lake Pukaki
- Stargazing night tour + astrophotography
- Hooker Valley hike
- Lake Tekapo (south end)

3 <b>Wanaka</b>
- Siberia Experience (flight, hike, jet boat)
- Lake Wanaka (Glendhu Bay, Homestead Bay)
- Lake Hawea
- Puzzling world
- Wanaka Beer Works

2 <b>Glenorchy</b>
- Bennets Bluff along the Glenorchy road
- Glenorchy Lagoon: 30 min circular walk on the boardwalk around the lagoon [JS] Beautiful!
- Lake Wakatipu
- The Hillocks (on the way to Kinloch)
- Paradise

2 <b>Te Anau</b>
- Kepler track day hike

1 <b>Milford Sound</b>
- Milford Road
- Day cruise

3 <b>Queenstown</b>
- Arrowtown
- Shotover Jet
- Paragliding
- Gondola and Luge ride
- Return the car

NORTH ISLAND (again)
====================

2 <b>Rotorua</b>
- Wai-O-Tapu
- Zorbing
- Waitomo glow worm caves
- Hobbiton

2 <b>Auckland</b>
- Antarctic center, underwater world Kelly Tarlton
- Karekare, where the movie The Piano was filmed (wife's request)
- View of the harbor from Devonport (ferry 10NZD/pp)"
- Takeoff @ 15:30 on the last day

You don't need two nights at Hokitika, really it's just a spot to overnight and you can shop a bit in the morning if you want. I do recommend visiting the glowworm dell in the evening if you don't have another chance to see them.

You are going to backtrack from the glaciers back to Arthurs Pass? It is going to take a full day of driving. So if you do want to do those hikes you probably do need the second night.

There might be a better routing for your whole itinerary, though. I think you might want to try plotting it out more or less in the following direction.

Instead of a U-turn, continue down thru Haast, on Hwy 6 past Lake Hawea and then you will hit Wanaka. You may do with only two nights there, since you will see Lake Hawea on the way in. Wanaka and Queenstown are not that far apart. Take he Cadrona/Crown Valley road, you'll be near Arrowtown. If you have time you might either visit Arrowtown or stop at the Amisfield winery on Lake Hayes Road on your way to Queenstown. If you don't mind moving around everyfew days you may even want to spend a night in Arrowtown and then head on to Queenstown for the next few. After your Queentown/Glenorchy/Te Anau/Milford, and you would head via RT 8 and the Lindis Pass (very scenic) to Mt. Cook. It will take the better part of the day to reach Mt. Cook. From Mt. Cook, you can access Lake Coleride and Arthurs Pass from that direction (eg Rt 77). After Arthur's Pass you can fly back from Christchurch rather than Queenstown. (BTW you might consider doing a day trip from Christchurch to Akaroa for your dolphin swim).

I was disappointed in the Kelly Tarlton aquarium, and his family is no longer connected with it, so don't feel bad if you miss it. I agree to visit the coast west of Auckland. In fact I might suggest spending a night out there (although lodging is scarce). Bethell's Beach is also very scenic.

@ mlgb:
Wow, you're helpful beyond anything I could even imagine!

Your suggested path seems to cover even more ground than what we're currently looking at, but it also involves even longer drives. The backtracking after Fox glacier is about 2h and the whole drive should take 3.5h not including lunch/hikes etc.

Driving to Christchurch seems to be redundant at this point as we'd need to stay there - and we still can't take a night off Wanaka as we'd only have 1 full day there, which is spent in the Siberia valley...

Regarding dolphin swimming, we're going to Picton for the Queen Charlotte Drive and as both me and my wife are susceptible to sea sickness Picton's cruise mentio of lack of waves was a huge plus for us.

Thanks for the Underwater World hint - we might just as well skip it then... though we never got to see a big aquariumm, especially with an underwater tunner.

I had a weird thought though - what if we skip Arthur's Pass (and Lake Coleridge) altogether? We could spend a night in Makarora (that's where the Siberia trip starts anyway, we wouldn't need to add more time to our Wanaka stay) and still have 2 nights to distribute where needed (e.g. Glenorchy and Rotorua?). Is Haast Pass so much inferior to the Arthur's Pass?

It's actually the same distance if you go to Arthurs Pass or to Wanaka from Fox Glacier, about 260 km (and more likely 5 hours btw). The drive is nice in either direction. I think the Haast area is very scenic. Although there isn't much to "do" there are some short walks (again DOC will have a brochure). Plus it will accomplish taking you by Lake Hawea and I think is a bit more efficient. You have plenty of time around the southern Lakes, you may find that you don't need to add another night, but just shift one night from Queenstown to Glenorchy.

I would consider giving up Lake Coleridge and Arthurs Pass if you think you have other things to see. The think I liked most about Arthurs Pass was the Kea but you'll see them on the way to Milford Sound. It wasn't that great for landscape photography, you're sort of closed in at the bottom of the valley for much of it. I thought the better scenery was on the way between Chrischurch and Arthurs Pass around Castle Hill and the Waimakariri River.

@ mlgb:
Oh, I see you now... Will have to seriously consider this as it's not a small change and Arthur's Pass was highly recommended... Thanks for your suggestion.