Review our NZ Itinerary please
 

Two couples, retirees but active, traveling together we have 9 days carved out for NZ and have decided to focus on the South Island. Any advice is welcomed. Fly in and out of Christchurch from Sydney.We have rented a car and worked on securing accommodations but we are unsure about some of our activities and if our time is allocated well.

Day 1: Arrival Christchurch. Spend the night . Eliza's Manor Boutique Hotel
Day 2: Travel to Mt Cook. Spend 2 nights Aoraki Court Motel
Day 3 Full day at Mt Cook
Day 4: Travel to Queenstown. Stay 2 nights at Chalet Queenstown
Day 5: Glenorchy? Arrowtown? Winery?
Day 6: Travel to Te Anau. Late afternoon arrival. Te Anau Lodge. Glow Worm Caves
Day 7: Boat trip to Milford Sound
Day 8 Travel north and go to Lake Tekapo for the night. Alpine Cottage. Mt John Conservatory
Day 9: Travel to Christchurch, Spend the night for early flight to Sydney.
Day 10: Flight To Sydney and onto Cairns.

My questions:

**Is 2 nights too much for Mt. Cook? Are there places to get meals up there? Should we do just one night and add the night to Queenstown?

**I thought the Milford Sound boat trip was reached easier from Queenstown but our B&B in Te Anau suggested that excursion. Also mentioned Doubtful Sound. Better trip?

**Do we have time our Day 9 to see something besides Christchurch.....I know we will find it interesting to see the earthquake damage and reconstruction....but other than that?

** Winery suggestion for Queenstown?

***Any comment/suggestions of things- SIGHTS, MEALS, ETC. we should not miss along the way? Many thanks.

Hi byronelaine -

Your itinerary looks very busy, but doable, although Milford Sound to Lake Tekapo will be a very long day - about six hours of driving w/o stops, which leaves you very little time to see it once you get there.

Many visitors underestimate the travel times in NZ. You've only allocated one full day to the areas you'll spend a fair amount of time driving to, and I personally think this is a mistake, but perfectly understandable if your holiday time is limited to only nine days.

There are three places to eat in Mt Cook - none of them terribly exciting, but you won't go hungry. I've stayed at the same accommodation you've booked and it's a good choice. It's well set up for self-catering but you'd need to take your food with you as there are no grocery stores in Mt Cook.

Milford Sound is a two hour drive from Te Anau, a four hour drive (each way) from QT. Te Anau is a good base as you can get ahead of the tour buses from QT. You can easily spend a full day between the drive, the cruise and a hike or two. There's loads of great tracks on Milford Road.

Doubtful Sound is a full day from Manapouri, which is about a 25 minute drive from Te Anau. Te Anau also makes a good base for this trip, but it takes a full day to get there and back - no time for hikes, etc.

I've done several Milford cruises and Doubtful once. The trips are very weather dependent (they operate in most weather, but I've found rain really puts a damper on both trips and both areas get ALOT of rain). I personally prefer Milford, but only because I'm in it for the walking tracks - the walking options along Milford and Hollyford Roads are incredible - the cruises themselves aren't highlights for me, even in spectacular weather.

Doubtful Sound better? Depends on who you ask. It's definitely more expensive and more difficult to reach.

Day 9 - you'll spend the better part of the day in the car getting to Christchurch, so not much time once you get there. I highly recommend you take the longer, more scenic route from Tekapo and Geraldine via 72 and Rakaia Gorge. Beautiful. The drive via the east coast is boring as all get out.

There's quite a lot on offer in Christchurch - we took a Segway tour and absolutely loved it - it's a great way to see the city in a short period of time. Hagley Park is lovely - I could have spent a whole day there (botanic gardens). Then there are the museums, Quake City, wineries, eateries, etc. Lots on offer, but you'll have no time.

Amisfield Winery near Arrowtown makes fabulous Pinot Noir. They're a bit proud of themselves these days and have gotten too pretentious for me, but there's no denying the wine is wonderful, the food not-so-much (in my experience anyway).

You'll find many wineries near QT and Arrowtown, many to choose from. I haven't found a bad one yet.

Good advice. So I am sure now that Milford Sound from Te Anau will be the best choice. We will take you up on the scenic drive back to Christchurch. Do you think Mt. Cook warrants 2 nights? Not sure what time we would arrive on Day 2 and what to do there besides some hikes. Wondered if we should just stay one night and put that night onto our Queenstown lodging?

Mt Cook is very much worth two nights, which gives you only a full day to explore the tracks and glaciers. I see no point in driving there for only one night - it'll take the better part of the day to just get there from Christchurch and then the better part of the next day to get from Mt Cook to QT, so why even bother if you don't plan on exploring?

We spent three nights in Mt Cook on our last visit and found it the perfect amount of time to do all that we wanted to do.

GREAT!! TKS

Hi,
a humble remark ;) : I would not suggest the Glow Worm Caves-Tour from Te Anau. It is a 2.5 hour tour and you cannot take pictures.
There are glow worm caves in NZ in several places, you simply walk to, once its dark and see them.

Milford Sound is a great drive from Te Anau. Start early in the morning so you have an undisturbed drive. The busses from QT start early from there and around 10 a.m. they are on the road within the NP boundaries to Milford Sound. If you arrive before them, you will enjoy the calm beauty of the destination.
I especially liked the Keas (see my profile picture). They will come to your car especially once you are waiting in front of the Homer Tunnel. They love all rubber parts of your car and start picking on your wipers etc. It's great fun to watch them, but watch your car too :-)

Christchurch: I was saddened by the state this town is in. So if you go there for sightseeing, you might be disappointed. The city is wide construction area, still pulling down buildings. There is hardly a town center so to speak.

Go and visit the "Quakecity" museum downtown. Also the International Antarctic Center next to the airport.
Otherwise you might want to detour to Littleton Harbour.

Wasn't Lyttleton all but destroyed in the earthquake?

http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/canterbury-places/page-12

The progress that Christchurch has made since the earthquake is nothing short of AMAZING. Perhaps its the same for Lyttleton, but please, do not overlook Christchurch as the recovery effort itself is something to behold.

Besides the boat ride of Milford Sound, are there any specific walks/hikes/ to plan to do while we are there before we head back to Te Anau?

The hike to Key Summit is well worth the effort, particularly on a clear day:

http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-rec...-summit-track/

There are also some very nice hikes along Hollyford Road.