nikhil

Wondering if someone can have a look at the below itenary and make any comments??

I like to drive and can drive hours together.

I will be in the South Island from 16th Jan 2004 to 26th Jan 2004, based on this I have the following questions:-

1. Is is necessary to make advanced accomodation bookings??

2. For Whale Watching do I have to make advanced bookings?? Is there only one company who operates these whale watching trips??

3. Will a normal car like Toyota Camary do OR should I go for a 4 Wheel drive??

4. My wife is very strict about what she eats and so we are after some self contained accomodations which have cooking facilites. Any suggested URL's to check for these sort of Accomodation?? Any suggestions of such accomodations in ChristChurch / Queenstown / FranzJosef / Mt Cook etc??


My plan is as follows:-

Day 1:- Leave Christchurch prety early to take the 7:30 trip for the Whale watching. After that head to Hanmer Springs take a dip in the hot water and head back to Christchurch for the night.

Day 2:- Check out from hotel/motel and drive to Punakaiki via the Arthur pass and then stay at Greymouth or if time permits drive to Franz Josef and stay there are somewhere else in between.

Day 3:- Enjoy the Franz Joseph Glacier and travel to Queenstown for the night. Now I have two young kids 11 & 7 who dont like to walk long distances and I am on a budget and cannot afford the Helicopter ride to the Glacier, what options do I have??

Day 4:- Visit Milford Sound and take a trip and go to the Glow-Worm caves at Te Anau. Can someone recommend what should be done in the morning and what in the evening.

Day 5:- Relax in Queenstown. Enjoy the Gondola, see bungy-jumping, do ShotOver Jet etc.

Day 6:- Travel to Dunedin and visit the Otago Peninsula etc.

Day 7:- Travel to Mt Cook via Moeraki and stay at Twizel/Lake Tekapo.

Day 8:- Travel to ChristChurch and do the local siteseeing. Visit Akaroa

Day 9:- Free at this stage -- Any suggestions??

Day 10:- Head back to Sydney

Lindsey

That's a lot of questions, and I can't answer them all, but I will tackle the ones with which I have personal experience.
First of all the vehicle....we are a family of 4, we did a 2 week driving trip around S Island with a similar itinerary to yours. It was January and we had a Toyota Camry from Apex and it was fine. We never encountered driving conditions that required 4 wheel drive.
With regard to pre-booking accommodation...personally I can't stand wasting one minute of my precious vacation time hunting around for a place to stay, so I always pre-book. There are hundreds of options that have cooking facilities, from apartments, to cottages.
I think you have tried to do way too much in the first couple of days in the trip. Part of the fun of driving around in NZ is stopping to appreciate a good view, take some photos, picnic by a lake, check out a winery, etc. It's possible to do what you have laid out, but you will have to keep a breakneck pace, with little time to relax and enjoy the spectacular scenery.

Do you have a particular reason for returning to CC on Day 1? You could drive to Kaikoura on Day 1, do the whale watch cruise, stay overnight there and head for Hanmer Springs the next day. Take a dip in the hot pools and then drive to the W. Coast. Personally I would stay in Punakaiki rather than Greymouth. Much prettier.

If your kids don't like to hike, you could be out of luck at the glaciers. Even the heli-hike requires walking. The only non-walking option is to take a short walk from the carpark, to a place where you can view the terminal face of the glacier from a distance. If you want to get on it, you have to hike.

If you plan to visit Milford Sound and the glow worm caves, I strongly recommend staying 2 nights in Te Anau. You can drive down there from Queenstown in the morning and do the caves in the afternoon. You could do Milford the next day. It's a whole day trip, even from Te Anau, because it's a spectacular drive and there are lots of places to stop along the way. My recommendation for hotel in Te Anau is Radford's Motel. Excellent self contained units. I think the very best cruise on Milford is with the Mitre Peak line. The boats are smaller and can get closer to the edges of the Sound, for better views of the waterfalls and sea lion colonies.

On Day 8 you mention doing local sightseeing and Akaroa as well. There is a full day's worth of sightseeing in CC by itself, especially if you want to see the Antarctic Center, which takes at least 2-3 hours. I doubt you could see CC and Akaroa all in the same day.

Here are some websites I found useful in my planning:

We stayed in a very cool house in the rainforest in Punakaikai, called Te Puna Bush Haven. (www.tepunabushhaven.co.nz)

This is the place we stayed in Te Anau.
(www.radfordslakeviewmotel.co.nz)

The whale watch place in Kaikoura is www.whalewatch.co.nz.

The Fox Glacier tour place is www.foxguides.co.nz.

The place NOT to stay in Queenstown in St. Omer's Lakefront Apartments. Awful!!


Some of the websites that were really helpful in finding other accommodation were:

www.lodgings.co.nz
www.cottagestays.co.nz/cottages.htm
www.friars.co.nz
www.bnb.co.nz

hope this helps. If you have any other questions, just post here and I will try to answer.

Melnq8

We just spent a month on the South Island, and although we'd booked a Camry, we were given a 4WD. We hated it - it was uncomfortable and we just didn't need a 4WD, so we traded it in for a Camry at our first opportunity. I think you'll be happier in a touring vehicle - especially with four of you. You really don't need a 4WD - the route you've chosen has sealed roads and unless you plan to go off roading, you'll be fine.

Like Lindsey, we always book our accommodation in advance, but that's just us. We're familiar with the SI, so we have a good idea of how long we want to stay in a particular area, etc. Booking is not essential, unless you're traveling during school holidays. Accommodation with kitchen facilities abound.

From what I understand, the whale watching trips from Kaikoura are all run by the same family - something to do with restricting the number of tours (?).

Concerning your itinerary, I don't understand the return to Christchurch from Kaikoura either. Why backtrack?

How about something like this:

Leave CH early, drive the 90 minutes to Hanmer Springs, take a dip in the thermal pools, then head to Kaikoura for the night? Perhaps take the early whale watching trip the next day, then head towards Punakaiki via 70 and SH 7.

Or...

Leave CH early, drive to Kaikoura for the day via SH 1, then head to Hanmer Springs, via 70 and SH 7, spend the night there to enjoy the pools, then head to Punanaki,Greymouth or the glaciers.

If I understand your itinerary, you plan to visit Milford from Queenstown, right? I'd suggest you get an early start - it's a long day from Queenstown.

There's alot to do in Te Anau, but you'd probably need to stay at least one night there. You can kayak on the Manapouri, there are many walks in the area, trips to Doubtful Sound, etc.

You might find you'd like at least two full days in Queenstown, as there's alot to do there.

Akaroa is a good hour's drive from CH - it's definitely worth the trip, but I doubt you can fit both Akaroa and CH into the same day unless you're just taking a look and moving on. There's alot to do in Akarora such as harbor cruises, visits to the Pohatu Penguine Reserve, and just hanging out and enjoying the gorgeous scenery.

No matter what you decide, I'm sure you'll have a great trip. It's a beautiful county.

Melnq8

Oops...

Forgot lodging - here are some places we've liked:

Queenstown - Villa del Lago - they have great family units - www.villadellago.co.nz

OR: A-Line Hotel (request quiet room in the back) - www.scenic-circle.co.nz/a-line

OR: The Lofts - don't have their site handy, sorry.

Franz Josef - Punga Grove Motor Lodge - www.pungagrove.co.nz

OR:

Waiho Stables Country Stay - www.lodgings.co.nz/waiho.html

Fox Glacier - Lake Matheson Motel - www.glaciercounty.co.nz (click "traditional hospitality" then click "accommodation" then click Lake Matheson Motel)

Te Anau - The Explorer Lodge - www.explorerlodge.co.nz

CH - The Commodore Airport Hotel - www.commodore.net.nz

Places to avoid: Lake Tekapo - Rowan Cottage

Here are some sites we've found helpful:

www.holidayhouses.co.nz
www.placestostay.co.nz
www.bnb.co.nz
www.lodgings.co.nz

Good Luck!

Melnq8

Forgot a couple -

Hanmer Springs - The Settlers Inn - www.settlersinnmotel.co.nz

Duvauchelle (10 km from Akaroa - right on the sea front) - The Blacksmith's Cottage - www.coasttocoastcottages.co.nz - three bedroom cottage - perfect for families

Brushtail

Try this excellent site. They will send you their brochures to Australia free of charge. Great people.

http://www.jasons.co.nz/

Lindsey

Gotta concur with Melnq8 about Lake Matheson Motel. We stayed there also and found it to be clean, convenient and easy to load our gear in and out, because you can drive right up to your patio door.
We stayed in the EastWing Cottage in Lake Tekapo, which I think is managed by the same people who manage Rowan Cottage. Do NOT stay in these cottages. Nothing in them has changed in 25 years!

Melnq8

Lindsey -

You're right! I just looked up East Wing Cottage and it's run by the same folks who run Rowan Cottage.

Sure wish I'd talked to you before we stayed there.

nikhil

Thanks a lot to Lindsey and Melnq8.

You guys have given me a lot of information and based on your comments regarding returning back to ChristChurch I have changed the plan and will travel to Kaikora and the from there to Hanmer Springs and spend the night there.

Now I have enough info about accomodations etc to make the bookings.

Like you both, I also pre-book my accomodations so that I dont have to waste even a single minute of my holiday.

I am sure that I will have plenty of fun and adventure during my trip to South Island.

This is a great place to chat about travel experiences.

Thanks a lot again.

twoflower

Gotta agree with Lindsey about Milford Sound and Akaroa. Each are full days (very full days!) and there's no way you'll fit anything else in the same days. Chch is a full day or more on its own anyway. Its up to you whether the glow-worm caves are worth a 2nd night in Te Anau. An alternative to Milford which is a long do-it-yourself drive with great scenery and a Sound at the end of it, is to go on the more varied Doubtless Sound tour. It begins with an easy DIY drive from Te Anau to Lake Manapouri to join the tour, then the tour takes you on a boat trip across the lake, a visit to the awesomely impressive Manapouri underground power station, a bus trip over spectacular hill scenery to Doubtful Sound, and a boat trip out onto the Sound itself. All included in the price! Much more relaxing than the long DIY slog to Milford, every bit as beautiful, and far more varied.
Tony

twoflower

Been looking at the varied suggested itineraries from Chch. All suggest Hanmer Springs first, then Kaikoura, then Punakaiki. Why the backtracking? As a lifetime resident of Chch the logical way is Kaikoura first, then Hanmer Springs (there's a back road if you want a quieter trip), then on to Punakaiki over the Lewis Pass. No 4WD required. Did your trip include the Arthurs Pass as well? Spectacular, but I realise you can't do everything! The Glaciers do require walking, but you could look from the carpark I suppose (watch out for the Keas). Hokitika is worth an overnight, & maybe Wanaka. I never book ahead, but that's just me. Other people prefer to. Many NZ motels have full kitchens.
Tony

Lindsey

One thing you should consider when you are trying to decide if you want to take the time for the glow worm caves....is anyone in your family claustrophobic? There are some parts of the tour where you have to duckwalk under a low rock ceiling and through some quite narrow passages. You are pretty far underground and it's very dark. Once the tour begins, it would be very difficult to backtrack out of it. My kids liked it a lot, but I could see where some people would be quite uncomfortable in there.

On another topic, we stayed overnight in Kaikoura and then took that back road to Hanmer Springs that twoflower suggests. It's an absolutely beautiful drive. Also, once you are in Hanmer, there is more to do than just the hot springs. There are some beautiful hikes in an alpine environment. I found the hot springs to be a total disappointment. For some reason I thought they would be totally natural. It's a completely manmade complex, where the hot water is pumped into concrete pools. It's not cheap either.
I would go back to Hanmer Springs again for the beautiful clean mountain air, but I would skip those hot pools.

nikhil

Thanks to all of you. I have now refined my itenary and currently am in the process of booking the accomodation and other things.