Kia ora! I'm relatively new to Fodor's but I've been trying to absorb as much as I can from this forum the last few days! I posted this itinerary elsewhere not too long ago and got some limited feedback but I'm hoping to get it in front of a different (and maybe wider?) audience here. We are taking an 18 day van trip starting the second weekend of February, which also includes the Milford Track. The original vision when securing permits for the track many months ago was to fly in/out of Queenstown and do a loop from there, but a variety of factors (timing, logistics, cost) left Christchurch as the more overall realistic option. The flights, van, and the Milford Track logistics are locked in, but I am really interested in hearing suggestions on the rest of the plan after the Milford Track.

Day 1- Land in Christchurch in the morning, pick up van and groceries, camp at the Tekapo holiday park (goal) or closer to Christchurch (contingency plan for jetlag or flight delays)

Day 2- Explore Aoraki/camp at White Horse Hill and hike (probably Hooker Valley, Tasman Glacier Overlook/Sealy Tarns also options)

Day 3- Drive to Te Anau, camp at a holiday park. I am now aware this is a very long drive by New Zealand standards, but unfortunately I didn't come to this realization until post-flight booking so adding another day in here isn't an option. We're not planning on activities and focusing on the journey. If we get delayed or are feeling like this is in fact too much once we hit the road we'll skip Mt Cook but we're going to at least try. I know it's a lot.

Day 4-6- Te Anau Downs/Milford Track

Day 7- Hike out, Milford Sound boat cruise in the afternoon, reunite with the van and camp at Milford Sound Lodge (already booked)

Day 8- Enjoy the Milford Sound road, Lake Marian hike, camp somewhere on the way to Queenstown. Lots of options on the Milford Road, or the Kingston Lake freedom site also seemed nice if we're feeling ambitious (we do have a self contained van).

Day 9-10- Queenstown- Explore town, check out Glenorchy, Queenstown Hill hike, camp probably at 12 Mile Delta 2 nights.

Day 11- Kawarau bungy in the morning (if we don't chicken out), head to Wanaka and explore, stay somewhere in that area TBD. Probably will skip Roy's Peak only because it seems like it would cost us the better part of a day and I keep reading the hike is unexciting outside of the view at the top. I was interested in the Rob Roy Glacier hike but we're not going to drive a rental campervan back there and the I'm assuming the bridge will probably still be out in February anyway.

Day 12- Haast Pass, Blue Pools (we'll do what we can given the bridge replacement), drive to Fox Glacier, camp at Fox Glacier town

Day 13- Fox Glacier all day heli hike, camp same place in Fox Glacier again

Day 14- Lake Matheson walk in the morning, try to hit Franz Josef town for lunch, Hokitika Gorge, camp maybe in Greymouth- Shipwreck Point looked nice/on the water

Day 15- Pancake Rocks/Punakaiki- continue up the west coast, stay in Nelson Lakes area- camp at a DOC site somewhere near Lake Rotoiti/St Arnaud. We thought about pushing it to Renwick/Blenheim to camp but I think we'd rather camp somewhere scenic and have a short drive in the morning? Still on the fence about this.

Day 16- Renwick/Blenheim, wine tour via bike, really struggling for a good spot to park the van here, options are limited. The 'freedom' car parks are all limited to 6pm-9am and we really want to leave it parked at our overnight spot and either walk or get shuttled back to it. If anyone has suggestions I'd be interested in hearing them, I have already looked at Campermate and Rankers.

Day 17- Drive down east coast- camp probably Kaikoura or further south in a holiday park to clean up for departure.

Day 18- Return to Christchurch, 3pm flight

We are active people trying to make the most of the limited time we have, but fully aware there is a fine line between that and trying to cram in too much. I'm interested in feedback particularly at the end- am I being blinded by my strong desire to bike around sampling sauv blanc? I thought about not shooting quite so far north, and after Punakaiki doubling back to cross east over Lewis Pass or Arthur's pass instead. If we did that, I could add a day to Queenstown to bike through the pinot noir instead but the Blenheim/Renwick bike tour seemed more fun to me. I'm curious what you guys think- thank you!

I suggest you look up Crellston's trip reports as Crellston has made multiple trips to NZ in a rental van. Or send him or her a private message. Normally active on this forum, my guess is Crellston is probably busy traveling or busy with something else at the moment and, for this reason, has not responded.

I would say, don't skip Aoraki Mt. Cook. White Horse Hill is where many of the hikes begin.
https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets...ki-mt-cook.pdf
Weather is highly unpredictable in Aoraki Mt. Cook.

On Milford Road, for starters, stop at Mirror Lakes, the Chasm, reserve a few hours to do the Key Summit hike.
Here'sa link to a maps with stops listed.
https://www.fiordland.org.nz/assets/...y-2022-WEB.pdf
Tips from NZTA and DOC:
https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/sh94-milford-road/
https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-re...s-for-drivers/

Walks in Punakaiki
https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets...aiki-walks.pdf

No time for Abel Tasman NP?

Don't forget insect repellent. Some of the areas you'll be spending time in will have many biting sandflies.