South New Zealand - 7 days - Starting next week!! Questions...
 

I would greatly appreciate any comments or suggestions. We are leaving in less than a week!
:-o

My girlfriend and I will be renting a car and driving around South New Zealand. Since we only have one week, there won't be time to see and do everything. We are hoping to see the highlights…..

Oct 30
. arrive in Queenstown at noon.
. lunch
. ride the luge
. Onsen hot pools
. dinner
. sleep in hotel in Queenstown.

Oct 31
. drive to Milford Sound (google maps -> 3 hrs 30 mins)
. see Milford Sound
. drive back down to Te Anau…. and perhaps see Glow Worms (maybe not…. gf is not interested)
. sleep in hotel there

Nov 1
. drive to Wanaka ( ~ 2 hrs 50 mins)
. eat
. see "Puzzling World"
. continue driving to Franz Josef Glacier ( ~ 4 hours)
. sleep in hotel there

Nov 2
. wake up early and go on Glacier Tour at 8:45 AM. (tour takes 4.5 hours)
. have dinner
. sleep in hotel there.

Nov 3
. drive to Paparoa Park ( ~ 2 hrs 40 mins)
. Walk around for a couple hours… seeing pancake rocks & rain forest.
. sleep in hotel there

Nov 4
. drive to Abel Tasman beaches (~ 3 hrs 30 mins)
. see the beaches
Nov 5
. maybe more beaches
Nov 6
. drive to Wellington
. plane departs at 2:00pm.


General questions
A. What do you think about the places I am planning to see?
Do they seem worthwhile, or are there any nearby alternatives that are superior?
B. Does the pacing of the trip seem to offer enough time?
C. Any comments on the Franz Josef Glacier tour?
D. Puzzling World?
E. How much money should I bring in cash (American dollars)? Or is paying by credit card fine?
F. How many tickets should I buy for the Luge in Queenstown? Does it take very long? (Girlfriend will probably be waiting for me in the hotel while I do that.) Do I have to ride this gondola thing to get to the top?

Milford Sound area-specific questions
1. Will it be OK to drive our rental car to Milford Sound? I've heard the roads might be dangerous… but I figure that if I drive safely/slow then I'll be ok?
2. Or is it better to do a bus tour? (now we would be paying extra money when we have already rented a car!)
2a. Would renting a bus feel less adventurous and not be as fun as driving yourself???
3. Or is it better to do this "Doubtful Sound night tour" I keep hearing people raving about?
4. Is glow worm cave really worth it? We have limited time and I don't want to be completely exhausted. Girlfriend has indicated she is not interested in glow worms…. so it would be me going it alone.)


Thanks very much for any feedback that you can provide. I have lots of questions Please reply even if you can only speak to a couple of them. I appreciate it!

-Jason

I would just like to point out that you cannot drive from Abel Tasman to Wellington, as you will have to cross the Cook Strait. You must drive from Abel Tasman to Picton and then from there pick up the the Interislander ferry to Wellington.
Or you can fly, which might make it easier to catch your 2 p.m. flight.

If I were in your shoes, I would probably leave for Wellington the day before. If you leave early enough, you might be able to arrive in time to see Wellington's Te Papa Museum in the afternoon. If you leave later in the day, you will at least be able to have a nice dinner in Wellington, sleep in Wellington and not have to worry about catching your flight the next day.

A lot of driving. Your times are minimums unless you are reckless. Actual times are longer.

See Milford Sound. Variety of cruises 1-2+ hours. Personally, being able to take your time, stop, do a hike - like Key Summit, is best way to enjoy time to/from Milford.

Te Anau to Franz Joseph. At least six hours. Many good hikes and places along Haast Highway but you do not leave time for any of them.

Franz Joseph. Visit Matheson Lake.

Pancake Rocks is 20-30 minutes. Other good walks 1-3 hours.

Crossing strait to Wellington takes 3+ hours. Driving to Picton from a place such as Motueka is 2.5 hours. This does not count check-in time for ferry, return of car, refueling, and getting from ferry to airport.

Driving to Milford - no issue. I prefer Doubtful Sound overnight for its activities vice Milford but Milford is also worth visiting.

You don't really need a rental car the day you arrive in Queenstown, save maybe for the Onsen hot pools (since I don't know exactly where these are, can't comment.) You could take the bus in from the airport, check in, walk to the gondola for your ascent to the luge, etc. etc. It takes longer than you think to settle your first day. We too arrived at noon, and needed a little time to rest and settle before heading for the gondola late in the afternoon. So maybe a hot tub at your hotel (at least some will have such a thing) would do, in lieu of Onsen.

So you could take the bus tour Queenstown-Milford return day trip and base in Queenstown, not Te Anau. I doubt you'd have time for the glow worms, even if you took the rental car and did an o/n in Te Anau. Lots to do en route Milford Sound. Then, pick up the rental car on your third day, before setting off for Franz Josef.

Heed Diamantina's and Always' advice and be mindful of the possibility of delays. Leave for Wellington the day before or risk missing your flight!

Thank all of you for the great advice! I very much appreciate your comments.
Packing now because we head out tomorrow!