We will be driving from Curio Bay to Milford Sound during a December trip. Trying to decide whether to stay in Milford Sound or drive back to Te Anau for the night. The next day we will drive to Queenstown. Suggestions?

Personally, I'd drive back to Te Anau, which is a 90 minute to two hour drive from Milford Sound. There are many more places to stay, more restaurant options, loads of hiking tracks, etc. Accommondation will be less expensive in Te Anau and there will be fewer sandflies, which is a very good thing, believe me!

That sounds like a long day of driving... What are your plans for when you reach Milford? You could drive to Te Anau, enjoy a half day there and then head for Milford the next morning.

We've changed plans a little and will be driving from either Milford or Te Anau to Wanaka the next day. Hoping to get there mid-day and walk the Rob Roy track in the afternoon depending on weather.

FYI -

The beginning of the Rob Roy track is a good hour from Wanaka, and the walk can take several hours, then the drive back takes another hour. Allow yourself plenty of time...long summer days will be in your favor though.

Where will you be the day before Milford?

We will be at Curio Bay the day before Milford.

With the help of this site, I've figured that Curio Bay to Milford Sound is about a 370 km drive.

http://www2.dunedinnz.com/Portals/du...ic%20Route.pdf

Milford Sound to Wanaka is a 394 km, 5:40 drive.

Two long drive days back to back doesn't give you much time to do anything.

Perhaps if you post your entire itinerary, we could be of more help.

Thanks Melnq8.

Here is our itinerary:
Dec 19 Christchurch to Lake Tekapo
Dec 20 Lake Tekapo
Dec 21 Queenstown
Dec 22 Queenstown
Dec 23 Queenstown
Dec 24 Curio Bay
Dec 25 Curio Bay
Dec 26 Te Anau (or Milford lodging)
Dec 27 Wanaka
Dec 28 Fox Glacier
Dec 29 Hokitika
Dec 30 Hokitika
Dec 31 Abel Tasman
Jan 1 Abel Tasman
Jan 2 Abel Tasman
Jan 3 Kaikoura
Jan 4 Christchurch

Originally planned to be at Queenstown over Christmas but many activities will be closed so we moved some reservations around and will spend Christmas at Curio Bay. The only night we don't have booked is December 26. I think your suggestion to drive back to Te Anau after seeing Milford Sound is probably best. That will make December 26 a long day but it will be light until 930 p.m. and it will shorten our drive to Wanaka the next morning.

I see the problem now.

Your itinerary looks good up until Dec 26, where it seems to fall apart.

Driving from Curio Bay to Te Anau or Milford is well and good, but you've left yourself virtually no time to see the Milford/ Te Anau area (which is beautiful). Curio Bay to Milford is 370 km, then Milford back to Te Anau is another 121 km (about 1:45). This is all driving, no doing.

Then with another 4 hour, 272 km drive from Te Anau to Wanaka the following day (or 5:40, 374 from Milford to Wanaka) and the additional ~one hour drive to the Rob Roy Glacier track, and then the track itself. then the drive back to Wanaka...I see major time issues.

Driving from Wanaka to Fox Glacier will also involve a fairly early start (allow at least five hours with stops), so you won't have much time in Wanaka the morning you leave and you'll only have part of a day in Fox the day you arrive. I always suggest at least two nights at the glaciers if you plan to do anything other than look at them or take a short walk.

Bottom line, you've fallen into the trap of trying to do too much, which is causing you to rush through some of the SI's prettiest spots.

My suggestion is to give up that night in Lake Tekapo and those two nights in Hoki and add them elsewhere. It's only a 2:15 hour drive from Fox to Hoki anyway, so there's no need to spend the night there unless you have a specific reason for doing so (?). In addition, depending on where you're arriving from, what time you arrive, and how you feel, you might consider giving up that first night in Christchurch and heading down south immediately, stopping somewhere between Christchurch and Tekapo for the first night to give you a head start (I'd suggest Geraldine).

If you do give up Hoki, the next obvious issue is whether to break up the approx 7-8 hour drive between Fox and Abel Tasman.

luvtravl -

I just looked up my trip report from the year we hiked Rob Roy Glacier...the track is marked 3-4 hours return. It took us just under four hours (10 km, 6.5 miles), and I recall it being very pretty, but challenging...(my knees are a bit rickety).

Thanks MelnQ.

We like to drive, the days will be long and based on the AA New Zealand mileage/driving planner it looked like it would work. Oh well - at least it looks okay til the 26th!

We knew it would take about 5 hours from Curio to Milford. Since tour buses make their stops in the morning, planned to spend the afternoon/evening making stops and short walks on our way back to Te Anau. Probably won't do the boat tour since husband doesn't like boats.

Te Anau to Wanaka is about 4 hours. We were hoping to get there just after lunchtime and spend the afternoon hiking.

Wanaka to Fox about 4 hours but planned to take most of the day to stop/sightsee along the way. Only going to do short hike at Fox the next morning before driving to Hokitika after lunchtime. Planned to spend the next day seeing Punakaiki and and perhaps a bit of Arthur's Pass or other nearby area. Next morning driving to Able Tasman.

What if we give up one night at Hokitika and perhaps find a better place the other night between Fox and Able Tasman? That would allow us another night at Wanaka. We could take our time driving from Te Anau to Wanaka and have the whole next day for Rob Roy.

I really appreciate all the help.

While pretty accurate, the AA mileage/drive distance calculator doesn't allow time for pit stops, photos, exploration, walks to overlooks, etc. As an example, it recently took us nine hours to drive what the calculator estimated to be a 6.5 hour drive. Granted, we made a few stops, but how can one not stop while in NZ?

<Planned to spend the next day seeing Punakaiki and and perhaps a bit of Arthur's Pass or other nearby area. Next morning driving to Able Tasman.>

Not sure I follow this. If you're driving from Hoki to Abel Tasman, you can visit Punakaiki enroute, or perhaps spend a night there to break up the drive. I hope I'm misunderstanding that you plan to see Punakaiki as a day trip from Hoki???

Punakaiki makes a good overnight from Hoki to Abel Tasman. Murchison is another option if you'd rather push on further.

Another night in Wanaka is definitely a good idea.

I'm curious...why the overnight in Hoki at all?

Why not eliminate Milford if you don't plan on going out on the sound?

For some reason I didn't think Punakaiki was on the way to Able Tasman - not sure why though. I like your idea of overnight in Punakaiki or Murchison. Either way we'll cancel the two nights in Hokitika. Thanks so much!

Britomart - my understanding is that Milford is worth it just for the drive.

Also - when we are at Able Tasman we planning to stay near Wainui Bay/Takaka as it appears it won't be as crowded and good base for Golden Bay & Farewell Spit in addition to the north side of Able Tasman.

It's a bit of a drive from Takaka to Abel Tasman park, so if you are planning on spending most of your time at the park it might be worth it to stay closer. We stayed in Riwaka which was very close to Motueka. We were there in March though, I know you will be there in high season and I imagine it will be crowded...

The drive to Milford is gorgeous, but so are many many drives in NZ... Te Anau is lovely too. I would still include Milford, but could you perhaps take a cruise on the Sound and let your hubby hang out in Milford? Milford Sound was my favorite part of our trip, I can't imagine going all that way and not seeing it!

I might reconsider the Milford Sound cruise - he doesn't mind hanging out and, who knows, he might change his mind once we get there.

I considered Motueka and Kaiteriteri but found a cute little rental near Takaka and Wainui Bay. I liked the idea of no crowds and being on that end of the park. Only thing is the cottage doesn't have airconditioning but owners have said it isn't necessary. Hope they are correct!

<Also - when we are at Able Tasman we planning to stay near Wainui Bay/Takaka as it appears it won't be as crowded and good base for Golden Bay & Farewell Spit in addition to the north side of Able Tasman.>

It certainly is a good base. I love this side of Abel Tasman.

Totaranui is about 28 km from Takaka, 10 of which are unsealed squiggles. It’s a pretty drive. Totaranui is the final stop on the Abel Tasman track for boat and bus service, so many walkers stop here, yet the track continues on around the headland to Whariwharangi and Wainui...I've never been to NZ in December, but I'd imagine you'd see significantly fewer people on this section of the track. We saw not a single soul when we walked it, but it was winter. I'd also not worry too much about AC, but then again, I've never visited in December (just about every other month though!)

We parked at the Kaikau stream bridge and walked the track to Mutton Cove via Anapai. It was one of our favorite walks of that particular SI trip (6.5 mile return).

Just noticed I've been spelling "Able" instead of "Abel". Oops!