Wellington to QT: 4 nights in between, what to do?
 

In early March we will be going to NZ. Flying into Auckland and immediately flying to Wellington, where we'll spend the first night. Next day we pick up a car and drive to Wharekauhau for three nights. Then we have four nights before we have to be in Queenstown. Our itinerary has shifted a few times, with us thinking we'd ferry to Picton then drive to Blenheim, stay in Kaikoura, do whale watching and then to Christchurch overnight or two. But now we are considering flying from Wellington into Nelson and making our way east and south to CC. Though now we're considering adding in Abel Tasman. We will have a car but I don't want to spend my whole trip driving.

From CC to QT we are considering flying, though my husband is thinking we should drive to Mt. Cook. I'm also concerned that there's not much to do in CC. Any thoughts on any or all these counts? (We are two 40-somethings who appreciate a nice balance of nature with food/wine; not looking for any massive walks/hikes or bungee jumping excitement and no camping.)

Thank you for your insights!

The problem of course, is so little time to get you from the north of the SI to the south of the SI. It's a long skinny island with narrow winding roads, and getting from Point A to Point B will take much longer than you might expect.

Four days (which is three nights, no?) just doesn't give you sufficient time to visit Abel Tasman and drive to Queenstown without spending the bulk of your time in the car.

If it were me, I'd fly to Christchurch and drive from there to Mt Cook, and then to Wanaka and then on to Queenstown. That is plenty to fill four days - you could spend two nights Mt Cook (which only gives you one full day) and two nights Wanaka, and poof, your four days is gone.

If you were to fly from Wellie to Nelson, spend a few days in Abel Tasman (remember, two nights is only one full day, so I'd allow at least three nights), you'd then have the long slog from Nelson/Abel Tasman (and remember they're about an hour's drive apart, so best to base closer to the park) to Queenstown.

You'd need to break up this trip for sure, as it's an 11 hour drive without stops!

I guess it could be done if one is determined, but please, do spend at least one night en route, for the safety of yourselves and others. Christchurch would make a good overnight stop, although its worth mentioning that on our first trip to the SI, it took us NINE hours to drive from Nelson to Christchurch. So much to see and do along the way that it's near impossible not to stop.

Is Queenstown your departure point? Are you flying back to Auckland from there?

As for 'enough things to do in Christchurch' you might be surprised.

Take a look here (and these are just the tip of the iceberg):

http://www.christchurchnz.com/what-t...-christchurch/

@melinq8 Thank you for your response. I have four nights and five days, not four days, three nights. Yes, we are flying from Queenstown to Auckland (one night there), then home.

Basically my question comes down to:
—Spend time in the Nelson/Abel Tasman/Blenheim/Kaikoura area to Christchurch then fly to Queenstown
OR
—Spend much less time in Picton/Blenheim/Kaikoura and drive to QT seeing Mt. Cook along the way.

I know we can't do all of it, but not sure what area should be the priority.
Thanks again!

<<I have four nights and five days, not four days, three nights.>>

Okay, my mistake.

I always plan my holidays in terms of nights instead of days, so to me, four nights equals three full days and two partial days.

This is important when you're travelling some distance between destinations, because the travel alone could fill a full day.

So, it comes down to how much time you want to spend in the place you've driven so far to see. As for which is a priority - well, that depends on what YOU want to see. No one can tell you which place is better, but I can tell you that option #2 is problematic.

To explore Abel Tasman and get to Queenstown in four nights, five days, your schedule might look something like this:

Arrival day - arrive Nelson (what time?), collect luggage, collect rental car, get bearings, find accommodation. Stay night in Nelson or drive closer to Abel Tasman for the night (night 1)

Spend full day exploring Abel Tasman stay overnight in area (night 2). If you're planning to go into the park via boat and walk a section of the track, you'll probably want to book before you arrive, so you're not disappointed, as you only have this one day to work with.

Drive from Abel Tasman area to Kaikoura via Blenheim - spend one night in Kaikoura (night 3). This is 4+ hour drive (without stopping to explore Blenheim), so it's unlikely you'll have a lot of time for activities in Kaikoura (like whale watching) unless you book in advance and there are no weather cancellations or road issues (be sure to check status of SH 1 before setting out).

Drive from Kaikoura to Christchurch - this is about a 2.5 hour drive. So you'll have a morning in Kaikoura - and probably time to do a whale watching tour depending on schedule - and possibly a partial day in Christchurch, plus one night, because your nights are now used up (night four).

Day 5 - fly from CHC to QT

The problem with "spend much less time in Picton/Blenheim/Kaikoura and drive to QT seeing Mt. Cook along the way"" is that you're already short on time, so there's really no way to cut back.

Arrive in Picton via ferry (what time do you arrive?). Collect rental car head to Blenheim (25 minutes)- if you arrive in the morning, you should have time for a few wineries, maybe a nice winery lunch, overnight Blenheim (night 1).

Drive Blenheim to Kaikoura (two hours). Whale watching in afternoon, spend night (night 2)

Drive Kaikoura to Christchurch (2.5 hours), explore Christchurch, spend night (night 3).

Drive from Christchurch to Mt Cook (4+ hours, longer if you stop in Lake Tekapo en route) - spend night (night 4).

You've used all your time and haven't even spent a full day in Mount Cook, let alone get to Queenstown.

"Basically my question comes down to:
—Spend time in the Nelson/Abel Tasman/Blenheim/Kaikoura area to Christchurch then fly to Queenstown
OR
—Spend much less time in Picton/Blenheim/Kaikoura and drive to QT seeing Mt. Cook along the way. "
Quick answer - Mt Cook and Queenstown. Picton/Blenheim and AT are too far out of the way.
Keep in mind the road from Blenheim to Kaikoura is open in daylight hours only. There are one lane areas in places where they let traffic through one direction at a time so it could be a very slow trip.

Option 3 - fly from Wellington to Qtown and use your 4 days in the surrounding area that will offer more than enough variety. You won't be bored.

The other options will short change every place and if the weather isn't flash then there's no opportunity for a second chance.