viroze

My family and I will be going on a motorhome trip on 23 - 29 Oct 2011, which is right after the World Cup ended, thank god. This will be our first overseas trip in 20 years (together in one family), yes it's been that long. With just effectively 5 days to spare, we would appreciate if you can suggest us best route from Christchurch airport and back again.

Any recommendations on the best, scenic in South Island for us to go to? We could settle with 1 or 2 camping location in a national park somewhere. There are plenty of them and I'm not so sure which will be good for us to settle in, and do some moderate activities like fishing, cycling and scenic spots for painting.

We've already booked our motorhome at Wendekreisen and our first night stay in a motel btw.

23 Oct: Stay in Airport Birches Motel (we arrive in midnight)
24-28 Trip to...??

Would appreciate any feedback and comments. Thank you very very much

AlanJG

Why not Kiakoura and Reefton? Gives you a bit of different country and not too much driving.

viroze

Hi Alan,
That would be cool, but we would prefer if its heading towards one of the many national parks.

mlgb

Maybe Mt Cook (you can stay @ glentanner.co.nz, assume they are open in October)

Then Queenstown/Glenorchy area on to Te Anau/Milford. Weather permitting of course.

Be aware that October can be quite wintry in the South Island.

If you had asked, I would have recommended against a camper van for such a short trip. Are you able to rent one way and fly out? That will save at least one day of driving the van back.

Melnq8

Maybe Arthur's Pass Nat'l Park and Paparoa Nat'l Park? That would give you a taste of the mountains and of the coast without too much driving. As far as I know, they're the two closest Nat'l parks to Christchurch.

Arthur's Pass is 150 km from Christchurch and Punakaiki is 142 km from Arthur's Pass. You could then return to Christchurch via Reefton and Lewis Pass, making a loop. Then again, that might be alot of driving for only five days.

mlgb

Or maybe it would be best to not reserve, stay flexible and just watch the weather forecast. Usually one side of the Southern Alps will be rainy and the other not. Have two itineraries and check the forecast.

viroze

Thanks for all the great suggestions. Arthur's Pass seems have a lot to offer plus the close distance from Christchurch. How cold can it get around that time in late Oct? Would two layers be alright? Our father seems to keen on driving motorhome since it's his first time.

mlgb

Predictions are difficult, weather is very changeable as a storm can form and move up from the Antarctic/Tasman quickly.

You can check the mountain forecast on metservice before you set out to get an idea. If there will be snow showers or heavy rain perhaps you can divert to lower elevations such as Akaroa and Hanmer Springs.

http://www.metservice.com/mountain/index

There is also a chance you could have excellent weather!

mlgb

Btw, you will want to research locations that accept campervans. EG you won't find one right in Arthur's Pass Village. The nearest is beyond the pass in Jacksons on the way to the west coast.

http://www.jasons.co.nz/arthurs-pass...-holiday-parks

Nada in Top 10.
http://www.top10.co.nz/

Melnq8

We spent three nights in Arthur's Pass last month. It was cold, but we were fine in our fleece jackets with a wind/waterproof top layer. We wore our fleece hats and gloves during our morning walks, but we usually warmed up pretty quickly.