shyam

Hi,

Shyam here, new on Fodors. Stumbled here when searching for information on planning a New Zealand honeymoon trip March 11th-24th. First up, thanks for the wealth of information here.

We're trying to cover both North and South Islands with the following high-level itinerary. Especially request indiancouple, mlgb, kiwi_rob & Melnq8 to comment.

11th March 10:00 AM - QUEENSTOWN (staying @ Villa Del Lago for 3 nights)
Cover Glenorchy drive
12th March - Milford Sound (Mitre Peak Cruise). Day tripping from Queenstown.
13th March - Adventure activities @ Queenstown (Shotover, Bungy, etc)
14th March - Drive to Haast Pass through Wanaka (Puzzle World on the way)
Trace route back to Wanaka & proceed to Twizel
Reach Twizel EOD. Adjust drive time on West Coast accordingly.
15th March - lake Pukaki & Mt.Cook
16th March - Lake Tekapo; proceed to Christchurch via Scenic Route 72, reaching there
EOD; Punting on Avon if we reach early.
17th March - Akaroa(worthwhile?) & Christchurch; proceed to Kaikoura (Farm Stay)
18th March - Seals/Whale watching @ Kaikoura
19th March - Proceed to Nelson - Abel Tasman
20th March - Cross over to Wellington
21st March - Wellington City
22nd March - Leave for Taupo;
23rd March - Rotorua; leave for AKL, reaching @ night
24th March - Auckland; fly out

19th to 24th is kinda packed, even without Taranaki. Should we skip that? Should we skip Abel Tasman? Will we miss much if we drive North Island in the night?

Kay2

I will only comment on parts I recently experienced:

15th March - lake Pukaki & Mt.Cook
This is a reasonably short drive from Twizel, giving you time to walk trails, take a kayak or boat ride, etc. I really enjoyed my time at Mt Cook, but I had great weather when I was there.

16th March - Lake Tekapo; proceed to Christchurch via Scenic Route 72, reaching there EOD;
The route from Twizel across the high plain was quite scenic. We didn't proceed on down 72 so I can't comment on the rest of the route.
Punting on Avon if we reach early. You will have to be really early. Punting, museums, most everything in Christchurch seemed to close up by 5:00pm; 5:30pm at the latest. I walked in the botanic garden in the evening.

17th March - Akaroa(worthwhile?) & Christchurch; proceed to Kaikoura (Farm Stay)
I enjoyed Akaroa for an overnight. It can also be a day trip, but I do not think I would enjoy all the driving to/from Akaroa plus Kaikoura. It doesn't seem you would have much time to do anything except drive there and back.

mlgb

Very similar to my recent itinerary!

Day 1, If you're arriving as early as 10am and picking up a car, I'd say Glenorchy is a good fit. The Glenorchy Cafe (on Mull toward the lake from Dart River Safaris) is a good casual spot for something to eat or take away. Proceed beyond Glenorchy, at least to the "the hillocks" (on the Glenorchy-Routeburn Road) which are an outstanding natural feature.

Day 3: I did the Skippers Canyon jeep tour with Nomads, which was good and I liked that it wasn't a large group. It didn't include any jetboating. If you want that you can go with Skippers Canyon Jet (they'll transport you in larger groups). You might also take the short drive to Arrowtown.

Day 4 is a bit odd, drive all the way to Haast and then return to Wanaka? Most visitors continue to the glaciers if they've gone that far. I guess there are some good short walks along the way, Blue Pools, etc. and the scenery is nice. Check DOC for descriptions, or a pamphlet, you'd want that before you set out. Note that the weather can be ferocious in this stretch.

On the 15th I assume you'll be staying at Mt. Cook? If you don't want to stay at one of the Hermitage lodgings, book ahead. I recommend at least a night inside the park. If you like to walk, and the weather is reasonably good, I enjoyed the 4-hr return Hooker Valley Track. You'll cross two streams and end at a glacial lake with some small floating ice bergs.

The next day I probably would start late and rather than attempt to reach Christchurch, I would stay at Stonechrubie, in Mt. Somers on Route 72. I think Kiwi Rob has mentioned it. Comfortable chalet-style units and a great restaurant, especially for local lamb or venison. I didn't book far enough ahead to land a seat in the restaurant, but they volunteered room service.
http://www.stronechrubie.co.nz/

I'd pick either Akaroa or Kaikoura. Akaroa if the sun is out. To me it's pleasant but not spectacular, they do have the cute tiny dolphins if you want to dolphin swim, and the town is more interesting than Kaikoura. Kaikoura is better for whales and seabirds and has more dramatic mountain and coastal scenery. Just a matter of personal taste.

I think you're right that the end is too packed. If you go to Kaikoura, it makes sense to continue to Abel Tasman the next day, just expect the drive to take longer than you think. You'd want to add a day or two to take the water taxi and return to Picton (on the 21st). I think I'd cross to Wellington on the 22nd and skip Taupo and Rotorua.

In addition to TePapa, Zealandia is an attraction in Wellington that gets some good reviews (since I did the overnight on Kapiti I didn't go, but I asked around and people seemed to like it). If you're ending in Wellington you can turn the car in early, unless you want to take a driving excursion somewhere. Good public transport.

Have fun!

Melnq8

I agree with mlgb that March 14 is indeed odd. The drive from Queenstown to Haast is 262 km, about 3:45 (less if you don't drive all the way to Haast of course), then the drive from Haast to Twizel is 285 km, about four hours. That leaves very little time to explore Wanaka. I assume you've chosen this circuitous route so you can see a bit of the West Coast???

March 17 is also a bit odd. Akaroa is over an hours drive from Christchurch, Kaikoura is a 2.5 hour drive from Christchurch, in the opposite direction, so you're looking at 4.5 hours of just driving, which leaves very little time to explore. I suggest you do your punting on the Avon the morning of the 17th and then make a leisurely drive to Kaikoura and save Akaroa for another time.

March 19 - the drive from Kaikoura to Nelson is 245 km, about 3-1/2 hours without stops. It takes another 30-40 minutes to get from Nelson to Abel Tasman, so you've left very little time to explore Abel Tasman.

March 20th isn't a problem, but don't forget that you'll have to first reach Picton, which is about 90 minutes from Nelson, and over two hours from Abel Tasman. The ferry takes about three hours.

I highly recommend that you scale back. I realize you want to see as much as possible with the time you have, but I think you'll enjoy yourselves more if you're not constantly on the move. I suggest you decide what you absolutely don't want to miss and go from there.

shyam

Thanks, Kay2, mlgb & melnq8 for your suggestions. I have changed my itinerary accordingly. Still a little ambitious, but manageable, I think...

11, 12, 13 - Queenstown/Glenorcy/Wanaka/Milford Sound

(I really wanted to make it to Haast Pass, but I guess its not feasible)

14 - Drive to Twizel, Star-gazing @ Lake Tekapo Observatory

15 - Mt.Cook, Lake Pukaki & proceed to Stonechrubie on Route#72
(mlgb, unfortunately we are vegetarians, but I liked your stay suggestion nevertheless)

16 - Proceed to ChristChurch - Avon Punting/Gondola Summit Lunch/Scenic route to Kaikoura in the evening (Farm Stay)
(Skipping Akaora)

17 - Kaikoura - Farm visit followed by dolphin watch/swim, drive to Nelson

18 - Abel Tasman, back to Nelson

19 - Nelson -> Picton -> cross over to Wellington in the afternoon. Te Papa, Writers walk

20 - Zealandia, more Wellington, then proceed to Taupo

21, 22, 23 - Taupo/Rotorua, volcanic mountains, geothermal places/parks, Maori village
( Skipping Taranaki - what am I missing? ...)

24 - Rotorua to Auckland, rest of the day at AKL, fly out at night.

Melnq8, I still want to try and execute this itinerary, only scaling back on a few things like Haast Pass, Akaora & Taranaki.

Please let me know what you think of this revised itinerary. TIA, Shyam

Melnq8

That's better, but you've still got a long day on the 17th. It should work okay if your farm visit/dolphin watch/swim is in the morning.

Sorry, can't help with the NI portion, I've only been there once and it was a while ago.

mlgb

Too bad that you can't take advantage of the restaurant there, but at least the units have full kitchens.

BTW the health food store in Queenstown makes a nice veggie plate, eat in or takeaway.

Perfectly fine to skip Taranaki.

You may or may not get stars at Lake Tekapo...it was totallly clouded over when I was there. But I did have some good luck when I overnighted on Kapiti Island and we were on the kiwi hunt. Finally remembered to look for the southern Cross.

There is a planetarium show at Mt. Cook in the Edmund Hilary center that does go over the stars in the southern hemisphere.

I don't really think there is a whole lot to do at Taupo, but it might make a convenient stopping point. However if you don't think you'll get that far, try the Park Lodge, in National Park Village. It was quite okay, has a good bar and restaurant scene as well as a kitchen. NO views from the rooms, unfortunately.

crellston

hi Shyam.

We covered many of the places you are considering during our trip to NZ in 2008. Here is a link to our blog with photos and details of where we travelled. Entries 39 to 54 cover our time in NZ:

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...ai/1/tpod.html