Pat_Rick

My husband and I and our 11-year old granddaughter are planning a two-week driving trip next December through NZ South Island. We are in our mid 50's, fairly decent shape, not super outdoorsy. Our granddaughter, Nikki, loves animals. We will be flying into Christchurch and flying out of Queenstown. Would like you to critique/help with the itinerary.
Day 1, Sun. - Leaving LAX
Day 2, Mon. - Travel day, in flight
Day 3, Tue. - Arriving in Christchurch, at 5:15am, rent a car.
Day 4, Wed. ? Drive 2.5 hours to Kaikoura, Swim with Dolphins / Seal Colony
Day 5, Thu. ? Drive 4.5 hours to Abel Tasman National Park, stay in Marahau
Day 6, Fri. ? Abel Tasman Nation Park
Day 7, Sat. - Abel Tasman National Park
Day 8, Sun. - Drive 4 hours to Punakaiki, visit the Pancake Rocks
Day 9, Mon. ? Drive 3 hours to Fox Glacier / Franz Josef, either walk on the ice of the active Fox Glacier or do the Helihike, then drive 142k and overnight in Haast.
Day 10, Tue. ? Drive 5 hours to Queenstown
Day 11, Wed. ? Drive to TeAnau or Manapouri for the overnight cruise on the Doubtful Sound
Day 12, Thu. - Go to the Glowworm Caves after the cruise and drive back to Queenstown that night or overnight in Te Anau.
Day 13, Fri. ? Queenstown
Day 14, Sat. -Flying out, flight leaves at 12:20pm

Questions: Is three days too much for Abel Tasman? On day 12, should we drive back to Queenstown after visiting the Glowworms Cave? Please help with the lodging and activities.

Thanks,
Pat

Kate_W

Make sure you make bookings for your swimming with dolphins, seal-bonding (and/or whale-watching) experiences before you leave on your trip. Particularly for whale-watching (which wasn't on your list, I realize), you have to book more than a few days in advance and/or be flexible about your dates. Also, weather can affect your plans. You might want to plan an overnight in Kaikoura, so that you've got two possible days to do what you want.

I spent 5 days in Kaikoura last year while completing a scuba course. I can recommend the Lobster Inn on Beach Road as a moderately priced hotel - very clean, very friendly and convenient. I dived with New Zealand Sea Adventures - they were great. I'm not sure if they do snorkeling/swimming with seals etc, or whether they just do scuba diving.

Also, I can't remember the name of the town, but there is a small town south of Christchurch that has a penguin colony. You should try to fit it in if you can.

Pat_Rick

Thanks, Kate for your replay.
We will be spending the night in Kaikoura and I will make sure to make reservations for activities before we leave the States.
Did you spend any time in Abel Tasman?

dotty

Hi, Pat,
What a lucky girl your grand-daughter is!
A good place to swim with the dolphins is in Akaroa, where some of the dolphins are the Hector's Dolphins. These little dolphins, no greater than 1 metre (39 inches) in length are endangered. Our German girl said it was one of the major highlights of her stay in New Zealand.
Could I suggest you drop one day at the Ael Tasman and add another day onto Christchurch which would enable you to do this. Then perhaps travel to Kaikoura for some whale-watching instead of swiming with dolphins, staying overnight which gives you a second chance if the trip is cancelled. Of course, you have a fairly tight schedule and therefore may miss some of these activities because of weather conditions.
What part of December are you coming, as the school holidays begin around 20 December. I would recommend you book everything well in advance.
On the way back from the cruise and glow-worms I would suggest stopping the night in Te Anau. It is a lovely wee township. I recommend the Explorer Motor Lodge.
You don't mention what type of accommodation and price range you are looking at booking - hotel or motel?
I think the place Kate was referring to is Oamaru, which is about 4 hours south of Christchurch. The best time to go is in the evening when you see the penguins returning from the sea. Oamaru is an historic place, with much of its history steeped in the special stone for which it is known throughout NZ. However, I'm not quite sure where you can fit this in!
What is the attraction for Abel Tasman National Park? It seems a long way to drive for 2/3 days when there is so much to do around the centre.
Good to see you are going to stop overnight in Haast rather than try to complete the trip to Queenstown in one day.
Hope this helps a little.

Pat_Rick

Dotty, thanks for your suggestions.
Ok, I will add one more day to Christchurch, it is a good idea to recover for the long flight from Los Angeles.
We are leaving LA on Christmas Day after a family lunch.
As far as lodging goes, we like comfortable and clean rooms, $100 to $150US would be best. Of course, less is better.
Isn't Abel Tasman one of the best national parks in NZ? I saw some Abel Tasman tours that leave from Kaikoura, should I just add a day (2 nights) to Kaikoura and forget about Abel Tasman?
I am also wondering if I should add a day to Wanaka (drive directly from the glaciers before going to Queenstown), any thoughts on that?
The overnight Doubtful Sound cruise gets back to Te Anau in the early afternoon, around 1pm I think, does it give us enough time to go to the glowworm cave and tour the town a bit? We heard Queenstown has a lot of activities that are very interesting and we want as much time as possible there.
As for the Penguin colony, we went to one in Australia a few years back, I was so depressed afterwards. At dusk, all the chicks waited in front of their hut for their parents to come back to feed them, many waited and waited but the parents never showed. It was so sad. If the panguin colony in Oamaru is the same, I don't think I want to see it again.
Thanks again, please keep the feedbacks coming, they really helps a lot.