mbshrout

We will be in NZ Oct. 2 - 14. Wondering if we need to book places to stay for every night we will be on the South Island. We arrive in Christchurch the afternoon of Oct. 2nd pick up a car and drive to Gore Bay where we have a reservation for the night, the next day we drive on to Kaikoura and we have reservations for 2 nights there.
The only other reservations we currently have is 2 nights in Queenstown Oct. 12 and 13....we fly out to Sydney the afternoon of the 14th.
Not sure what our itinerary will be in between.....debating between going the Arthur's Pass route and then down to Queenstown, making stops along the way, or taking the eastern route and taking in Mount Cook on the way to Queenstown. Yes I realize that either way we are backtracking from Kaikoura returning to Christchurch, but we want to spend some time exploring that area. Also after reading some of the other blogs, may want to checkout Akaroa before continuing on to Queenstown by whichever route. Should mention that we would like to work in Milford Sound. We will have a car for our entire time.
We are in our 60's and like to hike, explore local sites/culture, but are not so much into city sights.
I know weather can still be very "iffy" in Oct. which is why we are reluctant to commit to a route... I don't think I would like the Arthur's Pass route in bad (icy/snowy) weather.
Any help will be appreciated.

Melnq8

Hi mbshrout -

NZ seems to be getting busier and busier. October is still early in the season, but I've noticed that the rates for accommodation tend to go up around Oct 1, which is an indicator of demand.

Places like Arthur's Pass and Mt Cook have very limited accommodation, so it's always best to book in advance if you plan to say in either regardless of time of year.

While still limited, you'll find more accommodation in Franz Josef and Fox Glacier, but I'd still book at least a day or two in advance, as if both are full, you've got to go a long way to find a place to stay - hours, and hours.

You would like to work in Milford Sound? Not sure I follow this.

deSchenke

Mel, I was puzzled by that too. Then I realized they probably aren't looking for a job there, but would like to factor Milford Sound into their itinerary!

Melnq8

Oh of course, that makes sense, silly me.

mbshrout

Thanks Melnq8, for the information. Sorry about the confusion regarding Milford Sound. I did indeed mean we would like to include a visit there in our trip. From other comments in the forum, it sounds like if we started from Queenstown going to Milford Sound we should plan to overnight in Te Anau travel to Milford Sound the next day, return to Te Anau for another overnight, then return to Queenstown. We have considered an overnight on a boat at Milford.... any recommendations?
If we did an overnight in Milford would we still need to overnight in Te Anau on our return trip to Queenstown or could we drive back without another stop in Te Anau if we left Milford early in the day?
Appreciate any help you can give. We are not working with a travel agent at all so planning has been a bit stressful (we will be in Australia for 4 weeks before flying to NZ)

Melnq8

Te Anau is my personal preference for overnights before/after Milford Sound because it leaves an entire day for exploring Milford Road (numerous tracks) and taking a day cruise - Milford is a two hour drive from Te Anau, but a four hour drive from QT - one way.

Having said that, because you're considering an overnight cruise on Milford, you can probably forgo the nights in Te Anau unless you're interested in exploring some of the many walking tracks in the area (and there are some good ones mind you).

Without looking at cruise schedules I assume you'd take the day to drive to Milford from QT - four hours w/o stops - then board the boat in Milford in the late afternoon - then return to Milford the following morning.

You'd still have a four hour drive from Milford to QT, but if you get an early start both days, you'd probably have time (as in daylight) to explore a bit of Milford Road on both the way in and again the way out if so inclined.

annhig

if you decide to go over Arthur's Pass [not something we did so I can't compare it with other choices] and then down to Franz Joseph/Fox, a tip we were given by Mel when we were trip planning was to go from Wanaka to Te Anau and then back to QT. if you have enough days to do that comfortably that would seem to be a good way of organising your time, especially as you are flying out of QT so it makes sense to put all your nights there at the end of your stay in NZ.