lapsed kiwi

I wouldn't bother with Twizel. It's a completely purpose-built town in the middle of nowhere. Lake Tekapo on the other hand is a stunning spot.

Newfies

If you are toward the west coast why not do the glaciers? Have you seen these before? Franz Josef is better and easier to get to than Fox but both are sunning.

Just a thought! We have only done a snippet of the south and love it but got lots more to do. If you are going across and have a little while to spend go to Mauria springs I had the most amazing massage there and they also have accommodation to stay in.

Just a thought!

comet555

I checked with my husband tonight and he would rather go North to see the glaciers than do the south end back to Christchurch. So I think we will head that way after all.

Can you see much of the glaciers from the car or from viewpoints? We have a 3 year old so won't be doing any long treks anywhere. The scenic view is enough and as long as I get some good pictures I'm happy!

He's also interested in going to the air show in Wanaka on easter weekend. We would be able to get there Friday afternoon and could take in the show on Sunday, although I don't thin there's a whole lot of accommodation available for the weekend.

Any ideas how long of a drive is it to get from Queenstown to Wanaka, just trying to see if it's an option to drive from Queenstown. It might be too big of a pain to incorporate the air show into our trip but he loves planes (and so does my son) so it's probably worth the effort.

comet555

I can no longer edit my original post with the itinerary, so here's where I'm at now:

April 2 - stay in Christchurch overnight
3 - Drive to Lake Tekapo for lunch, then drive to Queenstown and spend the night
4 - Drive to Te Anau (see Glow worm caves), stay overnight
5 - Drive to Milford Sound (do scenic boat cruise), return to Te Anau for the night
6 - Drive to Wanaka (see Puzzling World)
7 - Drive to Franz Joseph Glacier (stop at Haast for lunch), check out glaciers and stay overnight
8 - Drive to Greymouth
9 - Drive to Hammer Springs
10 - Drive to Christchurch, return car and stay overnight
11 - Wake up really, really early and fly out

From Greymouth (or around there) would it be better to go back through Arthur's Pass or go through Hammer springs on the way back to Christchurch?

I might have to juggle things some more if we want to try and fit in the air show as well.

jennifer45

We loved Wanaka so much , we extended our stay from 2 nights to 7.
That cut into our planned trip to Dunedin etc and the glaciers.
As I'm mad on flying- did it for a living long time ago- we booked an hours scenic flight from Wanaka - In one word- AWESOME! we flew over MT Cook and landed and took off from one of the snow fields around the glaciers.
Best part was I sat next to the young lady pilot and had dual controls in front of me.
I was itching to take them- and I did for about 2-3 mins. That was some memory- certainly for MOH.
Don't ya all start screaming she shouldn't have done that!
I had my pilots licence on me.
Although it was a bit out of date!
How much is for me to know!
It's a short ride over the mountain in a car to Queenstown.
The road is a bit tortuous in places.
The ground floor level route , whilst longer could be less stressful and quicker.
Either way Wanaka- Queenstown 70 KMs 40 mls App 1 hr.
Check this site out for driving routes and attractions/activities on the way.

http://www.newzealand.com/travel/get...outes-home.cfm

Most of all enjoy!
Jennie

Mgee

I personally wouldn't spend two nights in Te Anau to be honest. If the weather is crap, there's little you can do there because the place is basically just for stopovers on the way to Milford Sound. The Milford Sound cruises finish around 3 pm, so you have plenty of time to drive back to Queenstown. The drive from MS to Q takes about 4 hours. Your day 1 itinerary is doable, but it will be a lot of driving and before Tekapo the highway is quite a winding one with lots of hills too. The state highways only have one lane to each direction, and the average driving speed is about 60-70 kms/hour. The AA driving time calculator someone already recommended was very accurate if you need to make any stops at all or want to take photos or admire sights. My best advice would be not to underestimate the driving time needed, especially if you have kids with you, and not make the schedule too tight.

There's also the weather factor that is always present in NZ: if it's too windy or too rainy or too foggy, some activities and even some roads can be closed. In November, we couldn't drive to one location because the road was crossed due to severe wind. A riding tour and a helicopter flight had to be cancelled due to rain and fog, so it's good to have a plan B ready if the weather gets tricky.

South Island is breathtakingly beautiful. I hope you enjoy your trip!!!

Newfies

Franz Josef is about a 30 minute return walk on reasonably flat land a little stoney but an easy walk. You can see the Glacier after about a 5 minute walk from the car but to appreciate it you need to be closer.

Fox Glacer is quite a hilly climb no too difficult but again worth it and you need to walk about 5 minutes before you can see it again.

Arthurs Pass is the prettier of the two drives from Greymouth to Christchursh, But Hanmer Springs and Mauria Springs and on the Lewis Pass (the northern road across).

Mauria Springs as a town has lots to do i.e hire bikes kayaks etc walking round the shops and the springs. But for me the massage at Mauira which is before Hanmer was well worth it but not too sure what you would do with the 3 year old whilst you get pampered!

Persephone

That is pretty much what we did though maybe spend two nights at Queenstown? Otherwise you'll be getting there quite late on the first day and then leaving for Te Anau the next day and spending very little time there. We did stay at Te Anau for two nights but only so we were not moving location every night-Mgee is right there is little to do once you've been to the glow worm caves and over to MS.
There is a reasonable amount of walking to the glaciers but they can be viewed from afar so it all depends on how much you or the kids are willing and able to do, you cannot get too close anyway- big lumps of ice falling on you will ruin your holiday faster than anything else
The drives over Arthur's Pass and via Hanmer Springs are both very spectacular so it may come down to how much more driving you want to do at the end of the trip!

If it helps, we did the following when we did the loop Chch back to Chch:
Day 1-drive from Chch over Arthur's Pass and spent the night in Fox Glacier
Day 2- See the glaciers and drive via Haast to Wanaka
Day 3- over the Crown Ranges to Queenstown via Arrowtown
Day 4-Queenstown, up the gondola and on the luge/ Shotover jet
Day 5- Drive to Te Anau, glow worms
Day 6- drive to MS and back to Te Anau
Day 7- drive to Twizel and stay there as midway between TA and Chch, plenty of time to stop and view the scenery. But it is not a very attractive town!
We did consider going from Te Anau straight to Chch but didn't want the long drive at the end of the trip.

BEVS

Now you're getting closer to my neck of the woods.


The drive through Arthurs pass would be the more stunning and you might get to see Kea Parrots on the way.

The drive from Greymouth to Hanmer is pretty but is not a patch on Arthurs Pass in my opinion. Weather permitting as always.

The drive from Haast to Hokitika is worth it in my opinion.

If you have time and don't mind the drive, take the hit on the extra car hours and go for Arthurs Pass.

Maybe think to stop in Arthurs Pass , rather than boring Greymouth.

Bypass Christchurch on your way through and head straight for Hanmer. It's a great spot. Good for the kids and relaxing for you.

If you can squeeze it in , take in Kaikoura and try for dolphin watching or swimming.

I'd forget Greymouth. It aint all that and there isn't much there .

Same Twizel. Quite pretty in it's own way these days but was originally built as a utility town.

I can't remember how much of the Franz Josef glacier one can see from the car. It's receding and from memory , I think we had a fair walk to get to it back in '97.
Fox glacier is good though.

You are right to think about shortage of accom. with the air show etc. These things do get booked out.

comet555

We might actually need the extra time in Te Anau anyway because we might the 4th at the airshow in Wanaka and only return to Te Anau later that night. Then it would be Milford Sound the next day and overnight again, and then the glow worms that morning before going to Wanaka.

I'll have a think about it though and see what I can do with the schedule.

Does anyone know if it would be necessary to book in advance, or if we could just turn up? We're hoping to get the 2 bedroom units, although we'd by fine without it if they weren't available.

If we didn't have to book in advance we'd be free to push the schedule along or alter it as the trip goes on.

Newfies

At the time of year you are coming over take it all in your stride and see where each day leads you. There will be pleanty of vacancies to turn up ad hock. May not be to the highest of standards but then who cares it sound like you are gonna have one great big adventure!

comet555

Cool, I hope that's the case. I know it's not the high season there but it is still the Easter holidays so I was worried things might be more booked up.

In case I haven't said it already thanks for the help everyone. It's a relief knowing that I'm on the right track with the intinerary and aren't doing too much or too little each day. Also any tips are great too because we might only get to do it once so I'd rather learn from others experience.

comet555

What time do the front desks at the motels/hotels usually shut down? I suspect we'd probably book into a hotel and then go for dinner and come back for the night, so that should be early enough.

Lynda63

Hi

I live in Wanaka. Accommodation is always very tight for the airshow. There will just be a few of the lodges charging exhorbitant rates. I used to run a B&B and we used to get booked up a year in advance. Probably be best to stay in Queenstown which may also by now be fairly booked up. Have a fantastic time on your trip its a beautiful area.

comet555

Good idea... we'll most definitely book in Queenstown as we need to stay there anyway for the trip.

Do yo have any idea what the general seating is like at the air show. I'm guessing it's just a big field, which is all right.

I'll try and book a few things today then!