7 day road trip Queenstown to Christchurch

Hi Pete

7 days should give you time enough to see some gorgeous sights but unfortunately it may mean a bit of day tripping and back tracking.

This would be my suggestion:

Day 1 Queenstown and environs, beautiful places abound, drive down to Glenorchy approx 45 mins and onto "Paradise" another 30 or minutes drive also take a drive out to the historic gold mining town of Arrowtown (20 mins from Queenstown other direction)
You must go up Bobs peak via the gondola for the views from there.

Day 2 Queesntown to Milford Sound return this is a big Day and will need an early start, but can be done, drive to Te Anau (2 hrs approx) and onto Milford Sound so much en route to stop and check out (approx 2 hrs depending on how many photo stops!) you must do the cruise on the Sound too!

Day 3 Queenstown to Wanaka - easy day - either over the mountain road known as the Crown range takes approx 1 hour, high country scenery or drive through the Kawarau Gorge following the river to Cromwell and see some of the great vineyards of the area. Many have casual restaurants attached for a nice lunch. Then onto wanaka in the aternoon.

Day 4 - Leave Wanaka for a day trip to Mt Cook through the Lindis Pass to Omarama and onto Twizel and Mt Cook all up approx 3 hours driving with stops.
Do a walk short on one of the many easy tramps that start at the village. Great info centre here and visitors to the village are welcome to use the hotel facilities. Has a cafe etc. Return to Wanaka

Day 5 - Start of journey up the West Coast - through the Haast Pass and onwards depending how far you wish to drive that day Obviously you will stop off at one of the glaciers, accomodation can be found in both villages. Or else drive on to Greymouth plenty of accomodation there.

Day 6 Travel from Glaciers or Greymouth through Arthurs Pass to Christchurch - Wonderful scenic mountain pass.

Day 7 - Christchurch

I think with this route you will see the most dramatic scenery although the east coast has some wonderful sights too.

Hope this gives you some food for thought anyway, let me know if I can help with any other suggestions.

Pommie girl

Hi Pete,
Sound like you are flying into Qtown,so if I was you I would take the West Coast route to Greymouth then across Arthurs Pass to Ch Ch. This way you will see some lakes,mountains,beautiful scenery,and a different kind of coast line.
Qtn is situated on Lake Wakitipu.Use Qtn as a base and explore the area:Glenorchy,Paradise,Dart river for jet boating and kayak guided tours,Shotover and Kawerau rivers for jetboating,rafting,Bungy jumping etc,drive over the Crown Range to Wanaka and explore:for short walks......on the western side of the lake,drive to Raspberry Flat car park,walk up a valley to see Rob Roy glacier[about 4 hours return],walk a couple of hours along a well formed scenic track from the West Wanaka station[sheep and deer farm],[fantastic views of the lake]then return,walk along the banks of the famous Clutha river from nearby Albertown.The takeaway shop attached to the pub at Albertown has the best blue cod,chips and battered mussels I have ever had!!!! Wanaka itself is a ski town in winter and water sports town in summer.
Then travel to the west coast via Haast Pass,very scenic as you drive north along the western side of Lake Hawea,then as you lose sight of that lake,the eastern side of Lake Wanaka comes into view.
The west coast is rugged,and very different from the east coast of the SI between Ch Ch and Dunedin which can be a little boring at times as far as driving goes.
Take a guided half day walk up onto Franz Josef Glacier[very exciting].Call into the Puke Pub at Pukekura,between Franz Josef and Hokitika...very very different!!!!!!Dont blink or you will miss it as the population of this "town" was 2 the last time we were there. Hokitika is considered the best place to buy NZ jade,greenstone.
From Greymouth its a very scenic drive to Ch Ch,considered the garden city of NZ.
In Ch Ch,drive out to Sumner and Taylors Mistake beaches,visit the antartic centre near the airport,take in the cathedral in the city centre,depending on time drive to the french village of Akaroa on Banks Peninsula. I have given you a few ideas of what to do,you can use the visitors centres in each town as they have a huge amount of info and are always very helpful.
Spring is such a pretty time to be in NZ,so enjoy!!!!!

Pete,
just a thought,pommie girl has mentioned going to Milford Sound and back from Queenstown in one day,just set your alarm clock for about 4am!!!!!Its further than it looks....and as for Mt Cook, a day trip from Wanaka is a BIG ask,[get that alarm clock going again!!!!!!] especially if the mountain is covered in cloud,as it usually is. Check out the small plane scenic flights from the Franz Josef area to see Mt Cook.....if the weather is clear.This might be a better alternative,its up to you.
Hope this helps.

Thanks guys! Thank you for taking the time to write a reply, I really do appreciate it....I will have another look at the map with your suggestions in hand...! Cheers, Pete

HI again

Here is a useful site for calculating distance/travel times between places. The times allow for short stops.

Queenstown - Milford return is definitely do- able in a day . Half the beauty of this trip is the drive itself, its a great road. But if you dont fancy driving yourself you can catch one of the tour buses that head in and out on this route daily. They leave Queenstown about 8am from memory and get back tea time.

The plane option or even helicopter?? if you can you can afford it would be a great alternative to driving to Mt Cook and give you another day up your sleeve, but to see Mt Cook at the head of the valley as you approach by road is a fantastic sight

Pommie girl

Whoops!!! pressed go before I added the address for the distance calculator!.... sorry : )

http://www.aatravel.co.nz/main/td-calculator.php<BR><BR>Pommie girl

Wanak to Mt Cook and back in one day??? Do-able, but pretty much white-knuckle driving a lot. I wouldn't do it unless you are a masochist.

QTN to Milford and back in a day is do-able, and a nice drive as well.

But why not base yourself in Te Anau for a few days, and hit Milford from there. Then head up to QTN and Wanaka for a day or two, then maybe Mt. Cook for a day and night. Then back to CHC.

Raro - what do you mean by "white-knuckle" driving Wanaka to Mt Cook - it is a lovely easy drive, that I have done many times. Sure I wouldn't do it both ways & I think it is a waste of time, when Mt Cook might be visible from the West Coast, BUT.. there are no scary passes (Lindis is very gradual)

kereru--Yes, I had in mind the Arthur's Pass road from the west coast to CHC. Sorry about that.