An extensive scenic landscape route of the south island, limited time

sounds like you are expecting herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically across plains....

NZ mountain scenery is STUNNING.

Which mountain pass? This is a painful decision. Considering your limited time. I think the Palmerston, Ranfurly (arte deco buildings), Omakau, Alexandra, Cromwell, Kawarau Gorge, Queenstown route would be best.

Leaving Queenstown, take the Crown Range road through Cardrona. It’s steep and winding from the Queenstown end till Cardrona. This gets you to Wanaka and Hawea. The country between here and Haast is almost uninhabited. Dense rainforest. Stop at the Blue Pools (there’s a sign) and walk for a few minutes to see all the little rock pinnacles that people have built. I built one in February 2012. Haast is very small, but it has the basic requirements.

I recommend the 35 min. trip from Haast to the end of the road at Jackson Bay. The road is all sealed, Not worth it if the weather’s bad. Services at the end are limited to a takeaway kiosk.

Knight’s Point lookout is better than best. There are so many signs pointing out lakes, waterfalls and walks as you drive in the West Coast, you could never do it in one visit.

“To Fox or not to Franz, whether ‘tis better in the car to squabble the pros and cons of conflicting glaciers… (apologies to Shakespeare). They are virtually identical. Northbound travellers go to Fox, Southbound to Franz Josef. Worth the visit. Both offer the same diversions, such as guided walks on the glacier. FJ is more popular in summer because it has more tramping tracks.

Hokitika is quite small, about 5,000 pop., but it has good craft shops. A lot of kiwiana jewellery is on sale in Kaikoura, but you’ll get lower prices and a wider choice in Hokitika. You can watch people making greenstone carvings. I like the Hokitika Gorge (see Google images). There are several good cafes. As towns to stay in, I prefer Hokitika and Westport. Greymouth is the largest town on the West Coast, but it’s a bit dingy. The port has closed.

I also recommend continuing past Westport to Karamea (1hr 30min) and to the end of the road at Kohaihai River (20 min.). There are no shops or services at Kohaihai.

check current glacier conditions, last time I looked Fox was more accessible and has more open tracks. Chalet Lookout is a must.

go see both glaciers though.

thanks for the detailed info it was something i llike to read, however i still don't know why you picked ranfurly route i was almost expecting you to pick one of the other two, as they have some lakes on the way and NZ is supposed to be good for lake scenary.

It was a difficult choice! The natural lakes missed on the Palmerston route are Tekapo and Pukaki. The others, around Twizel and Omarama are hydro dams, mostly bland. I decided to trade in a few lakes for a bit of coastal scenery.

You will still see Lakes Wakatipu, Wanaka, Hawea, Moeraki, Paringa, Matheson, Mapourika, Okarito, Ianthe and possibly Kaniere as you travel north from Haast.

However, if you decide to take the Tekapo route, turn right from Highway 1 onto Route 79, 35 km south of Ashburton,and just south of the 2nd Rangitata River bridge. Head off to Geraldine, Fairlie and Lake Tekapo. Lake Tekapo introduces you to the milky-blue colour of South Island lakes. It’s the result of glacial ‘flour’. If you pick up stones (greywacke is the geological name) from the lake’s beach and rub them together, they create a fine powder. This is glacial flour.

Nice one, thanks!

I made another thread, could use your input :)

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2375970