Best route - Christchurch to Nelson

I don't understand about Kaikoura. If you're heading off onto Hwy 7 at Waipara, are you then going by either the Red Post-Waiau-Leader road to Hawkeswood or Route 70 round the back to Kaikoura racecourse? And then back to Hanmer the next day? It this is what you mean, I suggest using the two roads I mentioned to make a circuit. The Leader Road will get you over to the southern section of the coastal drive up to Kaikoura, and the inland scenic will take you to Hanmer through some nice mountain country. Both are good sealed roads.

I agree with your idea of striking off inland at this point. It's a slow road in parts, hilly and winding (this is NZ!!) but you get a bit of the Buller Gorge and a lot of dense bush on the roadsides. If you have enough time in hand and the kids are out cold, you could take a "long cut" at Kohatu and swing left to Motueka. Then back to Nelson round the bays. The bush in these parts can have wasps, which are somewhat off-putting. I remember having to sit in my car at Kohatu to eat the lunch I'd taken - too many wasps to stand around. There aren't too many shops and petrol stations around, so keep this in mind.

I've done this route 2 or 3 times and it's fine. Apart from the section of coastal drive (maybe 40km) on the north side of Kaikoura, there's nothing much of interest before Blenheim. Then over the Rai Saddle to Nelson can be slow. You can get caught behind a truck with no chance to pass.

Where are you off to after Nelson.

Thanks for your response. I probably should have mentioned our whole trip so you could understand where else we'll be travelling to/from.

Day 1 Arrive in Blenheim - drive to Kaikoura
Day 2 Kaikoura - Hamner Springs
Day 3 Hamner Springs - Greymouth - Christchurch (via TranzAlpine)
Day 4 Christchurch
Day 5 Christchurch
Day 6 Christchurch - Nelson
Day 7 Nelson
Day 8 Nelson - Blenheim (to fly out)

I guess the reason I didn't want to travel the east coast upto Nelson was because we would have travel down most of it during the earlier days of the trip. It sounds like the inland route might just be OK. Is Murchison a good place to stop. Is there much to see and do there?

I'm not too keen on the wasps. Did you travel there in the summer?

IF you turn off HW1 at Waipara, then you could look at a stop in Hamner - thermal pools, walk up conical hill. )NOt knowing all the rest of your plans, but perhaps you could be going to Hamner that day iunstead of earlier.

Going through the Lewis Pass you go past Maruia hot springs ( alternative stop.) THere are also several short bush walks in that area, through native forest.

Just before you get to Murcheson there is the 27ft Maruia waterfall. On an interesting day, there may be kayakers going over the falls - entertaining.

I’ve done this trip several times.

From Waipara to Hanmer (nm not mn!) the road winds round brown hills with limestone outcrops and a few flat and straight stretches. Watch out for cops with radar. Hanmer is a short detour.

Past the Hanmer turnoff, the traffic drops off from low to negligible and you’re into mostly uninhabited areas. There’s continuous bush after a while with lots of little streams along the side of the road. Maruia Springs has thermal baths and accommodation. Petrol and a store are at Springs Junction, which has very little else. From here to Murchison it’s about 80km and I don’t think there’s any petrol or supplies on the way.

Murchison is quite small, but well equipped. It has several accommodation places and a lot of activities on the Buller. Rafting, fishing, kayaking, getting bitten by sandflies, etc.

Kawatiri Junction was where I had to hide from wasps, not Kohatu. It was summer, and over 30 degrees. The wasps are found in areas of black-beech forest. The trees have a symbiotic woolly mould that exudes a honeydew which attracts them. The honeydew often ferments so the wasps are a bit too stoned to be vicious. They tend to land on you and just sit, but if you get food out, they swarm all over it.

On your way back to Blenheim, if the weather, time, energy and domestic circumstances are correctly aligned, there’s a scenic route from Havelock along Queen Charlotte Drive to Picton. Then just the ordinary highway to Blenheim. My times are Nelson-Havelock 50 minutes, Havelock-Picton via Queen C. Dr. 35 min., Picton-Blenheim 25 min.