Hello All
I am looking for some last minute advise on my upcoming New Zealand trip. I have been pouring over these threads almost nonstop for the last few days, lots of great info, but still struggling to put it together. Two of us (22 year old americans on round the world trip) have 8 full days on the south island (I know, wish I had more time but can't afford it), and would obviously like to drive down to queenstown area and do some adventure activities there. Interested in moderatley strenous hikes, though nothing more than 1 day (mostly due to limited time, and not being prepared with tents/overnight stuff). Also interested in seeing wildlife, natural beauty, and experiencing a bit of good food/wine. We are on a bit of a budget (would not like to spend more than $100usd per person per day). I have some Choice Hotels points that can be redeemed for free nights in Wanaka, Qtown, Te Anau which should help with our budget. I have ruled out going to Dunedin (though I'd like to see the penguins, to reduce the amount of driving and i've read the drive back to chch is not very good). Here is a rough itinerary
Nov12 Arrive Christchurch 1520, rent car, stay with friends
Nov13 drive chch - franz josef (very long) stopping along way for hike at arthurs pass. other places to stop and have a look? (accomodation yha fj, need reservations?)
Nov14 fj morning glacier hike (how long?) see rainforest and glow worms in afternoon (how is this done?) (yha fj again?)
Nov15 head south to wanaka, stopping at Fox Glacier to do the Lake Matheson walk, haast walks to waterfalls, blue pools (night in wanaka hotel)
Nov16
Nov17
not sure how to spend these days. would like to go to te anau. can the kepler track be done as a day trip without reservtions? also, have heard good things about the te anau glowworms (and this can be done in the late evening.) I know it is a lot of driving to go from wanaka-te anau-and back to queenstown, but everybody seems to think this place, and the drive/kayacking around Milford is unmissable. I don't think I can go to Doubtful because it is too remote to see by yourself (i think?) and the organized trips are too pricey for me. It seems like if you can get yourself to Milford, you can do a scenic 1hr40min cruise for 65nzd (inc. bfast) or a 2.5hr nature cruise for 78nzd (inc. lunch) with Real Journeys, but then it seems you are looking at a ton of driving time (i know it will be beautiful).
Nov18 shotover jet, gondola/luge, night in qtown hotel
Nov19 drive to lake tekapo in morning stopping by lake pukaki/mt.cook, have afternoon to look around lake (accomodation yha?)
Nov20 more morning hiking, drive lake tekapo - chch in early afternoon
Nov21 see chch in morning, 1405 Depat Christchurch Arrive 1525 Auckland
Nov22 Waiheke Is?
Nov23 Mt. Eden (can get here by public transport?), or west coast beaches
Nov24 0900 Leave Auk
I appreciate any help I can get. I am very excited about my trip, and know that I am packing quite a bit into a small amount of time, but hey, this might be the only chance I get to see this beautiful county.
Kia ora from Aotearoa.
I've just recently done 9 days South Island on my own backyard, and trust me, I did all the things you wanting to do in 9 days.
Driving from CHC - Franz is so long.. even we break it off at Greymouth, I would suggest you take it slowly, as you are not familar with the road condition, it's not good to drive for long time at the start of your holiday.
I did 4 hours half day Franz Josef Glacier hike with Franz Josef Glacier Guides, and they are awesome! It could be very tiring (depending on your fitness) and enjoyable. Overnight at FJ YHA is recommended, I love that place so much!
If you want to look around Fox, do the Lake Matheson walk and do other things along the way, I suggest you to break it in Haast, rather than in Wanaka. The Haast Pass is an extremely scenic drive, yet many winding turns. From Franz to Wanaka, it will take you 5 hours, plus you need to add on other activities you wantint to do along the way. Haast is a reasonable hotel and a motel you can stay for a night, and they are not pricy at all.
I think it would be easier if you fly out from Queenstown, back to Auckland instead. Although you do want to go through Mt Cook drive back to CHC, but the drive is extremely long, and you would just spend most of the time driving, and not making a bigger effort to appreciate the landscape we have.
From Haast, you can stop by at Wanaka for a while, then continue to drive to Queenstown, and do all your activities.
From Queenstown, drive to Milford Sound to the boat cruise. I know 4 hours each way is alot, but we did it, and it's a well deserved drive. I joined the cruise with Real Journeys and they are great, big boats and comfy seats. I am having doubts with the price you got including the meals, because our price only includes the cruise.
From Milford you can drive to Te Anau, as stay there for overnight. Te Anau Glowworm cave is brilliant, my parents enjoyed it more than Ruakuri Cave up in Auckland. Definitely recommended. You can do a dual combo with Real Journeys, since the tour is run by RJ, and you can receive discount.
Waiheke island is a nice little excrusion spot for Aucklanders, ferry runs on hour, it will take about 35 mins to get there, and you can cycle around the vineyard, or visit art gallery.
You can visit Mt Eden by bus, but you would need to walk to the top on your own, which takes about 30 minutes. You can catch the bus starts with 27- , check with the local i-site when you arrive Auckland.
I hope you will enjoy your trip.
I think this itinerary is quite doable IF you are able to get early starts each day & are good at navigating. Each day is about 5 hours driving, so by allowing time for food, petrol, photos & the odd short walk you've got some full days. It would be possible to drive from Wanaka to Te Anau on the 16th and do the glow-worm tour at night. This means for the 17th you'll have to choose between Milford, the Kepler, or Doubtful Sound. Talk to the people in the tour booking offices or DoC info centre. The weather might determine your best choice - eg Milford tour is enhanced by rain, whereas you wouldn't want to do any tramping in the rain. Which ever you choose, you probably should aim to get to Queenstown by bedtime, to give you one whole day in Queenstown. (an alternative, if you find the driving too much, would be to forget Te Anau & have 3 nights & 2 whole days in QTN. On the 19th you might like to stop when you get to Mt Cook as there is much better hiking there than at Tekapo - again, very weather dependent.
Regarding Franz Joseph glacier hiking- one of the things about the glacier is the further up you go the more spectacular it gets, so if you can afford it try to do a 3/4 day or full day hike. It will be tiring but sooo worth it... I'd also recommend not doing glowworms around Franz Joseph (to be honest I haven't ever heard of someone doing it there) and instead checking out the glowworm caves in Te Anau.
Also you will probably need to reserve your glacier hike spots beforehand, as they do fill up!
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