Heading to NZ early next year with my wife. I lived there 20 years ago, she’s never been so I want to show her the best of the place, but am conscious it may have changed and my glasses may be rose tinted to certain places.
At the moment we’re looking at 4 nights in Christchurch, TranzAlpine across to Greymouth, 2 Franz Joseph, 2 Wanaka, 7 Queenstown, 2 for a trip to Milford Sound and then 3 in Auckland before flying home.
Have I got that balance right? I feel maybe I have too many nights in QT? Have I missed anywhere obvious?
Not that different to what we did in March last year, not sure what Christchurch has to offer for 4 nights though, we landed & caught the tranzalpine the next morning to avoid hiring a car straight away (tired tourist accidents being a thing), then stayed in Greymouth & Hokitika for a few days before returning. Loads of stuff to do in & around Queenstown but it has changed a lot in 20yrs and if 2 of the 7 days are for Milford Sound you'll have it about right I recon, especially if you are up for all the activities 👍
I’m as out of date as you and we all have different tastes
we cycled the length of south island stopping to hike and kayak
IMHO
That’s too long in queens town unless you know need that long for particular activities like rafting etc.
Does the Christchurch time include whale watching. I regret not doing that
I really liked kayaking in Abel Tasman
If the time of year is correct a quick stop to see the Fjiordland crested penguins at munro beach is great
I hope you have a great trip
It might have got less commercial and unpleasant in the 20 years since I visited* but I found Queenstown pretty grim. I'd say less QT time.
* Yes, I know.
lol - I can't imagine it would have been more commercial 20yrs ago, than it is now but when on holiday sometimes you just have to roll with it, we even went cable car, luge then ice bar whilst in QT, in retrospect we should have done the ice bar first 😃It might have got less commercial and unpleasant in the 20 years since I visited* but I found Queenstown pretty grim. I'd say less QT time.
* Yes, I know.
We were there last year. A month do "do" both islands so we were pretty hurried but we'll not get back so it had to be
I'd have a few days in QT but not a week unless you've loads of biking planned. It's a pretty good base for a bus to fjordland (we had an overnight boat stay which gave us time to kayak and swim in MS and then get early views of the place before most other boats appeared) and rafting was good if you've not done any. A lot of people told us that the boat trip across the lake from QT to the "ranch" and BBQ was really enjoyable but we didn't have time
We didn't do the glaciers as we've skied plenty and so they lost out.
Kaikoura whale watching - only 1 whale for us (and dolphin swimming if you have the cash or just watching from the same boat) was good. There are literally hundreds, maybe thousands of dolphins in the bay and they just piss about jumping, flipping etc. That region also has a shitload of seals to be seen (we also walked miles near Wellington to see just a couple at red rocks - not even peaceful really, as there's a 4x4 trail there too)
We kayaked across one of the sounds up near Picton which was really nice
Hokitika's nice - much nicer then Greymouth, I'd say. Pancake rocks are pretty close to either and quie spectacular, esp if you're lucky to have a good swell onthe sea (an hour would do it if you're pushed)
We really liked Wellington but then we had very good weather ! I think maybe we missed the best of Auckland.
North of the North Island is nice but quite a stretch travel-wise. You'll be aware that the roads can be pretty slow, albeit beautiful
+1 for Kaikoura plus some time up in Marlborough getting sloshed. I like QT, but 7 days is too long for me, 4 in Christchurch OK if there are "events" on (our last visit many moons ago had the international busker festival, which was very good). Can I say again that Kaikoura is a must for me?
I would agree too long in Christchurch and Queenstown. kaikoura and the Abel Tasman park would be on my list as an alternative
Queenstown was rubbish imo. Overcrowded expensive and souless. Waneka was better
As a local I'd suggest hiring a car or getting a shuttle in Queenstown and heading to Alex and Clyde. Hire a bike and do a couple of days biking on the central otago rail trail or Dunstan trail. It's sedate riding, but spectacular. Personally I find a day or two in Queenstown enough and its over run by gap year kids wanting to do bungy, etc
I’ve never been to NZ, but when compared to the rest of your itinerary, 7 days does look like a lot in one place.
However, you know your wife better than anyone else, she might love it.
When I did a similar trip 15 years ago we were advised to do Doubtful Sound rather than Milford Sound. Back then only a handful of boats were licensed for overnight trips in Doubtful Sound, versus tonnes on Milford, not sure if same still applies.
Would agree on Abel Tasman and Kaikoura. Do the Whales by plane. I got sea sick on the swimming with dolphins trip, it was great after I got past that (and the dolphins loved gobbling up my vom, the dirty bastards).
If you are planning car hire, it's way cheaper from the likes of Apex in Christchurch than what is available in Greymouth, which is one of the reasons we did the return trip on the tranzalpine. Kaikoura & whale watching was great but it's a long drive north from QT.
Another for less time in Queenstown. It was bad enough when I went 20 years ago
But +millions on Kaikoura, unless someone says it's changed a lot. Spectacularly beautiful. Rolling hills one side, snow capped mountains the other, whales trundling in the bay, and having to stop on the way in to wait for the family of seals to move off the road. Memories that will stay with me my entire life. It's a beautiful country with wonderful people. Visit every free museum you can.
When we were there (20+ years ago) we used Christchurch as a base (we had friends there) but found it very un-interesting – we travelled for the most part of our three weeks. We did similar to what the OP is thinking of, however we had much less time in Queenstown (and I was sooo disappointed with the 'mountain biking' trip that I went on). We also did the north-east of the island around Picton and drove around the coves. We also went to Nelson (IIRC) when we were in that part of the island. Mount Cook is worth a check-out too.
Probably a personal thing, but I'd scrap the cities all together. I'm sure Christchurch/Auckland are lovely, but to a certain extent a city is a city wherever you are in the world, whereas the countryside/flora/fauna of New Zealand is utterly unique. It's a long way to go, and probably not somewhere you go multiple times, so I would concentrate in what it does best. I was probably biased by fact I was living in London at the time, so felt I had 'city stuff' covered.
I'd maybe add in a day touring the vineyards in the North of the island if that's your thing. Biking the Queen Charlotte track was also a South island highlight for us. (Done the luxurious way with our bags being transported via boat to overnight accommodation).
But +millions on Kaikoura, unless someone says it's changed a lot.
Well aside from it being about 2m higher above sea level after the earthquake, but then again I've no idea what it was like 20yrs ago.
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/89206/powerful-earthquake-exposes-new-land-near-kaikoura
Doubtful Sound was good. We did an overnight kayak trip. But it’s lots more hassle and it’s not clear cut that it’s better than Milford Sound
Just back from 3.5 weeks out there. I would say 7 in QT feels like too long. It's cool and I would live there in a heartbeat, but there's so much more to see and Christchurch is very pleasant, but I reckon 2 nights will do you. I'd spend more time on the road/ or doing various excursions in the South Island, visiting the random places along the way. A highlight for us was the Hooker Valley trail walk (busy, but beautiful). Milford sound was a bit overhyped in my opinion, but maybe I didn't see it at its best, just felt like a little tourist boat ride with not much else. Much as I'd love to do the Tranzalpine I also liked being in a car and stopping as and when. We didn't get to go North of Christchurch in the South Island, but I would love to see it next time.
Auckland is alright, but easily the least interesting place visited. Waiheke island is good though and a quick boat trip over. I would perhaps try to get up to the Coromandel peninsula (no boats from Auckland anymore sadly). If you put a few more days in the North then Wellington is nice and the Kapiti coast is worth a visit. The riding in Rotorua is incredible and it's a fun place if not the nicest town.
Overall it was an incredible trip and I would urge you to extend it if you can. With the exchange rate as it is it's not expensive once you are there.
Right then, an update on the new proposed itinerary. The only things set in stone at the moment are the flights into ChCh and out of AUK. In truth, I'm still going round in circles as to what to cut and what to extend, but this is what I have now:
Christchurch - 3 nights, then catch the TranzAlpine to Greymouth, pick up a hire car and go to...
Hokitika - 1 night, then drive to...
Franz Joseph - 2 nights. Drive to...
Wanaka, 3 nights, then off to...
Queenstown, 1 night and picked up to go to...
Milford Sound, 1 night then back to...
Queenstown, 4 nights, drive to...
Mount Cook, 1 night and to...
Lake Tekapo, 1 night then drive back to...
Christchurch, 1 night, drop the car back and an early flight to...
Auckland, 1 night then fly home.
Revised thoughts are:
Cut Christchurch to 2 nights. This'll clear the jetlag and give a chance to see the city, plus potentially some family I have there.
Drop Franz Joseph all together (As the glacier has rescinded so much) and go straight to Haast for 1 night before driving to Wanaka.
QT and Milford and fine, but drop the 2nd part of QT to 3 nights (this is where I lived when I was there and so I do want some time to just mooch around there).
The next section is where I'm confusing myself.
I think I want to drop one of Mount Cook or Lake Tekapo. Or perhaps both.
One option is to fly QT to Taupo or Rotorua and have a couple of days there before getting to Auckland.
The other is drop either Mount Cook or Lake Tekapo and then use the extra day(s) either for a trip to Kaikoura or somewhere else I've not thought of.
The final thought is perhaps I should drop the TranzAlpine and do an anti-clockwise drive of the South Island, so ChCh, Kaikoura, Nelson/Abel Tazmen, Hokitika, Haast, Wanaka, Milford, QT, Auckland.
All of this is a brain dump, and so I fear makes little or no-sense. Help appreciated!
n anti-clockwise drive of the South Island, so ChCh, Kaikoura, Nelson/Abel Tazmen, Hokitika, Haast, Wanaka, Milford, QT, Auckland.
that's pretty much what we did in 2002, though starting in Nelson as our friends lived there, we headed down the west coast first, just a road-trip really, we got as far south as Dunedin--the bit I liked best was along the coast south of Westport.
The final thought is perhaps I should drop the TranzAlpine and do an anti-clockwise drive of the South Island, so ChCh, Kaikoura, Nelson/Abel Tazmen, Hokitika, Haast, Wanaka, Milford, QT, Auckland.
That'll be a lot more of driving but cheaper, as no tranzalpine fare & car hire was cheaper from CC than greymouth when we went last year.
It might have got less commercial and unpleasant in the 20 years since I visited* but I found Queenstown pretty grim. I'd say less QT time.
* Yes, I know.
Nope. Just as commercial and "party town" as before.
Source: eldest_oab is a current resident. On one hand he dislikes it, but the riding and boarding is amazeballs so he's sucking it up and enjoying the outdoors...
You only have to see what he does for work to understand the culture of QT still. Here's him and pal's finest day at "work"...
One consideration during your planning is that crossing from the east coast (Christchurch) to the west coast has limited options in terms of the roads, and it’s not unusual that forest fires or land slips block the roads, being flexible with bookings and route choices will pay off, have a plan B.
Our last visit to the South Island last December ended up completely different from our original plan because Arthur’s Pass was closed for three days due to fires.
Also, if you’re going to Kaikoura, which I highly recommend, then consider doing that straight after Christchurch as it’s only about two hours drive north but then to get west to Greymouth you’ll be on for a long drive via Hanmer Springs/Reefton, also book your whale watching in advance as it’s a popular attraction
Drop Franz Joseph all together (As the glacier has rescinded so much)
I don't know how much of a regular occurrence this is, but when we visited Franz Joseph, our trip onto the glacier was cancelled due to rain (apparently would have made crossing what would have normally been small streams impossible). Was a shame as had been a 3 day detour on our trip to get there if I remember rightly.
