South Island Intinerary

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  Senior Mouse on 24/03/2019 - 08:54

  Looking good. It appears you'll be driving a lot in the course of 12 days, about 2500kms in total or 200km (2.5 hours) a day. Definitely doable so long as you account for the long hauls between Christchurch to Dunners and Queenstown to Franz which are both about 5+ hours drive.

  It may be advisable to go straight from Milford to Queenstown on the 12th to have a day in lieu unless you want to stay in Te Anau again; although this will mean you'll be driving at least 4 hours in one go rather than 1.5 hours + 2.5 hours drive.

  If you have time it may be good to visit Hanmer Springs if you've exhausted everything while you're in Christchurch and want to chill out in hot pools; it's not too touristy and it's about 1.5 drive from town so you could return on the same day. Best time is during the weekday and not during school holidays. There are other fun activities like horse riding, jetboating, bungy jumping and quad biking that have good discounts on sites like Treatme.co.nz if you're going at the right time.

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  gcnz on 24/03/2019 - 09:47

  +1

  I say too much driving. Roads could be icy in the mornings in July so you won't to hit them before 10am, and it will be getting dark between 5-6pm.
  Queenstown > Franz Josef is too long, no time to spend in Wanaka (beautiful wee town with lake and mountains), or do any of the nice scenic walks like Blue Pools.
  You're not going to have much time in Dunedin to do much, eg Otago Peninsula wildlife, Taieri Gorge rail way (very scenic), I'd recommend 2 nights there.
  And you're missing a very nice drive SH8 taking in Mt Cook, Lake Pukaki, and Lake Tekapo. But the West Coast and Arthur's Pass is nice too, so 2 options.
  www.bookme.co.nz is good for activity deals.

  7 July Sydney > Christchurch
  8 July Christchurch > Dunedin - via stop in Oamaru and Moeraki Boulders
  9 July Dunedin - Elm Wildlife Tour and\or Taieri Gorge rail way, Olverston
  10 July Dunedin > The Caitlins (Curio Bay)
  11 July The Caitlins > Te Anau - glowworms
  12 July Te Anau > Milford Sound - not recommended to self drive in winter, do a tour
  13 July Te Anau > Arrowtown > Queenstown - take "back road" via Arthurs Point (could do Shotover Jet if timing works)
  14 July Queenstown - Gondola, maybe Glenorchy, Onsen Hot Pools
  15 July Queenstown > Wanaka, via Cromwell (nice wineries along the way at Gibbston and Bannockburn), there is a cool motorsport park here with go karts and can ride in a Ferrari or McLaren, Crown Range Road will probably be icy, but view up there is awesome

  16 July Wanaka > Franz Josef Glacier - Blue Pools walk
  17 July Franz Josef Glacier > Fox Glacier, Lake Matheson > Hokitika Gorge, Hokitika
  18 July Hokitika > Christchurch via Arthur's Pass

  OR
  16 July Wanaka > Mt Cook
  17 July Mt Cook
  18 July Mt Cook > Christchurch via Tekapo, Geraldine then SH72 since you will have done SH1 on the way down

  19 July Christchurch, day trip to Akaroa
  20 July Christchurch > Sydney

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    franky on 24/03/2019 - 22:49

    Thanks for the advice. I see you've cut out a bit of driving by shooting across the island instead of going round the top - is it worth cutting out? Also, would you recommend your second option seeing Mt Cook seems to be the go?

    • 

      Steven89 on 25/03/2019 - 17:08

      +1

      It's definitely worth cutting out. Your itinerary is way too much for a mid-summer trip with long 15hr days, let alone winter where you only get 9 hours. Bear in mind that even with the revised itinerary, you're going to be spending a huge proportion of the trip just sat in the car. A lot of people think they won't mind because of the scenery, but it will get repetitive!

      I'd personally go to Mt Cook above the glaciers, especially if you've seen them before anywhere else. Unless perhaps you do one of the very expensive glacier hikes - not in my price range (around $500 per person from memory) but the photos look incredible!

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    justaddwater on 04/04/2019 - 19:35

    Hi, do you think Blue Pools is worth it for a return trip from Wanaka? I wont be going to west coast

    what about driving to Mt cook (village?) without doing any hike from Pukaki, (>1km flat terrain walks) as we're travelling with senior relatives

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  gcnz on 24/03/2019 - 10:10

  For "hidden gem" spots, I think everything is in tourist guides now, the SI really is great.
  I really like the old gold mining areas and historic buildings in Central Otago, like Arrowtown and Ophir (would be hard to fit that into your drive) and the rugged and open landscapes of the Maniototo. WE took the off road option from Middlemarch to Ophir last Christmas, it was so cool.

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    gcnz on 26/03/2019 - 11:37

    There is a new post on Trip Advisor about "hidden gems" in Queenstown https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/ShowTopic-g255122-i730-k124304…

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  [Deactivated] on 24/03/2019 - 12:56

  A cruise to Milford Sound is definitely on the cards.

  Keep a look out for New Zealand's answer to the Loch Ness monster and Big Foot … the extinct Moa that supposedly still living down there. ;-)

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  kiwijunglist on 03/04/2019 - 11:12

  for your stop in oamaru area there are a few options:
  1. There is like a sculpture theme park thing takes about 1 hr for maybe $15ea (im guessing)
  2. There is a little victorian shopping area next to the sculpture thing it's worth a 5 minute wonder but not too much else
  3. There is a castle with restaurant i think it's between timarua and oamaru i think you must book lunch in advance. This would probably be cool to check out.
  4. Obviously the moreki boulders, takes about 20 minutes.

  If your fit you can do a overnight mt cook trek up to a hutt. You can hire some crampons and ice axe, it's a combo of bush walk then walk up a steep hill with some boulders then a short walk on snow / ice on the ridge. I had never done a tramp before and i was ok, but I went with experienced friends. I loved it. You could also go with a group perhaps? It's about 6-8 hr walk each day, you need to leave very early in the morning.

  Found it, it's called Muller Hutt
  https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/ca…

  It says only 4 hrs, but I'm sure we walked a bit longer than that.

  Views at the Hutt were amazing!

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    gcnz on 04/04/2019 - 08:40

    Is the "sculpture theme park thing" maybe Steampunk HQ? $10 for adults or $4.90 on Bookme, it's interesting cos it's different. It's at the north end of the Victorian Precinct, and the south end is a park with some big Steampunk things. There is a whiskey shop and brewery there too if you're into that.
    Riverstone Kitchen is about 20 min north of Oamaru, very highly rated, there is a castle there now too, but no tours (it was open for special tours in Feb).

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  33coupe on 04/04/2019 - 15:35

  Definitely agree with going to mt cook. I went there at Xmas. If you don't have too much time you can go about half way up (Sealy tarns) to muller hut, still a very nice scenic lookout. Just over 1hr up.