Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Would this tour be possible in 3 days?

http://www.scenicpacific.co.nz/trip.cfm/trip-10000029

I mean if I take a rental car.

Would it be possible ? Yes

Would you have much time to explore/enjoy anything ? No

Do you only have 3 days and are trying to come up with an itn ?

Yes, but it is a lot of driving on some not so good (but very scenic) roads. If 2 people shared the driving it would be easier, but still doesn't give you a lot of time to explore and do stuff at each destination.

Roads in NZ are generally not as good as in USA or Europe. Think one lane each direction (with passing lanes periodically), and not so engineered. Roads go over hills not through them.

If you only have 3 days I would cut out Milford Sound (Queenstown to Milford Sound and return alone is a long day mostly spent driving).

how long would it take to do a milford sound cruise that returns to the same starting point?

Depends on which one you buy. IIRC there are short cruises (an hour or so) and longer ones (several hours and some even overnight). Note the cruises are timed for the arrival of the many tour buses and flights. If you self-drive you may have a wait of an hour or two until the next sailing.

I did a fly/cruise/fly trip from Queenstown to Milford Sound around 5 years ago. It's around 30 mins each way in a light plane, with a cruise (2 to 3 hours?) of Milford Sound in between.

Means you can do it all in around half a day. Not cheap (I imagine now up to around NZD400), but the views from the plane are very good.

Weather may be a factor as well!

The fly/cruise/fly option is well worth it if you aren't keen on a long day with most of it driving. Milford Sound is okay. Maybe the fact that we didn't spend hours driving lessened the impact of it. Maybe the very, very scenic flight from Queenstown also limited the grandeur of it.

The issue with flying to Milford Sound is that you really need to be staying in Queenstown a few days, or be lucky with the weather. It rains more days than not in Milford Sound, and there is no flying in bad weather due to the terrain. Thus for short visits I suggest plan to drive to Milford Sound, if you really want to visit it.

The issue with flying to Milford Sound is that you really need to be staying in Queenstown a few days, or be lucky with the weather. It rains more days than not in Milford Sound, and there is no flying in bad weather due to the terrain. Thus for short visits I suggest plan to drive to Milford Sound, if you really want to visit it.

I have been reading that Milford is more beautiful when it rains, is it true and why?

More beautiful because of the numerous waterfalls that appear.

There are several spectacular waterfalls that are permanent. However when it rains the surrounding steep terrain form countless waterfalls.

I have been reading that Milford is more beautiful when it rains, is it true and why?

It is not true. It rains something like 380 days a year there so they say this to not disappoint all the tourists.

I have seen Milford Sound in sunshine, fog, rain and anything in between and it is most beautiful in sunlight, after the rain. And it always is after the rain in this area.

All the beautiful pictures you see are taken during sunshine, not rain. But it certainly has its charm during rain, too.
You need to be VERY lucky so have sunshine there. It is more likely to see Mt. McKinley in full sunshine than to see Milford Sound.

Yes, but it is a lot of driving on some not so good (but very scenic) roads. If 2 people shared the driving it would be easier, but still doesn't give you a lot of time to explore and do stuff at each destination.

Roads in NZ are generally not as good as in USA or Europe. Think one lane each direction (with passing lanes periodically), and not so engineered. Roads go over hills not through them.

If you only have 3 days I would cut out Milford Sound (Queenstown to Milford Sound and return alone is a long day mostly spent driving).

Isn't Milford one of the must- see places in this area or in NZ itself? The pictures seem to say, any other places you could suggest to eliminate?

Milford Sound is indeed special. However given it is at the furthest point of the route, and takes a full day for the return trip from Queenstown, it is the easiest bit to cull in your short time frame.

The only other alternatives are
1) spend longer for the trip
2) fly in/out of Queenstown instead of Christchurch (although in practice this may not save a lot of time)
3) drive the eastern side each way (saves several hours up to a day)
4) skip Mount Cook side trip (saves a few hours)

I am flying into and out of ZQN.

What airline? I hope the 3 days does not include the arrival and departure dates.

QF arrive at 3:30PM on a Monday and leave at 5PM on Friday. three full days to tour.

There are several spectacular waterfalls that are permanent. However when it rains the surrounding steep terrain form countless waterfalls.

We experienced this on our trip there in December. Taking photos was hard in the rain, but I managed to get some that I am rather happy with (http://gallery.millerworks.net/keyword/milford+sound). And the experience certainly was wonderful. The only thing that photos taken on a sunny day have over mine are blue skies, and I solved that problem by taking most of the pictures focusing on the falls instead of the sky. And on the couple pics I did take that include the sky, I think that the clouds/mist add some drama that clear blue skies would miss (http://gallery.millerworks.net/gallery/3627262_8cZY5/1/#240459431_KjBZP-A-LB).

Milford is a must see, I think, but it is also an incredibly long drive. Figure a VERY long day (12-18 hours) if you go on a bus/boat tour. We had more time on the South Island and spent a couple nights in Te Anau (http://gallery.millerworks.net/keyword/te%20anau#240458013_6Vb4d) to make the Milford trip easier, and even then it was rough. If you plan on driving it yourself I'd recommend staying in Te Anau the night before or the evening after to make it somewhat more tolerable.

some amazing pics!

It is not true. It rains something like 380 days a year ... .

And THAT is hard to do!

We experienced this on our trip there in December. Taking photos was hard in the rain, but I managed to get some that I am rather happy with (http://gallery.millerworks.net/keyword/milford+sound). And the experience certainly was wonderful. The only thing that photos taken on a sunny day have over mine are blue skies, and I solved that problem by taking most of the pictures focusing on the falls instead of the sky. And on the couple pics I did take that include the sky, I think that the clouds/mist add some drama that clear blue skies would miss (http://gallery.millerworks.net/gallery/3627262_8cZY5/1/#240459431_KjBZP-A-LB).

Milford is a must see, I think, but it is also an incredibly long drive. Figure a VERY long day (12-18 hours) if you go on a bus/boat tour. We had more time on the South Island and spent a couple nights in Te Anau (http://gallery.millerworks.net/keyword/te%20anau#240458013_6Vb4d) to make the Milford trip easier, and even then it was rough. If you plan on driving it yourself I'd recommend staying in Te Anau the night before or the evening after to make it somewhat more tolerable.

Thanks for sharing the pics.

Those Kea (?) birds are friendly ... had one jump up on my car, looking for a meal, on an overlook on the way to Milford.

Those pastel wildflowers are great too. They were all over the place on the roads to Mt Cook last December.

I'll second Te Anau. It's great as a destination in itself if you're into outdoors stuff, hiking and the like; however, a day trip drive to Milford is made much more enjoyable if its based out of Te Anau.

sbm12 are those flowers seasonal? My trip will be in March.

Thanks for sharing the pics.

Those Kea (?) birds are friendly ... had one jump up on my car, looking for a meal, on an overlook on the way to Milford.

Those pastel wildflowers are great too. They were all over the place on the roads to Mt Cook last December.

I'll second Te Anau. It's great as a destination in itself if you're into outdoors stuff, hiking and the like; however, a day trip drive to Milford is made much more enjoyable if its based out of Te Anau.

I agree, but it becomes a function of how much time one has to spend in the area. The Kea (http://gallery.millerworks.net/keyword/kea) are incredibly friendly (http://gallery.millerworks.net/gallery/3709623_wiRQ4/1/#240417432_uqNGG-A-LB). They will ham it up for the crowds and are not shy at all about "hanging out" with you or your car looking for some snacks. Getting rid of them is harder than finding them. Arthur's Pass is another place you'll find a few.

sbm12 are those flowers seasonal? My trip will be in March.

I don't know....sorry. I actually don't even know what type of flowers they are. They were definitely in full bloom in December.

If you are stuck choosing between different events, I'd actually recommend the glacier hike (http://www.wanderingaramean.com/2007/12/we-climbed-glacier-today.html) over Milford Sound. It is rather weather dependent, and we had great weather the day we did it. Plus it is much more physically strenuous. But I think that it had better vistas and was generally more incredible that Milford. The "hike" that they include at the glacier is fine for a 20 minute walk and view of the glaciers, not really something as special as actually hiking up on the glacier.

If at all possible, do both and skip Queenstown, IMO, though it is an easy place to overnight through the trip based on the routing they offer.

We flew in to ZQN on the early flight from AKL, picked up a car and drove directly to Te Anau. We could've continued up to Milford that afternoon but we had more time to spend. You might be able to get up and catch an afternoon sailing, depending on what time your flight lands. We did Milford as a full day, though it did leave us with some spare time to wander around Te Anau that afternoon. And then we drove Te Anau - Wanaka one morning (~4-5 hours, IIRC) overnighted and up to Franz Joseph the next morning. You can do Te Anau - Franz Joseph in a single day, but it is a lot of driving.

We also drove Arthur's Pass rather than taking the train. I'm a sucker for travel and tourism and I love the concept of the train, but driving it let us stop off along the way and do a couple of the easy hikes in Arthur's Pass (http://gallery.millerworks.net/keyword/arthurs%20pass#240470469_TfUEr), including Devil's Punchbowl (http://gallery.millerworks.net/keyword/devils%20punchbowl) - well worth the 30-45 minute step climb to get to it. We overnighted in Arthur's Pass, but I'd just continue on to CHC unless you have the time to spend, which it sounds like you don't.