Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - New Zealand itinerary help please

We are traveling to New Zealand in November and staying for 15 nights. Our main interests are beautiful walks and scenery. Please comment on our planned itinerary and places to stay and suggest companies for glaciers and cruises, etc.

Fly JFK-LAX-AKL-CHC

1 night CHC (Millenium Hotel).

Drive to Abel Tasman NP. 3 nights (Ocean View Chalets)

Drive to Franz Josef Glacier. 3 nights (Punga Grove). Please suggest flights (heli or fixed wing), etc. to see and hike Fox and FJ glaciers.

Drive to Wanaka. 3 nights (Te Wanaka Lodge)

Drive to Te Anau. 4 nights (The Croft). Milford and Doubtful sound cruises, day hikes on Milford and Routeburn tracks.

Morning drive to Queenstown for 1:00p flight to AKL (some airport hotel), then 7:30a flight out.

Thanks!

Why fly AKL-CHC and then drive north to the Abel Tasman NP ?
You could fly AKL-NSN. Much of the roads to/from Abel Tasman NP will be the same. Be aware driving times in NZ are a lot more than in the US for a comparable distance. CHC-NSN is a solid 4 hrs drive, then a few more hours over the Motueka hills.

AA time and distance calculator (http://www.aatravel.co.nz/main/td-calculator.php)

Agree. The drive between Christchurch and Abel Tasman, while quite nice is tiring especially after the long flight over to NZ (whether you take coastal route via Kaikoura and Blenheim or the inland route over the Lewis Pass the road involves several hills and winding stretches). Google seriously understates the time required on NZ roads.

Kaiteriteri or Marahau to Franz Josef Glacier is an even longer drive - will take all day.

For AKL I would not stay at an airport hotel - they are not very nice and expensive for what you get. Instead I'd stay in central city - it is quick and easy to get to the airport that early in the morning.

Qantas does not seem to fly AKL to NSN. NZ flies at 3:30p, which leaves lots of time after landing at 6:10a. We already have non-refundable tickets on QF (although they are cheap). Also we wanted to see the CHC botanic garden.

I figured CHC - Abel Tasman and AT - glaciers would be very long drives. What are the alternatives?

Any comments on any of the rest of the itinerary, hotels, amounts of time in each place, activities, etc.?

I think that the amount of time you are spending in the various areas is pretty solid. You won't be too rushed in any of the places and will have some flexibility in case of weather issues. I might not spend quite as much time in Wanaka as you are, but it depends on what you plan to do while in that area.

As for the glaciers, I HIGHLY recommend a full-day hike (http://www.wanderingaramean.com/2007/12/we-climbed-glacier-today.html), if you're up for it physically. Doing a heli-hike will get you higher up on the glacier, but we really enjoyed the climb up from the bottom and got to spend a lot more time on the glacier that way. And you've got 3 nights there which is plenty of time to do the hikes and more - actually maybe too much time. Spend a day down on Gillespie's beach (http://gallery.millerworks.net/keyword/gillespies+beach). You might just be the only folks out there that day, other than the seals, and there are some relatively easy hikes available, including through the forest to the other side where the seal colony supposedly is bigger, though we didn't find that to be the case. But the remote beach was pretty amazing.

The thought for 3 nights at Wanaka is travel time to and from, plus hikes in the area. Similar for the glaciers, plus I figured more time increased the chances of good weather.

A full day hike sounds like a lot of fun, although I worry about anything that requires crampons. Somewhat strenuous in parts I don't mind, but technical or dangerous climbing (or crazy crazy) is not exactly what we're looking for.

Regarding AKL airport hotels - we're scheduled to land at about 3:00 pm and take off at 7:30 am the next morning. This does not leave a lot of time. Depending on our energy level, we might skip Auckland itself. How bad can the Jet Park Airport Hotel be?

Any views on the overnight Milford Sound cruise?

A full day hike sounds like a lot of fun, although I worry about anything that requires crampons. Somewhat strenuous in parts I don't mind, but technical or dangerous climbing (or crazy crazy) is not exactly what we're looking for.


Definitely not technical nor "crazy crazy" on the full day hike. My guess is you'll get crampons for the fly/hike, too, as they basically keep you from sliding around on the ice. On our day they split our bus load into 4 groups depending on the speed & level of aggressiveness you wanted to pursue.

"Crazy crazy" was your description of the guide. :p Our guide (a crazy, crazy man) ... I had to help the guy in front of me back out at one point because his feet got stuck. Probably no more than 10-12" wide - definitely not for the claustrophobic.

Weather permitting, we may well do it, presuming we're not likely to have to go through any 12" wide crevasses.

"Crazy crazy" was your description of the guide. :p

Weather permitting, we may well do it, presuming we're not likely to have to go through any 12" wide crevasses.

We were in the most aggressive group on the ice. That's how we ended up with the crazy guy and in the 12" wide crevasse. It was an easy walk around for those who didn't want to go through the crevasse and other groups certainly took things a bit slower/easier on the climb. And much of his crazy was other stories he told, like smoking in fireworks stores, not his approach to safety on the glacier. They take that VERY seriously and were very strict about the rules and making sure that people were OK all along the trip.

Seems a shame you will be in Queenstown for such a short time. It is such a beautiful and fun spot I've alway enjoyed at least several days there.

@ sbm: That is reassuring. We will most likely do the full day hike, plus a flight.

@ Dave: I had always heard that Queenstown itself was a rather touristy city, while the surrounding area, such as Fiordland, was much nicer for scenic beauty, hikes, etc.

@ all, would an overnight cruise of Doubtful sound be nice? I'm not sure I understand the appeal of sleeping on a board, but many seem to really enjoy it.

Queenstown township is touristy, but there is still fantastic scenery (the reason the town exists) and good activities in the area. Eg a short drive to Glenorchy and some nice walks up the Dart River, or up the mountains in behind Queenstown.

We were in the most aggressive group on the ice. That's how we ended up with the crazy guy and in the 12" wide crevasse. It was an easy walk around for those who didn't want to go through the crevasse and other groups certainly took things a bit slower/easier on the climb. And much of his crazy was other stories he told, like smoking in fireworks stores, not his approach to safety on the glacier. They take that VERY seriously and were very strict about the rules and making sure that people were OK all along the trip.I did a half day glacier hike and it was a similar -- and great -- experience. About 20% of the group dropped out at one point (ascent of steep slope, over 45 degree but with ice steps cut and lines secured); so there is more adventure than you would get in the US on similar tours. The guides are very safety oriented but have no qualms about taking you to within an inch of a 100 foot drop, etc., as long as they have had a chance to scout the route and ice conditions in advance.

We skipped Queenstown and I don't think that we suffered for it. We flew in, drove downtown, had breakfast and then got out of town. We passed back through on our return from the fjiordland on our way to Wanaka but only stopped to get working brakes installed on the rental car.

We did hit up the Amisfield (http://www.amisfield.co.nz/) winery just outside of town and had a great meal (and some great wines). Here's the thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=766134) that made us put it on the list.

Queenstown township is touristy, but there is still fantastic scenery (the reason the town exists) and good activities in the area. Eg a short drive to Glenorchy and some nice walks up the Dart River, or up the mountains in behind Queenstown.

Glenorchy is on the list, we just thought that Wanaka and Te Anau seemed nicer were near much the same areas as QT.

FWIW, the Croft did not respond to an email, so we plan to stay in the Campbell AutoLodge in Te Anau

We did a very similar itinerary as this over Christmas/New Year last year. We drove:

Christchurch
Kaikoura
Abel Tasman/Marahau
Greymouth
Franz Josef/Fox Glaciers
Te Anau
Mt. Cook
Christchurch

For Abel Tasman, you can take a water Taxi up the coastline and take in the view from the water, then get off at one of the stops (depending on the length of hike you desire) and hike back to Marahau on the lush coastal track. We took Marahau Water Taxis (http://www.abeltasmanmarahaucamp.co.nz/watertaxi.html)(the blue boats) which leave from Marahau (closest to the Southern Entrance to the Park) and had a great experience at a good price. We disembarked at the Anchorage and hiked back on the Coastal Track. That hike took ~3.5 hours, and Anchorage is the first "stop."

Consider using one of your nights/days near Abel Tasman to explore Kahurangi NP. We didn't get there, but the scenery from the drive past it on our way from AbelT to Greymouth looked spectacular.

At the glaciers, be aware that they terminate in a rainforest, so approximately one day a week is a deluge. But the morning after the rain is amazing. :) Fox is far more striking than Franz Josef, at least at the terminal face. I do not recommend paying cash money for the movies that they show in the village, even if it's raining. Not so good.

For Milford Sound cruises, I highly recommend Mitre Peak Cruises (http://www.mitrepeak.com/). They have pretty much the smallest boats of the Milford Sound cruise companies. This means that the crowds aboard are much smaller, it's easier to see, the boats get closer to waterfalls and other features, etc. Plus the free pumpkin soup we were served aboard was fantastic! And all this for the most competetive price (that I saw). I recommend that whichever cruise company you choose, get the first boat of the day on that cruise line. The tour busses come in mid-morning to mid-afternoon, and the drive up Milford Road is so much more pleasant (not to mention ethereal and humbling) first thing in the morning without crowds of rabid tourists.

If you are still looking for lodging in Te Anau, consider the Top 10 Holiday Park (http://www.teanautop10.co.nz/). It's not luxury accomodation, but it was by far the nicest holiday park we stayed in/saw. They have varying levels of accommodation, from camp sites to motel/lodge rooms. We stayed in a family cabin.