Originally Posted by
Tax Dude
We'll spend our first night in Christchurch ... I'm planning to drive to the West Coast via Arthur's Pass ... Might we be better off skipping staying in Christchurch and heading off somewhere else for our first night?
Acknowledging
Scrooge McDuck's concerns, I'd still skip Christchurch and head for Arthur's Pass on your first day. The first 60 kms to Springfield is really easy driving, and there are good accommodation options from there to the Waimakariri River and beyond. You could easily be settled into an overnight stop in time for dinner. But, for the last week in January, book in advance.
Originally Posted by
Tax Dude
And, reading some of the other threads here, would it be more interesting to get to Queenstown via Lake Tekapo?
Perhaps, but then you'd miss the glaciers.
Originally Posted by
Tax Dude
Any comments or suggestions on any of the above
Consider the night of the 27th somewhere on the road through Arthur's Pass as above, the night of the 28th in one of the glacier townships or - better - as far South as Lake Paringa (book in advance), and the night of the 29th in Wanaka. Then you'll have a nice leisurely drive through to Queenstown on the 30th, having woken up every morning before then in a different place, each unique to NZ.