Originally Posted by
Duke787
Thanks for the tips -- will look at all the options. Still trying to decide whether we drive around or stick to a single base of Christchurch / Queenstown and do day trips -- that decision will drive some decisions here
There are plenty of good day trips available from ZQN but remember that you need to drive back at the end of each day at the wineries. Our goodie is that most of us are spitters so there is always someone not under the influence of the better stuff we have come across.
Also, most of the time inter-city driving in NZ is a bear. Distances are considerable and the roads are not great. If you are considering more than one region of the South Island wineries, be prepared to fly from AKL to ZQN and then back via AKL to NSN. Air NZ has plenty of flights and the fares are usually reasonable for those sort of flights. We even took a flight from CCH to ZQN rather than fool with the five hour drive. Then again, Marlborough to Nelson is only about an hour and a half drive so up there you can kill two birds with one stone.