Originally Posted by
JamesBigglesworth
I'd suggest Geraldine rather than Tekapo. It's a closer drive, which allows for delays and some getting used to NZ roads. Take the inland route, not the coastal route. It's a fabulous drive. Geraldine is close enough to Tekapo to not interfere with your plans otherwise, but less than half the cost and an interesting little place all of it's own. Shunt all the Tekapo stuff into day 2 - most of Tekapo is a tourist wasteland IMO, so I'd just get on with the Mt Cook stuff.
4 hikes in 5 days is.... rather ambitious. NZ hikes can be quite full on. They're not the average US-style countryside stroll that get called "hikes".
The glacier is in thermal collapse. Don't expect it to be anything worth paying money to do/see.
I'd plan a bit more loosely if I were you. Have a list of things you want to do and the rough order of doing them, and then just see how many you get through, bearing in mind need to book for some, etc.
Alternate opinion here on Tekapo. we did Mt John night and then day.. and really enjoyed it. The night activity doesnt start until midnight and goes until 2 am so we were much happier staying in Tekapo and not driving anywhere at that time of night. It is a bit more expensive but the tradeoff is time and sleep. It was interesting to see the area in the daytime, after you have gone up the hill at night and you really dont know what it looks like. Agree that the other attractions in town dont merit much time and will be filled with tourists - it will be hard to take a picture. Also agree on the rain will happen. We drove from Tekapo to Mt Cook planning to do a short hike and it started to rain mid way on the road in to Mt Cook - and there is only one way in and one way back, and we ended up driving in and out without getting out of the car. I will be a broken record but the driving and the distances will be longer than you think - its not just 2 lane roads, its one lane bridges, and many roads are not straight for more than 10 minutes or so. You wont see everything no matter how much time you have, so pick a few things, and enjoy instead of trying to pack it all in.