To hitch on to this thread, I am currently sorting out a 7-8 night (first-time) trip to NZ. The cities on my list are Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown (and Wellington if there is time.) At the moment I'm planning:

AKL 2 nts
CHC 2 nts
ZQN 2 nts

Now,

Should I add 1 more night to one of the above towns, or should I make a trip to WLG instead? Accordingly, my domestic routing will be either AKL-CHC-ZQN-AKL or AKL-WLG-CHC-ZQN-AKL. I am not going to be driving at all.

The things on my must do list are:

-Trans Alpine train journey (ex CHC)

-International Antarctic Centre (CHC)

-Winery tour(s) (would it be best to do this from ZWN or AKL?) My guidebook talks about Gibbston Valley near ZQN or Waiheke Island or Clevedon valley near AKL.
Ideally I would prefer a guided day-tour that visits 2-3 wineries and includes lunch etc.

-Sky Tower (AKL)

-Milford Sound (Any recommendations on whether the flight/heli/cruise options are worth it...


Any other suggestions? Or anything else interesting that's a must see...

cheers
AJ