alanstar

After lots of research, I think I've nailed down the itinerary for my upcoming vacation to NZ. I think it's ambitious but not overly so, with a lot of driving and some time for tramping and exploring.

(I'm going solo and renting a car for the first two weeks.)

Dec. 8 - Arrive Christchurch @ 1pm (BOS-LAX-AKL-CHC in Business, using AA miles on Qantas)
Dec. 9 - Christchurch
Dec. 10 - Drive to Dunedin
Dec. 11 - Drive to Invercargill/Catlins
Dec. 12 - Drive to Fiordland/Milford Sound (overnight cruise in Milford Sound)
Dec. 13 - Drive to Queenstown
Dec. 14 - Queenstown
Dec. 15 - Glaciers
Dec. 16 - Drive to Christchurch (via Arthur's Pass)
Dec. 17 - Christchurch to Tasman (via Lewis Pass)
Dec. 18 - Tasman National Park/Drive to Renwick/Blenheim
Dec. 19 - Wineries in AM/Ferry to Wellington @ 1:10pm
Dec. 20 - Wellington
Dec. 21 - drive to Rotorua
Dec. 22 - drive to Aukland
Dec. 23-25 - Aukland (Christmas with friends)
Dec. 26-27 - Northlands (Bay of Islands)
Dec. 28 - fly home (AKL-LAX-BOS)

Nothing is set in stone, but I think I'm pretty happy with what I ended up with. But that's not to say I won't listen to suggestions or ideas - people here were extremely helpful when I did an Australian trip three years ago, and I'd love to get some more perspective on this one also!

Alan

Kiwi Flyer

You have a lot of time driving (most of your drives are about half a day) and not much time at your destinations.

gtownguy

While NZ certainly has some beautiful scenery, you're going to spend most of your vacation time sitting in the car. I'd say that's a pretty ambitious itinerary and the drives you have planned aren't just short hauls. Christchurch to Dunedin is about 5 hrs; Rotorua to Aukland is about 2 1/2 hrs. Think I'd have a pretty sore butt after all that driving. Have you looked into a NZ air pass? Given the price of gas in NZ, that might work out favorably.

RussellJ

Having done small parts of the Sth (2009) & North (2010) by road, I suggest you have way too much driving. You need less travel & some time to actually see & enjoy things. When and where do you intend to do the tramping & exploring? My guess is that the Northland roads will be extremely busy & slow at the times you will be there. Are you booking accomodation or winging it?

Freeth

[QUOTE=gtownguy;14958106] Rotorua to Aukland is about 6 1/2 hrs. QUOTE]

Rotorua to Auckland is a comfortable 2.5 hour drive.

For your Auckland to Northland drive 26th Dec note that Boxing Day traffic leaving Auckland and heading north is notoriously bad and can add up to 2-3 hours to the usual travel times.

Enjoy your visit

worldiswide

Agree with all posters. We drove from Christchurch to Dunnedin last year and stayed in Dunnedin for 3 nights and didnt have enough time just to do that justice. We did Caitlins, which is mildy interesting compared to the Otago Peninsula in Dunndein - do the albatross and an eco trip to see the penguins and sea lions.

NZ is about the scenery and the relatively slow pace - if you dont see everything enjoy the few things you do. The distances are deceptive, there are no real highways, and the roads are curvy and the like.

We are have been to NZ six times,and each time we say are we coming back, have we seen it all, and the answer is no, so we are on the way back.

What are your particular interests? tramping, wildlife, scenery, adrealin activities? Plan a couple of true higlight experiences, milford, a day walk in the national parks, the glaciers (go ice hiking) mt cook and the tasman glacier, or rotorua or taupo or maori sites and face the facts you wont get everything in.

alanstar

I know it's a lot of driving. The problem is that I want to see everything (!), and of course have a finite amount of time to do it in. I assumed I would spend about half the day driving, and about half making stops along the way for short hikes or seeing sites of interest. And then I had put aside full days in Christchurch, Queenstown, Milford Sound, Fox/Franz Josef, Wellington, and Aukland.

I might drop Tasman off the itinerary, and that would buy an extra day somewhere along the way. But I can't imagine what else to skip - there's very little chance I'll be back this way again, so I want to see as much as I can, even if it's for a brief time.

Oh, and I enjoy driving - that's not a chore for me, but a pleasure. I understand these are not major highways, and I love that fact.

@Freeth - thanks for the reminder of Boxing Day, didn't occur to me!

@RussellJ - once I finalize the itinerary, I will book rooms ahead of time. Already have a hotel in Christchurch for the first two nights (Hotel So), and I'll book the Milford Sound overnight cruise shortly. Then I'll start to fill in the holes as I do more research.

@worldiswide - Most of the interest is in scenery and modest tramping (no overnights). Not too much into extreme sports or anything, and enjoy a nice meal and good beer at the end of the day. Don't need to see penguins, as I did that at Phillips Island a couple years ago in Australia, and can skip the geothermal sites in Rotorua, as I've simliar in Yellowstone National Park here in the States (although I'll still check them out if I have the time, always fascinating).

Thanks for the comments so far, I certainly appreciate it!

Scrooge McDuck

I keep wondering why people always try to squeeze as much as theoretically possible into NZ initiaries .

Unless your intention is to see only roads and beds in NZ, I strongly recommend to reduce the number of stops in your initiary. NZ has a lot to offer and you will see lots of interesting things while you are there.

Are you going west-cost or inland? But in any case, that is a hell lot of driving.

One more thing about your ferry and wine tasting day: If the ferry leaves at 1:10pm (13:10) then you do have to be in Picton in time (I would guess 12:30 latest). Then comes your drive from Blenheim to Picton which is about 45 minutes and might easily take longer over the hills if there are a few motorhomes on the same road beacause you cannot always pass a much slower car. I do not see how you could do some reasonable wine tasting if there are only 1 or 2 hours for a few wineries.

JPat

McDuck raises a good point about the combo day of wine tasting and getting to the ferry boat on time.

We spent three days in Blenheim last year and could have easily spent more time with the fine folks running the cellar doors around that part of the country.

Our trip last year involved four weeks, two cars and 3400KM of driving.

We didn't spend near enough time in the cities but are ready to go again...

And I thought the best tourist dollars I spent were catching the Albatross colony out on the Otago.

worldiswide

Ditto on the albatross colony. It was amazing. and that tour didnt begin until mid afternoon, and we spent the rest of the evening exploring the Otago peninsula. The tour company had an arrangement with one of the farmers to be able to go on their land to observe the wildlife. You felt, and were literally at the end of the earth.

Dunnedin also had other tourist sights like speights brewery (I dont drink beer but the tour was excellent and gave a lot of insight into the early history and settlers in Otago) and cadbury so you got a real mix of city and country in one place.

You gotta make hard choices, but you wont see everything you want to.

alanstar

I don't wanna make hard choices! I want to see it all! 8*)

OK, thanks everyone for the input. Especially those that mentioned Otago - not sure how I missed that when first making a list of things to do, but looks perfect for my interests.

I've modified the itinerary a bit, and maybe this will look more reasonable. I dropped the Northlands and Tasman National Park, and added in extra days for exploring in Dunedin, the Caitlins and wine country. It means traveling over Christmas, but that's not really that big a deal to me. (Turns out my friends won't be in Aukland until the 26th, so there's no rush for me to get there.)

BTW, the reason for the 1:10pm ferry is that it's free with the rental car; otherwise I'd have to pay for it myself for the early or later crossings.

Dec. 8 - Arrive Christchurch (1:10pm)
Dec. 9 - Christchurch
Dec. 10 - Drive to Dunedin
Dec. 11 - Dunedin/Otago Peninsula
Dec. 12 - Drive to Invercargill/Catlins
Dec, 13 - Catlins area
Dec. 13 - Drive to Fiordland/Milford Sound - Overnight cruise
Dec. 14 - Drive to Queenstown
Dec. 15 - Queenstown
Dec. 16 - Glaciers
Dec. 17 - Drive to Christchurch (via Arthur's Pass)
Dec. 18 - Christchurch to Blenheim
Dec. 21 - Wineries
Dec. 22 - Ferry to Wellington @ 1:10pm
Dec. 23 - Wellington
Dec. 24 - drive to Rotorua
Dec. 25 - drive to Aukland
Dec. 26-27 - Aukland
Dec. 28 - fly home

worldiswide

Looks a lot better - you are making choices. Some observations - what do you want to see do in invercargill and caitlins. Its OK but not really more than you will see in dunnedin and otago which has much more going on - you can stay an extra night in dunnedin - its a university town with a couple of small musuems and nice restaurants and you wont be traveling quite so much. and visit speights. Also milford sound overnight needs to be booked in advance, so if you are set on that, make sure its available _ I think its real journeys is the only one with overnights. We did it last year, and had to adjust our schedule to a night when it was available. Make sure you can leave your car overnight at Milford - I think so, but be sure.

What do you plan to do in queenstown and the glaciers?

and in christchurch - strawberry faire on peterborough is great for a good meal, desserts, and feeling like a local kiwi.

alanstar

Well, it only took me nine months, but I finally finished up a trip report for my 3-week holiday last December. (A combination of lack of web authoring skill and general laziness.) I wanted to post the link here though, as a thanks to all those who gave advice. And I'll be happy to answer questions any future vacationers may have!

http://www.alanstarr.com/nz/new_zealand.html