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Feedback please on our first visit to New Zealand in September
Rather than creating a new thread, I'll add my own request for feedback onto this thread, since I too will be in New Zealand in September. First visit for both myself and fiancee. We love the outdoors, hiking, good food + wine. Flying into AKL, leaving from CHC (necessitated by award flight availability). Any and all feedback on the following itinerary is appreciated.
9/4: arrive in Auckland mid-day, just get settled in with some basic sightseeing 9/5: day trip to Waiheke Island for a wine tour 9/6: fly to Nelson, relax 9/7: begin three-day Abel Tasman trek 9/8: Abel Tasman 9/9: finish Abel Tasman, rent a car, drive to Greymouth 9/10: drive to Franz Joseph glacier; helicopter tour if weather cooperates, hike to glacier face if it doesn't. (Question: can we make the drive down from Greymouth in time for these tours? When do they typically start?) 9/11: hike/tour Fox glacier, then drive to and stay in Haast 9/12: drive to Wanaka, afternoon wine tour, stay in Wanaka 9/13: drive to Queenstown, sightseeing 9/14: Queenstown sightseeing 9/15: Queenstown morning, then drive to Te Anau 9/16: drive to Milford Sound, stay back in Te Anau 9/17: drive to Queenstown, fly to Christchurch 9/18: depart Christchurch So we'd love to spend 3 or even 4 weeks in NZ to see more, but our work schedules won't allow for that. And would prefer hiking Milford Track, but know that is not possible in September. Hoping the drive to Milford Sound, with a kayak tour, will provide a good experience. Are we moving too quick down the west coast or can we even speed it up? Wondering if one glacier day is okay and we can go straight from Fox to Wanaka, bypassing Haast, giving us an extra day in Queenstown. Or is two days/two nights in Queenstown okay? Thanks in advance for all the replies! |
A very busy schedule.
You are likely to get some rain in your trip. That will slow you down Have you booked the Abel Tasman National Park? Is this an organised tour? https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-re...national-park/ <snip> Places to stay There are 4 huts and 18 campsites along the Abel Tasman Coast Track, which must be booked in advance all year round. Visitors arriving without a valid booking, or staying at a hut or campsite other than the one named on their ticket, will be charged a penalty fee or may be asked to leave the park. Note, campsites are designed for tents and are not suitable for hammocks. Campers are not permitted to use hut facilities. <snip> 10 & 11 Sept will be very pushed. Should be easy to find out about the Glacier Helicopter flights From the West Coast (glaciers) you have to drive via Haast to get over the Southern Alps to Wanaka |
Originally Posted by Mwenenzi
(Post 31336335)
A very busy schedule.
You are likely to get some rain in your trip. That will slow you down Have you booked the Abel Tasman National Park? Is this an organised tour? https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-re...national-park/ Have you investigated getting a rental car after the AT Nat Park. From where? 10 & 11 Sept will be very pushed. Should be easy to find out about the Glacier Helicopter flights From the West Coast (glaciers) you have to drive via Haast to get over the Southern Alps to Wanaka
Appreciate the comments and feedback! |
Out of curiosity, are you doing an organised tour to the vineyards / wineries or on your own ?
Asking cos there are a number of hidden gems in Waiheke and ZQN which the majority of the tour companies don't take you to. |
Originally Posted by gambda
(Post 31343135)
Out of curiosity, are you doing an organised tour to the vineyards / wineries or on your own ?
Asking cos there are a number of hidden gems in Waiheke and ZQN which the majority of the tour companies don't take you to. |
Very ambitious schedule. Lots of great activities.
We have been to NZ on four occasions. The best experience we ever had was an overnight on Doubtful Sound. https://www.realjourneys.co.nz/en/ex...night-cruises/ Everyone does Milford, which is nice. But, since everyone does it, it can be very busy with ships, boats, and airplanes buzzing all around. Doubtful sound is so isolated and peaceful. Since you are going to be in Te Anau, you are at the start point for that journey. If you need to cut something, I would cut the glaciers. They are OK, but they rank towards the bottom of all the glaciers I've seen. |
+1 for doubtful sound, however if you will have time is...doubtful also recommend losing a glacier if you are short on time (and you are)- Franz Josef is probably the more impressive of the 2, however you’ll see both on a helicopter ride. You can also heli-hike i have skipped over Queenstown thus far. Find the scenery en route to/from Queenstown and wanaka sufficient and much prefer the vibe in wanaka- however I think i’m unusual in that regard |
Yes, Count another vote for Wanaka! A hidden dream. However, I do like the view of the Remarkables in Q-town, and also like the slow-boat tour to the end of the lake.
One other thing to consider is how much of your precious time do you want to devote to wine tours vs seeing incredible sights on your first visit to NZ? I'd suggest bypassing Q-town on your way to Te Anau, and seeing it last on the day before your flight out. Spend the time in Doubtful Sound! |
Originally Posted by nancypants
(Post 31343978)
I have skipped over Queenstown thus far. Find the scenery en route to/from Queenstown and Wanaka sufficient and much prefer the vibe in Wanaka- however I think I’m unusual in that regard New Zealanders (& some random others) on holiday go to Wanaka (get away from some of those foreigners) |
Originally Posted by Mwenenzi
(Post 31344202)
Foreigners go to Queenstown, especially if you are under 30 or in bus tour group.
New Zealanders on holiday go to Wanaka (get away from some of those foreigners) |
Way too much.
Abel Tasman, back to Nelson and then on to Greymouth is an exceptionally long day. Assuming you're with a tour you won't be back in Nelson until late afternoon. It's a good four hours from Nelson to Greymouth so at best you're rolling in around 10pm, and that's after a long day trekking. That route is windy and you'll be tired. That would be a dangerous day. I strongly recommend spending that night in Nelson. I would cut the west coast and Queenstown entirely. Fly from Nelson to ZQN, pick up a car and head to Wanaka. Base yourself there before heading to Te Anau. Skip the night in Christchurch. |
Originally Posted by txflyer77
(Post 31346940)
Way too much.
Abel Tasman, back to Nelson and then on to Greymouth is an exceptionally long day. Assuming you're with a tour you won't be back in Nelson until late afternoon. It's a good four hours from Nelson to Greymouth so at best you're rolling in around 10pm, and that's after a long day trekking. That route is windy and you'll be tired. That would be a dangerous day. I strongly recommend spending that night in Nelson. I would cut the West Coast and Queenstown entirely. Fly from Nelson to ZQN, pick up a car and head to Wanaka. Base yourself there before heading to Te Anau. Skip the night in Christchurch. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murchison,_New_Zealand G map link --> https://goo.gl/maps/3asZ6ojNA4XYr7CV8 I would not cut out the coast, but have less activities. Need a float day somewhere. Definitely do not need an extra day in Chc (Still a lot of open spaces - wrecked buildings from the Feb 2011 quake) Flying into CHC and then out on an international flight on the same day is a risk. Well worth staying the the night in Christchurch. |
Originally Posted by gobears293
(Post 31343944)
Planning on an organized tour for both. But from what I've read, the tour companies take requests for which wineries to visit. For Waiheke, we've been told by locals to go to Man 'o War Vineyards. Any suggestions for Wanaka/Queenstown?
The other place I would recommend is Peacock Sky run by a friendly American lady. If you have time Poderi Crisci is also worth a visit. Two vineyards is what I’d recommend usually to visitors so you get to take in the views, relax and of course savour the wines and delicious food. In Queenstown, Bald Hills vineyard is beautiful |
Nelson - Greymouth - another vote for only do it if you're back in Nelson before midday. There's basically only 2 road options for it (and you should take 6 to 69 to 7 as the better route IMO).
I'd ditch one of the glaciers, if not both. With the melt they've had FJG is the better of the two, but even that is pretty dubious these days IMO. I can't think of a single reason to overnight in Haast. Unless you like banjos and wanted to help contribute to their genetic diversity, that is. If you're leaving Franz in the morning then you'll get to Haast in time to refuel and then a very (very) nice drive through to Wanaka. That would be an easy day of driving, even in rain. The scenery along the way is staggering. Stay in Wanaka. It's cheaper, there is excellent food (like most of NZ), and you aren't going to be surrounded by hordes of 20-somethings all desperately having "fun". |
Many thanks to everyone for all of this great advice. Definitely seems like there is a consensus that we can skip the glaciers to have less driving time and enjoy more of Wanaka and add Doubtful Sound. I checked and our AT tour does get us back to Nelson in the late afternoon/early evening. (I had made a bad assumption it would be closer to noon). So now I'm thinking of this revision:
9/9: finish Abel Tasman, stay the night in Nelson 9/10: early morning flight to ZQN (found one option with a short layover in CHC), rent a car, drive to Wanaka, enjoy a relaxing day 9/11: second day in Wanaka, afternoon wine tour 9/12: drive to Queenstown, sightseeing 9/13: Queenstown sightseeing 9/14: Queenstown morning, then drive to Te Anau 9/15: Doubtful Sound tour, back to Te Anau 9/16: drive to Milford Sound, stay back in Te Anau 9/17: drive to Queenstown, fly to Christchurch 9/18: depart Christchurch So I can add a day in Wanaka, then tour both Milford and Doubtful. No hurried driving down the west coast having to worry about weather. Our flight from CHC does leave at 13:25, and it is the first leg of our journey back to the US, so we do prefer to overnight. Any new critiques? Thanks! |
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