10 days in South Island - NZ

aurotaro · 14th May 2012, 8:12 PM

G'day OCAU'ers. Travelling with the missus to South Island for 10 days early next month (June). Here is my itinerary I have prepared. It would be our first trip down there.

Day 1: Land in Christchurch at 3pm. Travel to Hanmer Springs and spend the night there.
Day 2: Hot thermal pools at Hanmer Springs and random sightseeing. Drive to Hokitiki and spend the night there.
Day 3: Walk the Franz Josef/Fox Glacier and spend the night at Wanaka
Day 4: Bushwalking and sightseeing at Wanaka
Day 5: Travel to Queenstown. Sightseeing at Queenstown
Day 6: Head to Milsford Sound and do a daytime cruise and walks. Night cruises don't operate in June . Come back to Queenstown for the night.
Day 7: Queenstown - Adventure activities, sky diving, rafting, jet boating etc.
Day 8: Chill @ Queenstown
Day 9: Head to Mt Cook and do some bushwalks. Spend the night at Twizel
Day 10: Travel to Christchurch and do some sightseeingg.
Day 11: Early morning flight from Christchurch.

Have I missed out on anything? We generally like to just relax, do walks, sight seeing and experience the culture of the place.

Would love to have done the night cruises at Milsford Sound but they don't operate from June-August

Does that itinerary look alright?

Any recommendations on companies for car rentals in South Island? Anything else I need to know? Cheers.

Romen · 14th May 2012, 8:36 PM

Some things you might like to see in the south island are:
-Church of the Good Shepherd at Lake Tekapo
-Haast Pass, I wouldn't bother going beyond the pass though hehe
-Benmore Dam - One of the largest earth dams in the world if I recall.

Oh.. Enjoy some Cookie Time cookies.. they were frakin' awesome! more so after been microwaved for a few seconds hehe.

oh, with Mount Cook. Try and get there early (provided it's not cloudy already) to avoid the clouds which form around the peak as the day goes on.

ChaoS-GoD · 14th May 2012, 9:41 PM

June-August is the winter season right? If so I think a lot of the mountainous roads up Queenstown/Wanaka way will have ice/snow cover on them, meaning you'd have to chain up and drive a lot slower than usual on some of the mountainous roads. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

If this is the case, be aware that Queenstown to Milford Sound ferry dock is about 3.5hr drive each way, and the cruise is a good 2 hours. And with the short winter days, you'd need to set off from Queenstown before 8am to have any chance of making it back before it's pitch black.
Call me a chickenshit but a lot of the road to/from Milford Sound are quite dangerous imo. Narrow two-lane road (one lane each way) circling around a mountain or a lake, where if you run off the road, it's either down a steep cliff-face or into a lake. I managed to get into Frankston by dusk during my trip (in summer), and I would sure have hated to have to tackle that road in pitch black!

Anyway, good luck with the trip. Buy insurance before you leave, and have a blast!

aurotaro · 14th May 2012, 10:02 PM

Cheers for the advice. Looks like my trip plan is smooth as of now. Any more suggestions always welcome.

CapnBloodbeard · 14th May 2012, 10:08 PM

Looks good to me. When in Queenstown, eat Fergberger.

For every meal.

Best burgers you'll ever eat. Just do it.

Hokitika has one of the few places you can get a decent cup of coffee in NZ, where the cheese factory / shop is on one of the main roads. Also, good pies there.

Check out pancake rocks and the blowhole there, along the west coast. Forget where it is exactly, but if you can fit it in, the blowhole is kinda fun. If not, no biggie.

Queenstown - doing a canyon swing or bungee?

aurotaro · 14th May 2012, 10:48 PM

Not sure about the bungy or the canyon swing yet. There is a fear of heights in me, but sky diving is ok. If I die, I'll take the guy strapped behind me to hell as well.

What about renting cars? How much am I looking at paying on a per day basis?

GetSmart · 15th May 2012, 8:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aurotaro

Not sure about the bungy or the canyon swing yet. There is a fear of heights in me, but sky diving is ok. If I die, I'll take the guy strapped behind me to hell as well.

What about renting cars? How much am I looking at paying on a per day basis?

All the bungees are great. I recommend getting the triple pack from AJ Hackett so you get to experience them all (all are different). Otherwise, just go for the Nevis - most fun you'll have in a while.

Or, go the Nevis Swing (just make sure you are strapped in alright. We ended up getting stuck upside down for a few minutes

) and the Karawara Bridge Bungee. Nevis Swing had a mishap recently...: "Bungee malfunction haunts ex-thrill seeker"

+1 about Fergburgers. NOMADS is a decent hostel in Queenstown - better than xbase IMO. Go up to the top of the mountain in QT for sunset and hot chocolate. In one of the back streets there is a cool country themed bar, check it out. In fact, check out all the bars in QT

Not sure how old you are, but those in their 20's will appreciate QT night life.

If you are interested in LOTR/Hobbit then find where those tours depart from and the time then follow them in your own vehicle - infinitely cheaper and not stuck with asian tourists (no offence

).

Ensure you stop/detour at every brown tourist sign as there will surely be a fantastic sight. The seal colonies just north along the coast from Christchurch are quite cool too.

Invest in a decent camera - this place is amazing. Here are some of my happy snaps (Spring/Summer): http://www.flickr.com/photos/scoletts/page2/

aurotaro · 15th May 2012, 9:40 AM

Oh dear, not the story I wanted to hear..... I'll see, I'm not sure I can man up for the bungee at the moment. I will definitely be doing the ski diving, rafting and jet boating at least.

Yes, I am on the look out for a camera, its between the S100, Nex-5N or Nex-7, still deciding which one will be best for me in short term use as well as long term portability.

Have a heard a lot about Fergerburger, so lunch dinner and brekkie is sorted for 4 nights in queenstown, we plan to stay in motels and smaller estates everywhere else except queenstown where we thought of having a more expensive and romantic setting. Yet to decide on one in QT so any suggesstions for a nice $500 max for 4 nights suggesstion would be good.

Romen · 15th May 2012, 2:13 PM

Also.. those one-lane bridges get annoying

Which is.. well.. most of them.

dr_evil6_6_6 · 15th May 2012, 4:17 PM

Fergburger @ Queenstown

That about sums up my last trip to NZ.

1deadhead · 15th May 2012, 4:53 PM

My wife and I have done the south island every year for the last four years and love it. Your plan looks good, but a couple of suggestions.

Do you need to stay at Hanmer Springs ? The main point to the place is the hot springs and spa so unless you are going to ski you are going to run out of things to do. Can you stay in Kaikoura (90 min out of Christchurch) ? You can go do the whale watching which is a great experience. We have stayed there overnight, done the whales (and seals as GetSmart mentioned) , then driven to Hanmer, had a swim and spa treatment then driven to Hokitika.

You are only going to have time to do a half day walk at Franz Josef so book for the morning walk. It will take you five hours to drive from Franz to Wanaka in winter.

Wanaka is a very beautiful place but you might want to think about driving straight to Queenstown. I think that once you have spent some time in Queenstown there you would be thankful for an extra day.

Unless you really want to do the drive to Milford Sound, book a bus tour. They leave at 7:00am and don't get back until 7:45pm. Do you really want to do all that driving in Winter yourself or sit back and recover from your previous night in Queenstown ?

We have stayed at the Novotel in Queenstown, which is right in the middle of town for about $150 a night, though if you can stretch it, it is worth spending a little more for a lake view room.

Have fun..

Growly · 15th May 2012, 4:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1deadhead

Wanaka is a very beautiful place but you might want to think about driving straight to Queenstown. I think that once you have spent some time in Queenstown there you would be thankful for an extra day.

Quoted for truth.

oinkoink · 15th May 2012, 4:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CapnBloodbeard

Looks good to me. When in Queenstown, eat Fergberger.

For every meal.

Best burgers you'll ever eat. Just do it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GetSmart

+1 about Fergburgers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dr_evil6_6_6

Fergburger @ Queenstown

That about sums up my last trip to NZ.

All of the above +1000000000 - best burgers ever. I wish they'd open here

1deadhead · 15th May 2012, 5:03 PM

+1 endless happy hour's in Queenstown

Gibbon · 16th May 2012, 8:57 AM

Mrs Gibbon and I are heading over there in the September/October school holidays for a couple of weeks. I think we'll be there for 13 days in total.

I've been before, but Mrs Gibbon hasn't. We're flying in and out of Christchurch, and at this stage we're only planning to do the loop south of Christchurch/Arthur's pass - a similar itinerary as aurotaro, but probably clockwise, and including Lake Tekapo. I doubt we'll spend any time in Christchurch itself.

Is there much to see north of there (on the south island)?

14th May 2012, 8:12 PM	#1
aurotaro Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Sydney Posts: 3,055	10 days in South Island - NZ G'day OCAU'ers. Travelling with the missus to South Island for 10 days early next month (June). Here is my itinerary I have prepared. It would be our first trip down there. Day 1: Land in Christchurch at 3pm. Travel to Hanmer Springs and spend the night there. Day 2: Hot thermal pools at Hanmer Springs and random sightseeing. Drive to Hokitiki and spend the night there. Day 3: Walk the Franz Josef/Fox Glacier and spend the night at Wanaka Day 4: Bushwalking and sightseeing at Wanaka Day 5: Travel to Queenstown. Sightseeing at Queenstown Day 6: Head to Milsford Sound and do a daytime cruise and walks. Night cruises don't operate in June . Come back to Queenstown for the night. Day 7: Queenstown - Adventure activities, sky diving, rafting, jet boating etc. Day 8: Chill @ Queenstown Day 9: Head to Mt Cook and do some bushwalks. Spend the night at Twizel Day 10: Travel to Christchurch and do some sightseeingg. Day 11: Early morning flight from Christchurch. Have I missed out on anything? We generally like to just relax, do walks, sight seeing and experience the culture of the place. Would love to have done the night cruises at Milsford Sound but they don't operate from June-August Does that itinerary look alright? Any recommendations on companies for car rentals in South Island? Anything else I need to know? Cheers. __________________ PSN ID: tramans Last edited by aurotaro; 14th May 2012 at 8:14 PM.

14th May 2012, 8:36 PM	#2
Romen Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Ashford, SA Posts: 2,560	Some things you might like to see in the south island are: -Church of the Good Shepherd at Lake Tekapo -Haast Pass, I wouldn't bother going beyond the pass though hehe -Benmore Dam - One of the largest earth dams in the world if I recall. Oh.. Enjoy some Cookie Time cookies.. they were frakin' awesome! more so after been microwaved for a few seconds hehe. oh, with Mount Cook. Try and get there early (provided it's not cloudy already) to avoid the clouds which form around the peak as the day goes on. __________________ Aussie Asheron's Call: Throne of Destiny: Leafcull Server. Seral - Level 109 Tank Archer Jedi's Chemist - Level 162 Tinker Mule (sigh lol) OCAU Weight Training Club Member #27 Successful Trades:Spizz, metamorphoise, PhuckNut, Cobalt28, becker83, PÿRÓ, Manaz, orbisfactor, RiKo, $tealthfiga, pete_pumpkin, chunksoul, Danske, tan50, packratbob1982, linton, PipeBom, theyetti, Spizz, Cryogenic, Insalubrious, gotbean, guwarkjay888, bandwagon_rider, jtsmorris + more (PM me if ive delt with ya)

14th May 2012, 9:41 PM	#3
ChaoS-GoD Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: somewhere in sydney Posts: 1,254	June-August is the winter season right? If so I think a lot of the mountainous roads up Queenstown/Wanaka way will have ice/snow cover on them, meaning you'd have to chain up and drive a lot slower than usual on some of the mountainous roads. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. If this is the case, be aware that Queenstown to Milford Sound ferry dock is about 3.5hr drive each way, and the cruise is a good 2 hours. And with the short winter days, you'd need to set off from Queenstown before 8am to have any chance of making it back before it's pitch black. Call me a chickenshit but a lot of the road to/from Milford Sound are quite dangerous imo. Narrow two-lane road (one lane each way) circling around a mountain or a lake, where if you run off the road, it's either down a steep cliff-face or into a lake. I managed to get into Frankston by dusk during my trip (in summer), and I would sure have hated to have to tackle that road in pitch black! Anyway, good luck with the trip. Buy insurance before you leave, and have a blast! __________________ Good Trader's List - mxlaser, phathag, commando, Santah, pumbertot (x2), Sureshot, sfera, FumblesMcStupid, Andres, spludgey, Mark_Webber, abcd9146, StratosFear, Rogue, A\|\|uSiOn, bizarroking, Jastone, t23, HairyMerkin, Fortigurn, ya3, Chickenator, locopano, Funkdafied, kit_frisk, Robjess, GeBuZ, Moz, 2red, j03uen, mrdunu, raincloudx, nismohks

14th May 2012, 10:02 PM	#4
aurotaro Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Sydney Posts: 3,055	Cheers for the advice. Looks like my trip plan is smooth as of now. Any more suggestions always welcome. __________________ PSN ID: tramans

14th May 2012, 10:48 PM	#6
aurotaro Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Sydney Posts: 3,055	Not sure about the bungy or the canyon swing yet. There is a fear of heights in me, but sky diving is ok. If I die, I'll take the guy strapped behind me to hell as well. What about renting cars? How much am I looking at paying on a per day basis? __________________ PSN ID: tramans

15th May 2012, 9:40 AM	#8
aurotaro Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Sydney Posts: 3,055	Oh dear, not the story I wanted to hear..... I'll see, I'm not sure I can man up for the bungee at the moment. I will definitely be doing the ski diving, rafting and jet boating at least. Yes, I am on the look out for a camera, its between the S100, Nex-5N or Nex-7, still deciding which one will be best for me in short term use as well as long term portability. Have a heard a lot about Fergerburger, so lunch dinner and brekkie is sorted for 4 nights in queenstown, we plan to stay in motels and smaller estates everywhere else except queenstown where we thought of having a more expensive and romantic setting. Yet to decide on one in QT so any suggesstions for a nice $500 max for 4 nights suggesstion would be good. __________________ PSN ID: tramans

15th May 2012, 2:13 PM	#9
Romen Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Ashford, SA Posts: 2,560	Also.. those one-lane bridges get annoying Which is.. well.. most of them. __________________ Aussie Asheron's Call: Throne of Destiny: Leafcull Server. Seral - Level 109 Tank Archer Jedi's Chemist - Level 162 Tinker Mule (sigh lol) OCAU Weight Training Club Member #27 Successful Trades:Spizz, metamorphoise, PhuckNut, Cobalt28, becker83, PÿRÓ, Manaz, orbisfactor, RiKo, $tealthfiga, pete_pumpkin, chunksoul, Danske, tan50, packratbob1982, linton, PipeBom, theyetti, Spizz, Cryogenic, Insalubrious, gotbean, guwarkjay888, bandwagon_rider, jtsmorris + more (PM me if ive delt with ya)

15th May 2012, 4:17 PM	#10
dr_evil6_6_6 Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Wollongong Posts: 337	Fergburger @ Queenstown That about sums up my last trip to NZ. __________________ Give a man fire and he's warm for a day. Light a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.

15th May 2012, 4:53 PM	#11
1deadhead Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Perth Posts: 25	My wife and I have done the south island every year for the last four years and love it. Your plan looks good, but a couple of suggestions. Do you need to stay at Hanmer Springs ? The main point to the place is the hot springs and spa so unless you are going to ski you are going to run out of things to do. Can you stay in Kaikoura (90 min out of Christchurch) ? You can go do the whale watching which is a great experience. We have stayed there overnight, done the whales (and seals as GetSmart mentioned) , then driven to Hanmer, had a swim and spa treatment then driven to Hokitika. You are only going to have time to do a half day walk at Franz Josef so book for the morning walk. It will take you five hours to drive from Franz to Wanaka in winter. Wanaka is a very beautiful place but you might want to think about driving straight to Queenstown. I think that once you have spent some time in Queenstown there you would be thankful for an extra day. Unless you really want to do the drive to Milford Sound, book a bus tour. They leave at 7:00am and don't get back until 7:45pm. Do you really want to do all that driving in Winter yourself or sit back and recover from your previous night in Queenstown ? We have stayed at the Novotel in Queenstown, which is right in the middle of town for about $150 a night, though if you can stretch it, it is worth spending a little more for a lake view room. Have fun..

15th May 2012, 5:03 PM	#14
1deadhead Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Perth Posts: 25	+1 endless happy hour's in Queenstown

16th May 2012, 8:57 AM	#15
Gibbon grumpy old man Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: NSW Posts: 5,170	Mrs Gibbon and I are heading over there in the September/October school holidays for a couple of weeks. I think we'll be there for 13 days in total. I've been before, but Mrs Gibbon hasn't. We're flying in and out of Christchurch, and at this stage we're only planning to do the loop south of Christchurch/Arthur's pass - a similar itinerary as aurotaro, but probably clockwise, and including Lake Tekapo. I doubt we'll spend any time in Christchurch itself. Is there much to see north of there (on the south island)? Last edited by Gibbon; 16th May 2012 at 8:59 AM.