NZ South Island Itinerary Questions

All,

I'm flying into Christchurch in mid-November and will arrive late (around
11PM) Sunday night. I must fly out of Christchurch that Friday morning. I
realize that this isn't much time, but it's all I can manage (and the dates
are now set in stone because I got non-refundable tickets).

My plan was to spend most of the time based at Te Anau (based on suggestions
from this newsgroup), but it seems to be a rather far drive to & from
Christchurch. If I were to spend Sunday night at a hotel near the
Christchurch airport and then get an early start on Monday and drive
straight out to Dunedin and spend the day in & around there and overnight
there and then drive to Te Anau and spend Tuesday and Wednesday nights
there, and then drive all day Thursday to Christchurch, is this feasible?
How far of a drive is it from Christchurch to Dunedin and Dunedin to Te
Anau? The map I have seems to show that I'd have to go through Dunedin on
the way back to Christchurch. Is this true or is there a more direct route?

I don't mind driving long distances (I often go to the American west and
have put as many as 1900 miles on a rental car in a week), but I of course
want time to stop and see things. Is this a feasible trip?

If not, any other South Island suggestions? I like scenery, reasonable day
hikes (with scenery), and things that are indicative of the area (i.e.
things I couldn't see in the US). I'm not into extreme sports (the things
that seem to be in & around Queenstown)--I like to have my feet on the
ground!

If it is feasible, what are things that I should plan on seeing on the trip?

Thank you!

Sarah
(if you reply by e-mail, please remove the nospams)

Sarah wrote:

My plan was to spend most of the time based at Te Anau (based on suggestions
from this newsgroup), but it seems to be a rather far drive to & from
Christchurch. If I were to spend Sunday night at a hotel near the
Christchurch airport and then get an early start on Monday and drive
straight out to Dunedin and spend the day in & around there and overnight
there and then drive to Te Anau and spend Tuesday and Wednesday nights
there, and then drive all day Thursday to Christchurch, is this feasible?

It is doable.

How far of a drive is it from Christchurch to Dunedin and Dunedin to Te
Anau?

CHCH - Dunedin is 4-5 hours. Not sure on Dunedin to Te Anau.

The map I have seems to show that I'd have to go through Dunedin on
the way back to Christchurch. Is this true or is there a more direct route?

You could return via the Lindis pass which is more direct - this would take
~6 hours. Alternately you if you gave your return journey another day, you
could return via Haast and Arthurs pass by travelling up the West Coast, a
much more scanic journey.

in article , Sarah at
wrote on 29/9/03 12:16 PM:

All,

I'm flying into Christchurch in mid-November and will arrive late (around
11PM) Sunday night. I must fly out of Christchurch that Friday morning. I
realize that this isn't much time, but it's all I can manage (and the dates
are now set in stone because I got non-refundable tickets).

My plan was to spend most of the time based at Te Anau (based on suggestions
from this newsgroup), but it seems to be a rather far drive to & from
Christchurch. If I were to spend Sunday night at a hotel near the
Christchurch airport and then get an early start on Monday and drive
straight out to Dunedin and spend the day in & around there and overnight
there and then drive to Te Anau and spend Tuesday and Wednesday nights
there, and then drive all day Thursday to Christchurch, is this feasible?
How far of a drive is it from Christchurch to Dunedin and Dunedin to Te
Anau? The map I have seems to show that I'd have to go through Dunedin on
the way back to Christchurch. Is this true or is there a more direct route?

I don't mind driving long distances (I often go to the American west and
have put as many as 1900 miles on a rental car in a week), but I of course
want time to stop and see things. Is this a feasible trip?

If not, any other South Island suggestions? I like scenery, reasonable day
hikes (with scenery), and things that are indicative of the area (i.e.
things I couldn't see in the US). I'm not into extreme sports (the things
that seem to be in & around Queenstown)--I like to have my feet on the
ground!

If it is feasible, what are things that I should plan on seeing on the trip?

Thank you!

Sarah
(if you reply by e-mail, please remove the nospams)


What are your interests?? You have 4 days - I'd suggest you drive no more
than half of each day - or 2 long days. Either way why not drive
either:
Monday: Chch to Wanaka (about 5 hours driving, but worth several stops or
even a detour to Mt Cook) - beautiful alpine scenery
Tuesday: stay in Wanaka - tramp up the Matukituki Valley or take a jet boat
ride at Makarora
Wednesday: Wanaka to Dunedin - see the albatross colony?
Thursday: Dunedin to Chch

OR:

Monday: Chch to Mt Cook (skiplane flight to the glaciers)
Tuesday: Mt Cook to Wanaka or Queenstown
Wednesday: Wanaka to Dunedin - see the albatross colony?
Thursday: Dunedin to Chch


My 2c worth

Vicki

Sarah wrote:

All,

I'm flying into Christchurch in mid-November and will arrive late (around
11PM) Sunday night.

My plan was to spend most of the time based at Te Anau (based on suggestions
from this newsgroup), but it seems to be a rather far drive to & from
Christchurch. If I were to spend Sunday night at a hotel near the
Christchurch airport and then get an early start on Monday and drive
straight out to Dunedin and spend the day in & around there and overnight
there and then drive to Te Anau and spend Tuesday and Wednesday nights
there, and then drive all day Thursday to Christchurch, is this feasible?
How far of a drive is it from Christchurch to Dunedin and Dunedin to Te
Anau?

Hmmm - it is certainly doable, although coming down here to Dunedin is
going to add a little to your journey. It is 380 km Christchurch to
Dunedin and around 4 hours to Anau from here. If you leave Chch around
9, you'd get here around half one - you might want to stop in Oamaru for
an hour on the way through - it has the Penguin colony and the "Old
Quadrant" - pretty much NZ's oldest commercial area, which may or may
not appeal. In Dunedin, we have things like the seal and albatross
colonies, but I think its just a nice place to cruise around and look at
the harbour, go up to Signal Hill etc, couple of colonial house type
museums if that's your thing, dinosaurs too, I think they'll still be
here. The most "indicative" things of Dunedin are its Speights brewery,
Cadbury World and Carisbrook rugby ground! Nonetheless, I am glad to
live here.

I am going to Te Anau myself this weekend (subject to weather) and will
have more sensible comments about that next week, haven't been there
since about 1983, although apparently if you're thinking of driving in
to Milford, that is a bit iffy thanks to avalanches. Should be clear by
November, I guess.

Driving Te Anau to Christchurch in a day is perfectly possible, and
you'll get to drive up Lake Wakitipu and past Queenstown, although quite
a big day's drive, no need to come back through Dunedin. It is a good
scenic drive almost all the way. My personal preference for Queenstown
is to skip it, Wanaka too, to be honest, but if you need to go there,
there's a little peninsular that juts out into the lake: a short walk
lets you forget the town is even there. If you found yourself in Tekapo
with an hour or two to kill (its about half way between Christchurch and
Queenstown, there are a couple of walks that get you up on the hills and
looking at the lake/edge of the McKenzie country.

Dear Sarah

I'm flying into Christchurch in mid-November and will arrive late (around
11PM) Sunday night.

My plan was to spend most of the time based at Te Anau (based on suggestions
from this newsgroup), but it seems to be a rather far drive to & from
Christchurch.

How about jump on the first plane to Queenstown Monday morning, rent a
car then do a nice loop around the bottom of the South Island taking
in Te Anau, Riverton, Invercargill the Catlins and Dunedin then back
up to Christchurch.

Saves time. Not as much driving. Air fares wont be too expenisve if
you jump online (ww.airnz.co.nz).

Happy to help with a few more details.

Evan
__________________________________________________ _____
Evan Bloomfield

When is it going to snow at your favourite resort?
Snow forecasts for the Southern Hemisphere
Mountain weather for outdoor people

------- http://www.snow-forecastnz.com -------

On Mon, 29 Sep 2003 19:28:35 +1200, alfred wrote:

Driving Te Anau to Christchurch in a day is perfectly possible, and
you'll get to drive up Lake Wakitipu and past Queenstown, although quite
a big day's drive, no need to come back through Dunedin. It is a good
scenic drive almost all the way. My personal preference for Queenstown
is to skip it, Wanaka too, to be honest, but if you need to go there,
there's a little peninsular that juts out into the lake: a short walk
lets you forget the town is even there. If you found yourself in Tekapo
with an hour or two to kill (its about half way between Christchurch and
Queenstown, there are a couple of walks that get you up on the hills and
looking at the lake/edge of the McKenzie country.

We're staying at Lake Tekapo for a night in February. Do you have any
details of those walks or know where I can find the info online?

Cheers

David

Treebeard wrote:

On Mon, 29 Sep 2003 19:28:35 +1200, alfred wrote:


If you found yourself in Tekapo
with an hour or two to kill (its about half way between Christchurch and
Queenstown, there are a couple of walks that get you up on the hills and
looking at the lake/edge of the McKenzie country.


We're staying at Lake Tekapo for a night in February. Do you have any
details of those walks or know where I can find the info online?

I picked up info about them when I was there at the info centre, and you
will see that there are signposts dotted around the place pointing them
out. I did two walks, one starts at the Western end of the town near
the skating rink and basically meanders up a hill (Mt John - its only
300 m) through trees to the observatory. The other was at the other end
of town, it did a loop away from the lake and then back round to finish
on the foreshore. Here is the DOC description of the walks but they
probably won't make much sense until you're actually the
http://www.doc.govt.nz/Explore/002~T...kapo-Walks.asp

On Wed, 01 Oct 2003 14:20:42 +1200, alfred wrote:

Treebeard wrote:

On Mon, 29 Sep 2003 19:28:35 +1200, alfred wrote:


If you found yourself in Tekapo
with an hour or two to kill (its about half way between Christchurch and
Queenstown, there are a couple of walks that get you up on the hills and
looking at the lake/edge of the McKenzie country.


We're staying at Lake Tekapo for a night in February. Do you have any
details of those walks or know where I can find the info online?

I picked up info about them when I was there at the info centre, and you
will see that there are signposts dotted around the place pointing them
out. I did two walks, one starts at the Western end of the town near
the skating rink and basically meanders up a hill (Mt John - its only
300 m) through trees to the observatory. The other was at the other end
of town, it did a loop away from the lake and then back round to finish
on the foreshore. Here is the DOC description of the walks but they
probably won't make much sense until you're actually the
http://www.doc.govt.nz/Explore/002~T...kapo-Walks.asp

Thanks, Alfred. Printed off to take with me next year!

BTW, here's a useful site for long links: www.tinyurl.com - just
trying to be helpful in return...

David