malke

Like many first-timers planning to go NZ, I feel pretty overwhelmed by where to start, and I'd love some guidance. We'd be traveling from, I hope, March 23 - April 5 (flying back on April 6). That's 12 days total, NOT including the flying. We would arrive on Day 1, and depart on Day 13.

Facts about us:
-We're a mom and dad and 10-year-old daughter.
-We're flying from California.
-Husband and daughter like a lot of relaxing. I like to traipse about. I can get them to traipse with me some, but they REALLY need their down time. I can take them on walks in nature, but couldn't be too strenuous. It would be good to stay in places that have a nice vista, say if they want to sit and read or walk around the land; as well as in towns or cities where I can walk out and let them be.
-Daughter loves all things to do with animals (land and sea) and water.
-I love mountains.
-Husband loves beer Seriously, if there's any good beer to be had, let me know.
-Would prefer to spend 2-3 nights in one spot, doing daytrips, rather than driving every other day to a new place although I know that reduces how much ground we can cover.
-Don't really want to do too many long drives (I consider long to be 3 hours+)
-We do like to have our wifi

I haven't booked flights yet, but my plan would be to fly into Christchurch and back from Queenstown; or vice versa. Here are some things that appeal to me from my brief research. This variety may be absolutely insane - and that doesn't mean I'm not interested in everything else, too! That's why I need your help!

I'm putting an asterisk beside what I think are priorities, partic. for daughter's enjoyment (but that can change, too):

-Te Anau*
-Milford Sound (Maybe - I hear much about the sandflies, and I'm very allergic to all insect bites, huge hives and pain
-Queenstown*
-Wanaka
-Lake Tekapo
-Aoraki/Mt. Cook
-Castle Hill/Arthurs Pass*
-Kaikoura* and/or Akaroa* (if can't do both, will choose one over the other based on advice, itinerary, etc.)
-Farmstay with animals
-Christchurch*
-Some days to just wander around wherever*
-Night sky

I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
Thanks.

Diamantina

That's quite a wish-list for 12 days, especially as your husband and daughter prefer to relax. I don't see how you can see all those places without driving every one to two days. I'm guessing as Kaikoura and Akaroa are asterisked, your daughter wants to see, or swim with, dolphins.

I'll suggest two possible itineraries.

You could do a loop starting from Christchurch, heading over to the West Coast via Arthur's Pass, then down along the West Coast, past the glaciers, over Haast Pass to Wanaka, then Queenstown, then Te Anau for a couple of nights (so you can do a day trip to Milford Sound), before returning to Christchurch via Mt. Cook Village.

Your first itinerary could look like this (it would exclude Kaikoura, but could include Akaroa):

Day 1 Christchurch rest, get over jetlag, see central city attractions

Day 2 Pick up car and drive west.
Or spend another day in Christchurch, do a day trip to Akaroa, or visit Christchurch's Willowbank Wildlife Reserve or Orana, as your daughter likes animals. The Antarctic Centre near the airport has Little Blue Penguins.
http://www.willowbank.co.nz/
http://www.oranawildlifepark.co.nz/
https://www.iceberg.co.nz/
I've been to the Antarctic Centre, but not the above zoos/wildlife parks; they're well-regarded.
Christchurch is home to Harrington's Breweries. I'm not a big beer drinker, but my husband loves their beer. Pomeroy's and The Brewery are well-known brew pubs. Three Boys and Wigram Breweries are also based in Christchurch. We've not tried Three Boys, but had Wigram's (interesting beer). Three Boys is widely sold in Dunedin, where I live, so it must be okay, as beer is as common as water here (it's a university town).

Day 3 Drive to Castle Hill/Arthurs Pass. Stay Arthur's Pass? This was on your wish-list.

Day 4 Get off to an early start. Continue to West Coast to Franz Josef. Stop at Monteith's Brewery (at this point, take over driving from your husband). Continue to Franz Josef village. See glacier, maybe kiwis at West Coast Wildlife Centre, there are also night wild kiwi spotting tours in Okarito Forest. Most travelers spend two nights here, but you didn't mention seeing glaciers, so one night might do. Since husband and daughter don't much enjoy walking, think about walking to Peter's Pool, a short walk to a good view. If you spend two nights, you can take your time and see more as there's much to see along the West Coast, such as Punakaiki, Hokitika Gorge. The West Coast wasn't on your wish list, so I won't list more attractions.
http://www.wildkiwi.co.nz/
http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/par...gion-walks.pdf

Day 5 Drive to Wanaka, stop enroute at Lake Matheson (6 km out of Fox Glacier village)-from its parking lot, it's an easy walk to the viewpoint. Overnight Wanaka.
http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-rec...matheson-walk/

Day 6 Wanaka (on your wish list)

Day 7 Drive to Te Anau, walk along lake to the Te Anau Bird Sanctuary, take glowworm tour (boat rides, not much walking).
https://www.newzealand.com/ie/articl...ird-sanctuary/
https://www.realjourneys.co.nz/en/ex...lowworm-caves/

Day 8 Day drive along Milford Road to Milford Sound (take cruise). Overnight Te Anau.

Day 9 Queenstown

Day 10 Queenstown

Day 11 Mt. Cook Village. Nearly a 3.5 hour drive from Q'town to Mt. Cook (not including scenic stops). As husband and daughter aren't keen walkers, consider an afternoon Glacier Explorers tour:
http://www.glacierexplorers.com/glacier/glacier-trip/
It's only a 2.5 hour tour so you'd have time for a short walk as well.
The Hermitage Hotel offers stargazing through telescopes, otherwise you can just go out and look at the night sky. I've only done the night sky tour out of Lake Tekapo.
http://www.hermitage.co.nz/en/the-si...sky-stargazing
http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/par...ki-mt-cook.pdf
http://www.glacierexplorers.com/

Day 12 Drive back to Christchurch, stop at Lake Tekapo on the way. I recommend driving up to Mt. John Observatory while at Lake Tekapo.

If you'd like to visit Kaikoura, you'd best skip the West Coast. Here's a different itinerary that includes every place on your wish list (except for Akaroa).

Day One Christchurch
Day Two Kaikoura
Day Three Kaikoura
Day Four Arthurs Pass (Kaikoura to Arthur's Pass 4.5 hours, not including stop at Castle Hill)
Day Five Arthur's Pass to Mt. Cook Village (5 hour drive, not including scenic stops)
Day Six Mt. Cook Village
Day Seven Wanaka
Day Eight Wanaka
Day Nine Te Anau
Day Ten Te Anau (day drive to Milford Sound)
Day 11 Queenstown
Day 12 Queenstown
Day 13 Fly Queenstown to Christchurch, leave NZ

If you feel like you need to spend more days in some of the above places, consider dropping Arthur's Pass and/or Kaikoura. This would give you more time to relax in the places remaining.

Huge hives and pain from insect bites! What a nightmare. You should wear DEET insect repellent for Milford Sound, and cover up your arms and legs, though you probably won't be exposed for long. I haven't found the sandflies to be a problem on the cruise itself. If you go to the West Coast, you'd need insect repellent there as well (maybe that's why the West Coast wasn't on your wish list). I've also worn clothes that repel insects, such as the brand No Fly Zone. You can also treat your clothes with a permethrin spray before your trip (but keep the spray away from pets, please follow instructions). It's very effective.

Sandflies are by no means a given. One day they could be there, the next day they could be gone. They don't fly well in the wind, they're slow, they're daybiters, most active at dawn and dusk.
http://www.health.govt.nz/your-healt...ects/sandflies
After dark, you might encounter mosquitoes.
We're not too bothered by insects on the East Coast of the South Island.

When searching for accommodation, you'll see farm stays listed.
https://www.bookabach.co.nz/baches-a...le/new-zealand
https://www.holidayhouses.co.nz/nz/Farmstay
Most of these will be "lifestyle blocks" (usually under 10 acres) with sheep, cows, chickens, maybe alpacas, goats or horses, rather than huge sheep stations. There are also websites for farmstays:
https://truenz.co.nz/farmstays
http://www.ruralholidays.co.nz/
http://www.dunstandowns.co.nz/
http://www.lakehaweastation.co.nz/index.htm
I'd check reviews on Trip Advisor before booking.

Once you've decided on your itinerary book accommodation soon. Mt. Cook village has very limited accommodation. You'd probably like Aoraki Court Motel:
http://www.aorakicourt.co.nz/
Warbirds Over Wanaka will mean tight accommodation over March 30, 31 & April 1.

Too bad you haven't enough for Dunedin (brewery tour, lots of wildlife, including penguins, albatrosses, sea lions, fur seals and lots of other birds, great beaches as well).

I think the top town for craft breweries is Wellington, which is the capital and on the North Island. You husband might be interested in this article:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/f...ched-peak-beer

Diamantina

Also, keep in mind the holidays from 30 March through 3 April:
Good Friday 30 March, Easter Monday 2 April
and Easter Tuesday 3 April (also a school holiday)

Melnq8

Regarding that beer...

Nelson is the craft brewing capital of NZ and has a beer trail, which it sounds like your husband would love, but fitting Nelson into a trip that also incorporates the south of the SI, will involve quite a bit of driving.

http://www.craftbrewingcapital.co.nz/

The good news is that the Nelson area might fit some of your other requirements - water, vistas, a walkable town for you...and easy access to Abel Tasman Nat'l Park, as well as arts, crafts and wine, and as a bonus, Nelson is the sunniest spot on the SI.

To fit in Nelson, you'd need to go north from Christchurch (you could fit in Kaikoura this way too), then work your way back down south via the West Coast and keep driving towards Queenstown, then perhaps fly out of Queenstown on your day of departure.

If you're up this way, you might want to also check out the Moutere Inn in Upper Moutere (NZ's oldest pub and maker of craft beer). This area is also one of NZ's best wine producing areas (and a personal favorite of mine, so much to see and do up this way).

http://www.moutereinn.co.nz/

The good news is that there's also a large brewery in Greymouth, which you could incorporate into a loop from Christchurch-Arthur's Pass- Queentown as well as if you choose the Nelson-West Coast-Wanaka-Queenstown route.

http://www.thebrewery.co.nz/

And there are a few breweries in Wanaka also - some of which have popped up since I was last there a few years ago. I found the links for two, a few others don't have websites:

http://www.wanakabeerworks.co.nz/

http://www.rhymeandreason.beer/

So many options, so little time.

malke

Diamantina and Mlnq8 -

I am so thankful for taking the time and care to respond so thoroughly and conscientiously to my questions. I have a lot more realistic understanding now of what I've set out for myself. I'll spend a bit of time thinking over these itineraries and suggestions, and I'm sure I'll have more questions as I go.

I am open to totally eliminating a lot and focusing on a much smaller area; and then just somehow, by hook or by crook, come back another time (and another time, etc.) to see everything else!

One question for now, though: I wanted to do Arthur's Pass b/c I figured it would be so glorious (me = love mountains!). If we didn't do that (which seems like it might make things easier), would I still be seeing amazing mountains just around? (And a new plan might be a Nelson route.)

Thanks!

Melnq8

Fear not, there's no shortage of mountains! You'd have to try really hard NOT to find them.

The Southern Alps runs through the South Island, so you'll see mountains in many areas including along the West Coast (where the rain forest meets the sea), Mt Cook, Arthur's Pass, Queenstown, Wanaka, Milford Sound and yes, even Nelson!

Take a look here:

https://www.teara.govt.nz/en/interac...of-new-zealand

Melnq8

And Kaikoura!

Diamantina

Melnq8, it seems the title of "Craft Beer Capital" is controversial:
http://craftbeercapital.com/
https://www.wellingtonnz.com/discove...-beer-capital/
http://www.beervana.co.nz/

Beers aside, I agree that Nelson/Abel Tasman would be a good area for Malke's family, though maybe quite busy at that time. To keep most of the destinations on the wish list (especially the asterisked ones) and add Nelson/Abel Tasman, and pack this into 12 days, allowing for "relax time" for husband and daughter, will be tricky. Good idea of leaving some places for your next trip.

If driving through Blenheim, there's also Moa Brewery Company amidst the wineries of Marlborough. It's another one of my husband's favorites.

I think the Queenstown-Wanaka-Te Anau would give you the mountains you crave (lakes and rivers, too) and be good areas for relaxing as well as sightseeing (with a wide variety of activities, including craft beer tours).

Diamantina

And fiords!

Diamantina

You wrote: "I'm putting an asterisk beside what I think are priorities, partic. for daughter's enjoyment (but that can change, too)"
"Daughter loves all things to do with animals (land and sea) and water."

Just noting the asterisked places were Te Anau, Queenstown, Arthur's Pass/Castle Hill, Kaikoura/Akaroa, and Christchurch.

malke

Melnq8:

Thanks again! Is Highway 1 opened all the way from ChC to Nelson?

My latest thinking is possibly a Nelson loop, and exploring the north west, crossing over Arthur's Pass for my mountain fix, but not going south. (Dropping Te Anau, etc.)

Is there a preferred route over the pass - east to west or vice versa?

Thanks.

malke

Melnq8 and Diamantina


Everything looks so wonderful!

With all that you’ve presented, I am totally willing to forego the specifics of my first wish list, assuming we can hit the 4 most important points: animals, mountains, beer, relaxing – in some capacity. (And mountain can just be my seeing them; not necessarily being in them.) With your suggestions, I’ve come up with these 3 options:

1. Per Melnq8: Nelson loop (Christchurch, Nelson, Greymouth, Arthur's pass back to ChC. Forego QTN/Te Anau, etc. But, per Diamanta, Nelson Tasman too busy at that time? (But won't it be busy everywhere?)

2. Christchurch, Akaroa (maybe), Arthur's Pass, Greymouth, then make our way down to QTN/Te Anau.

3. Per Diamanta’s suggestion: make Dunedin happen. Forego Arthur’s Pass; forego ChC. What would an east trip look like? Could fly in and out of QTN, and make a loop down there? I understand that the autumn colors are vibrant in the Otago Peninsula.

I don’t mean to sound flaky! I guess the trip is developing as we write, per my learning curve, and your knowledge and suggestions. Thanks for your patience!

paulg

FWIW, I like the locations of Diamantina's first itinerary the best for a couple of reasons. One, I personally wouldn't drop the southern portion of the trip. We didn't get down the Fiordlands on our first trip and regretted it, but then made it on our second trip and are so glad we fit it in. That said, we also have yet to make it to Abel Tasman and would love to do that on the next trip. Two, If you see the mountains of Mt. Cook, Wanaka, and Queenstown (and possibly the west coast), then Arthur's Pass isn't a must.

We did love Kaikoura and Akaroa as well. Long story short ... you can't go wrong.

Diamantina

Malke, you can visit both Nelson/Abel Tasman and make it to the south, too, but you will have to trim some places off your wish list and fly from Nelson to Queenstown and there are no direct flights (that I know of, instead you'll have to connect through Christchurch or Wellington). There used to be a small airline that flew directly from Nelson to Dunedin (and it wasn't expensive), but they ceased flying this route a couple of years ago because not many people were taking it. I think people just didn't know about it.

Here's a possible itinerary for you. However, this would have you arriving in Queenstown/Wanaka for the busy Easter weekend and the biannual Warbirds Over Wanaka (the 2016 event attracted 50,000 people over three days). As you're landing in Christchurch, it makes sense to drive to Kaikoura first.

But--if you haven't yet booked your flights, then you should consider flying into Queenstown first, then reversing this itinerary.

1 Mar 25 Christchurch
2 Mar 26 Drive to Kaikoura
3 Mar 27 Kaikoura
4 Mar 28 Drive to Nelson
5 Mar 29 Nelson
6 Mar 30 Nelson
7 Mar 31 Fly to Queenstown, pick up rental car, drive to Wanaka
8 April 1 Wanaka
9 April 2 Wanaka
10 April 3 Queenstown
11 April 4 Queenstown
12 April 5 Queenstown
!3 Leave.

If you can fly into Queenstown instead of Christchurch, you can do this:

1 Mar 25 Queenstown (no car needed this first day, see city attractions, Gondola, Botanic Garden, walk around)
2 Mar 26 Queenstown (long day trip to Milford Sound, if this appeals, you wouldn't have enough time for a self-drive from Te Anau on this schedule)
3 Mar 27 Queenstown (can take tours or pick up a car and drive to Glenorchy, Arrowtown, etc.)
4 Mar 28 Wanaka
5 Mar 29 Wanaka
6 Mar 30 Wanaka (First day of Warbirds Over Wanaka)
7 Mar 31 Drive to Queenstown Airport, fly to Nelson
8 April 1 Nelson
9 April 2 Nelson
10 April 3 Kaikoura
11 April 4 Kaikoura
12 April 5 Christchrist
13 Fy home

The road from Christchurch to Kaikoura to Picton (or Blenheim) should be okay by late March. The NZ Transportation Agency is aiming to complete their fixes by Christmas. In the old time, according to my HEMA guide, the drive from Kaikoura to Nelson took 3 hours 45 minutes without stops, or 245 kms (but the print is really small, so I could be wrong). Moa Brewery has a cellar door outside the town of Blenheim:
http://www.moabeer.com/our-cellar-door/

If you'll be based in Nelson, it shouldn't be any busier than most places, but if you're thinking about staying in Kaiteriteri, it would be busier, as Trip Advisor lists it as the best best beach on the South Island.
https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/Travel...s-cTop-g255104

I know your husband and daughter want "down time", but what does this mean? Does this mean hanging out by the pool or on a beach? Reading, watching TV, being on electronic devices, kicking back on the balcony with a few bottles of beer? What active outdoor activities are they interested in? Was I correct in guessing that you daughter wanted to see or swim with dolphins in Kaikoura or Akaroa? Or is she interested in whale watching? Kaikoura is also home to many fur seals (which can be seen in many NZ coastal places).

Diamantina

I just noticed I wrote Christchrist instead of Christchurch. I must be tired.

Melnq8

Unless you have a specific reason to go to Dunedin (and I'm guessing it would be penguins and albatross), I'd give it a pass. No disrespect to Diamantina or the residents of Dunedin, but we've never really seen the attraction of Dunedin in our +13 trips to the SI. While it's a nice enough city, it is a city, and there's just so much else to see.

Diamantina

Dunedin is a great place for seeing wildlife, not just penguins, albatrosses, but sea lions, fur seals (at this time of year there are many pups around), and many other birds. Here's a link to reviews of the most popular wildlife tour:
https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/Attrac...th_Island.html

In addition, there's Orokonui Ecosanctuary with free-roaming takahe, one of NZ's rarest birds, rare Otago skinks and tuatara, and of course many other birds.

The Botanic Garden offers beautiful fall colors, and an aviary (since you mentioned fall colors).

Dunedin's Speight's Brewery has tours. Emerson's Brewery also has a tap room. As does New New New Brewery. (Monteith's in Greymouth, which I mentioned earlier, also offers tours of their brewery and they have an attractive tap room.)

The Cadbury Factory is closing, but its tourist attraction will still be open.

From Dunedin, you can drive to Te Anau, Queenstown, Mt. Cook, or Wanaka in under 4 hours.

malke

Thank you thank you, all. I'm still mulling it over!

Diamantina:

"Down time" means everything you said: reading, hanging by a beach, being on electronic devices, kicking back on balcony with a beer. For this reason, one of Husband's favorite holiday destinations is Hawaii. In Ireland, his other favorite vacation (he's of Irish descent, and feels a deep connection), he does sightsee and get to important and/or beautiful places, and of course grabs a pint every chance he can get!

My daughter is also happy to stay indoors or hang by the water. She doesn't love walks, but of course I make her do some (but not major hikes) with the lure of something at their finish, like a cairn or wildlife or ice cream (!), and she's usually very happy, even though she started with complaining. She loves animals, so will be upbeat about seeing them in all sorts of habitats. Also she and I both love eating seafood (esp. salmon). She likes to draw a lot and loves graphic novels and comics, so if there were any museums or cool comic book stores that would be of interest. She would like a cultural museum of some sort, though not an out and out art museum. She would like being deep in a forest. Going into neat stores would interest her (and me).

I like a totally different kind of vacation - getting deep into nature, exploring towns, biking (if flat), easy hiking. Given that it's 2-to-1, we usual do about 2/3 resting, 1/3 me taking them places.

As for outdoor activities, none of us are interested in high-octane activities at all. Some things I think they'd enjoy are taking a boat or cruise (say, the Milford Sound), maybe a jeep ride into somewhere far-flung (Lord of the Rings area?), and me forcing them on walks... Seeing Maori culture would be interesting to me and my daughter - though it seems like that's mostly on the north island, right?

When we started talking about an annual trip, I started by saying, Where can we go that isn't Hawaii or Ireland? And he responded, New Zealand - so I've jumped on that! He does not know much about the country or the sights, so I just have to hope he likes what I choose.

Sorry so long... but I hope that helps!

paulg

No offense intended here, but given how diverse and particular your interests are, I think you just need to hunker down with a couple of guide books and good websites, read them cover to cover, and decide what is going to work for your family. And again, if you stay in the SI and don't run around too much, I don't think you can go wrong with whatever you decide.

Diamantina

Your description is very helpful. The Nelson region (city and greater Tasman District), during this time of year, would have warmer weather (though not as hot or humid as Hawaii's), than the south of the South Island. I lived in Honolulu one summer when I was 16 and it rained hard every day for about 10 minutes, then it'd go back to being blazing hot, dry and sunny. I've been back to Hawaii several times since then (Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and my favorite, the Big Island, which has astonishing wildlife).

Nelson City and the greater Tasman District will offer plenty for your family to enjoy and the warm weather will provide a great setting for having that ice cold beer off the balcony.

Down south, inland places like Wanaka can also have very pleasant warm weather. Alexandra, about an hour from Wanaka is known for having NZ's hottest temperatures in summer and coldest temperatures in winter. By late March, the weather can start to change, but we can also get an "Indian Summer", with warm dry sunny weather continuing into April.

Autumn is gorgeous in Central Otago, though generally the autumn leaves peak in mid-April. Like the sheep and cows and deer, most of the these trees are introduced species, which were planted for aesthetic value, but also offer windbreaks, prevent erosion, and provide leaf fodder for the livestock during times of drought.

You could easily find a lake view room in Queenstown or Wanaka and while away the days, staring out at the lake views. There are times, when on vacation in Queenstown or Wanaka, when I have force myself to step away from comfort of admiring lake views from my room (with a glass of wine in hand rather than beer), reminding myself that there's even more to see and do outside.

Yes, Maori culture is easier to appreciate on the North Island, however, the Skyline Gondola in Queenstown offers a Kiwi Haka show:
https://www.skyline.co.nz/en/queenst...ka-queenstown/
There's also a restaurant up there with fantastic views and a big buffet dinner (loads of desserts).

And, yes, you take a Lord of the Rings tour from Queenstown:
https://www.nomadsafaris.co.nz/
They'll bring to beautiful Glenorchy and Paradise.
https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/Attrac...th_Island.html

Do you think your husband and daughter would enjoy a jet boat ride. You just have to sit there, while they speed and spin around? It's so fun.

Plenty of salmon in NZ. It's farmed King Salmon, native to the Pacific Northwest (California Coast on up to Alaska). It was introduced to NZ, too. If you drive to Mt. Cook from Queenstown, you'd pass a salmon farm and you can feed the salmon pellets.

Fur seals are often seen on the Milford Sound cruise. Occasionally, dolphins, albatrosses and penguins are seen as well. You never know what you'll see. My friend saw two humpback whales in Milford Sound (this was highly unusual, as unusual as the two Southern Right Whales I saw off the beach near my home in Dunedin today).

I love the mountains and lakes of Central Otago, and Mt. Cook Village in South Canterbury is also one of my favorite places. If you go there, the Glacier Explorer's trip sounds like it would be perfect for you daughter (as there's only a little walking involved), but there's that great reward of a boat trip to icebergs. These are small icebergs that calve off the glacier that you can reach out and touch.

Dunedin's coastal weather is more like that of coastal Northern California or Oregon (think Pt. Reyes National Seashore on up). It can be beautiful and sunny, sometimes warm but rarely very warm, but also wickedly wet, windy and foggy--all in one day. I moved here from Marin County.

But it is a great place to see wildlife. These were a few of the articles from today's local newspaper.
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/campus/un...glowworms-glow
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/o...opard-seal-pup
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/s...-seal-pup-dies