You'll be doing a lot of driving, but most days are feasible.
Instead of Dunedin to Queenstown your could overnight in Te Anau before
heding down to Milford - that drive in itself is wonderful.
Wanaka to the Glaciers is ok, but you need to allow time for stopping and
enjoying the scenery is wild in that area.
Its the glaciers to Nelson that is askinh a lot. Yes the whal;es and
dolphins at Kkora could be well worth it.
As a suggestion - don't do the north island. Just curl over the top of the
south island back to C'church. That way you do Picton and kyaking and see
the whales. It will also take a bit of pressure off your schedule and allow
you to stop and enjoy the place a bit more.
Note distances and driving times in NZ bear no resemblance to those of Ausie
driving - takes a lot longer than anticipated.
Matt
reservationheaven.com
"lynette" wrote in message
news:42204b86f9e19fcc89b697405fa99149@localhost.talkabouttravelling.com...
> Hello all,
>
> I will be in NZ for 14 days starting in mid-November. My plan is to start
> in Christchurch and drive around the South Island, ferry across and drive
> to Auckland where I will depart. I'm including my itinerary below, would
> love to get feedback on how feasible it is. Also, I have a few questions
> about car hire and accomodations.
>
> Day 1: arrive in Christchurch and spend day there, drive to either Oamaru
> or Dunedin in the evening and spend night there
>
> Day 2: drive to Dunedin if not already there, check out Otaga Peninsula,
> penguins, seals, etc. Spend night in Dunedin
>
> Day 3: drive to Queenstown, hang out and spend night there
>
> Day 4: drive to Milford Sound and take an overnight cruise
>
> Day 5: drive back to Q'town, spend night in Wanaka
>
> Day 6: drive to Fox/Franz Josef Glaciers, spend night there
>
> Day 7: spend day on a glacier hike, spend night in Franz Josef
>
> Day 8: drive to Nelson (ugh, longest driving day), spend night in Nelson
>
> Day 9: spend day in Abel Tasman area, 1/2 day kayaking, spend night in
> Nelson
>
> Day 10: drive to Picton, take ferry to Wellington, spend night in
> Wellington
>
> Day 11: drive to Turangi, spend night there
>
> Day 12: drive to Rotorua, Maori dinner? spend night there
>
> Day 13: drive to Auckland, spend night there
>
> Day 14: leave Auckland mid afternoon
>
> So that's it. Lots of driving. Days 8 and 9 look a little tough, some
> people have suggested going from Greymouth over Arthur's Pass to Kaikoura
> instead to see the whales and then up to Picton from there. Thoughts on
> that? I would love to see the whales but sea kayaking in Abel Tasman is
> tempting too.
>
> For accommodations, I'm thinking about getting lodging vouchers through Go
> Kiwi. Does anyone have any experience with this? I've heard that Apex
> Car Rentals is good so I'll probably go with them. However, my preference
> for the ferry is to drive on it rather than dropping the rental car in
> Picton and picking up another one in Wellington. Someone said on another
> board that Maui would pay for the ferry passage for the car, but can
> anyone confirm that? I tried emailing Maui but didn't get a definitive
> answer.
>
> Thanks so much for your suggestions and comments.
>
> ~ Lynette
>
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