Hi Guys,
My Husband and I are going for the first time to New Zealand (Queenstown) for 10 days in mid October. We are going to stay in Queenstown from Day 1 to Day 6 and rest of 3 days in Mount Cook Village.
The activities I have planned are
Day 1 : Queenstown garden and Queenstown hill
Day 2: Day trip to Lake Wanaka
Day 3 : Drive to Glenorchy via Lake Wakatipu , taking few short walks like Bennett's Bluff, Mount Crieghton loop walk and Rees valley walk
Day 4: Ben Lomond’s track or tiki trail wallk
Day 5: Drive to Milford Sound and take a cruise
Day 6: Visit Arrowtown for museum and Chinese settlement
Day 7: Clay cliff in Omarama
Day 8 : Mount cook national park
Day 9: Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki and also visit Tasman glacier
Day 10: not decided yet
Day 11: back to Queenstown to catch return flight
We are not into adrenaline activities. We rather prefer to watch natural beauty. We need to make sure we are making most out of our trip.
Please advise if we are on right track or should I have chosen coastal route upto Christchurch. Any suggestions/help/opinions are welcome.
Thanks
1st Time to NZ (Queenstown) - Recommendation
Comments
Having Been to Queenstown a number of times there are a number of changes / additions I would recommend.
Consider spending a night or 2 in Wanaka. Queenstown has become a little commercial and Wanaka is what Queenstown was 10 years ago - cheaper and much more laid back. you can get accommodation on the lake quite cheaply.
Arrowtown is a quaint town but a half day is plenty to see all you need.
Instead of Milford Sound Consider Doubtful Sound - Easier drive there from QT, longer trips and a lot less operators there so it's a lot quieter and unique experience.
For natural beauty consider visiting the blue pools - it's a bit of a drive but well worth the trip.
The Onsen Hot pools are an amazing way to end a day - well worth the short drive.
Fergburger - A must do in Queenstown but be prepared for a wait during busy periods.
TSS Earnslaw - Fantastic Voyage with a quaint farm visit.If you decide to visit more of the south island be sure to visit Franz Josef, Hanmar Springs and Dunedin. The towns themselves are great but the drive in and out of all have amazing scenery.
For visiting any of the south island I recommend flying into Christchurch and hiring a car there - it's much cheaper for flights and car hire and driving around the south island exposes you to amazing scenery you might otherwise miss.No matter where you choose you are in for a great holiday!
This being ozbargain i'll add to the hire car part of this, if you were to fly into christchurch some car rental car companies have relocation deals where you can rent a car for free (as they have one way rentals they have to get back to their original depot) While as of writing this thrifty does not have the christchurch to queenstown route now but did have it a couple of days ago, so worth keeping an eye on, the catch is the time frame, 48 hour rental. But once you get to queenstown you can get another rental, probably save $50-$60.
The inland way is the way to go, certainly the more scenic way to go. I haven't gone the coastal way except from Picton to Christchurch, inland is certainly has plenty of natural beauty.
I think there are things you could combine. Arrowtown is a fairly small town, it could be combined with Wanaka on the way to or from as arrow town is like only half an hour or so out of queenstown.
Also I think the Clay Cliffs are probably good for a couple of hours but not sure i'd give it an entire day.
If driving to Milford Sound make sure you are well prepared with fuel etc there is no mobile phone signal after you leave Te Anau, you are on your own as you enter Fiordland National park, accomodation can be expensive in Queenstown, its almost worth staying in Te Anau, as its a long drive out and back staying in queesnstown, cheaper staying in Te Anau it's pretty scenic, and very quiet and chilled. But milford sound is so worth it, the last hour of the trip down there is pretty spectacular. Milford sound gets meters of rain, so expect it'll probably rain, but its just as awesome on the rainy days as it is on the sunny days, so so so many waterfalls.
I love the place, btw I recommend if you want the best hot chocolate on this planet earth, go down to the lake front in queenstown and to Patagonia Chocolates, fan-tas-tic. Also the dolce de leche ice cream is so rich.
It's amazing place, the different landscapes and how quickly it changes. You will love it.