In article , Peter
writes
In article , JohnM says...
Incidentally, how would you rate the Nelson area vs Franz-Josef-
Queenstown-Te Anau? I am not particularly keen to go bungee jumping. How
long do you think I should allow for Nelson and from Greymouth to
INvercargill?

Only you can really answer that question. Nelson isn't as big on
dramatic scenery leaning in the window and saying hello, but it's a
great place to use as a base to wander through the forests to the south
or the Marlborough Sounds to the north or the ocean coastline reserves
to the west. Or even to stretch out to Kaikoura for some whale-watching,
though that would make for a long day indeed.

For myself, and if I had the money, I'd love to make my leisurely way
down the island. I could happily spend a week at Queenstown and not do
so much as a luge ride. The scenery is awesome, and I would be happy to
sit on a lakefront balcony doing nothing beyond fetching myself another
drink from time to time.

If you wanted, you could get from Nelson to Invercargill in two solid
days of driving by going down the east coast, stopping at Christchurch
overnight. The roads are good, the traffic sparse.

Or take your time and see all the good bits. If I had a month to "do"
the South Island, I reckon I'd just sort of drift down as I pleased,
sitting out the rainy days (or visiting things like museums and
galleries) and using the clear days to see the scenery. I wouldn't want
to visit New Zealand and not see the Sounds, and while they have their
attractions on a rainy day, I'd dearly love to see those sunny postcard
views, and that pretty much means waiting for a clear day in either Te
Anau or Queenstown.

Current thinking is - made them 10 weeks.

for North Island

Week 1 Auckland
Week 2 Northland, rtn to Auckland
Week 3 Waitomo/Rotorua Whakatana/Gisborne
Week 4 Napier/ Taupo
Week 5 Taupo-Wellington.

for South Island

Week 1 Picton/Nelson/Kaikoura/Cristchurch
Week 2 Greymouth/glaciers/Queenstown
Week 3 Queenstown/Te Anau/Invercargill
Week 4 Stewart island/Dunedin - fly to Wellington
Week 5 Wellington-Chathams-Auckland.

Now I don't know if I should include Stewart Island and especially the
Chathams. Point is, I am interested in the Moriori and all that. Have
you been to the Chathams, Peter?

--
JohnM