New Zealand South Island Itinerary

Hi,
My fiance and I are planning a 10 day trip to the South Island in
November. We will be flying from Sydney, Australia and hiring a car.
We're trying to put together an itinerary so we can see as much as
possible. I'd appreciate any input on what to see and what routes to
travel and how much time to spend at each place. I haven't booked the
flight yet, as I'm unsure which cities are best to fly in and out of
and which order to travel in order to see everything? Some people have
recommended flying in to Wellington and taking the ferry across and
doing the Marlborough/Nelson area and parks and then trekking south
from there. Is it worth it to do the northern part of the south island
or should we fly in to Christchurch and fly out of Queenstow? Also,
should we dress for cold/snow in November? We enjoy some hiking,
kayaking, boat tours, wine tasting, etc. Some suggestions we recieved
include:

Nelson/Marlborogh region (wine tasting and Nelson Lakes & Abel Tasman
nat'l park)
Franz Josef or Fox Glacier
Queenstown
Wanaka
Dunedin/Otago Penninsula
Mount Cook
Blenheim (wine)
MT. Aspiring
Kaikoura
Lake Tekapo
Milford Sound
Doubtful Sound

Thanks for your input!

On Wed, 19 Oct 2005 wrote:
Hi,
My fiance and I are planning a 10 day trip to the South Island in
November. We will be flying from Sydney, Australia and hiring a car.

ya might get some ideas from a blog I kept on globenotes.com while I was
travelling the South Island (I did it on a budget.. but you still might
get something from it)

http://www.globenotes.com/Diary.aspx...page=1&cid=157
--

"I hear ma train a comin'
.... hear freedom comin"

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi,
My fiance and I are planning a 10 day trip to the South Island in
November. We will be flying from Sydney, Australia and hiring a car.
We're trying to put together an itinerary so we can see as much as
possible. I'd appreciate any input on what to see and what routes to
travel and how much time to spend at each place. I haven't booked the
flight yet, as I'm unsure which cities are best to fly in and out of
and which order to travel in order to see everything? Some people have
recommended flying in to Wellington and taking the ferry across and
doing the Marlborough/Nelson area and parks and then trekking south
from there. Is it worth it to do the northern part of the south island
or should we fly in to Christchurch and fly out of Queenstow? Also,
should we dress for cold/snow in November? We enjoy some hiking,
kayaking, boat tours, wine tasting, etc. Some suggestions we recieved
include:

Nelson/Marlborogh region (wine tasting and Nelson Lakes & Abel Tasman
nat'l park)
Franz Josef or Fox Glacier
Queenstown
Wanaka
Dunedin/Otago Penninsula
Mount Cook
Blenheim (wine)
MT. Aspiring
Kaikoura
Lake Tekapo
Milford Sound
Doubtful Sound

Thanks for your input!

November will be mild to warm, a bit cooler than Sydney, but certainly not
snowing or very cold. All above are worth doing and seeing but depends a
lot on your personal interests. It's easy enough to drive right around the
Sth. Island in ten days, and you could fit in all of the above.