Christchurch Travel Forum

I knew this questions has been asked many times in this forum, but my question is slightly different.

We will be arriving Christchurch on 13Jul2009 at 12:40 afternoon and will be leaving Christchurch on 19Jul2009 at 6:00am in the morning by plane.

We are two adults and two little children of 7year and 4year.

We will be hiring a motorhome for all the time (13Jul to 19Jul).

There are three things we definitely wanted to do:

Tram in Christchuch,
Antarctica in Christchurch
Lake Tekapo

Now our question is:

With two littlies, only six days and myself being a nature photographer, is it possible to go to Queenstown. We are definitely after beautifull scenery and kids activities. We are not looking for advanture like bungy-jump, jet boat or scenic flight.

We love waterfalls, beautifull scenery, snow, lakes and streams.

So please help us how to plan our journey, where to stay, what to see and what routes to take for taking beautiful photos.

Thanks in advance

Mate, direct route from Christchurch to Queenstown is about 6hrs 32min (483km). This'll take you past Peel Forest (slight detour), Lake Tekapo, Lake Pukaki, the Clay Cliffs at Omarama, Lake Wanaka (slight detour) to Queenstown.

Thank you Johan,

But my question is, does 6 days in total are enough for Christchurch, Lake Tekapu, Wanaka and Queenstown.

Kind Regards

Driving there and back takes care of one day, leaving you five days to enjoy Christchurch and Queenstown. If you spend two days in Christchurch and two days in Queenstown, you'd probably be able to overnight at Lake Tekapo.

This is possible although you should, as said, plan a whole day of travelling from Christchurch to Queenstown.

I would do the Tram ride (if you must...) and visit the Antarctic Centre on your arrival day (if you or the kids are not too tired), as the Antarctic Centre is next to the airport, and stay at a motel/hotel out there, as it would also be a good place to start towards Lake Tekapo.

I would spend the second night at Mt. Cook Village (14 July) and then travel down to Queenstown. Spend two nights there (15 and 16 July).

Travel to the West Coast via Haast Pass (lots of Waterfalls) and stay at Franz Josef (17 July).

Walk to the face of the glacier and then carry on travelling to Christchurch via Arthurs Pass (18 July).

Well... By reviewing my suggestion I think it is too challenging for travelling with such young children, given the time of the year you will be travelling. Sunset is at about 5.30pm (and sunrise at about 8am), so you do not have many daylight hours.

A less challenging itinerary would be to travel back from Queenstown on the alternative route (you have 2 different roads between Queenstown and Wanaka), and then turn into the Waitaki Valley at Omarama, and travel up the coastal road from Waimate. At Waimate there is a wallaby park which children would absolutely love. An additional day in Christchurch would give you the chance to drive on the Summit Road and get up to the Gondola from where you have one of the best views in New Zealand.

When driving to Queenstown in July be prepared to change your itinerary due to possible snowfall.

Thank you both of you for extremely helpful suggestions. We have dcided to stay in Christchurch 13th & 14th, Lake Tekapo 15th and 16th, 17th in Queenstown. On 18th drive back to Christchurch.

I thought about your trip again, and the fact that you are travelling with young children. I would add two tips which children would enjoy immensely: the Willowbank (wildlife park with native animals, mostly birds, including kiwi, and farm animals) in Christchurch and Puzzling World in Wanaka.

Thank you very much, we will definitely go to those two places..I appreciate if you let me know any beautiful waterfall in Christchurch or Tekapo or Wanaka or Queenstown or even on the way between Christchurch to Queenstown. We are not looking for huge waterfall, we are after beautiful waterfall.

Unfortunately this is not the route of great waterfalls.

There are some in Peel Forest which is near Geraldine but we would not really call them waterfalls but rather trickles... There are also one or two small waterfalls in the Mt. Somers area (Woolshed Creek) which is along the scenic road 72 between Christchurch and Geraldine. You should travel along this road anyway (and not SH 1), the Rakaia Gorge would be a highlight.

But there are some waterfalls in the Queenstown area. None of them is really famous, so you best consult with the Visitor Centre down there. They abseil at those waterfalls, and use them for rafting. But none is along the beaten paths.

Mate, on the road between Lake Wanaka and Fox Glacier you've got the Blue Pools walk and Fantail Falls, but this'll probably be a bit out of your way.
Good luck!

There are even more waterfalls along this road but it is far off the OP's route.

Check out the video -
Mackenzie Country - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w0djssH0cA&feature=channel_page