Christchurch-Auckland. 14 days.

Day 1 .8.00am leave Christchurch and travel south across  part of the Canterbury Plains, possibly stopping in Geraldine to visit the 'Great Jersey' shop, then carrying on through Fairlie at the start of the MacKenzie Country to Lake Tekapo. Stop here for lunch and a view of the little church overlooking the lake.
1.00pm continue on past Lake Pukaki with Mt Cook in the background, and south down through the dry countryside, stopping at Omarama for a stretch of the legs. It was here that Fisher made an attempt on the world record altitude flight in a glider a couple of years ago.
3.00 continue south through Tarras ( maybe stop at their woolshop? ) and down past Lake Dunstan ( an artificial lake formed behind the Clyde dam to make hydro-electricity ) and through Cromwell, a recently developed centre for viticulture especially the pinot noir grape.
5.00 carry on through the Kawarau Gorge, stopping at the Roaring Meg power station, and then passing the Gibbston winery and Hacketts bungy jumping area, to Queenstown where we will book into the Lakes Terraces Hotel. All rooms from this Hotel have a great view across Lake Wakatipu.

Day2.  All day in Queenstown. In the morning we will travel on the old steamship the TSS Earnslaw. If you are older than the ship, you can have the ride free..ship built in 1908. In the afternoon we will take a jet ride on the Shotover River. In the evening we will go to the gondola restaurant high above Queenstown where we will have a magnificent view across the town and also the lake.

Day 3 Big day today as we leave at 7.30 for Milford Sound and a trip on the Sound itself. We travel  in a big U shape; south at first past Kingston and the Kingston Flyer ( old steam train ) then west to Te Anau across the fertile Northern Southland plains, then finally north up the Eglington valley into Fiordland National Park, through the Homer ( not Simpson ) tunnel and into Milford Sound.
We will  have breakfast in Te Anau at the 'Bakery' at about 9.30. We have found that this is more acceptable than having breakfast at 6.30 before we leave Queenstown.
 We will have lunch at Milford and then  take a two hour trip on the Sound.  It is likely to be wet  ( over 400 inches of rain here ) and the water cascading off the sheer slopes is impressive.
4.00 conclude the ride on the Sound and then travel back to Te Anau to stay at the Red Tussock Motel for the night.

Day 4. Breakfast at 'The Bakery' and then travel back to Arrowtown, a quaint old goldmining town in the Queenstown basin where we will stay an hour or so and have lunch. Carry on directly to Wanaka  ( over the Crown Range ) where in the afternoon we can walk round the town and part of the Lakeside. Overnight in Wanaka probably at the Bella Vista Motel.

Day 5.  After breakfast in the town, we will travel north past Lakes Hawea and  Wanaka and up the Makarora valley to Haast Pass, which is the only routeway through to the West Coast. We will stop at the Gates of Haast for a photo opportunity and then continue through to Haast township and have lunch at one of two Hotels there.
Continue on through bush covered mountains and sparsely settled areas until we reach Fox village where we will stay the night. Before dinner at the Plateau restaurant, we will walk into the face of the Fox glacier ( weather permitting ). The round trip walk takes about an hour, and is fairly flat. Stay at the Rainforest Motel.

Day 6. Early breakfast at the Lake Matheson Cafe and then a walk round Lake Matheson itself, where if it is a fine day, we should get an excellent view of Mts Cook ( Aoraki ) and Tasman. Drive north to Franz Josef Glacier and walk  to its face up the river valley ( one and a half hours ) if we were unable to walk at Fox the day previously. It may be possible for helicopter rides over the glacier.
Continue to the HariHari pub for lunch and then on north through Ross ( old gold mining town  and still digging there ) to Hokitika where we will stop and look at the variety of shops and factories using greenstone ( jade, pounamu ) wood ,and glass.  Continue on to Greymouth where we will stay overnight. Dinner at Revingtons Hotel.

Day 7. Travel north to the pancake rocks at Punakaiki and then double back ( the only time we do this ) so that we can take the central route over Arthurs Pass, past Otira ( the whole town was bought for $70,000 a couple of years ago ) stopping at the Bealy Hotel for lunch ( great view down the river valley ) and down into the changing landscape that becomes the Canterbury plains.
Continue into Christchurch, going to the beach at Sumner or the Arts and Crafts centre close to the new Art Gallery if we have time .

Day 8. Travel north over the Hundalee Hills to Kaikoura. On the way, stop off at Oaro and look at a rocky seaside garden and the rugged shoreline. In Kaikoura, organise to go swimming with the dolphins. Stay overnight in Kaikoura in the Panorama Motels. ( Yes, they have a great view. )

Day 9. Continue north along the rugged coastline, past the solar salt works at Lake Grassmere and into the wine growing valleys of the Awatere and Wairau rivers ( the Marlborough vineyards )  where most of our sauvingnon blanc comes from. We will probably stop at the old railway station in Seddon to have lunch.  We will call in and sample some of the wines if you wish. Carry on to the seaside town of Picton at the head of the Marlborough Sounds, and overnight there at the Americano Motel.

Day 10. Travel on one of the morning ferries to Wellington. The trip takes three hours; one hour in the Sounds, ninety minutes in the open sea and  thirty minutes to get to the berth at Wellington Harbour.
Look at Te Papa, the National Museum, and drive to the top of Mt Victoria where we get a great view across the city and environs. Dinner at the Eden Wharf Cafe. Overnight at the Oriental Bay Kingsgate.

Day 11. Have breakfast at Lindale, some 40 minutes north of Wellington and then continue north through Sanson and Taihape, stopping at the Brown Sugar Cafe for lunch. Continue on past the army base at Waiouru and then across the 'desert road' to Lake Taupo at Turangi. Travel  round the eastern side of the Lake to Taupo. Dinner at the Ploughmans Pub. Overnight at the Ambassador Motor Inn.

Day12. After breakfast, cruise on Lake Taupo to look at the rock carvings etc. After that bost trip, continue north, visiting Huka Falls and the Aratiatia rapids, and travelling through the forests to the open farmland round Rotorua. Overnight at the Regal Geyserland Hotel which overlooks the Whakarewarewa thermal area and the Pohutu Geyser.

Day 13. Around Rotorua. Morning visit and take in a show at the worldfamous Agrodome. This is a show about NZ farming and it is presented in an excellent way.
Return for lunch to Whakakrewarewa village and see the village itself.
Afternoon  free in Rotorua.
Evening. Go to a Maori marae for a hangi ( evening meal ) and a concert put on on the marae.
Overnight again in Rotorua.

Day 14. Travel west either through Putaruru or Bennydale to the Waitomo Caves. Explore the glowworm caves.  Have lunch at the 'Big Apple' or in Otorohanga, and then on into NZs fourth largest city, Hamilton. Travel north through Meremere and onto the motorway which leads to Auckland city arriving at about 5.00pm.
 
Drop people off at their Hotel. Tour concludes.

( Circumstances may well cause modifications to this itinerary, but we will keep to it if we can. )