hi guys.. anyone travelling in NZ from 2nd may to 14th? I'm doing a campervan trip at that time. So far my route are as follow:
2 May- Arrive at Christchurch (late evening). overnight at Jucy Snooze
3 May- Pick up campervan and stay one night in Christchurch to visit friend.
4 May- Head to Lake Tekapo. overnight free camp at Lake Pukaki.
5 May- Head to Queenstown. Stopver at Mt Cook to hike up to Tasman Lake.
6 May- Explore Queenstown.
7 May- Head to Te Anau. Overnight at Henry Creek (DOC-freecamp)
8 May- Milford Sound cruise. Drive back to Queenstown. Overnight free camp at Crown Range Summit (head view is awesome)
9 May- Drive to Lake Hawea. Overnight there.
10 May- Franz Josef Glacier. Skydiving. Overnight free camp.
11 May- Franz Josef Glacier. Quad Bike exploration. Overnight at Hokitika.
12 May- Head back to Christchurch via Arthur's Pass. Overnight at Cragieburn Rec Area (DOC-freecamp)
13 May- Back to Christchurch. clean campervan. overnight in holiday park.
14 May- Return camper, flight back to Auckland in Afternoon.

Would be nice if anyone going around this time, maybe we can synch or trip and travel together in two campervan. Am going with my wife.

Managed to extend my tickets to fly on 27th april to hkg then onwards to AKL arriving on 28th. Thanks to miles & points, managed to snag 2 B class tickets on CX for just a total of RM 1k in taxes... for 2 pax.

Booked a motorhome with Wilderness.. the price is a little shocking but i guess i'd rather have comfortable place to stay in as this is a once a lifetime trip. Damage for 12 days came up to about 2.8k nzd inclusive of all-in insurance.

I'd suggest some modification.
Day 1, do a freedom camp at The Pines (Lake Pukaki) for really nice night view of Mt Cook and stars.

Day 2, rise early and head to Mt Cook for Hooker Valley Hike. it's about 3 hours return trip. after the hike, you can drive straight to Queenstown to put up a night. Like the other poster said, from Mt Cook to Te Anau in one day is crazy a little extreme. If you don't want to stay at Queenstown, and if there's still enough daylight, you can put a night at Kingston which will bring you closer to Te Anau. There're lots of stuff to see along the way and you'll be missing out alot if you just rush down the road.

Day 3, Slow drive to Te Anau and overnight at Henry's Creek DOC

Day 4, Milford. you need to rise very early and set off. I set out at around 6am and i only reached Milford around 9am. it shows how slow the drive can be even though it looks near. it's a tough drive on a campervan.

I'd suggest to give more time for Fox Glacier skydiving as the weather there is unpredictable. I was stuck at Fox for 3 days to wait out the weather for skydiving and had to push back my plans accordingly. If skydiving is going to be one of your main points of the trip, i'd suggest a reverse trip so that you have more freedom to adjust your schedule. I did my skydiving at the end of the trip and had to sacrifice some stops due to lack of time. it was something i didn't regret though and the wait was truely worth it. the 15k ft jump is high enough and their price is rather reasonable.

You'll need to stay overnight at Fox Glacier as the flight departs early and you need to reach there by 9am. Even if your schedule is afternoon, I'd suggest to reach there early as weather is unpredictable in the mountain region. They'll cancel the day's flight if there's cloud cover or even a slight chance of rain. I suggest to overnight the day before at Fox Glacier TOP10 HP as it's just down the road.

All i can advise is don't be too ambitious and try to cram in too many things in a campervan itinerary. The road and distance may look near on map, but trust me, things are different when comes to actual driving. The mountain roads are really winding and steep. Campervan handles differently and takes time to get used to.