Hi, we are just back from our trip so thought I would come back and update (to be helpful obviously not to indulge myself and avoid the holiday washing pile at all!!)
We flew emirates and as previous posters have said we found them exceptional. Kids (7 and 4) coped well with flights. Got our campervan after a couple of days readjusting in Christchurch. Would highly recommend not picking up the van immediately - there was a lot of information to take in about how to empty things, driving tips, and driving a much longer vehicle took a bit to get used to as well. I was glad we had recovered from the worst of the jet lag! Wilderness were really thorough and spent an hour with us taking us through it all, checking if we had questions etc. The van itself was really lovely.
Christchurch is well worth a stop, obviously it has changed significantly since the big quakes and it is very sobering and sad to see the extent of the impact on the city, and to see the empty chairs memorial to all the lives lost. However, some amazing art and pop up projects have sprung up in the city and we had a brilliant time exploring them. In Cathedral Square someone has hacked an old parking meter and turned it into an ideas machine. It is free, and every press of the button gives you an idea ticket - something free to do or see in the city. The kids loved this and we spent the rest of our day tracking down activities such as a giant street computer game with a control pad you jump on, and a Lego workshop. Top activity was the fabulous Margaret Mary playground. It’s big and varied and we could have spent all day there itself! In general NZ playgrounds were brilliant, everywhere we stopped we found something fun which helped break up the drives.
We did lake tekapo - queenstown - milford sound - wanaka - Christchurch. It was all amazing and beautiful. We stayed at a mixture of holiday parks and did some dept of conservation camp spots in the Milford valley. We were impressed with these - long drop toilets well cleaned and cooking stations etc but apparently they are not always that well looked after. The holiday parks were expensive (£40 - £60 a night) but were central and had great facilities for kids, laundry etc. We didn’t freedom camp, partly as 4yo is a bit of a flight risk and the spots were often near roads, no boundaries etc. Also I didn’t want to risk getting to places and them being full. As it happens the ones we drove past never really were but that’s often the case mid summer apparently.
We did a cruise on Milford which was beautiful! Another high light was the gondola in queenstown, spectacular views. Also the kiwi life centre right next to the gondola.
Second week was north island staying with family so less tips to share from that. Hopefully some of the South Island info may be helpful though!