Shooting recommendations for road trip in NZ South Island?

I'm off to New Zealand's South Island on Monday for 3.5 weeks, with my girlfriend, touring the South Island by hire car. Our itinerary is..

Wed/Thu/Fri - Queenstown
Sat/Sun - Milford Sound
Sun/Mon/Tue - Dunedin & Otago
Wed - Oamaru
Thu/Fri/Sat - Christchurch
Sat/Sun - Kaikura
Sun/Mon - Picton
Mon/Tue/Wed - Nelson (& Greymouth for overnight stop)
Thu - Tai Poutini National Park
Fri - Glaciers
Sat - Haast
Sun/Mon/Tue - Wanaka (& back to Queenstown for flight home)

It is a general sightseeing trip, combined with a visit to friends in Wanaka for a birthday do. My girlfriend is not into photography but is happy to indulge me up to a point so I'm really looking for tips on the sights not to be missed along the route. I guess we're both into scenery and wildlife more than people and architecture but really anything would be good.

I did search the forums but could find nothing by way of recommended sights. I have browsed the Lonely Planet guide but it is a bit too full of general information and not geared specifically to fulfill some photographic dream. Can anyone offer some suggestions?

I'll be taking my 30D and 40D bodies together with 10-22, 17-55, 50 f/1.8, 100-400, 1.4X teleconverter, 580EX and some macro tubes and UV/CPL filters. Amazingly that all fits in to my Slingshot 200 and keeps under the miserable 7Kg carry-on allowance for Air New Zealand. Sadly I can't squeeze a tripod in but will have a Gorillapod to help steady things for a bit of HDR or night photography. I just tried it with my 30D, 1.4X and 100-400 and it did OK while tightly wrapped around the back of a chair.

Thanks for any ideas

In your place i'd take just the 40D, the 17-55, and a flash. Enjoy your holiday, enjoy your girlfriend's company, and have a good holiday If you really want to take another lens i'd go wide, not long.

I appreciate the point of view, and I don't want to get hung up on the photography at the expense of enjoying the trip overall. I did consider travelling light, but to travel half way round the world and then find I really needed my long lens (seabirds, leaping dolphins etc.) would be so annoying, especially as it is really no problem to take it.

If the 40D was to go tits up (err99, or get dropped/soaked) on the first day it's no harm to have the 30D in reserve. I'd also rather swap whole body lens combos than faff about changing lenses and risking dust etc. while out and about.

Since all the kit will fit in a fairly small backpack there is nothing to be gained by not having it with me. It's not as though I would make any use of the space by leaving something out.

Since you're in Queenstown for a few days, try to get up to Glenorchy. There are some spectacular views on the drive along the lake. The town itself used to be beautiful, but I haven't been there for 10 years or so, so it may have been overdeveloped like Queenstown.

There are some great stops along the Milford road. The chasm is a good spot, but there are a lot of others also.

If you're interested in shooting seabirds, try to go to the albatross colony on the Otago peninsula. Probably the best place in the world to get shots of albatross.

In Christchurch, drive over the port hills and there are some great views of the peninsula, or if you have the time, go out to Akaroa, a little French(ish) fishing town. Stop for an ice cream at the Sign of the Kiwi at the top of the port hills A great view of the city from here, depending on the smog.

Along the west coast you should be able to get some great sunset shots over the Tasman. Watch for the green flash! On the drive from Haast to Wanaka, get some shots of Lake Hawea, much better than Lake Wanaka.

On the way back to Queenstown, go over the Crown Range road and stop for a beer at the Cardrona pub, one of NZ's most iconic sights, and the Cardrona valley is beautiful.

Finally go through Arrowtown and get a shot of St John's church, where I got married.

Have a fantastic trip, it's the best scenery in the world. But I admit I'm biased

Wanaka is really nice, I like it better than Queenstown.

Thanks WCH, just the sort of tips I was looking for. We're staying a few days in Queenstown because I think we'll need some recovery time from jet lag before continuing our journey. Flying from the UK, it will be over 34 hours of travel from leaving home to touching down in Queenstown.

We're now a week into the trip and have accumulated a few photos so thought I'd share some. The 100-400 has been my most used lens) (sometimes bare, sometimes with a 1.4X and sometimes with macro tubes, with the 10-22 second and the 17-55 in third place. I have not used the 50mm at all.

The run up to Glenorchy from Queenstown was fantastic, with beautiful views and a superb breakfast at the GYC Cafe. We spent around four hours walking up at Routeburn. There was no sign of Glenorchy becoming anything like Queentown. We did pop up to Arrowtown but did not see the church or pub (this time). We did drive up to Coronet Peak and see some spectacular views, and my GF went jet boating on the Shotover. Milford had low cloud and a bit of rain so that dampened things a bit (hah hah!) but we still really enjoyed the trip. After staying overnight in Te Anau we drove the Southern Scenic Highway to Dunedin via Invercargill and saw some rugged coastline and windswept trees on the way. We drove to the albatross colony but the birds were just keeping eggs warm (or in one case a wooden prosthetic) so there wasn't much excitement there. Round the corner at Natures Wonders the seals have just started giving birth and we saw a three day old pup. From Dunedin we drove up to Oamaru to see penguins and for an overnight stop and arrived in Christchurch this afternoon. No photos today. Anyway, here are a few samples from the past week....

Dawn breaking just outside Queenstown

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Those are great photos, lucky you didn't take my advice eh?!

Spotted Shags (most anything below them was spotted too) (400mm + 1.4X)

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Blimmen heck Tim - you've done a great job!

Thanks for sharin'

Cheers

Here are a couple of me, and one of my girlfriend enjoying her own bit of photography, with a Canon, of course.

Coronet Peak

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Great shots Tim. Looks like you're having a ball.