Traveling in July, trying to avoid FOMO, need help deciding
Hi All!
My Fiancée and I are taking a trip to NZ from the US in July 8-18 to see some of her family. They want to go on a trip to Whakapapa to hopefully go skiing. That portion of the trip will be July 13-16 or 17.
What I am trying to decide is if I should take a quick trip to the south island Lake Tekapo from the 9th to the 11th of July to try to catch a stargazing tour or even just stargaze ourselves. I am very into space and this is a bucket list item for me. I live in an area where you can barely see the night sky and I always hear how legendary the sky viewing here is. I am just concerned that I don't have enough time and what the conditions might be. My thought is fly into Christchurch the 9th. Drive the 4 hours or so to Lake Tekapo. Spend the 9 and 10 nights there, then drive back and fly back to Auckland on the 11th.
Unfortunately I am already flying into Auckland from Australia on the 8th so I know its not ideal to fly in and then immediately fly back out, but i don't have much options or flexibility.
My ultimate question is, is it a terrible idea to do this trip in such a short time? I am not sure how much longer her family plans to live out there so I am not sure if this is a trip I will easily be able to do again in the future. Also, I am not sure how difficult the drive is in the winter. I am from Florida so snow driving is something I have never done. Is this taking on too much?
Sorry for the ramble and thank you for any input!