FAQ
A Route is a self-drive itinerary connecting a start point and an end point, built for covering ground across regions. A Travel Mix stays in one stretch of the country and gathers cross-theme picks (food, wine, walks, beaches) for however long you're actually stopped there. If you're planning to keep driving most days, start with Routes; if you're settling into one region for a few nights, the Mixes are built for that instead.
Hanmer Springs is the shortest mix on purpose, four tracks built around a one- or two-night thermal-pools stay, not a full week. The West Coast, Bay of Islands and Coromandel mixes run six to seven tracks across five or six themes each, which needs closer to five days once you add driving time between tracks. If you've only got a couple of nights free, Hanmer is the one built for that; the longer mixes will feel rushed in the same window.
Marlborough Wine Train is built around wine specifically, Wairau and Awatere valley producers plus a Sounds-side walk and some WWI history. Nelson Food Trail covers the wider food scene instead, hops, orchards and a wharf-town smokehouse, with no wine content of its own. Pick Marlborough if tasting wine is the actual goal for the trip; pick Nelson if you want the broader food scene and wine isn't the priority.