Help me decide a multi day tramp in Mid October!

Don't fall for all the hype on the Milford. True it is scenic but perhaps no more so than dozens of other options. I think you should be disappointed by the popularity and the bureaucracy associated with doing the Milford. My first tramp in NZ was the Wilkins-Young from out of Makarora but that was in summer. I'm not sure of the status of the lake that has formed in the Young valley after a slip some years ago now. If i'm not mistaken there has been alot of snow this winter and your choice should depend on the weather at the time. Most multi day options will no doubt involve crossing a pass. For that reason you should consider contingency plans. If you find your options becoming limited due to short windows of fine weather or dangers associated with snow etc. you could consider shorter choices out of Queenstown. Like Wye Ck from the Remarkables Ski field. Get the bus from Qt to Te Anau to drop you the few km out of town. You could walk the road up to the ski field and cross the pass at 2020m to Wye Ck. Camp at the tarns in the head of the creek. Walk on down the creek to the lake outlet. The Motatapu from Arrowtown to Wanaka is an option. It might be different now with the traffic it gets from the people doing the national trail. It does have snow poles but the track was not of the standard of a great walk or many other well known walks. A crossing of the Pisa Range shouldn't be underestimated. Like the Cromwell-Cardrona Pack track. I've snowshoed and walked all over that place and it still keeps revealing secrets. It can offer a feeling of remoteness but still provide the opportunity to evacuate the area fairly quickly. Maybe take three or four days to go the length. Access is easy with the buses. Start at Crown Range or the Lowburn Face near Cromwell. Stay at Meg hut and Kirtle Burn hut. Visit Lake McKay. Mt.Pisa is 1960m. There is a bit of gold mining history there. The Wanaka area is often considered to be in a rain shadow and the weather can be very different to QT.

The day trip, with the extended leg, at Key Summit is very much worth it as well.