New Zealand Trips

Classic South Island

10 to 14 days

From the
New Zealand's South Island travel guide

On good roads with little traffic (well, mostly...), this 3500km South Island lap – taking in the classic sights, cities and scenery – is a glorious drive. Prepare yourself for urban virtues, magnificent mountains and the world's best sauvignon blanc. And if you've never seen a glacier before, now's your chance!

You'll have to move fast to experience the best of the south in two weeks! Kick things off in picturesque port-town Picton, then disappear into the Marlborough Sounds for a day. Sip yourself silly in the Marlborough Wine Region around Blenheim, then truck west for some paragliding, kiteboarding and hang gliding (and good coffee!) in hippie-city Nelson. Sea kayaking through Abel Tasman National Park is an unforgettable experience.

Backtrack through Blenheim and jump on a boat/plane/helicopter for a close encounter with a massive marine mammal in Kaikoura. Further south, manicured Christchurch awaits – shop, drink, eat and soak up the arts. Further south the coast road rolls into Timaru, from where SH8 veers inland to cloud-piercing Aoraki/Mt Cook. Back on the coast, the wildlife-rich Otago Peninsula juts abstractly away from the Victorian facades of student-filled Dunedin. Try to catch some live music while you're in town!

Head inland to bungy-obsessed Queenstown, then mix and match highways to Te Anau for the side road to Milford Sound. Backtrack to Haast Pass, from where you'll wind down to Jackson Bay on the rainsoaked West Coast. Further north come face-to-face with the Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glacier, then check out some pounamu (jade or greenstone) in Hokitika. Wet your whistle at Greymouth's Monteith's Brewing Co, then get your camera ready for the Punakaiki rocks. Heading east on SH7, cross Lewis Pass and head back to cathedral-hearted Christchurch.

by Brett Atkinson, Lonely Planet author