New Zealand’s South Island is the land of farms, fiords, glaciers, dark skies and breathtaking landscapes of blue lakes and mountains. One of the best ways to tour New Zealand is to self-drive with a rental car. During our road trip, we went hiking, wine tasting, cruise in a fjord, glowworm hunting, stargazing and much, much more.
Being from Singapore, driving in New Zealand’s South Island was easy since we had the same right hand drive road system. It was also relaxing and fun to drive on this road trip since we spent most of our time outside the larger cities where traffic was light and parking was not a hassle.
Our 12D/11N self-drive road trip starts and ends at Christchurch. Our route was as follow:Christchurch –> Hokitika –> Fox Glacier –> Wanaka (2 nights) –> Te-Anau (2 nights) –> Queenstown –> Mount Cook –> Lake Tekapo –> Christchurch.
Day 1 – Arrival and overnight in Christchurch
We flew to Christchurch via Auckland and arrived at Christchurch International Airport at 6.30 PM. We picked up our rental car at the airport and drove to our accommodation.
After a long flight, we had a lazy evening in Christchurch. We had dinner at a Thai restaurant near the motel and did grocery shopping for food, drinks and snacks that we would need for our road trip.
Where we stayed: We just needed a place near the airport for a one night stay before embarking on our road trip. Airport Birches Motel is a value- for-money motel with free parking and located near amenities like restaurants and grocery stores.
Day 2 - Travel NZ’s Great Alpine Highway from Christchurch through Arthur’s Pass to Hokitika
We started our road trip with a coast to coast drive from Christchurch to Hokitika via the Great Alpine Highway. The 230 km journey would take us through amazingly scenic landscapes and offers plenty to do along the way.
Key activities along the way include:
Otira Viaduct lookout points.
Trip report: Travel NZ’s Great Alpine Highway from Christchurch through Arthur’s Pass to Hokitika
Hokitika is a good place to stay for a night before continuing our road trip down the West Coast of the South Island towards the glacier towns of Fox and Franz Josef.
We spent the evening exploring Hokitika town and beach.
The glowworms appeared as
tiny pinpoints of blue lights. There were hundreds, maybe even thousands, of tiny lights shining like the stars in the night sky. This was my first experience with glowworms and it was quite magical.
Trip report: Hokitika’s Sunset, Bunnies, Pizzas and Glowworms.
Where we stayed: Amberlea Cottages in Hokitika. The 2 bedroom cottage is located in a quiet part of town and is nicely furnished with a very modern feel and had everything we need for a lovely stay.
We did the Hokitika Gorge Walk in the morning. Hokitika Gorge is located some 33 kilometres or 40 minutes drive inland from Hokitika town.
The 1.2 km trail is generally flat and it was an easy walk through a fern forest with plenty of ferns.
We had to cross a suspension bridge over the gorge where we could see the turquoise water with white rocky limestone cliffs and lush green rainforest on both sides. Overall, a very enjoyable activity to do in the morning.
We had lunch in Hokitika town, refuel our car before continuing our road trip down the West Coast to the small glacier towns of Franz Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier.
Trip report: Morning Walk at Hokitika Gorge.
The drive to Franz Josef Glacier from Hokitika took about 2 hours. Upon arrival, we did short hikes to see the Franz Josef Glacier and also Peter’s Pool.
After our little hikes at Franz Josef Glacier, we drove about 40 minutes to Fox Glacier, another town named after the glacier next to it.
Trip report: Hokitika to FranzJosef and Fox Glacier road trip.
Fox Glacier is a smaller town compared to Franz Josef. I choose to stay here instead of the Franz Josef because of Lake Matheson. After checking into our accommodation, we had time to do a hike at Lake Matheson before dinner.
Lake Matheson is one of the most popular lakes in New Zealand and famous for its mirror-like reflections of New Zealand's highest mountain Aoraki/Mount Cook and Mount Tasman from its surface.
For dinner, we ate at the highly rated restaurant Betsey Jane Eatery & Bar. It was certainly a good place for a meal when staying at Fox Glacier.
Although we had seen glowworms at Hokitika’s Glowworm Dell, we went glowworm hunting again at Fox Glacier! The place to see glowworm is at Minnehaha Walk. This is a 20 minutes loop trail through the rainforest, full of old trees, mossy areas, ferns.
Trip report: Fox Glacier - Lake Matheson hike and Glowworm Hunting at Minnehaha Walk.
Where we stayed: Rainforest Motel in Fox Glacier. This is a value-for-money motel that came with everything we needed for a one night stay.
Day 4 - Drive across Haast Pass from Fox Glacier to Wanaka and do the Roy’s Peak hike
The drive from Fox Glacier to Wanaka should take about 3.5 hours (262 km) without any stops but there are many attractions and sights to see along the way so it could take much longer.
My original plan was to take a slow leisurely drive to Wanaka arriving in the evening. We had planned to hike up Roy’s Peak for sunrise the next day, departing early at 4 AM.
Roy’s Peak is a difficult hiking trail located just outside the town of Wanaka near the edge of Mount Aspiring National Park. It is one of New Zealand’s most popular trails as the view from the Roy’s Peak Lookout is stunningly beautiful!
We had to adjust our plan due to rain forecasted at Wanaka on the day we were supposed to do the hike.
We decided to do a direct drive to Wanaka, timing to arrive at noon so that we could do the hike up to Roy’s Peak in the afternoon while the weather is still good.
The drive from Fox Glacier in the early morning was quite scenic. We crossed many one-lane bridges on the way.
The most scenic part of the drive was along Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea, after crossing Haast Bridge.
Trip report: Scenic Drive across Haast Pass from Fox Glacier to Wanaka.
We had lunch in Wanaka and checked into our accommodation before doing the hike up Roy’s Peak in the afternoon. The weather was perfect for our hike.
The hike took about 7 hours and it was dark when we completed our sunset hike. Hiking Roy’s Peak trail is on the bucket list of many people. We cannot come to Wanaka and not attempt this challenge.
Trip report: Our afternoon hike to Roy’s Peak Lookout.
Where we stayed: We stayed 2 nights in a nice three bedroom house in Wanaka. Alpine Abode has a size of 190 square metres and was our favourite accommodation on this trip.
Day 5 – Free and Easy in Wanaka
After the grueling hike up Roy’s Peak, we had a rest day in Wanaka where we had nothing really planned except a leisurely walk along the shore of Lake Wanaka and taking photos of the famous Wanaka Tree in the evening.
After a lazy morning in our accommodation, we decided to go to some nearby vineyards for wine tasting. Central Otago is one of the most scenic wine regions in New Zealand. It is also home to some of the best pinot noir in the world.
There are several vineyards near Wanaka that offered wine tasting. We visited Maori Point Vineyard that is located 25 minutes by car from Wanaka. Maori Point’s cellar door offers standard wine tasting of six wines for NZ$20 per person (waived with bottle purchase). They also carry local food items for assembling our own platters to enjoy with the wine.
Trip report: Free and easy at Wanaka – wine tasting and #thatwanakatree.
Day 6 – Drive from Wanaka to Te Anau.
This is the day where we did a long drive from Wanaka to Te Anau via Arrowtown and Queenstown.
We took the Crown Range Road from Wanaka to Arrowtown, a historic gold mining town. We did a 2 hour stop for lunch and enjoy the ambience within the historic town.
Trip report: Exploring Arrowtown.
The Crown Range Road is an exhilarating road with hairpin bends and steep grades. There are plenty to see along the viewpoints on this scenic route.
We made stops at a few places for photos, namely Cardrona Bra Fence, Cardrona Hotel, Crown Range Summit Lookout and Crown Range Scenic Lookout.
Trip report: Driving the Scenic Crown Range Road from Wanaka to Arrowtown.
Our final destination for the day was Te Anau. Te Anau is a relaxed, lakeside town on the South Island of New Zealand. We stayed at this town for 2 nights since it serves as a gateway to Fiordland National Park and Milford Sound. Milford Sound is one of the few places that visitors to New Zealand must not miss and was
Te Anau has some fine restaurants. We had dinner at the Redcliff Restaurant and Bar.
After dinner, we did some star gazing and astrophotography just outside our hotel. Te Anau has little light pollution and is a great place for star gazing.
Where we stayed: Our accommodation in Te Anau was the Amber Court Motel. Amber Court Motel offers modern accommodation in a quiet location, just a few minutes walk from Lake Te Anau. Our 1-bedroom apartment includes kitchenette facilities, satellite TV and electric blankets on the beds.
Trip report: Our Evenings at Te Anau – great food and star-gazing.
Day 7 – Cruise on Milford Sound and hiking in the Fiordland National Park.
The plan for the day was to do a morning cruise at Milford Sound and then take our time to drive back to Te Anau. Along the way back, we did some short hikes in the Fiordland National Park.
The 119 km drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound and back was one of the most scenic and unforgettable journey we did. Commonly known as the Milford Road, State Highway 94 is the only road access to Milford Sound. There are easily accessible scenic spots like the Eglinton Valley, Mirror Lakes, Lake Gunn, Monkey Creek and short hiking trails to waterfalls or viewpoints along this road. There is also the Homer Tunnel that is bored through the sheer granite of the Darran Mountains.
Lake Gunn and Mirror Lakes are best visited just after sunrise.
We had to leave early in the morning to make it in time to catch our 9.45 AM cruise with Cruise Milford. More details on how to plan the drive to and from Milford Sound and why we chose to cruise with Cruise Milford are in the following trip reports.
Trip report: Driving the Milford Road to and from Milford Sound.
Trip report: Morning Cruise on Milford Sound with Cruise Milford.
We had time for a 3 to 4 hour hike along the Milford Road after our Milford Sound cruise in the morning. We chose to do the 6.8 km hike to Key Summit, one of the best short hikes in Fiordland National Park.
Trip report: Hiking the Routeburn Trail to Key Summit.
We ended the day with a wonderful dinner at Fat Duck Gastropub back in Te Anau.
Day 8 – Drive from Te Anau to Glenorchy and Queenstown.
This was a day where we did a very long 217 km road trip from Te Anau to Glenorchy (via Queenstown) and then back to Queenstown (distance of 46 km) where we would stay for the night.
Glenorchy is a small settlement at the northern shores of Lake Wakatipu. It is worth a visit as the 46 km drive from Queenstown to Glenorchy, along the shores of the lake, is one of the most scenic drives in the world.
Picnic lunch at Wilson Bay.
We chose to stop at Wilson Bay for a picnic. There are a few other similar spots along the road from Queenstown to Glenorchy.
Bennetts Bluff has the best viewpoint between Queenstown and Glenorchy. The details on what to see and do on the drive from Te Anau to Glenorchy are in the following trip report.
Trip report: Scenic drive from Te Anau to Glenorchy via Queenstown.
We arrived at Glenorchy in the early afternoon. We spend some time to explore the town and its attractions such as the Glenorchy Wharf Shed and Pier, Mrs Woolly’s General Store and took a short drive to Isengard Viewpoint.
The Isengard Viewpoint on Kinloch-Glenorchy Road provides a stunning view of the area and was used for filming the Isengard location in the Lord of the Rings movie.
Trip report: Exploring Glenorchy and looking for Lord of the Ring’s Isengard.
From Glenorchy, we took the same scenic drive back to Queenstown where we would stay for one night. Our plan for the evening was just to soak in a little of the city’s lakeside ambience and sample the famous burgers in town.
Trip report: Evening at Queenstown and trying the Best Burgers – Devil Burger versus Fergburger.
Where we stayed in Queenstown:
We stayed at an Executive One bedroom apartment in St James Apartments which is conveniently located within the town center and came with free parking. After a long day of road tripping, it was good to explore the town on foot.
Day 9 – Drive from Queenstown to Aoraki/Mount Cook
The drive from Queenstown to Aoraki/Mount Cook is 255 km long and is one of the most scenic road trips in New Zealand. It is a must-do experience when visiting the South Island. There is so much to see and do along the way that we took almost the whole day to complete this journey.
This includes the following:
- Watching the bungee jumpers at Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge.
- Wine tasting at Kinross Winery.
- Visit the heritage precinct at Cromwell.
- Driving across Lindis Pass.
- Lunch at High Country Salmon.
- Stopping at various scenic viewpoints along the Mount Cook Road to take photos of Mount Cook and Lake Pukaki.
Trip report: Epic road trip from Queenstown to Aoraki/Mount Cook Village.
We arrived at Mount Cook Village at about 4 PM and checked into our hotel. We had time to do a short evening hike at Hooker Valley Track before sunset which was 7.50 PM at this time of year. The Hooker Valley Track, a 10km return hike in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, was top in my “must-do” list for this road trip in NZ’s South Island.
I wanted to do this hike during the golden hour just before sunset as the light during this time is best for photography.
One the suspension bridges along the Hooker Valley hiking trail. We only had time to hike up to the 2nd suspension bridge but I achieved my goal of capturing the epic view of Mount Cook, painted gold by the warm rays of the setting sun, and Hooker River in the foreground.
After the hike we had dinner at the Chamois Bar & Grill and then did stargazing with some friends. Mount Cook Village is known for its stunning night sky, being a part of the International Dark Sky Reserve.
Trip report: Hooker Valley hike at sunset and star gazing in Mount Cook Village.
Where we stayed in Mount Cook National Park: The best place to stay when visiting Mount Cook National Park is in the Mount Cook Village. Hotels are limited so book early.
The Hermitage Hotel is one of the best hotels in the village and I managed to book a Superior Room from their hotel’s website.
Day 10 – Hiking at Mt Cook (Hooker Valley and Tasman Glacier Hike) and drive to Lake Tekapo
Our plan for the morning was to do the Hooker Valley hike. This hike was so fantastic that we are doing it again, but at different time of the day.
The hike on a mostly flat track through Hooker Valley to Hooker Lake provides incredible views of the Southern Alps, glacial streams and the majestic Aoraki (Mount Cook).
Trip report: Hooker Valley Hike at Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park.
After completing the Hooker Valley hike in the morning, we had time for a short afternoon hike at Tasman Valley before leaving Mount Cook National Park for Lake Tekapo. Overall, I did not enjoy this hike as compared to the more scenic Hooker Valley hike.
Trip report: Tasman Valley Hike at Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park.
After the hikes, we drove about 100 km to Lake Tekapo. Lake Tekapo is known for attractions such as The Church of the Good Shepherd and is an excellent destination for stargazing since it is in the middle of Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky reserve.
The journey by car from Mount Cook National Park to Lake Tekapo would take approximately an hour and a half, offering numerous scenic viewpoints along the way.
It was about 4.30 PM when we arrived at Lake Tekapo. For dinner, we had fish and chips from a highly raved food truck known as The Better Batter.
Evening is the best time to go for a walk by the lake and visit The Church of the Good Shepherd just before sunset.
The Church of the Good Shepherd at Lake Tekapo. Lake Tekapo is renowned for its exceptional stargazing opportunities, being part of the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve. I booked a stargazing tour with Astro Tekapo. This is a small group tour with a maximum of 10 participants. After experiencing stargazing with our naked eyes, we had a chance to see the heavenly bodies through the 2 telescopes provided. The guide programmed his telescopes so we could see various nebulas, star clusters, binary stars etc.
Where we stayed in Lake Tekapo: The apartment, known as Stellar Apartment, is located on high ground and is a few minutes drive to the lake. We stayed in a One Bedroom apartment.
Day 11 – Drive from Lake Tekapo to Christchurch
Our drive from Lake Tekapo to Christchurch was the last leg of our 11 days road trip around the South Island of New Zealand. We took the direct route, via State Highway 8, 79 and 1, which was about 225 km long. The drive should take about 3 hours without stopping but we planned to stop at a few places along the way.
Ashburton was our last stop. From there, we took Highway 1 into Christchurch.
Our plan for the evening was to take an evening walk into the city center for dinner and visit the Christchurch Botanical Gardens.
Where we stayed in Christchurch: Our accommodation at Christchurch was Argyle On The Park, conveniently located on Deans Avenue near the City Centre overlooking beautiful Hagley Park. I chose this motel because it is located close to the Christchurch Botanical Gardens and is also possible to walk into the city via the beautiful park just across the road from the place. The motel offers free parking too.
Day 12 – Return car at the airport and travel home.
Our flight home departs Christchurch International Airport at noon time. So we spent a lazy morning at the motel before driving to the airport.
Returning the car was easy and swift. The process was to park the car at the designated lots in the airport car park and drop the keys off. There was no one from Ezi to inspect the car so we took photos and videos of our rental car before dropping off the keys at the car rental office located next to the parking bays.
Overall, our experience with Ezi Car Rental had been positive. The car was relatively new, clean, well maintained and it served us well.
Some tips for a New Zealand Road trip
1. The car is a critical success factor in a road trip. Book your rental car from a reliable and reputable car rental company. Book early for the best prices and book directly with the car rental company instead of via a third party booking sites to avoid nasty surprises.
2. Plan for picnics along the journey. There are so many places in NZ with picnic benches, toilets and of course, gorgeous scenery. We brought along a cooler bag to keep our drinks cold and also store our perishable foodstuff that we bought from the grocery stores. We also brought along a flask for hot water to make tea and coffee at our pit stops. There are relatively few cafes along the way, compared to other countries.
3. Drive safe and keep your eyes on the road. It is easy to get distracted by the scenery.
4. Allow slightly more time for the drive when planning the itinerary. Do not rush and take breaks along the way. The timing on Google Maps is a bit optimistic.
5. Keep to the speed limit, especially on the curvy, winding roads.
When the road bends, there are massive yellow reflective signs indicating the safe speed for the bends.
6. Most of the roads in the rural areas are on single carriageways.
If there are faster cars tailing you, pull over off the road or move to the side so the faster cars overtake safely.
7. There are many one lane bridges, with signs indicating who has the right of way.
Typical signage at the one lane bridge. The direction with the bigger black arrow has the right of way.
Slow down and check for oncoming traffic, even if you have the right of way! There was one instance that a tour bus came at me even when I had the right of way. The driver probably did not see my car entering the bridge or he was just a big road bully!
8. Do not just pull over just anywhere on the road to take a picture. There are many designated lookout points along the highways and most of them are marked in Google Maps. Plan which ones are worth a stop for the views and photos. Skip those that are on the opposite side of the road if it is not safe to pull over.
9. Some places are remote and has no petrol stations for a long stretch. Watch your fuel gauge and top up fuel when needed, especially before going to Milford Sound or driving across Haast Pass. Contrary to my expectations, fuel is actually cheaper in the smaller towns like Te Anau, Farlie and Hokitika compared to the bigger cities like Queenstown and Wanaka.
10. Plan to arrive at your destination before last light. It is not advisable to drive on unfamiliar roads in the dark. There are no street lamps on the country roads!