Traveling to New Zealand was my birthday present I got myself, which I was very excited about. Here I share the possibly best itinerary for the South Island to make a road trip through New Zealand a pure pleasure. The itinerary can be adjusted depending on how much time you have.
Shock at the check-in counter at Sydney Airport
So next stop, Christchurch it was, after a 3 1/2 hour flight. Never flying with Pacific Blue again since they count flying from Sydney to Christchurch as a domestic flight and I therefore had to pay NZ $230 (ca. $152 USD) at the airport to take my backpack with me. At first I thought that lady behind the check-in was kidding me but then I realised she was deadly serious and I was fuming. For a short time I actually thought about leaving the backpack because I thought I can just buy another one with that money and I would travel easy for once. Haha I paid the money and thought again: I could have bought this or this – screw it.
Where to rent a car ?
Rented a car at the information centre (iSite) in the city centre for our planned road trip with Sebastian – a friend from my home town Karlsruhe in Germany – who happened to be there at the same.
4-weeks-Itinerary
Christchurch -> Methven (Middle Earth) -> Lake Tekapo -> Mt.Cook -> Milford Sound -> Queenstown -> Fox Glacier -> Franz Josef Glacier -> Arthur’s Pass -> Pancake Rock’s -> Lake Rotoiti -> Abel Tasman National Park -> Riwaka Resurgence -> Pu Pu Springs -> Whararaki Beach -> Queen Charlotte Dr to Picton
Christchurch (-> Kaikoura) -> Methven (Middle Earth)
The recent earthquake on December 26,2010 left its signs with broken buildings everywhere. The first few days I did some sightseeing, where I’ve visited the cathedral and the botanic garden. To be honest nothing exciting but like I always do when arriving in a new city is to have a wander around to get familiar with the area. The hostel named “Excelsior” where I checked-in I only stayed for one night. Horrible place! The next day I decided to move closer to the beach in New Brighton into a very nice hostel called “Point Break”. This is a great place to stay if you are looking to catch early days to go surfing because of the close proximity of 300m to the beach, which I indeed did.
Kaikoura is a must stop on your journey in New Zealand to see sea lions sunbathing on the rocks with a beautiful landscape and a nice coast drive. At the end of the day you can’t beat sleeping at the view point and having breakfast like this.
Driving passed Blenheim towards Methven and final stop one of the famous film locations of the movie lord of the rings “Middle Earth”. It was no question, we also stayed there the night and enjoyed being in the nature and the lovely surroundings.
Christchurch -> Methven (Middle Earth) -> Lake Tekapo
Driving to Lake Tekapo, which is supposed to be a really nice lake if the weather was good we would have also been able to see that. Anyways, after three days of not having a shower we decided to visit hot springs “Apline Springs”, which we can totally recommend.
Christchurch -> Methven (Middle Earth) -> Lake Tekapo -> Mt.Cook
Next morning it was impossible to sleep any longer at 5am because it was freezing cold sleeping in the car, so we decided to drive to Mt. Cook. This is also a must see destination as the ‘Tasman Glacier View’ gives an impressive view over a beautiful scenery and Mt. Cook. Don’t leave without a few hours trekking. A reccommended trail is called “Sealy Tarns”, which supposed to take 3,5 hr return – it took us 3 hours only but believe me totally worth the effort for that view.
Christchurch -> Methven (Middle Earth) -> Lake Tekapo -> Mt.Cook -> Milford Sound
Heading to Milford Sound at 4am to catch the ferry and sail around the fjords. Really enjoyed driving the journey there and totally recommend with this amazing landscape – no more words. The ferry set off at 10:30am, sailed around for 5,5 hours and it was unbelieveable.
Christchurch -> Methven (Middle Earth) -> Lake Tekapo -> Mt.Cook -> Milford Sound -> Queenstown
Queenstown is the place for people that seek for adrenalin kicking activities such as bungee jumping, skydiving, zip lining, luge and many other water activities.
Christchurch -> Methven (Middle Earth) -> Lake Tekapo -> Mt.Cook -> Milford Sound -> Queenstown -> Fox Glacier
Christchurch -> Methven (Middle Earth) -> Lake Tekapo -> Mt.Cook -> Milford Sound -> Queenstown -> Fox Glacier -> Franz Josef Glacier
Christchurch -> Methven (Middle Earth) -> Lake Tekapo -> Mt.Cook -> Milford Sound -> Queenstown -> Fox Glacier -> Franz Josef Glacier -> Arthur’s Pass
Christchurch -> Methven (Middle Earth) -> Lake Tekapo -> Mt.Cook -> Milford Sound -> Queenstown -> Fox Glacier -> Franz Josef Glacier -> Arthur’s Pass -> Pancake Rock’s
Christchurch -> Methven (Middle Earth) -> Lake Tekapo -> Mt.Cook -> Milford Sound -> Queenstown -> Fox Glacier -> Franz Josef Glacier -> Arthur’s Pass -> Pancake Rock’s -> Lake Rotoiti
Christchurch -> Methven (Middle Earth) -> Lake Tekapo -> Mt.Cook -> Milford Sound -> Queenstown -> Fox Glacier -> Franz Josef Glacier -> Arthur’s Pass -> Pancake Rock’s -> Lake Rotoiti -> Abel Tasman National Park
Christchurch -> Methven (Middle Earth) -> Lake Tekapo -> Mt.Cook -> Milford Sound -> Queenstown -> Fox Glacier -> Franz Josef Glacier -> Arthur’s Pass -> Pancake Rock’s -> Lake Rotoiti -> Abel Tasman National Park -> Riwaka Resurgence
Christchurch -> Methven (Middle Earth) -> Lake Tekapo -> Mt.Cook -> Milford Sound -> Queenstown -> Fox Glacier -> Franz Josef Glacier -> Arthur’s Pass -> Pancake Rock’s -> Lake Rotoiti -> Abel Tasman National Park -> Riwaka Resurgence -> Pu Pu Springs
Christchurch -> Methven (Middle Earth) -> Lake Tekapo -> Mt.Cook -> Milford Sound -> Queenstown -> Fox Glacier -> Franz Josef Glacier -> Arthur’s Pass -> Pancake Rock’s -> Lake Rotoiti -> Abel Tasman National Park -> Riwaka Resurgence -> Pu Pu Springs -> Whararaki Beach
Christchurch -> Methven (Middle Earth) -> Lake Tekapo -> Mt.Cook -> Milford Sound -> Queenstown -> Fox Glacier -> Franz Josef Glacier -> Arthur’s Pass -> Pancake Rock’s -> Lake Rotoiti -> Abel Tasman National Park -> Riwaka Resurgence -> Pu Pu Springs -> Whararaki Beach -> Queen Charlotte Dr to Picton
I TRAVEL FOREVER’s VIEW & RECOMMENDATION
By the way we didn’t plan any of this trip at all but it was the best itinerary to get around the South Island in New Zealand. When Sebastian arrived we just looked at the map we found in the car and decided to go to Methven (Middle Earth) first because we both love Lord of the Rings. From there all we did was asking the locals, speaking to other backpackers and spontaneously stopping.
#TW
