Going on a holiday and making the most out of it, requires a lot of time spent on research. Our main intention was to explore the South Island by road and do as many side walking trails as possible.
A lot of sites have itineraries for road trips across the South Island but don't really mention the activities or the amount of time that one could have to do a little bit of exploring - may be on foot or activities (you are in the adventure capital of the world).
Here is the story of our first campervan trip in the South Island, New Zealand, with what we did and could do and what we could not or did not want to do. We did end up rushing the last few days - after day 9.
Trip details - Christchurch - Lake Tekapo - Oamaru - Dunedin - The Catlins - Invercargill - Bluff - Te Anau - Milford Sound - Queenstown - Glenorchy - Arrowtown - Wanaka - Glaciers - Hokitika - Christchurch
Day 1 : Auckland to Lake Tekapo
Day 2 : Lake Tekapo to Oamaru
Day 3 : Oamaru to Dunedin
Day 4: Dunedin to Invercargill.
Day 5: Invercargill to Milford Sound via Te Anau
Day 6: Milford Sound to Queenstown via Te Anau
Day 7 : Exploring Queenstown
Day 8 : Queenstown to Wanaka
Day 9 : Wanaka to Hokitika via the glaciers
Day 10 : Hokitika to Christchurch
Day 11 : Christchurch to Auckland
Trivia :
Day 1 : Auckland to Lake Tekapo (1.5+3.5 hours)
Today includes a flight to Christchurch, hiring a campervan and driving to Lake Tekapo via Ashburton and Geraldine.
Lake Tekapo gets it turquoise colour from the 'rock flour' that is dispersed in the lake. The rocks are ground by the glaciers higher up.
Lake Tekapo houses many hydro power generating stations and is also know for fishing and boating.
Background : All radio stations screaming of bad weather and road blocks.
Also, a public holiday - Good Friday so stocking up on essentials was a bit tough. Public holidays in New Zealand can make life really difficult - more so when the big super market chains close down as well.
Transport :
Stuff that we missed cause of the public holiday
* Ashburton flight museum - usually open between 1pm - 3 pm
* Geraldine Vintage Car Museum
Stay :
Lake Tekapo Holiday Park and Motel
Day 2 : Lake Tekapo to Oamaru (2.5 hrs)
Today includes a walk up Mt. John, breakfast at the breathtakingly beautiful Astro Cafe, stocking up on supplies and heading to Oamaru to see the Blue Penguin Colony.
Transport :
Campervan hire - 99$ per day
Fuel charges - 63$
Lake Tekapo to Oamaru - 2.5 hours
Food :
* Night star gazing at the observatory due to bad weather
* Elephant rocks - just missed it as we were arguing and drove right past
* SteamPunk HQ
Stay :
Waitaki Waters Holiday Park
Total Cost : 270$ including bits and odds
Day 3 : Oamaru to Dunedin (1.5 hours)
Today includes visiting the Moeraki Boulders(a natural wonder), Larnach Castle and Alan's Beach which meant driving around the Otago Peninsula. There are other paid activities such as the Yellow Penguin Place, Albatross Centre which we decided to give a miss as we thought it would be best to see the animals in the wild rather than under human influence.
Transport :
Campervan hire - 99$
Fuel - 57$
Oamaru to Dunedin - 1.5 hrs
Food :
* Yellow Eyed Penguin Place
* Albatross Centre
* Dunedin Botanic Gardens
* Sandfly Bay - similar to Alan's Beach
* Gypsy Fair - Arrggh!! It made me sad that despite being gypsies for those few days, we missed it - sheer foolishness on our part.
Stay :
Dunedin Holiday Park and Motel
Day 6: Milford Sound to Queenstown via Te Anau (5 hrs)
Travel :
* Kepler track
* Key Summit track
Stay : Frankton Motor Camp
Day 7: Exploring Queenstown
We were so satisfied with the relaxed and lovely atmosphere of the Frankton Motor Camp that we decided to stay a day more. We explore Glenorchy and try to find Paradise.
Transport :
* Frankton Lakefront walkway
* Exploring the crowded town centre
* Skyline Gondola
* Paragliding
* Shotover Jet
* Million Dollar Cruise
Stay : Frankton Motor Camp
Day 8: Queenstown to Wanaka (1 hr excluding time spent in Arrowtown)
When we explore the true colours of Autumn and exercise our brains at the Puzzling World!
Transport :
*Mt Roy walk
*Mt Iron walk
Stay : Lake Outlet Holiday Park
In spite of the long drive, we did fit in a lot of walks.
Transport
There was just one worry on my mind for this day and that was the weather. I heard that Arthur's Pass could be closed due to bad weather and since the weather had not been particularly good, I wanted to make sure that we get to Christchurch on time. We did nothing but drive all the way to Christchurch today. The views were great and an enjoyable drive.
We were in Christchurch by lunchtime and spent most of our day inside a motel room cause most businesses were closed as it was a Sunday.
Transport
Ashford Motor Lodge
Campervan review :
Company : CamperCo
A lot of sites have itineraries for road trips across the South Island but don't really mention the activities or the amount of time that one could have to do a little bit of exploring - may be on foot or activities (you are in the adventure capital of the world).
Here is the story of our first campervan trip in the South Island, New Zealand, with what we did and could do and what we could not or did not want to do. We did end up rushing the last few days - after day 9.
Trip details - Christchurch - Lake Tekapo - Oamaru - Dunedin - The Catlins - Invercargill - Bluff - Te Anau - Milford Sound - Queenstown - Glenorchy - Arrowtown - Wanaka - Glaciers - Hokitika - Christchurch
Day 1 : Auckland to Lake Tekapo
Day 2 : Lake Tekapo to Oamaru
Day 3 : Oamaru to Dunedin
Day 4: Dunedin to Invercargill.
Day 5: Invercargill to Milford Sound via Te Anau
Day 6: Milford Sound to Queenstown via Te Anau
Day 7 : Exploring Queenstown
Day 8 : Queenstown to Wanaka
Day 9 : Wanaka to Hokitika via the glaciers
Day 10 : Hokitika to Christchurch
Day 11 : Christchurch to Auckland
Trivia :
- Scenic Route from Christchurch upto Queenstown
- Total kms covered by road - 2,275kms
- 18th April, 2014 to 28th April, 2014
- This was quite an ambitious trip and we ended up doing nothing else but mostly driving on a couple of days
- We could not use deals on bookme as we were not really sure of the timing and where we would be but we did manage to grab a few deals from the AA and Jasons magazines.
Today includes a flight to Christchurch, hiring a campervan and driving to Lake Tekapo via Ashburton and Geraldine.
Lake Tekapo gets it turquoise colour from the 'rock flour' that is dispersed in the lake. The rocks are ground by the glaciers higher up.
Lake Tekapo houses many hydro power generating stations and is also know for fishing and boating.
Background : All radio stations screaming of bad weather and road blocks.
Also, a public holiday - Good Friday so stocking up on essentials was a bit tough. Public holidays in New Zealand can make life really difficult - more so when the big super market chains close down as well.
Transport :
- Flights from Auckland to Christchurch for 2 - 500$ - 1.5 hours
- Campervan hire - 99$ for the day
- Fuel charges - 64$
- Christchurch to Lake Tekapo - 3.5 hours
- Breakfast - Moko Cafe, Regent Street
- Hearty sized portions
- Cost for 2 portions plus coffee - 24$
- Lunch - Robbie's Bar and Bistro, Ashburton
- Lovely ambience
- Friendly staff
- Cost of 1 main and 1 beer - 25$
- Dinner - self made sandwiches
- Antartic Centre
- Cost : 56$ per person including the Hagglund ride
- Simulated storm not to be missed
- Ice water competition is fun if not already tried it at Kelly Tarlton's in Auckland
- Hagglund ride is a different experience
- Blue penguin feeding is very informative
- Spend about 2 hours
- Church of the good shepherd
- Cost : Free
- Must visit
- Beautiful place to walk around
- Can spend about an hour or so walking around the lake - around the evening
- Walk near Lake Tekapo
- About 45 minutes post dinner
Stuff that we missed cause of the public holiday
* Ashburton flight museum - usually open between 1pm - 3 pm
* Geraldine Vintage Car Museum
Stay :
Lake Tekapo Holiday Park and Motel
- Price - 15$ per person for a non powered site plus 2$ for a hot shower
- Beautiful location - only thing they got going for them
- Nil equipment in the kitchen
- Showers are without any proper ventilation
- Free BBQs
Day 2 : Lake Tekapo to Oamaru (2.5 hrs)Today includes a walk up Mt. John, breakfast at the breathtakingly beautiful Astro Cafe, stocking up on supplies and heading to Oamaru to see the Blue Penguin Colony.
Transport :
Campervan hire - 99$ per day
Fuel charges - 63$
Lake Tekapo to Oamaru - 2.5 hours
Food :
- Breakfast - Astro Cafe
- A sandwich and hot chocolate - 12$
- Breathtaking views
- Lunch
- Boiled eggs and bread
- Dinner
- Grilled salmon - salmon bought at Twizel for 13$, self grilled
- Mt. John Walkway
- Cost - Free
- 1.5 hours return
- Moderate climb
- 360 degree views of Lake Tekapo and beyond and the mountains
- Visit Astro Cafe for a quick bite
- Lake Pukaki Scenic Lookout and Twizel Salmon
- Cost - Free
- Can purchase farmed salmon
- Lovely views
- Walk around the Oamaru Victorian Precinct
- Cost - free
- About 30-45 minutes
- Blue Penguin Colony, Oamaru
- Cost - 48$ for 2 - with some discount for holding a YHA membership card
- Get educated on blue penguins
- See the blue penguins get washed ashore while returning from feeding in the sea
- The number of penguins that you see depends on the time of the year and your patience
- We saw over 80 penguins
* Night star gazing at the observatory due to bad weather
* Elephant rocks - just missed it as we were arguing and drove right past
* SteamPunk HQ
Stay :
Waitaki Waters Holiday Park
- 29$ for 2 people for 1 night for a non-powered site
- Well equipped kitchen
- Friendly staff
Total Cost : 270$ including bits and odds
Day 3 : Oamaru to Dunedin (1.5 hours)
Today includes visiting the Moeraki Boulders(a natural wonder), Larnach Castle and Alan's Beach which meant driving around the Otago Peninsula. There are other paid activities such as the Yellow Penguin Place, Albatross Centre which we decided to give a miss as we thought it would be best to see the animals in the wild rather than under human influence.
Transport :
Campervan hire - 99$
Fuel - 57$
Oamaru to Dunedin - 1.5 hrs
Food :
- Breakfast
- Self made bread and eggs
- Lunch
- Self made sandwiches
- Dinner - Scenic Hotel Southern Cross
- Cost - 59.50$ for 2 mains and 2 beer
- Good food
- Nice ambience
- Sunrise at the beach in Oamaru
- Cost - free
- Our first cobbled beach experience
- Secluded except for a couple of fishermen
- 45 minutes
- Moeraki Boulders
- Cost - donation of personal choice
- A natural wonder
- South Island's most photographed natural wonder
- Perfectly spherical boulders made due to chemical reactions in the limestone
- Can also visit the cafe about which I don't have too much to say
- 30 minutes
- Shag Point - Fur Seals and Sea lions in their natural habitat
- We may have missed this one if not for the free touring map by Jasons.
- We saw so many fur seals up close and personal.
- Not too many people - looks like a best kept secret
- 30 minutes to an hour or more
- Larnach Castle
- Cost - 50.40$ for two (including 10% discount coupon)
- Lovely garden and well maintained house
- Can be missed as you get better views for free
- Alan's Beach
- Can see yellow eyed penguins and seals, if you are lucky
- Gravel road makes for an uncomfortable drive with a 2WD vehicle
- Explore the town center
- Post dinner we walked around the town center
- Stunning architecture
* Yellow Eyed Penguin Place
* Albatross Centre
* Dunedin Botanic Gardens
* Sandfly Bay - similar to Alan's Beach
* Gypsy Fair - Arrggh!! It made me sad that despite being gypsies for those few days, we missed it - sheer foolishness on our part.
Stay :
Dunedin Holiday Park and Motel
- Cost - 36$ for 2 for a non powered site
- Super market/Stores a stone's throw away
- Very close to the beach
- Quite a popular place
- Ill-equipped kitchen
Day 4: Dunedin to Invercargill. (3.5hrs)
Following the scenic route brochure that we had picked up, we decided to go to Invercargill via The Catlins. On the way we visited Kaka Point, Nugget point and also made it to the Bluff. It being Easter Monday we missed out on Bluff Oysters in their land.
Travel :
Campervan hire : 99$
Fuel : 51$
Food :
Beach Road Holiday Park
Stuff we missed due to lack of time
* Jack's Blowhole
* A visit to Stewart Island
Total Cost : 250$ (Including bits and odds and stocking up on essentials)
Day 5: Invercargill to Milford Sound via Te Anau (4.5 hrs)
Today we drive to Te Anau. On the way we confirmed a Milford Sound Cruise and stay at Milford Sound. We also do a few walks on the way to Milford Sound as planned.
Travel :
Campervan hire : 99$
Fuel : 110$
Food :
Following the scenic route brochure that we had picked up, we decided to go to Invercargill via The Catlins. On the way we visited Kaka Point, Nugget point and also made it to the Bluff. It being Easter Monday we missed out on Bluff Oysters in their land.
Travel :
Campervan hire : 99$
Fuel : 51$
Food :
- Breakfast
- Self made sandwiches
- Lunch
- Self made stuff
- Dinner - Speight's Ale House
- Cost - 43$
- Nice ambience
- Unfortunately had run out of the beer that was on promotion for a limited time
- Was one of the few rare places open considering the public holiday
Beach Road Holiday Park
- Cost - 28$ for two persons
- Surcharge on credit cards
- Nugget Point
- Lovely views
- Come face to face with how nature deals with the harshness of nature
- Tiny baby seals playing - need a pair of binoculars
- A nice walk
- Tautuku Bay
- Florence Hill Lookout
- See how nature changes what we see
- Explore bluff
- Learn a bit more history and enjoy great views
Stuff we missed due to lack of time
* Jack's Blowhole
* A visit to Stewart Island
Total Cost : 250$ (Including bits and odds and stocking up on essentials)
Day 5: Invercargill to Milford Sound via Te Anau (4.5 hrs)
Today we drive to Te Anau. On the way we confirmed a Milford Sound Cruise and stay at Milford Sound. We also do a few walks on the way to Milford Sound as planned.
Travel :
Campervan hire : 99$
Fuel : 110$
Food :
- Breakfast
- Self cooked
- Lunch
- Self cooked sandwiches
- Dinner - Blue Duck Cafe and Bar
- Cost - 48$
- Happening place considering it is the only place open
- Cool ambience
- Loved their kitchen
- Lake Gunn Walkway
- A 45 min walk through beech wood forest
- Teeming with birdlife
- Amazing views of Lake Gunn
- Loads of trivia about beech trees
- Very easy walk
- Mirror Lakes
- Teeming with people
- All bus tours stop here so this should be visited when there is no crowd
- 15 minutes walk and viewing
- Homer Tunnel Walk
- A short walk to understand the flora and fauna of the harsh terrain
- Lovely views
- Appreciate the sharp contrast to the other side of the tunnel, once you drive through
- The Chasm
- Work of art by nature
- Sheer force of water
- 15-20 minutes walk and viewing
- Milford Sound Cruise
- Cost : 70$ per person including free tea/coffee
- Amazingly beautiful sounds
- Fur seals
- Get bathed in pristine waters from a waterfall
- 2.5 hour cruise
- Cost - 44$ for two - most expensive
- Worst in all our travel
- Was just a car park with zero views
- Ill equipped kitchen
- Bad roads to get there
Day 6: Milford Sound to Queenstown via Te Anau (5 hrs)
Travel :
- Campervan hire - 99$
- Fuel - 50$
- Breakfast - self made sandwiches
- Lunch - Self cooked noodles and baked beans
- Dinner - Bombay Palace, Frankton
- Amazing ambience
- We took our food for a candle light dinner by the lake front
- Good biryani
- Nice sides though we missed the pepper in the pepper chicken
- Cost - 36$ - we did use it the next day for lunch as well
- Lake Marian walk
- A steep climb
- 3 hrs return
- We missed the views due to bad weather but it was rated 2nd in the list of must do walks at the Milford Sound Lodge
- Explore Frankton LakeFront
- Candlelight dinner at the lake front
- Council provided Barbecue available for use
- Council provided seating available too
* Kepler track
* Key Summit track
Stay : Frankton Motor Camp
- Cost - 36$ for two persons per night
- Items for kitchen use available for loan from office - I quite like this idea
- Lovely location - right at the waterfront under kowhai trees - a romantic can't ask for more
Day 7: Exploring Queenstown
We were so satisfied with the relaxed and lovely atmosphere of the Frankton Motor Camp that we decided to stay a day more. We explore Glenorchy and try to find Paradise.
Transport :
- Campervan hire - 99$
- Fuel - 50$
- Breakfast - self made sandwiches
- Lunch - leftover from Bombay Palace
- Dinner - Frankton Arm Tavern
- Cost - 56$ for 2 mains and 2 beers
- Amazing ambience
- Lovely fireplace which was taken by locals
- Good food
- Really friendly staff
- Queenstown walk from Belfast Terrace
- 360 degree views
- 2-3 hrs return
- Steep climb but well worth the views
- Explore Glenorchy and the search for paradise
- A 45 minute drive from Queenstown
- Beautiful Lagoon Walkway
- A semi gravel road drive to Paradise
- Eat world famous carrot cake at "The Trading Post" in Glenorchy
- A short exploration of the 12 mile delta where we stopped for lunch
- Lake Diamond walk
- a lake in the shape of an eight
* Frankton Lakefront walkway
* Exploring the crowded town centre
* Skyline Gondola
* Paragliding
* Shotover Jet
* Million Dollar Cruise
Stay : Frankton Motor Camp
- Cost - 36$ for two persons
Day 8: Queenstown to Wanaka (1 hr excluding time spent in Arrowtown)
When we explore the true colours of Autumn and exercise our brains at the Puzzling World!
Transport :
- Campervan hire - 99$
- Fuel - 50$
- Breakfast - Arrowtown Bakery Cafe
- Cost - 12$
- Snug place
- Yumm food
- Lunch - Uncle John's Pizzeria
- Cost - 14$ for a burnt calzone and "1" fried bluff oyster
- One word - Avoid!!
- Snacks - Puzzling world
- Cost - 10$
- Dinner - Self cooked
- Explore Arrowtown
- Quaint town
- Known for Autumn Colours
- Hosts Autumn Festival
- Zero crime
- Explore the lakefront
- Puzzling world and the Great Maze
- Cost - 32$ including a 10% discount voucher
- A must visit - great fun
- Exercise your brain
- Purchase some more puzzles to further exercise your brain
- Outlet track
- About 1.5 hours along the river side
- Flat easy walk
*Mt Roy walk
*Mt Iron walk
Stay : Lake Outlet Holiday Park
- Cost - 28$ for two persons plus 1$ for a hot shower
- Beautiful views
- Easy walks start from here
- Liked the fact that they sold stuff at the office - convenience matters
- Hot shower did not work
In spite of the long drive, we did fit in a lot of walks.
Transport
- Campervan hire - 99$
- Fuel - 110$
Food :
Stay : Hokitika Holiday Park
Day 10 : Hokitika to Christchurch (3.5 hrs)
- Breakfast - self cooked
- Lunch - Haast World Heritage Frontier cafe
- Cost - 37$ - a main and a beer
- Vintage ambience
- Good local food
- Dinner - self cooked
- Blue Pools Walkway
- 30 minutes return
- Through beech/tahina forest, across a swinging bridge to the mouth of the blue river
- If you are lucky, you can see rainbow trout
- Thunder Creek falls
- 5 minute return
- Just as the name suggests - a sudden bolt of water falling from a height
- Fantail falls
- 5 minutes return
- As the name suggests, a waterfall that looks like the outline of a fantail.
- Fox Glacier Te Moeka o Tuawe Valley Walk
- 1 hour return depends on your agility to cross streams
- Takes you to a view that gives you a frontal view of the glacier
- Cross a surging stream - which can be tricky
- Lake Matheson walk
- Lake Matheson is famous for the reflective view of Mt Cook
- We did just the first point of interest but the bride, read Mt Cook, was too shy to come out from behind the veil, read the clouds.
Stay : Hokitika Holiday Park
- Cost - 28$ for two for a night
- Very good facilities
- Hosts let their expectations well known
Day 10 : Hokitika to Christchurch (3.5 hrs)
There was just one worry on my mind for this day and that was the weather. I heard that Arthur's Pass could be closed due to bad weather and since the weather had not been particularly good, I wanted to make sure that we get to Christchurch on time. We did nothing but drive all the way to Christchurch today. The views were great and an enjoyable drive.
We were in Christchurch by lunchtime and spent most of our day inside a motel room cause most businesses were closed as it was a Sunday.
Transport
- Campervan hire - 99$
- Fuel - 60$
- Breakfast - self cooked
- Lunch and Dinner - Pedro's House of Lamb
- Cost - 36$
- Huge Portions
- Relax
- Explore Hagley's Park in the city of gardens
Ashford Motor Lodge
- Cost - 120$ for a one bedroom apartment
- Comfortable and clean
- Eco friendly
Campervan review :
Company : CamperCo
- Sturdy, dependable vehicle.
- Had all that we needed for our trip.
- Cost per day 99$ with no excess
- Hired for 11 days
- The only grouse was the lack of charging points. You can either run the freezer box or charge *ONE* device at a time.
- Also, we forgot to take our AUX input cable. I am sure that we could have asked Ross from CamperCo but decided not to as it was Easter time and did not want to disturb him. The radio works most of the time and it was good as we got the weather updates as we needed them.
