South Island road trip recommended

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New Zealand South Island road trip top locations and things to do

You'll probably fly into Christchurch so I'll start from there. If you need to get cold-weather gear before you start traveling Dress Smart in Hornby is an outlet store with good deals on clothing. While in Christchurch you should take a look at Hagley Park as it's free and is the 3rd biggest park in the world - you'll learn this and many more interesting facts on the Christchurch tram which runs through the city. We would recommend buying a day tram ticket and hopping on/off as you please.

Next to Christchurch, you have some nice places east and west, in addition to the city itself. You can visit New Brighton and go to the pier which is lit up at night. Further east along the beach is Sumner and Taylor's mistake these are both nice beaches. From Taylor's Mistake, the Godley Head Track begins, which takes you around the breathtaking headland. The walk talks approx. 3 hours at a leisurely pace.

Over the Port Hills from Christchurch is a wee settlement called Lyttleton which has a good vibe, nice cafes, and weekend markets. You can get here by going through the tunnel or over the hill. If you are after a scenic drive, we would recommend to take your time and drive over the Port Hills to get to Lyttleton. On your way, why not stop at The Sign of the Kiwi for a darn good coffee with even better views overlooking Christchurch.

Once in Lyttleton, you can drive around the bay to Akaroa or any of the little serene bays on the peninsula. One of Marcus's favorites is Hickory bay (he did get my Toyota Corolla there, but the road is rough). Akaroa is a quaint settlement, with plenty of walks, cafes/restaurants, accommodation, and stunning scenery!

After seeing the sights of Akaroa and the Chrictshich Peninsula, head back to Christchurch and then onwards, either West or South. Take your pick! If the weather looks good, we would recommend checking out the West Coast and stopping at Arthurs Pass, however, if not, you can head south (we will get to Arthur's pass later).

Heading South from Christchurch:

You have 2 options; the main road or the inland scenic route. We would recommend the scenic route. You can drive out to Darfield and then go south to Mt Somers. Mount Somers has a pleasant 2-3 day circuit hike. This is a graded, easy-to-follow path with a few ups and downs. You don't need to carry a tent which is a bonus as there are huts to stay in.

If 2-3 days hiking seems too long head south to Peel Forrest. Little Mount Peel is by far the best-underrated hike! We have both hiked this one several times. This walk gives great views and has a small hut on top where you can stop for a lunch break while you soak up the incredible views over the Canterbury plains. This hike whilst uphill it's not too challenging if you have a moderate level of fitness, so can be done by first-time hikers. For those who are more advanced, you can go past the hut at small mount peel and continue on to big mount peel. This add-on takes a lot longer and gives you a good workout. If doing this we recommend starting before sunrise to experience a sunrise at the top of small mount peel on the way up (take a headlamp).

After a day of hiking, nearby Geraldine is a nice place to stop and get a good deal on a burger and shake!

Around the Mount Somers area, you also have Methven (a small ski town that has some cool pubs and easy access to the nearby ski mountains).

To Timaru or not to Timaru. This is my hometown and it's okay. It's got a really nice pool called Cbay which has a spa, sauna and steam room. Caroline bay is also an attraction here and if you're there at the right time of year around Christmas there's the Caroline bay carnival. After Timaru head to Fairlie, via Salisbury, Pareora gorge, and Cave for scenic countryside views. To stretch your legs you could do the Mt Nimrod circuit.

Farlie Bakehouse has the world's best pies (in our opinion) and we have lots of experience eating pies. Try the salmon pie with a bit of tomato sauce!

Through the pass and into the Mackenzie basin you'll find a new landscape and the town of Tekapo. Tekapo is known for its vivid blue lake. It is also known for its hot pools, ice skating, ski fields, and the Mt John observatory.

The next lake over is lake Pukaki which lies in front of New Zealand's highest mountain Aoraki-Mt Cook. There are numerous hikes that can be done around this area. A very easy one is the Hooker valley track.

If you liked the Salmon pie at Fairlie there's more Salmon at the nearby town of Twizel which has some salmon farms and cool waterways. Try some sashimi (raw salmon) if that's what you're into.

Omarama the gliding capital of New Zealand. This makes sense as the surrounding mountains provide sufficient lift to fly for hours with remarkable views.

You have the choice now of continuing to Queenstown or coming back to it later after getting some coastal views. I recommend getting a bit of coast if you are able.

From Twizel drive east past the Benmore Dam and follow the Waitaki river to the coast. Turning right you can follow the coast to Oamaru. Oamaru is known for its coats and sea life, whitestone buildings, and art.

Follow the coast towards Dunedin making sure to stop at the Moeraki boulders for the iconic photo.

Dunedin is a great place to go surfing if you've got a thick enough wetsuit. An awesome secret spot for surfing is Murders beach which is quite a drive to get to but quite often has some slick waves. The main options for surf are Smails, Tomahawk and St Clair beach. Not into surfing? St Clair Beach is a very cool spot with shops, cafes, restaurants a saltwater pool.

We recommend going to Long Dog Cafe for some food and a coffee. From this vantage point, you get a nice side-on view of the waves rolling in. Really nice to catch a sunrise or sunset from either St Clair or St Kilda beach.

Dunedin central has the octagon at its heart which is nice to walk around. Once again you'll be able to find some cool restaurants and bars.

We used to live in Dunedin so we'll just list all the places you can go to:

Baldwin street

Glowworms walk

Speights ale house tour then head to the restaurant afterward and get a meal and garlic bread (we've done this a couple of times aye)

Drive out along the peninsula for great views and many short walks to beaches.

Speaking of walks Silver Peaks is a nice overnight walk with a hut.

The Pineapple Track is a great day walk that offers panoramic views of Dunedin from above.

Over the hill is Mosgiel which is home to New Zealand's oldest aero club. Here you can get a great deal on a trial flight where you get to actually fly an aircraft around Dunedin's skies. If you actually go here tell captain Joe that Marcus sent ya.

Depending on how much time you have for your road trip you might start heading towards Queenstown now or if you're blessed with more time continue south.

Nugget point is a beautiful usually cold bit of land that sticks out and has a lighthouse on it. The name comes from all of the massive rocks protruding out of the crashing waves.

You're now in the catlin's area so I recommend checking out Purakanui a beautiful beach where you can camp and surf.

Next, you're on to Invercargill, there's not a whole lot here but some people like it I think?

One good thing I can recommend is Da Vinci's Pizza. They have an all-you-can-eat buffet and the best pizza I've ever had, the "texmex".

On the subject of food you can go to Bluff where the famous bluff oysters are from. Every year they have an oyster festival so popular that Marcus has never managed to get tickets.

Across the Foveaux straight is Stewart island. Not technically the south island but lets include it anyway. Stewart Island has some awesome round the island walks and probably your best chance of seeing a kiwi in the wild. We were meant to go to Stewart island for the great walk but we're cut off by the flooding in Gore Feb 2020.

From Invercargill drive to Te Anau. This is a great wee town as it is the gateway to many of the great walks to be found in iordland.

Kepler

Hollyford

Dusky

These are some of the overnight hikes I have done in the area and it's always nice to come back to Te Anau for a good pub feed and a shower.

If you can get a booking, the Milford track is a great walk, very popular.

Even if you're not doing the walk it's a nice drive out to Milford sound and there are plenty of other activities available.

Queenstown is the next destination. This is quite a busy tourist hotspot and you can quickly spend quite a bit. I do recommend the luge as that is very fun and not too expensive. The mountains surrounding Queenstown are remarkable especially when covered with snow. We will be visiting the slopes in Queenstown this July 2020 and will let you know how this goes.

Queenstown on to Wanaka is a nice drive over the crown range.

Wanaka has puzzle world and in the surrounding area has Mt aspiring National park these are walks we haven't done yet but have heard a lot about. Also Mt aspiring if probably the most aesthetically pleasing mountain in new Zealand and only a little bit shorter the Mt Cook.

Getting through to the west coast I recommend going through the haast pass.

In the pass you'll find Makarora, the blue pools and the Mt Brewster hike.

The Brewster hike is a great day or overnight hikes because you go straight up and get to an amazing view and a really well made red hut designed to handle the cold. If you're lucky you can go past the hut and hike to the glacier. We were not that lucky when we went as we didn't have the time to get all the way to the glacier so we just climbed up and slid down the hill behind the hut which was good fun. The sunset and sunrise were super nice from this spot. You'll see a photo of this hut on the cover of our website.

West coast

The west coast is a very fun drive as it follows the rugged weather beaten coastline.

Places like hokitika get 193 out of 365 rainy days so don't be surprised to get rain. After the weather has passed through you get some of the clearest blue skies you'll ever see.

I like hot pools and there are some normal pay to access hot pools on the west coast however if you're feeling more adventurous you can hike to find the secret hot pools on the Copland track. This is a good overnight hike and you would want to spend the night at the hut to get the most out of the hot pools and rejuvenate. The hut itself is also really nice. If you continue up past the hut you can continue up over the range and down past Mt Cook back into the hooker valley. This would be very advanced mountaineering and is on my bucket list.

Moving northwards there's several glaciers that you can look at Fox glacier and Franz Joseph glacier being the main two. Probably best to check these out before they're gone forever due to the world warming up and the shrinking over the past decades.

Hokitika and greymouth would be good places to resupply and if you haven't already make a detour inland to check out Arthur's pass. Through this pass is the otira viaduct, waterfalls and hiking. Avalanche peak was a challenging hike me and my brothers did on the southern side of the valley, an easier one on the northern side is temple basin which is also a ski field. For the brave go for a dip in the bealy river. It's cold I can remember that much.

On of my favorite multi dayhikes in new Zealand that I did as a kiddo is the Heaphy track. You can start this from the west coast north of Westport and hike through the Kahurangi national park to the Tasman region. This is a unique hike in the sense each new day of hiking somehow came with a vastly different change of scenery. Just like all great hikes you need to book in advance the huts for this one. This is a hike that I plan to do again soon. Because this is not a circuit hike you'll need to organize a lift back to you vehicle.

In Tasman there's more hikes available with the able Tasman in this part of NZ you're almost guaranteed sunshine year round due to it being sheltered from the weather from almost all directions. Motueka is a place that I recommend stopping to spend the day picking and trying fresh fruit ad there is heaps of it here and in the surrounding areas. Head east through nelson and up to Picton. These so many islands and bays around this area and good fishing.

Marlborough has lots of wine so do a tour and get off your face doing wine tastings the area is know for good white wine.

You might be short on time so race down the east coast to kiakoura and have a look at the seals and whales. From here you've got a choice:

off to chch

Hot springs

Really boujee hot springs

Inland a bit on your way down you have hamner springs a very family friendly hot springs. Or inland just a bit further is the very boujee maruia springs around the Lewis pass. I went there when I was younger and remember them being the best thing since sliced bread so I've booked to go there again shortly so I'll be able to give a more comprehensive review. I just know that it's a very tranquil place surrounded by ferns, trees, mountains and a river.

A mountain hideaway with thermal pools is how it's described on Google maps. Just make sure to book ahead of schedule.

From here meander your way back down to christchurch and you have completed a comprehensive tour of the south island with locations tested and recommend from local experience.

If you enjoyed this road trip let is know or if you're a local with a secret spot that you reckon should feature also let us know.