Morning
Land at Christchurch (CHC)
Christchurch Airport sits 12 km northwest of the centre. Every rental desk is in the terminal, so the whole South Island loop starts here.
Pick up the rental car
Driving is on the left, and one-way drop-offs to Queenstown are standard. Take a car rather than a campervan: the Crown Range and the Milford Road are both easier without one.
Afternoon / Day
Check in: The George
50 Park Terrace, facing Hagley Park and the Avon. A small hotel with a serious art collection along the corridors, and the Botanic Gardens across the road.
Christchurch Botanic Gardens
Rolleston Avenue, inside the bend of the Avon in Hagley Park. Free to walk; the rose garden and the glasshouses are the two-hour version.
Late lunch at Riverside Market
Corner of Lichfield Street and Oxford Terrace. Dozens of traders under one roof, open seven days from 7:30 am, with the eateries running later.
Evening
Tūranga
60 Cathedral Square. The five-level central library stays open to 8 pm on weekdays, and the upper floors look straight down onto the Square.
Dinner at Twenty Seven Steps
16 New Regent Street, up the stairs above the pastel Spanish Mission strip. Doors from 5 pm daily; closed on public holidays.
Morning
Breakfast at C1 Espresso
Corner of High and Tuam Streets, in the old High Street post office. Big breakfasts from 7 am, and burgers and fries arrive at the table by pneumatic tube.
Punting on the Avon
Antigua Boat Sheds, 2 Cambridge Terrace. Thirty minutes poled through the Botanic Gardens; summer punts run 9 am to 5 pm and mornings are quietest.
Quake City
299 Durham Street North. Canterbury Museum's earthquake exhibition, built around salvaged wreckage and the accounts of people who lived through it. Open daily 10 to 5.
Canterbury Museum pop-up at CoCA
66 Gloucester Street. The Rolleston Avenue building is closed for its rebuild, so the collection highlights are shown here instead.
Afternoon / Day
Christchurch Gondola
10 Bridle Path Road, fifteen minutes east. An 852 m cabin ride up the Port Hills for the city, Lyttelton Harbour and the Pacific; runs 10 to 4.
Lunch at the gondola summit
Red Rock Cafe and the Pinnacle Kitchen sit at the top station. Eat looking down the harbour, then walk part of the Crater Rim before riding back.
Christchurch Art Gallery
Corner Worcester Boulevard and Montreal Street. Te Puna o Waiwhetū is free, open daily 10 to 5, and until 9 on Wednesdays.
Evening
Dinner at Fiddlesticks
Corner Worcester Boulevard and Montreal Street, next door to the gallery. Dinner from 5 pm seven days; the bar keeps going afterwards.
Morning
Drive to Akaroa
SH75 across the plains then over the crater rim, 84 km and about 90 minutes. Stop at the Hilltop for the first view down the drowned volcano.
Akaroa Nature Cruise
Two hours on the harbour with Black Cat, looking for Hector's dolphins, fur seals and white-flippered penguins. Check in at 61 Beach Road while the main wharf is rebuilt.
Afternoon / Day
Late lunch at Bully Hayes
57 Beach Road, on the waterfront. Named for the Pacific blackbirder who worked this coast; the seafood chowder is the order.
The Giant's House
68 Rue Balguerie. A terraced garden of mosaic sculpture built over decades into the hillside. Open 11 to 4 daily from October to April.
Rue Lavaud and the French village
Akaroa was settled by French colonists in 1840 and kept the street names. Walk Rue Lavaud to the old cemetery and the lighthouse.
Evening
Drive back over the rim
Ninety minutes to Christchurch. The Hilltop descent is tight and unlit — leave Akaroa before the light goes.
Dinner at Little High Eatery
255 St Asaph Street. A hall of independent kitchens around shared tables — order at whichever counters you fancy and split the results.
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Across the Plains to Lake Tekapo
Morning
Drive to Lake Tekapo
SH1 south, then SH79 and SH8 through Geraldine and Fairlie. 227 km, about three hours before you stop for anything.
Pie stop at Fairlie Bakehouse
74 Main Street, Fairlie. The last proper town before the Mackenzie Basin opens out, and the pie queue is out the door by midday.
Afternoon / Day
Check in: Peppers Bluewater
State Highway 8 at the edge of the village. Low stone-and-timber blocks, five minutes' walk from the lakefront and the shops.
Church of the Good Shepherd
Pioneer Drive, on the shore. The altar window frames the lake and the range behind it. Interior opening hours are limited, and photography inside is not permitted.
Tekapo Springs
300 Lakeside Drive. Three hot pools at different temperatures on the hillside, plus sauna and a cold plunge. Pools open 11 am on weekdays.
Evening
Dinner at Kohan
6 Rapuwai Lane. Japanese with a wall of windows onto the lake, and salmon from the Mackenzie canals. Normally closed Sundays — book ahead.
Dark Sky Project summit tour
Check in at the Dark Sky Base, 1 Motuariki Lane, then ride up to the Mt John observatory for a 16-inch telescope inside the Aoraki Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve.
Morning
Coffee at the Astro Cafe
At the top of Godley Peaks Road on the Mt John summit. The access road is $14 per vehicle and opens at 10; the cafe runs 10 to 3.
Drive to Mount Cook Village
SH8 past Lake Pukaki, then 55 km up the dead-end SH80 with Aoraki straight ahead the whole way. 105 km, about 90 minutes.
Lake Pukaki lookout
The pull-off on SH8 at the southern end of the lake. Rock flour off the Tasman Glacier is what makes the water that opaque turquoise.
Afternoon / Day
Check in: The Hermitage
89 Terrace Road. The landmark hotel of Mount Cook Village, sitting under the mountain itself — ask for a room facing Aoraki.
Lunch at the Old Mountaineers
Next to the DOC visitor centre in the village. Burgers and soup in a room hung with alpine history; hours vary out here, so ring ahead.
Hooker Valley Track
From White Horse Hill campground at the end of Hooker Valley Road. 10.6 km return over three swing bridges — the new 189 m span opened in July 2026 — to the icebergs on Hooker Lake. Allow 3 to 4 hours.
Evening
Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre
Inside The Hermitage, open daily 8:30 am to 7 pm. The Hillary gallery and the statue he unveiled here himself in 2003, with a domed planetarium alongside it.
Dinner at the Panorama Room
Top floor of The Hermitage, full-height glass onto Aoraki. Book it when you check in — it is the only fine-dining room in the park.
Morning
Glacier Explorers, Tasman Lake
Check in at the Hermitage activities desk. Bus to the Blue Lakes car park, a 25-minute walk in, then an hour weaving between icebergs calved off the Tasman. Weather dependent.
Tasman Glacier View Track
From the car park at the end of Tasman Valley Road. Forty minutes return up the moraine wall for the length of New Zealand's largest glacier.
Afternoon / Day
Drive over the Lindis Pass
Back down SH80 to Twizel, then SH8 through Omarama and over the Lindis. About 260 km and three and a half hours of tussock and merino country.
Lunch at High Country Salmon
State Highway 8 just south of Twizel. A floating farm on the hydro canal — sashimi and hot-smoked fillets eaten at picnic tables by the water.
Check in: Edgewater
54 Sargood Drive, on Roys Bay at the quiet end of the lake. Twenty minutes along the water into town, or two minutes into the lake itself.
Evening
That Wanaka Tree
The lone willow standing out in the shallows off the Roys Bay foreshore, a short walk west of Wanaka Station Park. Go in the last hour of light.
Dinner at Big Fig
105 Ardmore Street on the lakefront. Slow-cooked dishes ready when you sit down; no bookings taken, open 8 am to 8:30 pm daily.
Morning
Roys Peak Track
Car park 6 km out on Wanaka-Mount Aspiring Road. A relentless 1,228 m of climb, five to six hours return, with no shade — leave at first light and carry all your water.
Afternoon / Day
Late lunch at Federal Diner
47 Helwick Street, down the alley off the main strip. Open 7 am to 3 pm daily and the date scones go first.
Rippon
246 Wanaka-Mount Aspiring Road. Biodynamic pinot on a slope running straight down into the lake. Cellar door 12 to 5 daily; bookings required.
Puzzling World
188 Wanaka-Luggate Highway, 2 km out of town. Leaning tower, illusion rooms and a three-dimensional maze that will keep you in there longer than you plan. Open from 9, last admission 4:30 pm.
Evening
Dinner at Kika
2 Dunmore Street. A small share-plate room a block off the lakefront, open daily and booked out well ahead in February.
Dusk on the waterfront
Walk the Ardmore Street foreshore after dinner. This far south the light holds past 9 pm in February.
Morning
Drive the Crown Range Road
Cardrona Valley Road out of Wanaka and over the highest sealed public road in New Zealand at 1,076 m. Only 70 km to Queenstown, but give it half a day.
Stop at the Cardrona Hotel
Cardrona Valley Road, halfway over the range. The whitewashed gold-rush facade is on every Otago postcard; coffee in the garden bar behind it.
Afternoon / Day
Arrowtown Chinese Settlement
Top of Buckingham Street on Bush Creek. Free to walk, with restored miners' huts and Ah Lum's store interpreted in English and Chinese.
Lunch at The Fork and Tap
51 Buckingham Street, on Arrowtown's main street a few doors from the museum. Southern beef and local taps, with tables outside in summer.
Lakes District Museum
49 Buckingham Street, in the original Bank of New Zealand building. Open 10 to 4 daily, and they hire gold pans for the Arrow River.
Drive on to Queenstown
Twenty kilometres down to Arrow Junction and along SH6 past Lake Hayes. Twenty-five minutes.
Evening
Check in: Sofitel Queenstown
8 Duke Street, one block back from the waterfront. Parking is on site, which matters more than anything else in central Queenstown.
Dinner at Rata
43 Ballarat Street. Down a lane, looking out into a stand of beech; book weeks ahead for February.
Morning
Skyline Gondola to Bob's Peak
Base terminal on Brecon Street. A steep cable climb over Lake Wakatipu to the deck facing The Remarkables. The stargazing tour is seasonal, so check before counting on it.
Queenstown Luge
At the gondola summit. Buy the multi-ride pass: the scenic track first to learn the brakes, then the advanced one.
Afternoon / Day
Drive out to Gibbston
SH6 east through the Kawarau Gorge, 23 km. The valley floor turns to vines and schist within twenty minutes.
Kawarau Bridge Bungy
State Highway 6 at the old suspension bridge. A 43 m drop to the river, and the viewing platform is free whether or not you jump.
Lunch at Gibbston Valley
The winery restaurant sits in a courtyard under old vines, with the cheesery next door if you want a board for the car.
Gibbston Valley wine cave tour
Thirty minutes inside New Zealand's largest wine cave with three tastings. Tours at 10, 11, 1 and 3; 16 and over only, and worth booking ahead.
Evening
TSS Earnslaw to Walter Peak
RealNZ Visitor Centre, Steamer Wharf, 88 Beach Street. A hand-fired 1912 steamship, 45 minutes each way across Lake Whakatipu to the farm.
Fergburger
42 Shotover Street, open 7 am to 2:30 am. Order, take the buzzer, eat it on the wall outside — the queue moves faster than it looks.
Morning
Queenstown Gardens
The peninsula off Park Street. A twenty-minute loop under the sequoias past the frisbee-golf course and back along the beach.
Drive to Te Anau
SH6 down the lake through Kingston, then SH94 west from Lumsden across the Southland flats. 170 km, about two and a quarter hours.
Devil's Staircase lookout
On SH6 where the road is cut into the cliff above Lake Wakatipu, roughly 30 km south of Queenstown. Pull off on the lake side.
Afternoon / Day
Lunch on Town Centre
Te Anau's main street. The Fat Duck at number 124 is the town's gastropub but does not open until 4:30 pm, so lunch is the cafés and bakeries either side of it.
Check in: Distinction Te Anau
64 Lakefront Drive, looking over Lake Te Anau to the Fiordland ranges. Two nights here — tomorrow is Milford and back.
Ata Whenua at Fiordland Cinema
7 The Lane. Aerial footage of the Fiordland you cannot drive to, screened on repeat through the day. Check the timetable at the door.
Evening
Dinner at Redcliff
12 Mokonui Street, in an old cottage off the main street. Rustic room, modern cooking, a bar that keeps going, and live music on some weekends.
Te Anau Glowworm Caves
Departs the RealNZ Visitor Centre, 85 Lakefront Drive. Catamaran across the lake, a walk through limestone, then a silent boat drift under the glowworms. No cameras allowed inside.
Morning
Drive the Milford Road
Fill up in Te Anau: SH94 has no fuel for 120 km and no cell coverage past the Eglinton. Check the road status before you leave — slips and heavy rain close it at short notice.
Mirror Lakes
56 km north of Te Anau. A five-minute boardwalk, wheelchair accessible, over kettle lakes that hold the Earl Mountains upside down on a still morning.
Homer Tunnel
A rough-hewn 1.2 km bore under the Darran Mountains, single lane on summer traffic lights. Kea work the car park — do not feed them, and shut the car.
Afternoon / Day
Milford Sound cruise
RealNZ from the Milford cruise terminal, up to 1 hour 40 under Mitre Peak at 1,692 m and Stirling Falls at 146 m. Check in 20 minutes early; allow an hour if you park free at Deepwater Basin.
Lunch at Milford Sound Lodge
State Highway 94 just short of the village. The Pio Pio restaurant welcomes day visitors as well as lodge guests, and there is very little else out here.
The Chasm
Car park 109 km along the Milford Road, halfway back to the tunnel. A short loop through beech to the water-carved Cleddau gorge; viewing is from the riverbank while the bridges are restored.
Evening
Drive back to Te Anau
Two hours, unlit, behind campervans on the descent from the tunnel. Leave Milford by six and you are back for dinner.
Dinner at MacKinnon Restaurant
In the Distinction Te Anau, 64 Lakefront Drive. It serves late enough for a Milford day, which much of the town does not.
Back over the Hills to Queenstown
Morning
Breakfast at the hotel
Distinction Te Anau starts breakfast early. You want to be on SH94 by nine to leave room for a soak before the flight.
Drive back to Queenstown
SH94 and SH6 back up the lake, 170 km and about two and a quarter hours. Refuel at Frankton before you hand the car back.
Afternoon / Day
Onsen Hot Pools
160 Arthurs Point Road, ten minutes out of town. Private cedar-lined tubs with a roof that retracts over the Shotover gorge; book weeks ahead.
Pie from Fergbaker
40 Shotover Street, open from 6 am. Take one down to the waterfront and eat it looking at the lake before the airport run.
Return the rental car
Queenstown Airport is at Frankton, ten minutes from the centre. Allow extra — the return queue backs up around midday.
Evening
Fly out of Queenstown (ZQN)
The climb out threads between The Remarkables and Coronet Peak — the best last look at the whole trip is from the window.
