South Island: Highlights & Regions.

Why the South Island needs more time

Distance is what gets underestimated most in planning. Christchurch to Queenstown is 5.5 hours of driving, Queenstown to Franz Josef another 5.5, and from there to Nelson a further 6. On the map it looks like nothing, because the island appears small.

On top of that the roads wind, and averages rarely exceed 70 km/h. Plan a leg by kilometres and you will be out by an hour or two, reliably. Work with 70 rather than 90 km/h and the numbers come right.

The second reason is weather. Fiordland and the West Coast often get several days of rain in a row, and the best destinations are precisely there. Without spare days you see Milford Sound in fog and Mount Cook not at all.

How much time you need

Ten days covers half the island: Christchurch, Tekapo, Mount Cook, Queenstown, Te Anau and back. That is a good trip, but it leaves out the entire West Coast.

Fourteen days is the minimum for the loop: the same route plus the West Coast with the glaciers and back over Arthur's Pass. Around 2,000 kilometres, with a driving day every second day.

Three weeks is the size at which the island becomes enjoyable. That fits in Nelson, Abel Tasman National Park, the Catlins in the south and two spare days for bad weather without having to cut a leg.

• 10 days: east and south, no West Coast
• 14 days: full loop including glaciers, around 2,000 km
• 21 days: plus Nelson, Abel Tasman, the Catlins and spare days
• Rule of thumb for planning legs: 70 km/h, not 90

The classic loop from Christchurch

From Christchurch the route runs south-west via Tekapo and Mount Cook, where the turquoise glacial lakes and the country's highest peak are. On to Queenstown, then out to Te Anau and Milford Sound. That much is around 900 kilometres and at least six days.

The return goes via Wānaka and the Haast Pass to the West Coast, to the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers, on through rainforest to Hokitika and finally back over Arthur's Pass to Christchurch. That second half is the more varied one, and it is what people short of time cut first.

Clockwise or anticlockwise makes little difference. Most people find it works better to go south first and return up the West Coast, so the glaciers do not land at the end of the trip when energy is running low.

When to go

November to April is the season. December to February brings 20 to 26 degrees in the east, every pass open and the full range of tours, along with the highest prices and fully booked DOC campsites. Without booking ahead, the popular sites get tight.

March and April are our suggestion: the colours in Arrowtown and around Lake Wānaka, clear air, far fewer people and noticeably lower prices. The tracks are open; only the nights turn cold.

From May to September the island is empty and cheap, but passes can close in snow and Fiordland loses some boat trips. For skiers it is the right season, with four ski fields within reach of Queenstown and Wānaka.

Freedom camping and campsites

The South Island has the finest DOC campsites in the country, often 8 to 15 NZD per person, frequently without power and with a long-drop toilet, but in places where elsewhere somebody would have built a hotel. Boundary Creek on Lake Wānaka, Lake Lyndon in Canterbury and the sites along the Milford Road are examples.

Freedom camping, on the other hand, is more tightly regulated than most people expect. The Queenstown Lakes District bans it almost everywhere; Mackenzie and Marlborough allow it at designated spots for self-contained vehicles. The fine is 200 NZD and it is issued, not merely threatened.

A certified self-contained campervan therefore makes a bigger difference on the South Island than in the north. Four of our seven models are certified, and over a fortnight that is the single largest cost lever on your trip.