Driving New Zealand's South Island in Winter
New Zealand is beautiful. I mean really insanely sublime. And if you choose to fly over it instead of drive through it you are an idiot. We flew into Christchurch and spent 2 weeks venturing around the south island in our VW LT35 campervan and it was one of the best holidays I have ever experienced. To top it off we did this in July - the smack bang middle of winter - and it was glorious.
Below is our itinerary with kilometers and drive time. Essentially prepare for long winding roads with switch-backs that could give the alps a run for its money and postcard views on every bend and around every corner.
Our path
Location
Christchurch - Hokitika
Hokitika - Franz Josef
Franz Josef - Fox Glacier - Boundary creek reserve
Boundary Creek Reserve- Wanaka
Wanaka to Bannockburn
Bannockburn - Te Anau
Te Anu to Milford Sound
Te Anau - Twizel
Twizel- Mt Cook - Tekapo
Tekapo to Christchurch
Christchurch to Lyttelton and Akaroa
Kilometers
248
134
24 - 200
50
60
230
120
360
42 - 60
280
80
Drive time
3h20m
1h45m
30m - 2h15m
45m
45m
3h
1h45m
4h20m
28m - 40m
3h40m
1h20m
Mirror Lakes on the road from Te Anu to Milford Sound
why nz in winter?
I am from a beautiful place in Australia where the golden sands stretch for miles and on those days where the temperature pushes beyond that of anyones comfort (which are becoming more frequent thanks to climate change) I can cruise 2 minutes down to the crisp ocean pools for a sensational dip. Outside of this - I despise the heat and humidity. The uncomfortable, sweaty nights spent thrashing around, the endless and relentless bugs, that feeling of lacklustre all-of-the-goddamn-time. Nope. If that isn’t bad enough at home it’s certainly worse when you are travelling.
New Zealand is no different. The South Island in summer is awash with tourists of the coach, motorhome and campervan variety as well as those on self driving and glamping trips. Add to that the weather’s propensity for rain and the unrelenting buzz and bother of the sandflies (similar to a midge or mosquito) and you can count me well out. In winter, it’s cold, true BUT there are few people, no bugs and the skies are mostly clear and blue. I’ll take a few coats and some warm socks over the other any day.
Winter Perks
Here are a few things we experienced to give evidence to our pro winter cause.
During the off-season there was little need to call ahead to camper van sites and all the best free camping spots were desolate. During summer these are off booked out for weeks in advance, so it was very nice to be given that flexibility of deciding where to sleep on the day.
In Queenstown we ordered and were served at the famous Fergburger in under 20 minutes - times in summer reach over an hour. If this maths doesn’t convince you, then nothing will.
The most picturesque walk of the South Island at Mt Cook (Aoraki) normally involves a queue of coach tours and travellers walking heel to heel to see the glacier. The small courtyard at the end is normally brimming with tourists rotating like a debutant ball into a position for a photo. However, when we were there in June, trekking without sight or sound of other tourists, beneath the golden sunlight, we were absolutely counting our blessings.
Our Milford Sound trip was with 1 other couple in a private car, the boat through the sound itself was less than half full - again, extremely good ratios. The sight of the waterfalls were absolutely sublime cascading off the clifftops. Each animal or bird sighting meant there was more than enough room for everyone to move across and get a good picture.
In Wanaka we walked up the hill to the Rippon Winery and found ourselves having a wine and a great chat with the head vintner as we were the only one’s visiting the cellar door that day.
All things are cheaper in off seasons. Restaurants have deals, bar’s happy hours are more generous and ticket pricing and bookings are lower. Look for the deals they are certainly there.
Our experience was enough that we based our whole round the world trip on the idea of travelling in off/shoulder season and we are all the happier for it.
Click below to see our posts for the following sections of our trip including walks, food and of course drink.
Our guide on the best coffee, drinks, and food can be found in Auckland, New Zealand