A self drive itinerary of the South Island, New Zealand – Part II…
Albert Town to Queenstown
Distance: 70.8 km – 1 hour – Crown Range Road
There are 3 different ways to drive from Lake Wanaka / Albert Town to Queenstown – highway 6, highway 8 or the Crown Range road. Now, obviously we have only driven one of those routes but I’m sure it would be hard to beat – take the Crown Range road!
With spectacular scenery, we reached the top of the crown range where the snow-covered ground greeted us before setting our eyes on the stunning outset below – hello Queenstown!
Queenstown & Surrounds
It’s a winding drive down from the crown range to Queenstown. The view outside the left hand side window will hopefully distract you from any feelings of car sickness – it truly is beautiful!
Arrowtown is one of the places you will pass before reaching Queenstown – don’t skip it! A short detour from the route will greet you with the cutest historic town where cottages, shops and trees line the streets. It’s nice to walk around & explore the town before continuing on to Queenstown.
It’s not long until you are greeted by the bluest of lakes – Lake Wakatipu. Stunning! & we were so excited to have finally made it to Queenstown.
Parking in Queenstown may seem sparse, especially for our 7 metre long camper van. We drove around the city centre searching for parking, even taking one road that was so steep inclined we thought for sure our brakes would fail & we’d be flying down. Not too far from the city centre is a paid parking area, costing $.50c an hour or $2.50 for full day… Bargain!
It doesn’t take long to walk around this beautiful town filled with shops and restaurants. The waterfront is absolutely stunning.
It was still quite early in the day, but the line was short so we had to try out the famous Fergburger and it did not disappoint! With plenty of options on the menu make sure you get in early before the crowds.
Plenty of action packed, adrenalin filled activities to book whilst in town. For those of you not wanting to get straight into it, I recommend you head up the Skyline Gondola. If you thought you had seen the best views of Queenstown (without flying in a plane or helicopter) you haven’t seen anything until you reach the top! Make sure you get tickets to the Luge! Catch the chairlift to the starting point before jumping in your luge and letting your inner kid have fun while driving down. So much fun!
We enjoyed dinner at the board walk restaurants right on the waters front.
For beer lovers, head across the road to The Atlas beer cafe. It’s a really small bar but the atmosphere is great, along with New Zealand craft beers by the pint! My favourite was the Altitude Collarbone Cure.
For a bit of novelty, we bought entry to Minus 5 ice bar. Dressed with ugg boots & snow jackets, we went inside for vodka cocktails. So many ice sculptures inside but the place was relatively small. One ice structure was made for taking shots from… the ice male part! For a good laugh, Wade opted for a shot as our newly American friends & I were in laughter. Afterwards, you receive tokens to The Boiler Room with buy 1 get one free offers. All four of us head there and prior to 10:00pm cocktails are $10 making them $5 each!
Today was our adventure day! Starting our day off right with eggs benedict @ Bob’s Weigh cafe. We were booked in for the Shotover Jet Boat & Wade for the Shotover Canyon Swing. There are plenty of places to book whilst in Queenstown but my only recommendation is to book them as soon as you get there to avoid activities being sold out.
First up; The Shotover Jet. As scary as they make the Shotover jet appear, don’t skip it !! It’s so much more fun than it is scary & once again, the scenery is beautiful (how many times have a written beautiful in this post? NZ it sounds like you have my heart!)
The ‘big red’ jet boat gets up to speeds of 85 kph whilst driving through the Shotover canyons & I have no idea how they miss hitting the rock walls! The jet boat skims over water so crystal clear & shallow, and plenty of 360′ spins are enjoyed !!
Next; the Shotover Canyon Swing. After our jet boat ride, we were picked up from the site & taken across to the canyon swing site. Following our driver up the side of a steep mountain through trees we got to base. There are over 70 different ways that people can jump with the canyon swing – Wade opted for backwards which is rated one of the scariest! Others included being tied to a chair & even a slide!
Wade doing the Canyon Swing
Back to Queenstown, we lined up for a late lunch at Fergburger and Fergbaker for delicious pies! Milford Sound was on the cards for tomorrow, so we decided to leave and start the drive.
Camp Site: Lakeview Holiday Park, Queenstown
Price: $55 for two persons at a powered site
Queenstown to Te Anau
Distance: 171 km – 2 hours 5 minutes – State Highway 6 & 94
Its not long after you leave Queenstown that you will become completely stunned by the scenery before you. You will soon understand why they call the mountain range the Remarkables – you guessed it, they are remarkable! I could not stop my mouth from opening and taking photos the whole way. From high mountain ranges, to blue lakes to the greenest farms and cutest animals. This drive is enjoyable! But we couldn’t wait to arrive in Te Anau, after such an action packed day we were ready for bed.
Camp Site: Lakeview Kiwi Holiday Park, Te Anau
Price: $38 for two persons at a powered site
Te Anau to Milford Sound
Distance: 118 km – 1 hour 45 minutes – State Highway 94
We started the drive early to make the most of the day in Fiordland. From most accommodation spots you should be able to pick up a printed map of the Milford Sound drive including scenic lookouts and walking tracks.
First stop, Mirror Lakes – it was almost on queue that a rainbow appeared across the snow-capped mountains peeking through the clouds. It’s only a short, easy walk from the car park.
Reaching the Homer Tunnel, we were stopped by the red light signal before driving our way through a one lane 1.2 km long underground tunnel through the mountain. As soon as we reached the other side, the weather had completely changed – not one bit of blue sky was peaking out the clouds this time it almost resembled night.
Milford Sound & the West Coast get the most rainfall per year in New Zealand. We may not have experienced the beautiful blue skies in the sounds but I feel like we experienced the best of the rushing waterfalls at their fullest potential.
Most people told us to ensure we are on a cruise boat for the Milford Sound before the 12:00pm sessions as from this time onwards, the boats are filled with all the tourists travelling via tours. There are many different boats you can book once there. It may be easiest for you to jump on the next departing boat. A great experience!
On our drive back, we stopped for a walk at The Chasm. There are a few more walks throughout this drive however the rain had set in making it not so pleasant to walk around.
You may have heard a mixed review on how long it REALLY takes to get from Queenstown / Te Anau to Milford Sound. Now obviously this is different for everyone, as other people have different interests and may want to stop at more places than others. You should also take into account the weather conditions. As outlined above, the total drive from Queenstown to Milford Sound would be 3 hours 50 minutes / 289 km. That’s straight driving and no stopping.
Because we had the time, we opted to drive from Queenstown & stay the night in Te Anau before venturing on to Milford Sound. The next day, we drove from Te Anau to Milford Sound, with stops along the way. After hopping on a cruise around 11:00 am which went for approximately 2 hours, we stopped for lunch then started our drive back, stopping for short walks along the way. We didn’t feel tired as we reached Te Anau so continued our drive back to Queenstown still arriving in day light.
Milford Sound to Queenstown
Distance: 287 km – 3 hours 45 minutes – State Highway 94 & 6
Arriving back in the late afternoon we checked in to the camp site before heading into town to find a place for dinner.. Not realising it was a Saturday night most places were booked out! So we head back to the waterfront to a restaurant called Pier 19 – Enjoying the best seafood platter for two including NZ freshest seafood and oysters to die for!
We went back to The Boiler Room to enjoy live music & more cocktails – I wish I knew the duo bands name they were amazing! Afterwards we head to a place called The Find for spirit mixes served in teapots!
We enjoyed a take away breakfast on the shores of Lake Wakatipu before walking through the Queenstown Gardens. Queenstown is such a beautiful city and did not disappoint !!
Queenstown to Lake Tekapo
Distance: 275 km – 3 hours 30 minutes – State Highway 6 & 8
Driving through Central Otago on our way to the next destination, we stopped in at Old Cromwell Town – A cute historic township and we managed to arrive on the day they help fresh produce markets.
When we picked up our camper van, we were given a tourism radio guide that uses GPS technology so that when you driving near any towns, local landmarks, sites to see or attraction, the radio commentators will fill you in! They also play hits from most music eras so you don’t have to worry about losing reception as you drive around.
One of the attractions tourism radio told us about was a winery called Ladybird Hill in Omarama. The reason this little gem was a great place to stop at was because you could attempt fishing for your own NZ salmon! And the best thing was that you only pay for what you catch! We opted to give fly fishing a go & both caught the biggest Salmon. At $38 a fish, the restaurant cook it up fresh for you on the spot depending how you like it; Smoked or Sushimi. We also tried the Waitaki Valley wines tasting board including Pinot Gris & Pinot Noir – My favourite was the Ladybird Hill Pinot Noir.
Lake Tekapo, what a place! The camp ground had a great view over the lake and mountains. It was our second last day in New Zealand so we paid entry to the Tekapo Springs for the hot pools & booked in for massages at the day spa – both with the most beautiful view.
Head to the top of Mt. John University Observatory for the great views surrounding you! But note, gates close at sun down so if you want to observe the stars you’ll need to book a tour. I also recommend to check out the Church of the Good Shepherd that’s perched on the lake.
Camp Site: Lake Tekapo Holiday Park, Lake Tekapo
Price: $unsure
Lake Tekapo to Christchurch
Distance: 243 km – 3 hours 15 minutes – State Highway 8, 79 & 1
With devastating earthquake destruction, it was sad to explore Christchurch even years after the damage was done by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake. There is still a lot of repair work to be done as we walked around what felt like a ghost town. Most sites are surrounded by fences with construction warning signs. Building demolition was still happening to bring down the last of the rubble.
Christchurch cathedral stood behind a fence, unfortunately is was also devastated by the earthquake. The Chalice statue stood nearby.
Parking near the cardboard cathedral, we walked over to New Regent street, a cute little district filled with small shops and cafes where the tram route drives straight through. We continued down the street filled with bright murals painted on the sides of the buildings that still remained.
Re:Start mall is definitely something to check out whilst in the city & was the highlight of Christchurch to me! Quirky shopping district built within brightly coloured shipping containers! Clothes, shoes, home decor & a few food shops. It put a bit of happiness back into the city! The wind had picked up so we opted out of walking through the botanical gardens.
A reminder if you are hiring a campervan from the airport: they don’t have dump stations on site (which we were never advised) so ensure you visit a dump site which is approx. a 20 minute drive from the airport before returning your vehicle!
People always ask and I’ll admit it’s usually my most asked question – How long will it take? My opinion is to always leave yourself with more time than less! You never know what conditions or detours might come your way on the road. I always leave at least a day to get from A to B and when the time comes, it’s best to assess the situation. If you aren’t tired and can make the extra time then go for it! But if you’re tired, pull over for the night.. you allocated the time remember
Hotel: Airport Gateway Motor Lodge, Christchurch
Room Type: Boutique Studio
Price: $189 NZ
ONLY HAPPY WHEN I TRAVEL 