South Island of New Zealand, a 2,350km self-drive trip

A brief description of our recent self-drive trip to the South Island of New Zealand:

- Duration: 9 nights, from 20 November to 29 November 2004. A bit too tight for such itinerary, in retrospect.
- Itinerary: Christchurch (2) - Fox Glacier (1) - Queenstown (2) - Te Anau (1) - Dunedin (2) - Twizel (1). It basically covers the central part of South Island (see map below).
- Transportation: Rental car. Campervan, while very popular in New Zealand, is not for us. There are guided tours of course. Bus/train/ferry passes are also considered a good way for independent travellers to enjoy New Zealand.
- Driving condition: Excellent, if you don't mind driving at 100km/h on undivided roads. Road signs are clear and destinations easy to find.
- Weather: Late spring, but weather conditions varied greatly during our stay, from warm sunshine, to gusty wind, to pouring rain, to even a snowy morning.
- Reference sites: We don't use any one site extensively. Instead, we just google and find the bits of information we need. These are two good starting points: Tourism New Zealand; AA New Zealand Travel Guide

Let's start the photo journey!

Christchurch

Christchurch is the biggest city on the South Island. It was also the entry and exit point of our trip, since its international airport has direct flights to and from Australia.

We arrived at the motel at around 4:30pm and did nothing really significant the rest of the day (dinner, walking around the city centre). The sun set at around 9pm during our entire trip.

We continued to walk around the city on the next day. Having collected the rental car that afternoon, we departed for West Coast early the next morning.

The reflection of the historical Arts Centre through the modern Arts Gallery (left).

Some of the houses in Christchurch were quite interesting. This was a hairdresser's place (left).

Punting on River Avon, which runs through the city.

Christchurch Cathedral at the Cathedral Square, the centre of the city.

West Coast / Fox Glacier

We drove from Christchurch to West Coast via Arthurs Pass. An alternative is to take the scenic TransAlpine train from Christchurch to Arthurs Pass then to Greymouth. We had whitebait (a West Coast specialty) sandwich for lunch. Quite a long drive, totalling 7 hours, including all stops.

Two of the top tourist attractions along the West Coast are Franz Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier. Walking to the glaciers under wet weather calls for caution.

Scenery along the West Coast was quite spectacular. The reflection of the mountains from Lake Matheson (right), just a few kilometres from Fox Glacier, is famous, but unfortunately the weather condition on the day we visited was not accommodating. The reflection from a certain lake before reaching Fox Glacier (left) was actually superior.

I liked the geometric shape of the Salmon farm (right), about an hour's drive from Fox Glacier towards the Queenstown direction.

Waterfalls and rapids seemed to be everywhere on the South Island.

Queenstown

Rain began to pour since the afternoon we were in Fox Glacier. It did not improve during our morning drive (again totalling 7 hours including all stops) to Queenstown. We stopped at the supposedly picturesque Wanaka to have lunch but took very few pictures.

The sky cleared on our second, and full, day in Queenstown.

Queenstown, the town. A rather commericalised place.

Queenstown at night. The first picture was an old cow shed now used as a pizza and pasta place. Truely outstanding food.

Lake Wakatipu.

Views from the Gondola terminal on top of the hill.

Queenstown Botanic Garden. These are two of my favourite photos of the entire trip.

Milford Sound

We drove from Queenstown to Te Anau in the morning. The drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound was one of the most scenic on the South Island. We spent the night in Te Anau.

The closer to Milford Sound, the wilder the scenery.

The trees and fog gave you an eerie feeling.

The awe-inspiring Milford Sound. The weather was largely fine that day.

About to experience the might of the waterfall (left), when the cruise sailed almost underneath it.

The penguins and the seals.

Dunedin

I was glad that I included Dunedin in my itinerary. The weather turned fine on our second day there.

A church and a building in the city.

The first three pictures were taken at the Botanic Garden. The next five, Otago Peninsula. The wind at the tip of the peninsula (last two pictures) was so strong it was almost impossible to stand still.

The 4.5-hour Taieri Gorge return trip from the Dunedin train station (first three pictures) was very enjoyable and a great activity to take during a rainy day.

Mount Cook

On the way from Dunedin to Mount Cook. The first picture was taken at Shag point where you can see shags, seals, and later in the afternoon, penguins. The other five are pictures of the Moeraki boulders.

Weather was fine when we reached Twizel, where we would spend the last night of our trip, and then Mount Cook. We took a two-hour return short walk, starting from the historical Hermitage Hotel. The views at the end of the track was unreal. I particularly like the seventh picture, with a Japanese man taking photos.

Sunrise in Twizel.

The turquoise-colour Lake Tekapo under blue sky. The Church of the Good Shephard at the lake shore is a major attraction. The view from the window was divine.

Birds

The name of this annoying bird is, as shown by the company name on the campervan, the Kea.

Ducks were everywhere.

Flowers

Flowers, flowers, flowers. Most of them were taken at the Botanic Gardens of Christchurch, Queenstown and Dunedin. The Dunedin Botanic Garden is a must-go, especially in this time of the year.