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south island - south
Christchurch is the main gateway
to the South Island and the stepping off point for exploring the
South. The following all-embracing tour of Southland, Otago and
the West Coast encompasses most of the important tourist
destinations en route.
Christchurch - Dunedin (1 day)
 Leaving the ‘Garden City’ on S.H.1 (South)
you soon cross the Rakaia River, the first of many wide, braided
rivers that drain the fertile Canterbury Plains. The Rakaia is
spanned by New Zealand’s longest bridge (1.75 km) and its
multiple channels attract trout and salmon fishermen from far and
wide.
Ashburton is noted for its magnificent stands of trees planted by
pioneer settlers as they brought the vast plains into production.
Tinwald has an interesting Plains Pioneer Village and Railway
Museum, and Geraldine a Vintage Car Museum. Timaru has an
historic precinct preserving fine old buildings, plus the notable
Aigantighe Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden. Timaru's Caroline
Bay has trendy cafés and fine restaurants. Stroll along the
foreshore at sunset, take a boat cruise or ramble in the largest
rose garden in the Southern Hemisphere.
 Oamaru, known as ‘The White Stone
City’ has the finest collection of historic commercial
buildings in New Zealand. The local limestone has the remarkable
quality of being both soft and durable. It is sawn at the quarry
and hardens when exposed to the atmosphere. Visit the special
Harbour and Tyne Street precincts to marvel at the stately
buildings. Oamaru has beautiful public gardens and colonies of
rare little blue penguins and yellow-eyed penguins.
The road to Dunedin offers great ocean views, good beaches and at
times a glimpse of resident dolphins. A brief side trip to
Moeraki is recommended to view the amazing spherical boulders
scattered over the beach. They formed their symmetrical shape by
gradual concretion as mineral deposits formed around a nucleus,
similar to the growth of an oyster pearl. These ‘Devil’s Marbles’ began their life around 60
million years ago and weigh several tonnes.
 Dunedin, the ‘Edinburgh of the
South’ was settled by hardy Scots, and still celebrates its
proud heritage with haggis ceremonies, highland pipe bands and
locally made whiskey. Huge wealth flowed into the city from the
Otago goldfields in the 1860’s and the legacy is magnificent
grey stone architecture. Check out the Renaissance style Railway
Station, Gothic Law Courts and First Church. Visit the Octogon
where Robbie Burns sits stonily on his monument and welcomes
visitors to the city. Take a walk/run up the steepest street in
the world (Baldwin Street). This university town is famous for
its boisterous student party scene. Sweeten your taste buds on
the Cadbury Chocolate Factory tour, or sample a bitter brew at
Speights Brewery, and absorb some genuine old world charm at
Olveston House. Drive out to the wild Otago Peninsula to tour
Larnach Castle and visit the yellow-eyed penguin and royal
albatross colonies.
Dunedin - Queenstown (˝ day)
Drive south on S.H.1 to Clarksville where you take S.H.8 to
Lawrence and Gabriel’s Gulley (the site of Otago’s
first gold discovery in 1861).
 Further on are the historic gold towns of Roxburgh,
Alexandra and Clyde, now part of an extensive fruit growing area.
Soon you enter Cromwell where the Kawarau river meets Lake
Dunstan. Sample the delicious stone fruits in Cromwell and visit
the Kawarau Goldfields Mining Centre to view gold workings on an
actual mining site. Wander through the Bannockburn sluice
tailings for another perspective on the feverish gold mining era.
These two sites and 20 others form the Central Otago Goldfields
Trail, a journey of exploration that can occupy several enjoyable
days. Local Visitor Centres have informative booklets on the
Trail.
Continue through the gorge to the famous Kawarau Suspension
Bridge, the site of the world’s first commercial bungy jump.
This is a chance to test your nerve leaping into space with a
latex umbilical cord attached to your ankle. It’s as easy as
falling off a log, just a little further! The next stop,
Arrowtown, provides picture-perfect views of its carefully
preserved main street of historic buildings and cottages. Try
panning for gold in the Arrow River - you are bound to find
traces of the precious metal in the black sands.
Travel beside Lake Hayes and Frankton Arm to enter Queenstown, ‘The Adventure Capital of the World’. Queenstown is a
wonderful playground for adrenalin junkies, trampers, gold
prospectors, photographers, painters, poets, wine-lovers, jet
boaters, golfers - the list is endless. The town earns its
grandiose title by providing over one hundred outdoor pursuits,
ranging from passive activities to ultimate extreme sports.
Thrill seekers flock here from around the world to test their
nerve and hand-eye coordination skills on the ski slopes, in the
air, on land and water. There are no boundaries here - it's right
off the edge.
 Kiwis like to ‘have a go’ at
things and that’s the Queenstown spirit. Ride the Skyline
Gondola and the luge, admire the breathtaking views, jet boat the
Dart, Shotover and Kawarau rivers or cruise Lake Whakatipu on the
TSS Earnslaw. Travel into Skippers Canyon, take a thrilling
helicopter flight with a glacier snow landing, or drive up to
Glenorchy and Paradise. Visit local vineyards, restaurants, bars
and cafés. At the end of all this frenetic, heart-stopping
action take time to absorb the atmosphere and scenery of this
place - it is one of New Zealand’s most beautiful locations.
Queenstown - Milford (1 day)
Head south on S.H.6 alongside the southern arm of Lake Whakatipu
to the peaceful village of Kingston, where you can relive the
excitement of steam-train travel on the Kingston Flyer. Travel on
through Five Rivers and Mossburn to Te Anau, acclaimed as the ‘Tramping Capital of New Zealand’ (a number of our
Great Walks are easily accessed from here). These are the Kepler,
Milford, Hollyford, Routeburn, Greenstone, Caples and Mavora
Lakes Tracks. All of these provide a memorable experience of
wilderness tramping and qualify as some of the best treks in the
world. Te Anau has a Wildlife Centre and magnificent glow-worm
caves. Include a side trip to Lake Manapouri, which offers a
launch cruise to an amazing underground Power Station and an
unforgettable excursion on Doubtful Sound.
 The Milford Road is a scenic highway that
simply takes your breath away. Eglinton Valley is full of
pleasant surprises in the form of avenues of beech trees, golden
tussock flats, mirror lakes, stony creeks and lovely picnic
spots. Once over ‘The Divide’ you have the option of a
side trip to explore the Hollyford Valley (Lake Marion, David
Gunn’s Camp and the Hollyford Track).
Approaching the Homer Tunnel you are aware of towering peaks,
hanging valleys and vertical rock faces that dwarf the road.
Emerging from the western portal the vast Cledau Canyon opens up
and you descend to a car park. This leads to a short walking
track and a view of The Chasm (a series of cascades under a
natural bridge).
Milford Sound is the crowning glory of the vast remote wilderness
of Fiordland National Park, a virtually uninhabited World
Heritage Area. The Sound is dominated by the mile-high triangular
form of Mitre Peak - a focal point of the many different moods
expressed by this place. On a calm sunny day the Peak is
reflected in the still waters in an unsurpassed scene of peace
and tranquillity. But when the skies open up (the annual rainfall
is 7 metres) the sheer rock walls of the fiord become an endless
curtain of swirling mist and cascading water - an unforgettable
sight.
Take a launch cruise on Milford Sound for close encounters with
delightful marine life such as southern fur seals, bottlenose and
dusky dolphins and Fiordland crested penguins. Harrison Cove has
an underwater observatory, which reveals deep-sea creatures
including black coral.
Milford - Wanaka (1 day)
 Return to Te Anau and Queenstown via S.H.94 and
S.H.6 and take the road from Arrowtown over the Crown Range to
Wanaka. En route visit the historic goldfields pub at Cardrona,
which has been carefully restored to its former glory.
Wanaka is a charming alpine village that offers visitors the best
of both worlds - a summer holiday haven with a wealth of outdoor
activities in idyllic surroundings and a top-line winter sports
resort. Two ski fields, Treble Cone and Cardrona are close by,
offering perfect powder snow and views to die for.
If time permits take a day’s excursion up the Matukituki
Valley. This straight gravel road penetrates far into the
glorious Mt Aspiring National Park and the views of Mt Avalanche
just get better as you go. At Raspberry Flat there are several
tramping options that open up dramatic alpine vistas as you
climb. Aspiring Hut is accessible from here and Rob Roy Track
leads onto steep spurs that take you into the heart of an alpine
wonderland. The alpine world doesn’t get better than this.
Wanaka - Franz Josef (1 day)
Drive over the Clutha Bridge to Albert Town and continue on S.H.6
above the shores of lovely Lake Hawea. Before long you pass
through a cutting to emerge above Lake Wanaka surrounded by an
endless succession of mountain peaks. Stop briefly at Makarora
for a short stroll through native bush.
 Carry on to the dramatic boulder strewn
gorge at the Gates of Haast and descend to a car park where a
short walk leads to Thunder Creek Falls. Continue on to enjoy the
eye-catching alpine views where the Landsborough River unites
with the broad shingle bed of the Haast River. The glorious views
don’t stop until you emerge onto the coastal plain at Haast,
where you can preview the West Coast scenic delights at an
excellent Visitor Centre.
The first distinctive feature on the coast road is Knights Point
lookout, which gives a taste of the dramatic sea views to come.
Two peaceful forest lakes follow as the road wends its way to Fox
Glacier township. Explore the short forest walks like the
Minnehaha and Moraine Walks and stroll up to the terminal face of
the Fox Glacier. A ‘must see’ attraction here is Lake
Matheson whose deep blue waters produce wondrous reflections of
Mt Cook and Mt Tasman. Don’t miss this picture-perfect
postcard scene.
Franz Josef township and glacier are 20 km north of Fox on a
winding road with glimpses of high peaks. Take the glacier access
road to the car park and walk to Sentinel Rock for an initial
view of the giant river of ice. The rough boulder track to the
terminal face takes around 45 minutes. Half-day guided glacier
tours are a great way to appreciate the grinding power and raw
beauty of the glacier. Full day walks on the ice, heli-hikes and
ice climbing instruction are available. A helicopter scenic
flight over the glaciers and Mt Cook is the ultimate sightseeing
experience. It’s an alien world of eternal snows and
thrusting summits, but exceedingly beautiful to behold.
Franz Josef - Greymouth (˝ day)
 Continue north on S.H.6 passing the
historic gold town of Ross and the once thriving port of
Hokitika, which has an excellent aquarium called Water World.
Shantytown further north is a reconstruction of an 1860’s
goldfields town complete with a bush railway. Try your luck
panning for the precious metal and take away a phial of the
genuine shiny stuff. Greymouth is the main commercial centre on
the Coast and the terminal for the Tranz Alpine Scenic Railway.
Greymouth - Christchurch (1 day)
Take S.H.6 down to Kumara Junction and turn onto S.H.73, which
follows the Taramakau River and Otira River to Arthur’s
Pass. There are great opportunities here for walking in high
alpine meadows.
The road continues through Castle Hill and Porters Pass before
descending to the plains and leading back to the many attractions
of the ‘Garden City’ of Christchurch.
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