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10 Day Self Drive NZ South Island Itinerary - Christchurch to Christchurch

Christchurch - Dunedin - Te Anau - Milford Sound - Queenstown - Glaciers - Christchurch

This Self Drive New Zealand South Island Itinerary travels from Christchurch to Dunedin then around the southern highlights, including Lake Te Anau, Milford Sound and Queenstown, then the West Coast glaciers with optional TranzAlpine train back over the mountains.

10 Day Self Drive Tour with your choice of Boutique or Self catering Accommodation for 9 nights.

Total Driving Time About: 24 hrs                        Distance: 1,785 kms

Day 1: Arrive Christchurch

On your arrival in Christchurch you will be met by our representative and provided with your chosen car and documentation. The rest of the day is free to explore this "Garden City". Christchurch is an elegant, rather English-feeling city with a refined sense of fun. You could saunter through Hagley Park and admire the Botanic Gardens; take a tram ride around the city centre; or go punting on the Avon River. Travel up the Christchurch Gondola for massive views of Christchurch, the Canterbury Plains, Banks Peninsula and Lyttelton Harbour.  Overnight in Christchurch

Day 2: Christchurch - Dunedin 

Estimated Driving Time: 5 hrs 20 mins             Distance: 359 kms

Drive south across the Canterbury Plains through Ashburton, where trout fishing is a local obsession.  Further on are historic towns of Timaru with its historic buildings, and Oamaru home of the Little Blue Penguins. Be sure to check out the unique geological formations known as the Moeraki Boulders located 70km's north of Dunedin. Overnight at Dunedin.

Day 3: Dunedin - Te Anau

Estimated Driving Time: 3 hrs 55 mins                  Distance: 290 kms

Dunedin is memorable for its historical architecture. Look for the massive stone Flemish Renaissance-style Dunedin Railway Station, the University clock-tower building and the Gothic Revival Dominican Priory. You might also want to visit Baldwin Street, the world's steepest residential address.

Apart from being New Zealand's first university city, it has an abundance of museums, galleries and heritage homes with amazing stories to tell. You can even discover the history of beer brewing at the Speights Brewery. Chocolate is on the menu at Cadbury Confectionery Factory. 

In the afternoon drive through the rolling hill country of South Otago and Southland. After the farming centre of Gore, cross the Waimea plains towards Te Anau. Overnight in Te Anau.

Day 4: Te Anau - Milford Sound - Queenstown

Estimated Driving Time: 5 hrs 5 mins             Distance: 403 kms

The road to Milford is one of New Zealand's most scenic drives. The first part is relatively mild farmland, then you'll ease into beech forest near the entrance to the Fiordland National Park. Look for the Avenue of the Disappearing Mountain and the Mirror Lakes. The rough hewn Homer Tunnel brings you into Milford Sound, an amazing 22km-long fiord dominated by Mitre Peak. Grand, brooding, serene and wild are just some of the words that will come to mind on your Milford Sound Cruise. Tall waterfalls, vertical rock faces and seals are some of the things you'll remember. Return to Te Anau, then turn north, following the dramatic southern shores of Lake Wakatipu to reach Queenstown. Stay 3 nights in Queenstown

(For an additional charge you may choose to swap one night in Queenstown and your Milford afternoon Cruise for a night aboard the Milford Mariner at Milford Sound).

Day 5 & 6: At Queenstown

Two free days to enjoy the alpine resort of Queenstown. It's the place to source almost any kind of adventure, including bungy, jet boating, horse trekking, rafting and river surfing. It's also a destination for luxury experiences - gourmet food and wine, spa treatments and leisurely games of golf. Nearby is the former gold mining town of Arrowtown is a living, historic holiday destination, nestled beside the Arrow River.

Day 7: Queenstown - Glaciers

Estimated Driving Time: 4 hrs 15 mins             Distance: 330 kms

The shortest route to Wanaka is over the Crown Range Road. It's a challenging drive, but the views are amazing and you'll probably encounter friendly keas (mountain parrots). More conservative drivers can take the route that runs beside the Shotover River, Lake Dunstan and the Clutha River. The vineyards of the Gibbston area and bungy jumpers at the Kawarau River Bridge are interesting distractions along the way. Leaving Wanaka, Lake Hawea is the first scenic highlight, followed closely by the northern end of Lake Wanaka. The famous ‘bra fence' is impossible to miss - it started as a joke, but it's become a local legend. At the wilderness town of Makarora you can fuel up and refresh before you take on the dramatic twists and turns of the Haast Pass to Haast and the wild west coast. At pretty Lake Paringa you can enjoy a delicious meal of salmon at the salmon farm. Stay 2 nights at either Fox or Franz Josef Glacier townships.

A Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glaciers are unique relics of the last ice age. Mighty rivers of solid white, tumbling down ice-hewn rock valleys, they are classically beautiful in the glacial sense. Nowhere else in the world have glaciers advanced so close to the sea at this latitude. Walks are available to the glaciers or we recommend a visit to the colony of the beautiful white heron (Kotuku).

Estimated Driving Time: 5 hrs 20 mins             Distance: 403 kms

Enroute to Greymouth stop off at Hokitika first settled in 1860, after the discovery of gold on the west coast. It still has the feel of a ‘frontier town', and there are some lovely old buildings to admire. Greenstone (NZ jade) is the town's treasure these days - watch it being carved. You might also want to investigate the museum and do the historical walk. Turn inland towards the mountains to travel through the Otira Tunnel, over Arthur's Pass and across the Canterbury Plains to Christchurch. Overnight in Christchurch

Day 10: Depart Christchurch

Today you are free to explore the "Garden City" of Christchurch before catching your flight home.

Total Driving Time About: 24 hrs                        Distance: 1,785 kms

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