Overview of the Trip
A few years back, the four of us took a brilliant trip around New Zealand’s South Island in a Jucy campervan. Sometimes, you just need to take some time to be together, explore, experience, and make memories.
You’d think a full month may be a long time to be smashed together in a campervan but man it went fast – as have the years since. And taking a month out may have been an effort to organise at the time, but that part of the memory has long faded if it was. What endures are the memories of some of the best times we all spent together when the kids were little and everything was an exploration, and every trip shaped the people they become.
New Zealand’s South Island is beautiful, amazing, stunning! And it’s the perfect place to see under your own steam in the comfort of a campervan, because so much of the best of the island is remote. You could do it in a car with a few tents for sure, or even run day trips to spots out of the small towns dotted irregularly. You’ll just be a bit more limited and there’ll be some spots that you just can’t hang around in for long enough.
We took the trip in the spring (that’s southern hemisphere spring). We kicked off, flying into Christchurch. We picked up the campervan from Jucy who are based right there at the airport. Then across the next three and a half weeks, we headed out to some of the most beautiful and inspiring places on earth. Some are very chill – scenic like a postcard from paradise, and some are crazy energy charged like a raging bull in the middle of mating season who just spotted a potential mate wearing a red coat.
From Christchurch we headed through the Southern Alps to Milford Sound. This was arguably one of the world’s most picturesque drives, except if you speak to a Kiwi. Then there will be no argument and everyone will wholeheartedly agree. This route takes in the stunning Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki along with spectacular views of New Zealand’s highest mountain, Mount Cook.
Milford Sound itself is a destination that is so beautiful that ancient Maori legend tells us that the ever-present sandflies were put there to stop man from lingering for too long. I am not a fan at all of the sandfly and they do help to make the decision to head off a little easier, but you can forget them for a while while you gaze on paradise. The road around to Milford Sound is long but if you’re a fan of road trips then totally worth it. Pure stunning.
From Milford Sound we travelled back around through to Arrowtown and adrenaline fuelled Queenstown. Queenstown is without doubt a highlight with lots of entertainment, great food, and a plethora of activities to get your heart rate up to the max. We spent several days there for a break from the roads and had a blast.
From Queenstown, the drive then took us up the West Coast past two glaciers, a swag of waterfalls, some pancake rocks, national parks, rain forests… it sounds full on but it’s super relaxing just because of the environment you’re in.
From the West Coast, the highway took us inland again and we headed to Nelson and Blenheim where we were forced to sample some of the amazing wines and local produce all in the name of a great story. And with the Able Tasman track just a short ride and fun Aqua Taxi trip away, it was another highlight of the trip before heading back down to Christchurch via the Kaikoura Coast. Wildlife and marine life abound along the East Coast road and side trips can be anything from whale watching or wilderness horseback trekking to surf lessons in the chilly coastal waters of the southern Pacific. We didn’t bother with the surfing, not because we didn’t want to freeze in the ocean – honest. No, it’s just there was so much to fit into the three and a half weeks we had, it was more a matter of having to decide what not to do. Honest.
Well, we filmed the whole thing and edited it into 6 short videos, so sit back and enjoy the sites and sounds and we hope it helps you decide where you’ll go on your South Island trip. And drop us a line if you want to know any more.
Peace, Rob
For Episode 2 in the series of videos on our New Zealand South Island Road Trip, click here.
