New Zealand is very famous for its picturesque landscape, especially in South Island. I have introduced Queenstown in my previous article here and skiing in New Zealand here. Getting cold here in Cambodia now reminds me about my visit to the coldest town of New Zealand.
In 2014, my first winter break in July (4th July 2014), I joined a road trip to the South Island of Queenstown with my friends. It is where I saw and landed on snow for the first time in my life, including skiing experience.
We discussed and planned our trip accordingly. It turns out the best decision I have ever made and the most amazing experience in my life.
Direction/Time: Wellington → Queenstown, 4days3nights
Itinerary:
- Fly from Wellington to Christchurch – save time and better option with an afternoon city tour around Christchurch before the road trip the next day. Other option from Wellington is to take a ferry from Wellington to Picton (maybe 2hours) and then go on the road trip to from there to get to Christchurch for another 3-4hours.
- Road trip (bus) from Christchurch to Queenstown – the best choice but take longer time for 8hours on the road. However, it is very worth. It is the highlight of the trip after all. The view of the icy mountains along the way, the lives along the way such as sheep farms, cow farms, fruit farms, houses of locals, driving of locals…. these are very novel and attractive if you are from the warm countries.
- Fly back from Queenstown to Wellington - save time but more expensive. The other option is to take a bus back to Christchurch which add 8hours more to the trip. The scenery along the way is not very attractive like the other way around.
The 8 hours road trip from Christchurch to Queenstown is the most picturesque road trip and amazing experience. Getting closer to Queenstown is eye-catching, jaw-dropping and wow as the view and scenery is getting more appealing and more amazing! It is like going up to the paradise, literally, because you are going higher and higher, about 900m above sea level when getting closer to QT.
I need not to say how beautiful it is, please go through a series of photos below:
From Christchurch, the bus will stop at Lake Tekapo for the change of bus driver as well giving passengers about 45mns break. This kind of view is seen from Lake Takepo onward. There are few stop along the way. We have to cross 3 biggest lakes in South Island, starting from lake Tekapo. The view is like this.
On the day I traveled, I did not see snow at Lake Tekapo. The other day my friend was there, the snow was so heavy.
Imagine yourself driving through this, my heart was beating so fast and I was so dreamy 
All photo taken from the running bus, Canon 700 D, Landscape function
Popular destinations in South Island, each of them have different charm. When I say on this route, it means these destinations are on the way from Christchurch to Queenstown.
- Aoraki / Mount Cook (on this route)
- Lake Wanaka (on this route)
- Lake Tekapo (on this route)
- Milford Sound (on this route)
- The Remarkables Ski-field (on this route)
- Mount Cardrona Ski-field (on this route)
- Queenstown (on this route)
- Arrow town (on this route)
- Franz Josef Glacier
- Dunedin / Otago
- Bungy jump at Kawarau Bridge
- Christchurch
- Kaikoura
- Abel Tasman National Park
- Marlborough Sounds
Note:
- This trip is entirely my experience so it is applicable to solo travelers and for the same destinations only (Wellington-Queenstown). Please modify it to fit your schedule.
- I suggest you search before the trip as it would help you a lots on travel plans and money saving, example: from which destinations and to where next, what transport available and time used for travel.
- If you travel in big group, you can hire a car/can and drive it yourself. You can stop as much as you want and can get to many small destinations.
- In many cases, domestic flights are even cheaper than by train or bus (for instance, from Auckland to Wellington, by flight is around 45-55$, it takes only 1 hour or less, by bus is around 50$, but it takes about 12hours and by train is around 90$ which takes the longest, around 12hours). There is a beautiful scenic
view through this route. - From Queenstown, you can fly anywhere domestically in NZ and out internationally too.
- If you have time to kill and plan for long holiday in NZ, I suggest leave Queenstown to the end of the trip or it will spoil your whole trip vibe
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One of my regret is that I do not know anything about Google Map at that time, so even when we took a break along the way for a restroom or at any beautiful place, I cannot pinpoint. Furthermore, I have also forgot many names I saw on the road. Only these photos remain in my digital memory and memory
Have you ever been a road trip with this view?
… and those are fabulous! Road trips are very nice because they allow you to see all the landscapes along the way which you wouldn’t when you travel point by point.
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