LYD1A KERR

Ultimate 3-Week Road Trip Guide: South Island, New Zealand

In January 2025, I went on the most incredible road trip of my life: 3 weeks around the South Island of New Zealand.

In this blog post, you will find every single place we visited, the drive times, the campsites we stayed at (prices showed per person per night), and activities and hikes in the area. Enjoy and save for later!

Disclaimer: this blog post contains affiliate links, which if you choose to use them, help support my blog at no extra cost to you. Thank you for being here!

We rented a campervan from Jucy (the cheapest option we could find), but feel free to shop around for the best deal.

  1. Day 1 Christchurch to White Horse Hill
  2. Day 2 Whitehorse Hill to Oamaru
  3. Day 3 Oamaru to Dunedin
  4. Day 4 Dunedin to The Catlins
  5. Day 5 The Catlins to Te Anau
  6. Day 6 Te Anau – Mount Luxmore
  7. Day 7 Te Anau to Milford Sound
  8. Day 8 Milford Track
  9. Day 9 Milford Sound to Glenorchy
  10. Day 10 Glenorchy to Queenstown
  11. Day 11 Queenstown to Wanaka
  12. Day 12 Wanaka – Roy’s Peak
  13. Day 13 Wanaka to Fox Glacier
  14. Day 14 Fox Glacier to Hokitika
  15. Day 15 Hokitika to Arthur’s Pass
  16. Day 16 Arthurs Pass
  17. Day 17 Arthurs Pass to Punakiki
  18. Day 18 Punakiki to St Arnaud
  19. Day 19 St Arnaud to Marahau
  20. Day 20 Marahau to Anakiwa
  21. Day 21 Anakiwa to Kaikoura
  22. Day 22 Kaikoura to Christchurch
  23. Day 23: Travel home </3

Day 0 Travel to Christchurch

  • We flew from Perth, Australia to Christchurch International Airport (via Sydney/Brisbane!)
  • Our flight landed quite late at night, with a lovely 3 hour delay, so we stayed at Sudima Christchurch Airport. The location was perfect and they offered a free shuttle service. Ideal!

Day 1 Christchurch to White Horse Hill

  • Drive time: 4 hours
  • Campsite: White Horse Hill ($19)
    • This was probably the most basic campsite that we stayed at. The facilities were minimal, with no lights in the toilets at night, which made for an interesting stay. However, this campsite is incredibly popular. We ended up arriving slightly later, so the campsite was actually completely full. Instead, we stayed overnight in the carpark. Not sure whether or not this was allowed, but we had the booking and filled out the forms at the iron ranger, and no one called us out!
  • Activities (on route to the campsite from Christchurch):
    • Lake Tekapo – iconic lake with stunning views. If you go in November time, there should be loads of lupins for some photo opportunities. I enjoyed taking photos of the church here.
    • Lake Pukaki – another iconic lake that you will drive along on your way up to the Mount Cook area.

Day 2 Whitehorse Hill to Oamaru

  • Drive time: 2.5 hours
  • Campsite: Top 10 Oamaru ($25) or stay in a room on-site.
  • Activities:
    • Hooker Valley Track – wake up at the White Horse Hill campground, and begin your walk along this track straight away – as the walk begins here! This was an easy walk with immediately incredible views of glacial rivers and mountainous landscapes. Beautiful!
    • Drive across to Oamaru and spend the night here, but don’t go to sleep without visiting the Little Penguin viewing area in Oamaru!

Day 3 Oamaru to Dunedin

  • Drive time: 1.5 hours
  • Campsite: Portobello Holiday Park ($22)
  • Activities:
    • Moreaki Boulders
    • Katiki Point Lighthouse
    • Larnarch Castle
    • Albatross Centre

Day 4 Dunedin to The Catlins

  • Drive time: 2 hours
  • Campsite: Curioscape campground ($24)
  • Activities:
    • Nugget Point
    • Purakaunui Falls
    • Curio Bay
    • Petrified Forest
    • Yellow Eyed Pegnuin

Day 5 The Catlins to Te Anau

Day 6 Te Anau – Mount Luxmore

  • Drive time: 0 hours
  • Campsite: Lakeview Holiday Park ($36)
  • Activities:
    • Mount Luxmore summit hike – 24 mile, 12 hours return walk along the Kepler Track
      • Could be made shorter by getting a water taxi from Brod Bay, or by only walking as far as the Luxmore hut.

Day 7 Te Anau to Milford Sound

Day 8 Milford Track

  • Drive time: 2 hours
  • Campsite: Eglinton Valley Campsite ($30)
  • Activities:
    • Giant Gate Falls walk – 8 miles, 4 hours return walk along the Milford Track. Need to get the water taxi to Sandfly Point.

Day 9 Milford Sound to Glenorchy

  • Drive time: 4 hours
  • Campsite: Mrs Woolly’s Campsite ($25)
  • Activities:
    • Key Summit hike – 5 miles, 3 hours return walk along Routeburn Track.
    • Explore Queenstown – wander round the lake, shops, get a Fergberger to eat

Day 10 Glenorchy to Queenstown

  • Drive time: 2 hours
  • Campsite: Driftaway ($38.50)
  • Activities:
    • Routeburn Falls Hut hike – 14 miles, 8 hours return walk along the Routeburn Track.

Day 11 Queenstown to Wanaka

Day 12 Wanaka – Roy’s Peak

  • Drive time: 5 minutes
  • Campsite: Wanaka Top 10 ($33) or stay in a room.
  • Activities:
    • Roys Peak Hike – 5+ hours return to the viewpoint, longer to the peak

Day 13 Wanaka to Fox Glacier

  • Drive time: 3.5 hours
  • Campsite: Fox Glacier Top 10 ($28) or stay in a room.
  • Activities:
    • Haast Highway
    • Blue Pools Walk
    • Lake Hawea Viewpoint
    • Munro Beach Walk – crested penguin?
    • Glow Worm forest by the campsite at night

Day 14 Fox Glacier to Hokitika

  • Drive time: 2 hours
  • Campsite: Hokitika Kiwi Holiday Park ($22.50) or stay in a room.
  • Activities:
    • Fox Glacier Valley Walk – 2 hours return
    • Franz Josef Glacier – 30 minutes return
    • Explore Hokitika town

Day 15 Hokitika to Arthur’s Pass

Day 16 Arthurs Pass

Day 17 Arthurs Pass to Punakiki

  • Drive time: 2 hours
  • Campsite: Punakaiki Beach Camp ($23) or stay in a room.
  • Activities:
    • Pancake Rocks and Blowholes Track (30 minutes return walk)
    • Pororari River Walk (1.5 hour return) along the Paparoa National Park

Day 18 Punakiki to St Arnaud

  • Drive time: 3 hours
  • Campsite: Kerr Bay Campsite ($25)
  • Activities:
    • Lake Rotoiti Jetty Lookout
    • Mount Robert Circuit Hike – 5 hours loop

Day 19 St Arnaud to Marahau

  • Drive time: 2 hours
  • Campsite: Marahau Beach Camp ($28) or stay in a room.
  • Activities:
    • Aquataxi to Bark Bay in Abel Tasman National Park
    • Walk back to Marahau – 7 hours, 14 miles

Day 20 Marahau to Anakiwa

  • Drive time: 2.5 hours
  • Campsite: Momorangi Bay (Foreshore) ($25)
  • Activities:
    • Walk a section of the Queen Charlotte Track – park at Anakiwa

Day 21 Anakiwa to Kaikoura

  • Drive time: 2.5 hours
  • Campsite: Kaikoura Top 10 ($30) or stay in a room.
  • Activities:
    • Walk the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway – along the top of the coastline, then back along the lower rocky section

Day 22 Kaikoura to Christchurch

  • Drive time: 2.5 hours
  • Campsite: Spencer Beach Top 10 ($23)
  • Activities:
    • Explore Christchurch
    • Clear out van

Day 23: Travel home </3

  • Clean up the campervan and drop it back off at the rental company.
  • Fly home!

Thank you so so much for taking the time to read my travel guide for the South Island of New Zealand. We really visited every single place we could within 3 weeks, which was such an amazing experience I really hope you get to enjoy!

Save this post for later and share with your friends to encourage them to go on this amazing road trip!

Love, Lydia x

Instagram: lydiaonlocation

Tiktok: lydiaonlocation

Leave a comment