New Zealand South Island Road Trip: Travel Itinerary | 14 Day Travel Guide

• Day 2: Mt Cook to Queenstown

• Day 3 - 4: Queenstown and day trip to Glenorchy
• Day 5: Frankton to Cardrona to Wanaka

• Day 6: Wanaka to Franz Josef

• Day 7: Franz Josef to Greymouth

• Day 8: Greymouth to Hanmer Springs to Kaikoura

• Day 9 - 10: Kaikoura

• Day 11: Kaikoura to Cheviot to Waipara

• Day 12: Akaroa
• Day 13 - 14: Christchurch

Lake Tekapo turned out to be one of my favourite places from this trip. The scenery is breathtaking and the water is unbelievably clear. We managed to take some couple shots at this place, undisturbed by other travellers (which also makes taking selfies with a tripod and remote less embarrassing hahaha).

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We kickstarted the day at the Onsen Hot Pools - they have private hot spas with spectacular views that make you never want to leave. It's best to make reservations in advance, as they tend to get fully booked. Highly recommended place! We were lucky that our hotel is located just next to it, so we could stroll over.

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As Jon was still feeling bloated from the night before (he was having some digestive problems), we skipped lunch and headed to Coronet Peak Ski Area. We didn't ski, and we headed up there just to see snow #HardlySeeSnow #LivingInTheEquator. The view and snow is worth the drive up. 

If you enjoy wine, do visit the wineries in the area like Gibbston Valley Wine, Chard Farm Vineyard, and Amisfield Bistro & Cellar Door.

We also stopped by the Pillars of the King, where they filmed the Lord of the Rings. 

"Although the mighty statues of Isildur and Andrion were superimposed in the film, the Kawarau River is clearly recognisable as Middle Earth's Anduin."

From Queenstown, we headed towards Wanaka. Along the way, we visited Frankton to shop and decided to eat at a Thai restaurant called Thaitanium (lol @ the punny name), and it was decent Thai food. Only comment is that the food could be spicier. 

If you are looking for unique activities, head over to Crossfire Wanaka. They offer a range of activities, like clay bird shooting, target shooting, archery, golf driving range, mini golf course, hole-in-one challenge, & unique battlefield game. We went for the package of 4 activities - target shooting, archery, clay bird shooting, and mini golf. It was a fun experience for the both of us. Do make a booking before heading down!

Then, we went for the Blue Pools Track at Makarora. It was a relatively easy path to walk, and not very long. After that, we checked in at our accommodation at the Alpine Glacier Motel in Franz Josef. The staff recommended us to try this Asian restaurant called Snake Bite. Jon is a fan of Asian food, so we tried it, even though we just had Thai food for lunch the day before. On that cool evening, we sat outdoors as we slurped down the spicy noodles and duck noodle soup 😋

It was a rainy morning. We had a warm breakfast at Full of Beans, then headed to the Franz Josef Glacier walk even though it was drizzling. Unfortunately, the rain started to get too heavy even before we made it halfway through. As we are not super fit or familiar with outdoor survival, we decided not to risk getting stuck in the bad weather, and turned back instead. Hopefully we have the chance to visit that place one day!

Thankfully, it wasn't raining in Greymouth. There, we visited Monteith's Brewing Company - the place is restaurant, bar, and brewery in one. You can also join the tour to learn more about their brewing process.

If you are interested in histories of places, take some time to visit the Brunner Mine Site Walk. This was one of New Zealand's earliest industrial sites where coal was mined and coke, firebricks and other products were manufactured from the 1860s until the 1940s. There are many signs and boards that you can read to learn about the history of the place.

From Greymouth, we headed towards Kaikoura, stopping at Hanmer Springs along the way and had breakfast at Rustic Cafe & Tapas. OMGGGG the clam chowder soup was amazing! Best clam chowder soup I've ever had (so much seafood in every bite). Highly recommended. Jon ordered the french toast and they were yummy too. Super big portions and friendly staff!

We wanted to visit the thermal pools there, but it was pretty crowded on that day so we skipped it. Instead, we went to the Hanmer Springs Animal Park - fun feeding so many different types of animals, including wallabies, deer, alpaca, and llamas. Entrance fee is NZD $13, and you pay a bit more to get the feedbag.

After a 2 hour drive, we arrived at Kaikoura and checked into the Fairways Apartment. We stayed in for a simple instant noodle dinner while we watched old episodes of Survivor. The apartment was absolutely lovely, so no complains about staying in for the night! (We got the place at a very good deal from agoda, even the owner said it rarely happens!)

On day 9, we went kayaking and saw seals with the tour group, Kaikoura Kayaks. The tour guide was very knowledgeable about kayaking and seals, and it was a fun and informative experience. Our kayaks were so close to the rocks where the seals rested! The entire experience lasted about 3 hours.

For dinner, we ordered takeaway from Black Rabbit Pizza and Coopers Catch (Fish & Chips). As we simply couldn't get enough of the spacious and lovely apartment.

The next day, we did a Dolphin Swim with the Dolphin Encounter company. This was the highlight of our entire trip, because we got to swim up close with wild dolphins. We were very lucky as on the day we were at sea, we encountered groups of dolphins. These wild dolphins are super friendly and they actually swam closer to us. The guide said that if we hummed a tune, they were more likely to come closer. Even though I'm very fearful of being out in the ocean, I went ahead with it (also because they gave me a float as I'm not a great swimmer hahahah). I'm super thankful to have made that decision because it's an experience I will remember for a lifetime.

We had lunch at the Pier Hotel Restaurant (decent food, but clam chowder was not as good as Rustic Cafe and Tapas) and had desserts at Poppy's Handmade Ice Cream (very yummy frozen berry soft serve!).

Ended our time in Kaikoura at the Peninsula Seal Colony. We didn't spot any seals, but it was nice to catch the sunset from there.

Day 11: Kaikoura to Cheviot to Waipara
Accommodation: Country Glen Lodge 

Day 12: Akaroa
Accommodation: Akaroa Criterion Motel