New Zealand Road Trip

A few people have asked me to share our recent New Zealand trip itinerary. So, I thought I’d document this trip in a bit more detail than lines of items on a spreadsheet, and I hope it can help others if they are planning a similar trip to this beautiful part of the world.

We have been to New Zealand a few times since 2011, but this time, we decided to do something different and incorporated some ‘camping’ into our trip. So, we rented a self-contained motorhome or campervan for a few nights. A campervan is an excellent option as it provides us with the comfort of a tiny home and the flexibility to stop and ‘camp’ in any designated DOC (Department of Conservation) camping grounds or anywhere freedom camping is allowed.

If you are still on the fence about renting a campervan, I can tell you it is not hard, as long as you are prepared. These are my top tips for a hassle-free campervan experience:

Prepare your route beforehand, especially around places to camp. The Department of Conservation website is a good starting point to check campsite locations
Watch the self-help video sent by the campervan rental company. The one we rented from, Britz, also has a useful mobile App loaded with self-help videos, camping locations, and places to refill and dump campervan wastewater
Driving a campervan may take a bit of adjustment; it is a large vehicle, so extra care is needed when driving or parking the campervan. New Zealand roads are wide, and plenty of parking spaces exist. Just try to avoid the city centre as navigating a big campervan may be tricky
Do not slow other vehicles down, always check your rearview mirrors, and if there is traffic build-up behind you, pull over as soon as it is safe to do to let the traffic behind you pass
Empty your grey water and toilet cassette daily (if possible) at the designated dumping station. Make sure you bring a pair of disposable rubber gloves and a face mask (you will need this when emptying the toilet cassette because you know)
Fill up your clean water tank afterwards
When parking overnight, make sure to park on level ground. Otherwise, your kitchen and bathroom drains may not work properly
When staying at a powered site, make sure to plug in your campervan to charge the batteries
When staying at a non-powered site, conserve your power. Our campervan’s battery did not last the whole night. If your campervan has a microwave, it can only be operated when the campervan is connected to the mains power (i.e., only works when you are staying at a powered site)
Bring a long-lasting torch (or two), you will need it
Bring soft luggage if you can (as opposed to hard shell luggage). They are easier to store. Hard shell luggage will roll/slide around when you drive
Do your groceries after you pick up your campervan so you can determine how much food you need and if you have enough space to store it
When returning your campervan, make sure that you empty your greywater and toilet cassette
Your campervan most likely has a diesel engine, and in New Zealand, the diesel fuel tax is charged at the rental place, not at the diesel bowser. The rental place will calculate the distance travelled based on the odometer reading and charge you the appropriate fuel tax accordingly.

Overall trip route

Day 1

We started our NZ journey from Queenstown. Since our flight arrived around 3 p.m., we decided to take it easy on this first day and spent the afternoon exploring the city. The girls love spending time near the lake, and we spent all afternoon just chilling at the shores of Lake Wakatipu, mostly skimming stones and eating gelato at Patagonia Chocolates.

We stayed at the Sudima Hotel 5 Mile, about a 5-minute taxi ride from the airport. The hotel is located inside the 5 Mile Shopping complex with plenty of shops and restaurants and within close proximity to the Queenstown Airport and the camper van rental depot.

The shores of Lake Wakatipu, perfect for spending an afternoon skimming those disc-shaped rocks.

A view of the 5 Mile Shopping complex from our hotel room.

Day 2

After breakfast and check-out, we picked up the 4-berth Explorer campervan from Britz Queenstown. The check-in process was smooth, and since I had already watched all their self-help videos about the camper van, the check-in process was over in just 15 minutes. After a quick check around the van and getting acquainted with the controls, we were off on our journey.

The first stop was Kim’s Asian Foods back in 5 Mile Shopping Complex to pick up some Korean instant noodles, meat, rice, and dumplings. We also went to Pak N Save for other grocery items. Pak N Save is the equivalent of Costco here in Australia. We had no trouble finding parking for the camper van as these shopping complexes have plenty of parking spaces, large enough to accommodate the oversized van.

We had about 4 hours of journey to Milford Sound, so we were on our way as soon as we finished grocery shopping.

The journey to Milford Sound was relatively smooth and relaxing. I quickly adjusted to driving the camper van and just had to be mindful to pull aside and let the traffic behind us pass. It was raining quite heavily during our trip there. We even experienced hail and snow, all in one day. The rain made some spectacular waterfalls along the way to the Fiordland, which was a fantastic sight to see.

The rain in the Fiordland makes for spectacular cliff waterfalls.

About an hour into the drive, we stopped at one of the rest stops along the highway and had our first meal inside the camper van. Korean instant noodles with kimchi!

The rest of the journey to Milford Sound took longer than expected, mainly because there were so many beautiful stops that we had to check out.

It was almost dark when we arrived at Milford Lodge, so we quickly settled into one of the camper van berths after a quick check-in at the reception. The berth provides us with power and water for our camper van, and we can also use the communal amenities (kitchen, showers, dining room). I thought this would be a good way for my family to ease into the camper van experience before ultimately going off the grid. Please make sure you have a booking at the Milford Lodge before coming in. This is the only place you can stay with your campervan, as freedom camping is not allowed in the Fiordland.

Day 3

We started pretty early, around 6 am. After a simple but delicious breakfast, we headed to the Milford Sound Cruise Terminal to catch the Southern Discovery cruise. There are two parking areas around this area. The furthest one from the cruise terminal is free, around a 45-minute walk. Closer to the terminal is paid parking, which is around $10/hour and a 15-minute walk from the terminal. We thought we would use the free parking, but after walking for around 30 minutes, I realised I missed a turn and was walking away from the direction of the terminal. We quickly reversed course, drove our campervan to the paid parking area, and sprinted to the terminal. We made it with only five minutes to spare!

It was good to be back on the Milford Sound cruise. The last time we were on this cruise was 12 years ago, so my wife and I were excited to relive the moment and share it with our two girls.

We could not have asked for a better day; it was sunny and warm, and the rain from the day before made the waterfalls along the fiords all the more spectacular! We even saw some seals basking in the morning sun. We were hoping to spot some dolphins, but they weren’t around.

The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring the fantastic surroundings and walks Milford Sound has to offer.

Day 4

It was time to head back to Queenstown to refuel, replenish our supplies, and continue on our 2nd leg of the journey towards Mt. Cook.
One of the good things about renting a campervan berth at Milford Lodge is the access to the shared amenities. After a nice hot shower and breakfast, we packed all the loose items in the campervan and continued our journey to Queenstown. The 4-hour journey took much longer than expected, mainly due to unscheduled stops for coffee and hot chocolates and simply because we could not resist the beautiful landscape and nature walks this land offers.

If you see this coffee lady on the way to or from Milford Sound, make sure to stop and get a nice hot coffee or hot chocolates. She is terrific!

Te Anau is an excellent little town between Milford Sound and Queenstown, where you can stop for lunch and fuel. They also have a dumping station if you need to empty the campervan’s grey water, top up your freshwater, and empty the toilet cassette.

We’d been driving for too long and realised there was not much sunlight left in the day to reach Mt Cook, so we decided to find a nearby camping ground using the campervan app. Lake Pukaki campground was on the way to Mt Cook (slight detour), so we decided to stay there for the night. This is a non-powered site with public toilets available. After finding a spot to park, we cooked dinner and settled in for the night.

Day 5

This was the view when we woke up at Lake Pukaki campground. Not a bad camping spot! We had breakfast by the lake and spent the morning playing by the lake before heading to Mt Cook.

Our family ritual is to eat the best-tasting salmon on the way to Mt Cook. The world-famous Mt Cook Salmon outlet is located at the Lake Pukaki Visitor Centre, State Highway 8 between Tekapo and Twizel, 10km North of Twizel. There were lots of overseas tourists around when we were there. Sadly, these tourists were bringing their bad behaviour to NZ. Chopsticks, soy sauce, and empty plastic packets were littered everywhere around the visitor centre, some of them only a few steps away from the nearby rubbish bin. I mean come on people! Let’s keep NZ clean and pristine so everyone can enjoy it for years to come.

Isn’t this the best way to enjoy salmon? Look at that view!

Mt Cook is a short 45-minute drive from Mt Cook Salmon outlet, but we took a 10-minute detour to a nearby town. Twizel is a small town where you can grab a quick coffee break, refuel, top up the campervan with fresh water and dump the grey water.

After Twizel, our next stop is White Horse Hill Campground at Mt Cook. The scenery towards Mt Cook is even more spectacular, making you wonder how you can top this!

After arriving at the campground, we quickly found a good parking spot near the entrance of Hooker Valley Track. This is the most famous Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park track. The length of the track is only 5 km and relatively flat, which makes it very easy for families with young children.

We started our Hooker Valley Track at around 4 pm when the spring sun was still high up on the horizon (October is spring in the southern hemisphere). It took us about an hour to reach the end of the trek. Hooker Lake is a glacial lake at the end of the Hooker Valley Track, where you can see icebergs floating around the lake. Our girls spent about an hour playing at the lake, finding and picking up icebergs that floated close to the shore.

As a photographer, the journey back was even more interesting because the sun was setting and stunning. When I thought that golden hour was amazing, nightfall came, and millions of stars dotted the night sky. All you had to do was look up! We saw the Milky Way and the Southern Cross!

Peters Lookout is a must-stop on the way to Mt Cook. Look at that majestic Mt Cook in the background.

One of three suspension bridges at the track

A relatively flat track, great for families with young children

Hooker Lake glacial lake at the end of the Hooker Valley track

That beautiful golden hour light as the sun is setting down on our way back

Stargazing at Mt Cook National Park is as easy as looking up

Day 6

Just after midnight, the wind started picking up speed at White Horse Hill Campground. The wind got so strong it almost tipped our campervan. So, after a few hours of worrying like crazy, I started driving away from the campsite. At around 4 am, I stopped at Peters Lookout for a quick shuteye. I was awarded this view when I woke up at around 5 am! Isn’t Mother Nature the best artist?

I was so tired when I woke up, but I didn’t want to miss the amazing scenery and the beautiful light. I didn’t even notice that my camera was still in manual focus mode after shooting the Milky Way the night before. I was lucky the photo turned out pretty good.

I had everything working for me in this photo: the lenticular cloud on the top right, the half moon, some clouds on the top left, leading lines, Mt Cook, and, to top it off, the colours! - sorry, that was the photographer in me talking!

After sunrise, I kept driving towards Queenstown as we needed to return the campervan on this day. On the way back, we stopped to have breakfast and watched some people bungee jump at Kawarau Bridge.

After a few days of ‘roughing it’ on the campervan, I thought the trip should end on a high note, so we spent the last few days at a hotel with proper bed, shower, and buffet breakfast.

Day 7

We started the day by picking up a rental car from Go Rentals in Queenstown. We’ve been renting cars from them since 2011 and have never used any other rental vehicles. They provide good quality service, affordable, and we’ve never experienced any breakdowns with their car.

Our first stop was Wilson Bay, just 10 minutes outside of Queenstown. This is a lovely little bay where we usually spend time by the lake, enjoying the beautiful scenery of Lake Wakatipu. I suggest getting the Ferg Burger as a takeaway before heading to Wilson Bay and you can enjoy one of the best burgers in the world with this fantastic scenery.

After Wilson Bay, the Bennetts Bluff lookout is another stop worth checking out before heading to Glenorchy, a small town about 45 km from Queenstown. A world-famous Routeburn Track can be accessed by passing through Glenorchy.

Playing at the shores of Lake Wakatipu at Wilson Bay

Day 8

We spent our last day in NZ visiting a farm about 10 minutes outside of Glenorchy, walking some part of the famous Routeburn Track and checking out the Dart River.

Berlin 1983