Christchurch to Arthur's Pass via Kaikōura and Abel Tasman - Apollo

Six nights and 1,073 kilometres in a loop from Christchurch in a campervan, up the coast to Abel Tasman and back over the alps.

Kaikoura comes first, where the Seaward Kaikoura range drops almost straight into a deep submarine canyon, which brings sperm whales and dusky dolphins within a few kilometres of shore, with the seals out on the rocks at Point Kean.

Blenheim follows in the Marlborough vineyards, then Nelson, and Abel Tasman National Park, where granite headlands and golden beaches are walked or kayaked in sections with water taxis filling the gaps. Westport comes next down the West Coast, with the seal colony at Cape Foulwind nearby, then Arthur’s Pass, the highest road crossing of the Southern Alps, where kea work the car parks and the Otira Viaduct carries the road down a slip-prone slope.

The camper and the day-by-day plan come from Apollo, and the hire is priced live per vehicle rather than per person; campsites, fuel, ferries, park fees and activities are all extra, with a nil-excess insurance pack available at booking. Seven days for 1,073 kilometres is a fair pace, with the Westport to Christchurch leg over the pass the long day in it. Whale trips at Kaikoura are weather dependent with no sighting promised, and the Abel Tasman water taxis want booking over summer. Arthur’s Pass can hold snow in winter. The loop format avoids a one-way relocation fee, and crossing the alps on the way home is what makes this better than an out-and-back.