New Zealand - South Island Self-Drive

Thirteen nights around the South Island of New Zealand, self-guided, at a deliberately relaxed pace, with the price quoted on application.

Confining a fortnight to one island is the right decision and an unusual one. Most itineraries try both and spend their time driving; this one covers the Catlins and Abel Tasman, which the two-island trips almost always leave out.

The Abel Tasman Coastal Track opens it in the north, one of the country’s Great Walks, fifty-one kilometres of golden beaches and native bush that can be walked in full over several days or sampled on foot or by kayak. The northern wine country and its turquoise coast follow, then a scenic flight over Mount Cook and the west coast glaciers. The south-eastern coast comes next, from the Otago Peninsula into the Catlins, which is craggy, forested and barely visited, with albatross, Hooker’s sea lions and colonies of yellow-eyed and little blue penguins along it. Milford Sound closes the route in Fiordland.

The rental car, the accommodation throughout in the operator’s recommended secluded properties and the scenic flight over Mount Cook and the glaciers are included; international flights, fuel and most meals and optional activities are not. The price is given on application. No wildlife sighting can be promised. November to March is the main season, though the shoulder months are quieter and the light in autumn is the best of the year. Fourteen days on one island at a relaxed pace is the argument for this itinerary: short drives, two nights in most places, and time left over for the walking that the South Island is really for.