South Island Winter Circuit: Queenstown to Christchurch - Apollo

Six nights and 1,944 kilometres from Queenstown to Christchurch in a campervan, a winter circuit of the South Island’s highlights.

Milford Sound comes first as a day trip out of Queenstown, four hours each way through the Homer Tunnel, where cliffs rise more than a kilometre out of the water and the winter rain puts every waterfall on the walls in action.

Lake Tekapo follows under its dark sky reserve, which works best on a cold clear night, then Aoraki Mount Cook National Park and the Hooker Valley track. Wanaka comes next, then Haast over the pass and Franz Josef on the West Coast, where a glacier runs down through rainforest almost to sea level, with Hokitika and Hanmer Springs and its thermal pools on the way to Christchurch.

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 1,944 kilometres in winter is a hard schedule, with the Milford day trip and the Haast Pass both long days. The alpine roads carry chain requirements and the Homer Tunnel can close for avalanche risk, so a forecast matters more than an itinerary. Not every camper is set up for winter use, which is worth asking about at booking. This is a one-way hire, so a relocation fee is worth checking, and the glacier trips are weather dependent at any time of year.