Best New Zealand Road Trip Experiences – South Island

In my previous post I outlined our complete Australia and New Zealand trip itinerary. In this post, I wanted to elaborate on the best New Zealand road trip experiences we found during our 11 day self-driving loop around the south island of New Zealand. The great part? Most of the best things to see in New Zealand are completely free and that includes all of these, except for three.

As introverted outdoor enthusiasts, these activities are what we naturally gravitate toward and fill our souls. I wrote this article while keeping in mind what information is useful to me while planning a trip. I understand everyone has different trip goals so, if you have a question about any of the sights below, feel free to drop me a line!

Lake Tekapo

While there is so much beauty to discover during the day in Lake Tekapo, you’re only experiencing half of the magic if you don’t venture out in the middle of the night. Stargazing is a must-do experience as Lake Tekapo is part of the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve and on a clear and moonless night, you’ll see more stars than you can imagine. Grab a blanket and head down to the lakeshore inside Lake Tekapo Regional Park or take a hike up Mt. John Summit Circuit Track to find your perfect spot to enjoy some peaceful stargazing. 

During the day, be sure to visit the tiny Church of Good Shepherd. It’s picturesque location is perched right on the shore of brilliantly blue Lake Tekapo and is a well sought after subject for photographers.

Aorkai/Mount Cook National Park

Mount Cook is the tallest peak in New Zealand towering 12,218 ft. overhead and is famously where Sir Edmund Hillary trained prior to becoming the first man to summit Mt. Everest. The drive along Lake Pukaki treats you with a view of Mount Cook National Park the entire way into the park but easily one of the best views of this iconic peak is from the shore of Hooker Lake via the Hooker Valley Track. This easy hike is 7 miles out and back and crosses 3 picturesque suspension bridges along the way. This hike is rightfully popular so I advise going VERY early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid the crowds. 

Tip: Watch the weather, we sat at the lake shore for 3 hours hoping the clouds would clear with no luck.

We found our best view of Mount Cook early the next morning from the top of Sealy Tarns Track which was 2,200 steps straight up. We beat the heat and the crowds on this hike and were well rewarded for our efforts. It gives you more of an aerial view of the glacier peaks, lakes, and surrounding valley. However, if you’re not an adventurous hiker, the Hooker Valley Track is definitely the better way to go. 

After completing the Hooker Valley Track, don’t head out of the park yet. Allow yourself time to venture to the other side of the park and check out Tasman Glacier Viewpoint and Tasman Lake & River Walk. Tasman Glacier Viewpoint offers a breathtaking 360 degree view after a short .4 mile hike uphill and the Tasman Lake & River Walk is a flat 1.7 mile out and back which allows you to walk right up to the glacier lake with it’s many stunning floating icebergs. 

Tip: Along the road to Mount Cook, stop at Alpine Lavender and get the best lavender soft serve you will ever have. 

Wanaka 

One of our most memorable experiences in New Zealand was the sunrise hike to the top of Roy’s Peak. This 5 mile uphill slog at 3:30am definitely makes you question your life choices. It’s tough but the view is 100% worth it. And, even though it’s an out and back hike, it won’t seem like it as the trail looks vastly different in the daylight on the way down than it did in the dark on the way up. The stunning panorama allows you to look over the entire town and Wanaka Lake below, to the snow-packed peak of Mount Aspiring in the distance.

After your early morning workout, it’s a great time to stop in Wanaka and find ‘the tree’ and enjoy a dip in the crystal clear glacier lake! 

If you still have some energy left like we did, and don’t want to hang out in this cute tourist town, take a drive past Lake Hawea and head into Mount Aspiring National Park to check out the Blue Pools and beautiful waterfalls like the epic Thunder Creek Falls.

Queenstown

World-renowned for adventure and adrenaline activities, Queenstown is where we opted for to spend money on such activities rather than seek out the free ones. In fact, our two biggest splurges happened here in the form of Mountain Biking at the Queenstown Bike Park and Bungee Jumping off the original AJ Hackett Kawarau Bridge.

While I cannot personally advise on any free activities to do in Queenstown, I can say there are many beautiful flat biking and walking trails worth exploring. The entire city is picturesque and even the small section of the Frankton Arm Walkway outside of our accommodation was a stunning sunset walk experience. 

Milford Sound

Surprisingly, many people pass up the opportunity to visit Milford Sound due to it’s one-way travel time commitment. It definitely could be a rough day if you were trying to visit in one day from Queenstown but we opted to stay in Te Anau which is 2 hours closer. Overall we were pleased with our decision to spend a day journeying to and experiencing Milford Sound. It’s a beautiful and iconic place within Fiordland National Park. However, once you actually arrive in Milford Sound there is not a lot to do besides hop on one of the many cruise ships and take the 2 hour cruise, which we did. However, I think some of the best views can be achieved for free and I’ll tell you where the free parking is.

If you are self-driving, enjoy the road there. We left at sunrise to ensure a quiet drive and stopped at Mirror Lakes, Lake Fergus, Hollyford Valley Lookout, Monkey Creek, and Homer Tunnel along the way. Once we arrived, we found the free parking lot which is located off of Deepwater Basin Road. It’s the only road to the left after Milford Lodge and before the airport. Spots are limited but it’s obvious that many people miss this lot and continue driving to the many paid parking lots that are closer to the docks. 

After parking, we took the scenic trail through the trees toward the docks but instead of heading directly there, we followed the trail to the south of Freshwater Basin. There’s a nice boardwalk trail and it allows you to walk right out to the water and look across to all the ships and, more importantly, out across the fjord. 

You also do not need to have a cruise reservation to walk down to the docks and out onto the water break which is also beautiful. We cruised with Cruise Milford which is a Kiwi owned company that operates the smallest boat in the harbor and was still operating at half capacity. The benefit of going out on the water is experiencing the sheer cliffs, snoozing otters, Tasman Sea, and hanging valley waterfalls up close. 

The Catlins

This wild and accessible part of New Zealand’s coastline has many hidden gems. Enjoy traipsing ‘through’ the petrified forest as the tide comes in, picking out the long logs and stumps still in tact. McLean Falls and Purakaunui Falls are two lovely waterfalls which involve short walks through the rainforest to get to. Then spend time at Nugget Point and Roaring Bay looking for the Yellow Eyed Penguins and enjoying some stellar sunrises and sunsets.

From lush rainforest, to soft sandy bays, to rugged rock coast, this coastline has endless places to explore with nothing but small towns and unique stops to support the tourism. We felt most at home here as we come from small town America that is steeped in agriculture. In fact, our accommodation in this area was at a farmstay which overlooked rolling hills of grazing sheep.

Tip: If driving from Te Anau to the Catlins, stop in downtown Winton for some great hospitality, coffee, and sweets! 

Otago Peninsula and Coast

From Dunedin to Oamaru, here are more stunning coastal experiences to enjoy for free. These were the highlights I recommend to others.

Tunnel Beach

Tunnel Beach is quickly gaining popularity and the big hill to get there is 100% worth the effort. An actual tunnel through the sandstone takes you down to an otherwise inaccessible beach that must be visited at low tide. Beautiful sandstone cliffs, hidden caves, and stunning blue water laps at the shore that looks straight out of a fairy tale. 

Sandfly Bay

Farther up the coast and just out of the cutest big city on the Southern Island, Dunedin, is Sandfly Bay where you can walk down a sandy hill and walk along the beach that’s peppered with snoozing Pakate Sea Lions. We enjoyed this gem of a spot for hours. The sand quieted the sound of the waves and everybody on the beach spoke softly so they wouldn’t disturb the sleeping sea lions. It was so cool. 

Moereki Boulders

A quick and peculiar stop a little farther north are the Moereki Boulders. These perfectly round concretions “grew” in the ground and spilled onto the beach after the waves wore away at their softer sandstone surroundings. They are seriously so odd because of how perfectly round they are on the outside and how mysteriously mosaic their insides appear when broken apart. Oddly, there are no sign posts informing visitors how they were created, we had to look it up!

I hope you found this list of highlights inspiring and have fun planning your own visit to this breathtaking land! Have you already been there? What was your favorite experience?