New Zealand 2025
Three weeks on the road down under
North to South: Auckland to Christchurch
We have just finished three weeks driving through New Zealand, from Auckland on the North Island, right down to Queenstown in the south. Previous long trips have afforded the opportunity to write notes and observations on the way, whether on trains, buses, planes or boats. This time, the travelling was pretty much all by car with some long driving days and no time for writing. Here therefore are a few recollections and bits of advice written at the end, when some of the immediacy and granularity of observation have necessarily diminished. Nonetheless, here goes
One of the most frequent comments we encountered when sharing our planned itinerary with friends who had already been was: "three weeks: that's anyhere near enough time", and that proves to have been correct. There are one or two places which, with hindsight, we could have dropped, but many more where it would have been good to stay longer and still others we didn't visit and now wish we had. In the end, we covered about 900 miles in the North and 1,200 in the south which was plenty for three weeks. The roads are generally good but are pretty much all single carriageway and where the occasional passing lanes are not provided, it can make for difficult overtaking, particularly of road trains (like European artics but with two or even three semi-trailers, as opposed to the usual one). New Zealanders also seem to universally obey speed limits strictly, even temporary ones which seem to exist for no reason. This makes for a slightly slower pace more conducive to enjoying the views. And as we get further south, every bend opens up a different vista: in the space of ten minutes we seem to have passed through Devon, the Scottish Highlands, Greece and California. A typical New Zealand view might be a few sheep or cows in the foreground behind a stand of pampas grass, chewing on neatly trimmed grass, a few trees in the middle distance, littered with granite boulders, then the landscape slowly and gently rising over maybe ten miles to a jagged row of mountain teeth on the horizon, all under a soft light blue sky (it is still late summer), dotted with a few fluffy picture-book white clouds. Both hire cars were Japanese, so all the switches on the "wrong" side. After three weeks, still indicating left and right with the windscreen wipers.
One of the most astonishing facts about New Zealand is that no one, no one, lived here until about 1,000 years ago. Unikle Australia settled by Aboriginals who migrated overland through Indonesia tens of thousands of years ago, the first Maoris arrived between 800 and 1,000 years ago by canoes after island-hopping from Hawaii. Colonisation by the British in the mid 1800's was at first peaceful, with a treaty between the two nations signed in 1840. But the British were alleged to have grabbed more land than had been agreed, resulting in the Maori wars of 1860. Now the rights of the Maoris are enshrined in law, they are represented in Parliament and the language is everywhere, on notices, signposts and even menus, and although nearly 20% of the population are Maori, only about 6% of the population still speak it. The other 94% speak a kind of English which is not always easy to understand on first hearing. The vowels are all much longer: you might order "fush and chups" or go and sit on the "dick". Eschewing the Pinot Noir and Merlot on offer in one restaurant, I struggled to order the Cabernet / Malbec I fancied until someone on a nearby table helpfully pointed out I needed to ask for the "blinned". And after a couple of weeks, I'm still not clear on the difference in meaning between "Nah, yeah" and "Yeah, nah".
Three cities
Our entry and exit points for the North Island were Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand and Wellington, the nation's capital. Both are dominated by city centre tower blocks sporting all the usual bank, insurance and consultancy logos, but on charming waterfronts backed by hills. Both have a north European or even Scandinavian feel. In both, the quickest ways to escape the commercial centre are to get on a boat or climb a hill. Auckland has a network of frequent ferries across the bay to neighborouring suburbs and islands: public transport throughout the city is frequent and cashless, just tap on and off with a card or phone. A short bus ride takes you to the Mount Eden park, where a steep walk delivers you to the rim of an extinct volcano with sweeping 360° views across the city, bay and plains to the south. Across the bay at Devonport, a shorter climb leads to North End point with views out to the islands and ocean beyond. A drive east out of the centre runs along the coastline past Mission Bay and St Heliers beaches, very much like west country England. The city centre is dwarfed by the cruise ferries when they are in town (one on our first day, two on the second, plus the world's third largest bulk car carrier), moored right by the main street. The only thing taller in the centre is the Sky Tower, from which you can gaze through the glass floor to the streets 180 metres below.
Wellington is smaller and more compact and thus more walkable. The buses don't take contactless but it turns out that Uber was actually cheaper here. The cable car (funicular) up from Lambton Quay to the Botanic Gardens gave good city views and there is a free shuttle bus from there to the Zealandia reserve, where a 8.6km fence keeps all predators out, allowing the country's resident birds and fauna to flourish undisturbed, including the tuatara large lizard and kakariki parakeet (and allegedly some nocturnal kiwis, but not in evidence by day). Even more amazing than the fact that there were no humans in New Zealand until about 1,000 years ago is the fact that, apart from two small species of bat, New Zealand has no native mammals. Everything else has been imported by man, either accidentally (rats and mice) or deliberately (sheep, cattle and even possums). Hence all the other fauna evolved with no predators. Famously, there are no venomous snakes in New Zealand, but there are Redback and Whitetail spiders to watch out for: let's assume these are here by accident......
Another hill worth the climb was Mount Victoria, accessed by a steep path from the city centre, giving all round views of the city, bay, airport and Cook Sound separating the South Island. And the summer weather continued to be kind, so the beaches all around the Miramar headland (in itself a lovely coastal drive) were busy right up to Oriental Bay in the city centre. Despite the numerous warning signs on the coast road, no penguins, though.
Our third and final city was Christchurch, devastated by an earthquake 14 years ago, on February 22nd 2011, in which 185 died. This followed a slightly smaller quake in 2010. Apart from the two extinct volcanoes Lyttleton and Rokorua which form the Banks peninsula 10km to the south east of the city, and on which the usual cable car has been constructed, Christchurch is flat, lacking the amphitheatre quality afforded to Wellington and Auckland. Much of the Central district had to be bulldozed after the earthquakes and, after consultation with residents, has been rebuilt to a maximum height of 28 metres (accessible by fire engine) and laid out in the style of Melbourne, with hidden malls and alleyways full of eateries. Away from the centre, there is little over one story high and nothing more than two. This combined with the flat topography means there is no visible horizon, adding to the slightly drab feel.
The events of 2011 are brought to life in Quake City, a museum with artefacts, pictures, interviews with survivors and live action CCTV footage from the streets. Apart from a lot of empty space, little evidence remains. One or two buildings are still being repaired, notably All Saints Cathedral, which has temporarily been replaced by the Cardboard Cathedral, so called because of its main building components. There are restored vintage trams touring all the key sites and although pleasant enough, it seems to lack the atmosphere and buzz of its northern cousins.
One general observation about all three cities: despite apparently good public transport, the car is king. There are a few pedestrian streets here and there, but although the centres are all compact and walkable, be prepared to spend hours at pedestrian crossings waiting for a green light between the endless streams of traffic. On the plus side, like in Australia, the crossings make a pleasing "che-ung" noise when the lights go green. Or, to repeat, get on a boat or climb a hill.
A more unexpected road side sign warms of "steam!" on the main highway from Rotorua to Lake Taupo in the geothermal heartland. In the distance between the road and the surrounding mountains can be seen huge plumes of the stuff pumping up into the clear blue sky. According to a well known Chatbot, there have been four significant (Richter 4 or higher) earthquakes in New Zealand since we arrived here. The country sits on the the so-called Pacific Rim of Fire and is on at least three major fault lines, one of which is currently (ie this week) active, as the Australian and Pacific Tectonic plates rub together. Although the last few significant loss-of-life earthquakes (Napier 1942, Christchurch 2011) shook North and South Islands respectively, it is in the middle of the North Island that the geophysics is most visibly ongoing. There is a clear sense of the violence beneath the surface never being far away. Lake Rotorua itself was a bit of a disappointment as what was once a beautiful body of water is now surrounded by a busy highway and commercial development for at least half of its circumference. However the bubbling and steamy sulphurous pools in Kuirau park in the centre of Rotorua town are eerily attractive and the bubbling mud at Sulphur Point was just as creepy.
Away from geothermals, nearby is a forest planted entirely with Californian Giant Redwoods. Various non-native species were tried by early settlers to see which adapted to the local climate and the Redwoods were such a success that they are now a tourist attraction in their own right, with a spectacular treetop suspended walkway (we did) and a daunting set of zip wires and rope swings (we didn't).
On from Rotorua to Lake Taupo and the nearby Tongarira reserve, home to three active volcanoes, one of which continues to erupt without warning. One of the others is a ski resort and all three feature on long-distance hiking trails. The surrounding landscape of lava fields, pampas grass and ferns has a Tolkein-esque feel and indeed one of he waterfalls was used by Kiwi director Peter Jackson as the location for Gollum to find his precious ring in the Lord of the Rings films. And Lake Taupo was warm and still enough, with easy black sand access, for a refreshing swim before breakfast.
Wine country
In 2022, New Zealand was the world's sixth largest wine exporter by value and Hawke's Bay and Marlborough are well known in the UK. Compared to France or southern Europe, the growing areas are very compact: fields of pasture or even rocky crags suddenly give way to the neat ranks of bright green vines marching to the horizon. We visited Hawke's Bay, which produces similar wines to Bordeaux, so lots of cabernet sauvignon, typically blended with merlot, malbec or syrah. Plus a bit of chardonnay for those who like that sort of thing. We stayed in Napier, rebuilt in rthe art deco style after the devastating earthquake of 1931. But other than the wine and the architecture, not too much to detain us here. After one of our shortest ever flights (17 minutes; two up, fifteen down), Marlborough on the Southern Island is mainly about sauvignon blanc, but we spent more time exploring the views over Marlbrough Sound from Picton (very south Devon) along the Queen Charlotte road. We managed a cheeky visit to the Cloudy Bay winery, though: surely one of the most idyllic settings to enjoy a glass or two on a late summer's afternoon.
On the way, Kaikoura is a one-street town on the east coast with a strip of eateries and souvenir shops, no real beach and no harbour. Due to one of the recent earthquakes however, what it does have is a very deep sea canyon just a few hundred metres offshore, where sperm whales have taken up semi-permanent residency, so whale watching is the big attraction. We arrived on a bright blue sunny afternoon but in the space of an hour, the sky became overcast and a strong breeze blew up. TV monitors in the tour office warned of very rough sea conditions for the last trip of the day. Luckily, the souvenir shop sold seasickness tablets. The absence of a harbour meant a short bus ride to the boat and for two hours, the conditions were indeed lively,: a lady in the row behind us was quickly working through her supply of sick bags. Apart from shearwater and albatrosses (two flavours), the main reward was a ten-minute hook-up with a 15 metre sperm whale, who on departing, did the requisite tail salute. Whales are mammals, obviously, but even so, fish and chips afterwards felt a bit like cannibalism.
Kaikoura to Lake Tekapo in Otega was our longest single day's driving, as we wanted to avoid Christchurch on the way south as it would be our exit point on the way home. However, the usual well-known chatbot pointed us to suitable pitstops for coffee (Rakaia) and lunch (Geraldine).
Two days later and we're getting thrown about and soaked by spray again on a boat, but this time out of choice, on a 95kph jet boat on Lake Wakatipu at Queenstown. Thirteen years ago, this was the setting for the eerie cop drama Top of the Lake, but now sells itself as the self-styled adventure capital of New Zealand, home to white water rafting, bungee dumping and doubtless one or two other imaginative ways of impaling yourself on a rock. We stuck to the Skyline cable car, 500 metres up Bob's Peak, the aforementioned jet boat, with its 360° power spins and hair-raising skims across stony rivers with just 5cm of water and a rather more sedate cruise up Milford Sound, which is actually technically a fjord (spelt fiord here) rather than a sound. This is the scenery of the tourist board posters: mighty craggy snow-topped, forest-lined peaks tumbling down to icy blue glacier water. Like Norway, but with cheaper wine. We pass a couple of groups of New Zealand fur seals basking on rocks in the sun, but can only marvel at a couple of waterfalls as the rest are dry now the winter ice and snow have more or less melted. Because of the interaction between the mountains, the fresh water, the sea ansand the incoming wind, one of the most fascinating sights was watching weather being created: clouds started to appear out of (literally) thin air near the tops of the peaks, gradually swelling and aggregating and drifting out to sea. Also worth remembering that head due east from here and you encounter nothing until Chile, head west and it's Argentina. There's nothing else down here until Antarctica.
The process of getting several thousand visitors from Queenstown into and out of Milford Sound each day verges on the industrial. The only road is narrow and twisting and unsuitable for overtaking: if driving a car, you're going to get stuck behind a bus so you might as well be on one, let someone else handle the four hour drive and sit back and enjoy the views. So everyone does. Pitstops for coffee, loos and photo opportunities are therefore choreographed to keep everything moving but it works fine. Flying in and out is possible but expensive and definitely ecologically questionable.
Glacier country
The late Scottish novelist Iain Banks described the concept of the GWR: the "Great Wee Road", finessed on a road trip around all of Scotland's whisky distilleries. I forget the qualifying details, but it was not about daredevil mountain climbs or pottering through scenic villages, more about the sweep of the open road. As such, New Zealand seems to be almost one big GWR, where the national speed limit (100kph) pretty much matches the ideal speed to sweep through the ever-changing scenery whilst still providing a bit of driving thrill. There is an almost childlike glee in seeing how long into a bend it is possible to leave the cruise control on without coming a cropper.
On this basis, State Highway 6 is a GWR. After a short pause 10 minutes out of Queenstown to take in the perfectly preserved timber buildings of Main Street in Arrowtown, a charming relic from New Zealand's brief 19th century gold rush, it's up the sinuous curves of the road over Clarke's Pass then on across the plains to Wanaka. The snow-capped peaks of Mounts Tasman and Cook, last spotted from Lake Tekapo on the journey south a few days ago, are once again visible across the lake. A challenging climb out of Wanaka and another four hours of GWR over the stunning Haast Pass to get around to the western side of the mountains, facing out to the Tasman Sea, and this is glacier country. One word of warning about this leg: following a serious landslip last winter just to the north of Haast, Highway 6 is occasionally closed for reconstruction. At the time of writing, it was routinely closed from 12:30 to 3pm every Tuesday and Thursday. This has the alarming effect of making a four journey on Google Maps suddenly jump to nearly 10 hours. There is a New Zealand Highways website for the latest update.
Clearly, there are two glaciers here, as there are two townships named after them. But amongst all the ridges and valleys cascading down, no ice. Until following an unlikely looking trail across farmland signposted "viewpoint" and after a few kilometres, the angles align and the view is straight up one particular valley, down which the Fox glacier is flowing (do glaciers flow?) under yet another cloudless summer sky.
A few hours later: nearly eight PM and still pleasantly warm outside and the traffic on Higway 6 has died down just leaving the evening birdsong. This part of New Zealand doesn't seem to know where it is. Snow caps above, lush semi-tropical vegetation below. The real sense of wilderness comes an hour or two later: complete still and silence, and now complete darkness and in tonight's clear sky, a first sight of the Milky Way for many years. Sadly, no idea where the Southern Cross is. And we haven't even tried the "which way does the water go down the plughole?" thing yet.
A few more hours on: bright daylight and the quiet is shattered by the roar and clattering of a dozen or so helicopters. After trekking and cycling, the main reason most tourists come to Fox and Franz Josef is to actually walk on the glaciers and, terrified or not, there is only one way. I'm not a good flier at the best of times, and that's with easy access to a drinks trolley and a toilet. So thirty minutes in a helicopter would not necessarily be my first choice of leisure pursuit. Turns out it's only 22 minutes in a helicopter and eight minutes stood at the top of the glacier, so that's all right then. Strapped in, headphones on and up we go, six of us plus Paul the pilot ("Hi, I'm Paul and I'm going to take you up there today. It's a beautiful day so let's go see some glaciers") in our little glass bubble rising 6,500 feet over rainforest and mountains until suddenly, one sharp bank and roll to the left and there is the full length of the Fox glacier shining in the sun below. Cruising just above the ice and rocky outcrops, another sharp bank and we're descending onto the top of Franz Josef (named after the then Austro-Hungarian emperor at the time of European discovery, who invented the helicopter). A gentle bump, Paul hops out to open the doors and we're out on the snow, with much ooh-ing and aah-ing. Eight minutes for pictures and snowballs, back onboard and a descent skimming the ice all the way back to sea level, terra firma and coffee. Had to be done.
It is reckoned that 1,000 years ago, perhaps when the first Maori settlers came, both glaciers flowed to the sea. Now, as temperatures begin to rise, they have retreated many kilometres inland. The ice may still be 300 metres thick in places, but it is surely slowly disappearing. And as if to make the point, the temperature up there today is probably nearly 20°C: very strange to be picking up handfulls of snow dressed in T-shirt and shorts.
Another couple of hours on Great Wee Road 6 hugging the coast northbound before a wander around Hokitika, another vintage gold rush town, but this time on the coast with, as it happens, great home-made sandwiches if you phone ahead. A right-hand turn inland for the final stretch to Christchurch. Our last hotel out in the sticks is the former theatre in Kumara: before that it was the local doss house and dance hall for prospectors in the gold rush. Now it's the boisterous venue for a Saturday night in this one street village, a fitting summary of three week expedition around a remarkable country.
Housekeeping and admin
I took some NZ dollars with me: no need. Credit cards and phone payments are accepted everywhere (apart from on Wellington buses) for even the smallest amounts, like parking meter charges.
As we were trying to eke out a bit of a budget, for lunch we would tend to seek out a Bakery: even the smallest wayside village seems to have one. Apart from the obvious coffee, pastries and sandwiches, there is usually an imaginative selection of fresh pies on offer. Butter chicken anyone? For quite a few nights, we used motels and either had takeaways or self-catered: even the smallest towns seem to have a Woolworths, New World or 4 Square supermarket.
A Dairy is a corner shop, with a range of snacks and treats.
Fuel is slightly cheaper than in the UK: both our hire cars took grade 91, which I have never seen in Europe. Out of town, fuel (gas) stations are few and far between so bear this in mind on longer legs.
Local SIM cards are cheap as chips: we picked up two with 13GB of data and 300 minutes of international calls each for a total of less than £30 in the inbound duty free shop at Auckland airport. And the guy fitted them and set our phones up for us.
Finally, we started our trip with five days in Phuket and a week in Western Australia and came home via three days on Singapore, all just to break up the long flights. The notes on New Zealand here are not chronological but for info, the actual itinerary was (one night each unless specified):
Auckland (2), Rotorua (2), Lake Taupo, Napier (2), Martinborough, Wellington (2), Blenheim (2), Kaikoura, Lake Tekapo, Queenstown (2), Wanaka, Franz Josef, Kumara, Christchurch (2).
PS We're going back in 2026
Sent from my Galaxy
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