Itinerary · 14 days · 58 places
14 Days in New Zealand
Two weeks across the South Island: from Christchurch via Akaroa and the starry skies of Lake Tekapo to the glacier tongues of Aoraki, on to Wanaka and Queenstown and down into the fjord of Milford Sound.
Open in the appThere you can adjust the plan to your dates, your pace and your interests.
Photo: karen Alchin · Pexels
The route on the map
The plan, day by day
Day 1Arrival in Christchurch
Arrival in Christchurch
Hotel check-in
A base in the rebuilt Central City around Cathedral Square, from where everything in the city centre is within walking distance.
Stroll along the Avon River
The riverside path between Margaret Mahy Playground and Victoria Square passes willows, punts and the earthquake memorial steles.
Day 2Christchurch: earthquake, gardens, gondola
Christchurch Botanic Gardens
Rose garden, fernery and ancient oaks in the loop of the Avon, right next to Hagley Park.
Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū
Behind the wave-shaped glass façade hang New Zealand paintings and contemporary Māori art; admission is free.
Quake City
Small museum on the 2011 earthquake with fragments of the old cathedral and video accounts from survivors.
Transitional Cathedral
Architect Shigeru Ban's temporary cathedral stands on 98 cardboard tubes and is surprisingly light inside.
Christchurch Gondola
The cable car up Mount Cavendish opens up views over Lyttelton Harbour and as far as the Southern Alps.
Evening: New Regent Street
The pastel-coloured, Spanish-style pedestrian street is lit up in the evening, with the old tram running right through it.
Day 3Akaroa: a French village in a volcanic crater
Onward to Akaroa
Hotel check-in
Akaroa waterfront
Between Beach Road and Daly's Wharf stand the wooden houses of the French settlers of 1840 and the old customs shed.
Akaroa Harbour Nature Cruise
Two-hour boat trip to the cliffs on the crater rim, home to the world's rare Hector's dolphins and little penguins.
Akaroa Lighthouse
The wooden lighthouse built in 1880 was moved here to the shore from the headland, and you can climb up inside.
Garden of Tāne
A shady woodland park with paths through native trees, leading above the historic cemetery to a viewpoint.
Evening: Rue Lavaud
After dinner, stroll along the main street with its French street names, small galleries and wine bars.
Day 4Lake Tekapo: turquoise water, dark skies
Onward to Lake Tekapo
Hotel check-in
Church of the Good Shepherd
The 1935 stone church stands alone on the shore, its altar window framing the lake and the two-thousand-metre peaks beyond.
Mount John Summit Circuit
The loop over the lookout hill passes the domes of the university observatory, with the whole basin spread out below.
Tekapo Springs
Three warm pools on the hillside overlooking the lake, good for the legs after the drive.
Evening: starry sky by the lakeshore
The Mackenzie Basin is a Dark Sky Reserve — on clear nights the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds hang over the water.
Day 5Aoraki/Mount Cook: into the Hooker Valley
Onward to Aoraki/Mount Cook
Hotel check-in
Kea Point Track
Short path through tussock grass to the edge of the moraine, with views of the Mueller Glacier terminus and the face of Mount Sefton.
Hooker Valley Track
The country's best-known valley walk crosses three swing bridges and ends at Hooker Lake, where icebergs float.
Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre
Museum and planetarium dedicated to the first man to climb Everest, who began his mountaineering career here in this valley.
Evening: stargazing at Governors Bush
The short forest path behind the village ends in a clearing where the night sky of the Dark Sky Reserve opens up above you.
Day 6Tasman Glacier and icebergs
Tasman Glacier View Track
A good 300 steps lead up the lateral moraine, from which you overlook the 23 km Tasman Glacier and its terminal lake.
Blue Lakes
The small lakes in the old glacial hollow have long been green rather than blue, as they now only collect rainwater.
Boat trip on the Tasman glacier lake
By inflatable boat between broken-off icebergs right up to the debris-covered glacier face.
Red Tarns Track
Steep climb above the village to two tarns, from which Aoraki stands directly opposite you in the evening light.
Evening: viewing deck at the Hermitage
From the deck in front of the hotel, the east face of Aoraki stays pink long after sunset.
Day 7To Wanaka by the lake
Onward to Wanaka
Hotel check-in
That Wanaka Tree on the lakeshore
The lone willow standing in the shallows is the most photographed tree in the country, easily seen from the lakeside path.
Puzzling World
Leaning house, illusion rooms and a large wooden maze — quirky, but a local institution since 1973.
Rippon Vineyard
The terraces of this organic winery slope straight down to the lake, and the tasting room pours Central Otago Pinot Noir.
Evening: Cinema Paradiso
Cinema with old sofas and a vintage Morris Minor as a row of seats, with home-baked cookies at the interval.
Day 8Wanaka: lookout hills and bays
Mount Iron Track
The glacier-rounded hill on the edge of town can be climbed in 45 minutes and shows both lakes at once.
Diamond Lake & Rocky Mountain
A boardwalk skirts the small mountain lake, and the path above it ends on a rocky knoll with views as far as Mount Aspiring.
Glendhu Bay
Shingle bay with willows on the shore, where locals swim and the water lies calm, sheltered from the wind.
Wanaka Lavender Farm
Fields of blue and violet against the mountains, plus alpacas and lavender ice cream from the farm's own harvest.
Evening: lakeside path to Eely Point
The flat path along the water to the headland is the best spot for sunset over the lake.
Day 9Over the Crown Range to Queenstown
Onward to Queenstown
Hotel check-in
Queenstown Gardens
On the peninsula in front of the town stand giant sequoias, a rose garden and a frisbee golf course along the lakeshore.
Skyline Gondola up Bob's Peak
The steepest cable car in the Southern Hemisphere climbs 450 metres, revealing the Wakatipu basin as far as Glenorchy.
Cruise on the TSS Earnslaw
The coal-fired steamer of 1912 chugs across the lake, and you can watch the stokers at work in the engine room.
Evening: Queenstown Mall and Ballarat Street
The pedestrian zone in the old gold-rush centre is packed in the evening, with a queue on the corner outside the most famous burger joint.
Day 10Gold diggers in Arrowtown, wine in Gibbston
Arrowtown Chinese Settlement
Restored stone huts by the river, where Chinese gold miners of the 1870s lived on the edge of the settlement.
Lakes District Museum
Local history from the gold rush to the present; this is also where you borrow a pan for gold panning in the Arrow River.
Buckingham Street
Colourful wooden façades from the gold-rush era, with a bookshop, cheesemaker and the old stagecoach station behind them.
Kawarau Bungy Bridge
Commercial bungy jumping was invented in 1988 at this suspension bridge of 1880; watching costs nothing.
Gibbston Valley Winery
Pinot Noir tasting in a wine cave driven into the rock in the middle of the Kawarau Gorge.
Evening: Blue Door Bar
Behind the blue door in the back courtyard, a log fire crackles, there's regional wine and often live music.
Day 11Te Anau: gateway to Fiordland
Onward to Te Anau
Hotel check-in
Kepler Control Gates on the lakeshore
The Kepler Track starts at the weir; from the bridge you see the Waiau River and the Murchison Mountains opposite.
Punanga Manu o Te Anau
Bird sanctuary by the lake where you can see the flightless takahē, which was believed extinct for 50 years.
Te Anau Glowworm Caves
Boat trip across the lake, then through the limestone cave in the dark beneath a ceiling full of glowworms.
Evening: sunset over Lake Te Anau
From the path along Lakefront Drive, the national park's mountains opposite take on colour in the last light.
Day 12Milford Sound: the fjord
Onward to Milford Sound
Hotel check-in
Milford Sound boat cruise
Two hours between sheer walls up to 1200 m high, out to the Tasman Sea and past Stirling Falls and the seal rocks.
The Chasm
Short loop over two bridges beneath which the Cleddau River has carved round potholes into the rock.
Homer Tunnel east portal
At the portal in the rock basin, keas perch on the crash barrier, while after rain dozens of waterfalls tumble down all around.
Evening: starry sky over the fjord
At Deepwater Basin behind the harbour it is pitch dark, with only the fjord and Mitre Peak standing out.
Day 13Back to Queenstown by the water
Onward to Queenstown
Hotel check-in
Bob's Cove Track
Forest path to a bay with unusually turquoise water, with the lime kilns of the first settlers behind it.
Onsen Hot Pools
Private wooden tubs with a window that opens fully onto the Shotover gorge.
Frankton Arm walkway
Flat path along the arm of the lake with views of the Remarkables, where the floatplanes come in to land in the evening.
Evening: Lake Wakatipu waterfront
Between Steamer Wharf and Marine Parade, half the town sits on the lawn by the water in the evening.
Day 14A last look over the Wakatipu basin
Queenstown Hill Time Walk
Zigzag path through Douglas firs to the Basket of Dreams, a steel basket through which you look out over the lake and the Remarkables.
Kiwi Birdlife Park
In the enclosure on the edge of Queenstown Gardens you can see kiwis in a darkened house and join in at feeding time.
Departure from Queenstown
Make it your trip
Viatro AI opens this plan in the app — with map, travel times and opening hours. You change the days, pace and places yourself.
