Van Road trip Itinerary in New-Zealand

Hey guys,

I thought it could be a good idea to help people who wants to travel in New-Zealand to have an example of itinerary. I prepared this trip for many years while collecting all informations on internet and Facebook's groups.

This itinerary is covering the entire country with all the most famous part. Only the main point are highlighted on it but there are hundreds more places to visit (all around the main spot).

From hidden waterfalls to secret lakes, I can help you discovering them. Upvote me or write a comments if you are interested and I will give you the informations you need.

So far on my itinerary I'm in Wanaka. I did all the Fiordland and the road to Invercargill and decided to go back north and stay for the winter in a warm house. Why Wanaka? Because it is a fantastic and relaxing city next to ski resorts : perfect for the winter. I will tell you more about Wanaka on an other post.

Other posts will come explaining each steps of my itinerary and the to-do list.
I'm a tourist but I don't like tourist, so I will show you all the places I found off the grid.

Regarding the itinerary -

North Island : I arrived in Auckland and headed straight to the NorthLand (Maori's land) :

Back to Auckland, I started the way down into the central north island part (volcanic thermal activities and big caves) :

All the way down to Wellington, the city of wind, before taking the boat for the South Island :

South Island : A fantastic part on the west coast with sand beaches and sandflies (your worst enemy trust me)

All the way down to the Fiordland and the Southern big city in New Zealand : Invercargill

From there, I haven't finished yet but I will follow of course my itinerary. Here what's comes next :

Then, visit of Christchurch and the surroundings :

After that, on Google maps, I wasn't able to join Christchurch to Blenheim via the Kaikoura road because of the earthquake, the road is closed at the time I'm writing this post. Probably for about an other one or 2 years as the damage are very important. There is the road inland that you can take (and the one I will take) but you will miss Kaikoura (the city of Whales and Dolphins).

So the itinerary carries on at Blenheim and all the way back to Auckland from the East coast to make sure I cover the whole country.

The whole trip is about 3 months on the road if you take your time enjoying each places (4 months if you drive like a snail).
It is feasible in 1 month too for the one with a shorter trip but you will not be able to spend as much time as you would love to in the places.

If you have any comments, or any advices for my way back to the North don't hesitate to let me know :).

Hope that will help new travellers and save some time for you.

Joris