Audacious Freedom Live anywhere. Travel everywhere.

When travelling to New Zealand it is a good idea to plan your itinerary properly. There are so many interesting places to visit and geographic features to explore that you want to make sure that not only do you have enough time to travel round the island but that you get to see everything that you want to.

Our first trip to the South Island we planned to do the full circuit round the island in two weeks. For any first time travellers, my advice is that two weeks is too short to do the whole island. If you only have two weeks then be choosy about where you visit. If you are adamant about seeing the whole island then plan to spend at least three weeks there.

As a disclaimer, we did do the whole island in two weeks, but felt rushed and pressed for time. We have since been back for another two week holiday – this time we were a bit choosier about where we stayed and what we saw. We also had the luxury of having been before and could therefore explore those things we had missed on the first trip round. Even so we missed out on a lot of the unique and out of the way places like Reefton’s museum which is definitely worth a visit. However, you will need at least two to three hours to do the museum and historic walk justice.

Things to know about the South Island when planning a trip:

• The South Island is far more spectacular than the North Island and deserves more time than the North Island. ( I am not biased, I live on the North Island)
• The roads are of reasonable quality. There are no dual carriage motor ways even though the main connecting roads are referred to as SH1 (state highway 1). 90% of the roads are single carriage.
• From the Picton, north of the Island where the ferry comes in, to Invercargill, the southernmost city is, 998km. Roughly 12 hours.
• There are only two direct roads that connecting the east side to the west side: SH7 and Arthur’s Pass. Arthur’s Pass is a well known tourist route with spectacular scenery and great hiking opportunities.
• If you are limited for time then I would skip the Catlins region – the far southern part of the South Island. This is a beautiful region – but if time is limited then concentrate on the more geographic and culturally significant places such as the Fjordlands, glaciers etc.
• Sandflies are a nasty reality. Be prepared. Make sure you are appropriately covered with spray and/or clothes before getting out of any protected vehicle. It takes ages for the bites to stop itching!
• The best time to travel to the South Island is March to May. Though this is not the warmest time, it has the least run ins with sand flies and the weather is generally more stable with higher chances of sunshine.

There are lots of gems hidden throughout the South Island. This is a wonderful geographically and culturally rich area. It brings geography to life enabling you to walk on a glacier that is grumbling and moaning as it moves towards the sea, to kayak in the fjord lands surrounded by mountains that rise out of the sea or swim in hot springs. This is a land rich in diversity. A land that will enthral you, enrich you and overwhelm you. This is a land not to be missed!