New Zealand's South Island in 10 days: Milford, the glaciers and Aoraki

Day 2 — Aoraki/Mount Cook

• 09:00 — Drive up the Tasman valley to Mount Cook village, about an hour, with Lake Pukaki on your left the whole way. Stop at the Pukaki viewpoint; it is the postcard.
• 11:00 — The Hooker Valley Track. Three hours return, flat, three swing bridges, finishing at a glacial lake with icebergs and Aoraki at the end of it. This is the best short walk in New Zealand and it needs no permit.
• 16:00 — The Tasman Glacier viewpoint, a twenty-minute climb, or a boat among the icebergs if you have the afternoon.
• Evening — Stay in Mount Cook village or back at Twizel. The village has few beds and they book up; Twizel is forty minutes away and cheaper.

Where to stay near Aoraki (one night)

• Grand: The Hermitage at Mount Cook, with the mountain out of the window.
• Mid-range: a lodge or motel in Twizel, forty minutes out.
• Simple: the DOC campground at White Horse Hill, right at the trailhead.

Day 3 — Over to Wānaka

• Morning — Drive south past Lake Pukaki and over the Lindis Pass, about two and a half hours. The Lindis is bare golden tussock and worth the stops.
• Midday — Wānaka. Smaller and calmer than Queenstown, and many people prefer it.
• Afternoon — Roys Peak if you have the legs: three hours up, relentless, and the view is the famous one. Start early or late to avoid the heat; it closes for lambing, usually in October and November.
• The gentler alternative: the lakefront walk to that willow tree, Rippon vineyard above the lake, or Puzzling World on the way out of town.
• Evening — Wānaka, and an early night if Roys happened.

Day 4 — Queenstown

• Morning — The Crown Range road to Queenstown, about an hour — the highest sealed road in the country, with the Cardrona pub halfway. In winter it needs chains; the valley route through Cromwell is the alternative.
• Midday — Queenstown. The gondola up Bob’s Peak for the view over the Remarkables.
• Afternoon — Pick one: the Shotover jet, a bungy at the Kawarau bridge where the commercial sport was invented, skydiving, or none of it — the lakefront and a walk to Frankton Arm is a perfectly good afternoon.
• The quieter day trip: Glenorchy, forty-five minutes up the lake on one of the country’s great drives, with the Routeburn and Dart valleys at the end of it.
• Evening — Queenstown eats well and late by New Zealand standards.

Where to stay in Queenstown (two nights)

• Grand: a lodge above the town with lake and mountain views.
• Mid-range: a hotel or apartment in the centre, so you can walk to dinner.
• Simple: Frankton, ten minutes out by bus and materially cheaper.

Day 5 — Glenorchy, or the wine

• The outdoor day: the Routeburn Track’s first section as a day walk — the Routeburn Flats and back is around four hours and needs no hut booking.
• The other day: Gibbston Valley wineries, fifteen minutes out, reachable by bike along the river trail.
• Afternoon — Back for the drive tomorrow, and fuel the car.

Day 6 — To Te Anau, then Milford

• 08:00 — Drive to Te Anau, about two hours. Fuel here. This is the last reliable station before Milford.
• 10:00 — The Milford road. Two hours, and it is the drive, not the transfer — the Eglinton Valley, Mirror Lakes, the Chasm, and the Homer Tunnel, which is single-lane, unlit, steep and light-controlled in season.
• 13:00 — The Milford cruise, booked. Mitre Peak, Stirling Falls, seals, and often dolphins. Rain makes it better — hundreds of temporary waterfalls appear on the walls.
• 17:00 — Drive back to Te Anau. Do not plan to drive this road in the dark if you can avoid it.
• Note: the road closes for avalanche risk in winter and occasionally in spring, sometimes at a few hours’ notice. Check before you set off.

Where to stay in Te Anau (one night)

• Grand: a lakefront hotel with Fiordland out of the window.
• Mid-range: a motel in the village — Te Anau is small and everything is close.
• Simple: the holiday park, which has cabins as well as sites.

Day 7 — North up the West Coast

• 08:00 — The long day: Te Anau to Fox or Franz Josef, about six hours via Queenstown, Wānaka and the Haast Pass.
• The Haast is the scenic part — Thunder Creek Falls, the Blue Pools swing bridge, and then rainforest meeting the Tasman Sea.
• Fuel at Haast. It is the only station for a long way.
• Late afternoon — Glacier country. Note that both Fox and Franz Josef have retreated substantially, and valley-floor access to the ice has been restricted for years — the glaciers are now reached by helicopter rather than on foot. The valley walks still reach viewpoints.
• Evening — Sandfly repellent before you leave the car.

Day 8 — The glaciers, and Hokitika

• Morning — A heli-hike or a scenic flight, if the weather holds. It cancels often; take the first slot of your stay.
• The ground alternative: the Franz Josef valley walk to the terminal-face viewpoint, and Lake Matheson near Fox — a thirty-minute loop to a reflection of Aoraki and Tasman on still water. Go at dawn for the reflection.
• Afternoon — North to Hokitika, about two and a half hours. Hokitika Gorge is a short detour to water an improbable turquoise.
• Evening — Hokitika or Greymouth.

Day 9 — Arthur’s Pass back east

• Morning — Arthur’s Pass, about two hours inland, climbing through beech forest into alpine country.
• Stop at the Otira Viaduct lookout, and watch for kea — the alpine parrot that is intelligent, fearless and will strip the rubber from your car. Do not feed them.
• Midday — Devils Punchbowl Falls, an hour return from the village.
• Afternoon — Down to Christchurch, about two hours, through the Canterbury plains.
• Alternative: the TranzAlpine train does this route and is one of the great rail journeys — but it does not take your car.
• Evening — Christchurch.

Day 10 — Out

• Morning — Christchurch: the Botanic Gardens, the Riverside Market, or the tram.
• Return the car at the airport with the usual margin.