New Zealand is one of those countries that attracts, just being so far from our house gives it a special charm, as if it were another world. And in part it may seem so, nature has been kind to New Zealand and has endowed it with landscapes and idyllic surroundings. New Zealand hooks anyone!
The best way to travel its two islands is to rent a van and jump on the road. Some of the natural attractions are contemplated directly from the window of your van and many of the most incredible places in New Zealand are accessible only if you have your own vehicle. You also save a little money on accommodation! Although we have already told you the 10 reasons to travel by van in New Zealand, so we will not repeat ourselves.
You will soon realize that you are not the only one to travel this way, motorhomes in New Zealand are not lacking! You will see how easy it is to adapt to nomadic life, sleeping every night in a different place (to which more spectacular), meeting people from all over the world and enjoying the “discomforts” of the trip.
What we are going to present today is a 3-week van tour of New Zealand, intended for those who have the right time for a vacation but do not want to miss anything about this wonderful country.
Assuming we arrived at Auckland, there will be where we pick up our camper van and where we start the route. We are presented two alternatives:
⇒ Go to north, towards Cape Reinga.
⇒ Go directly to know the part central of the island.
If we had enough time we would have no doubts and we would choose to route our steps north, but the itinerary we propose is for a trip of only 3 weeks, so unfortunately we discarded this option.
For those who have time, on the way you must go through these points:
- Whangarei: a pretty town in Norhland Bay.
- Tutukaka Coast: with very cool scenic roads, some interesting waterfalls and trails.
- Cape reinga: a spectacular and sacred place for the Maori culture. It is the northernmost tip of the country.
- 90 miles beach: a wild beach of 90 miles (actually they are less) where driving is a pleasure! But be careful!
On the way back from the north route we will pass through Auckland and start the route through the center and the south of the north island, with the following stops:
- Coromandel Peninsula: Although the road to arrive is a hell of curves and free camping options void, it is worth approaching this gem of New Zealand.
- Cathedral Cove: a gift for the senses, thanks nature!
- Whangamata: with one of the most beautiful beaches in the country.
- Waihi: with its wild beach and the nearby Karangahake Gorge.
- Mount maunganui: a charming coastal city. Although in high season it is the vacation spot of many kiwis and can be quite crowded.
- Hamilton and Raglan: If you had time you can approach the west coast, passing through the city of Hamilton (and see its gardens) until you reach the beaches of Raglan, the paradise for many surfers.
- Waitomo Caves: If you have chosen this route you can go to these caves and get to know its luminous inhabitants (they are worms !!).
- Hobbiton: for the geeks (and not so geeks) of The Lord of the Rings. Of course, prepare the checkbook!
- Rotorua: a city with the smell of eggs. It has a free geothermal park, but it is not comparable with the following visit:
- Wai-O-Tapu: the best geothermal park in New Zealand, small colors!
- Taupo Lake: the largest lake in New Zealand and with spectacular sunrises.
- Tongariro Alpine Crossing: the only one who has been able to lift our asses from the seat to walk for 19 km. Simply incredible.
- Wellington: the city of the wind, the capital of the country, cool!
With the visit to Windy Welly we finished our route through the North Island of New Zealand, we embarked our van on the ferry and headed to the other half! If you think New Zealand can't surprise you anymore, you don't know what awaits you!
We will arrive at Picton after a 3 and a half hour journey and the landscapes that are presented are totally different, what a thrill! The logical thing is to pull towards the west coast, although an alternative is to approach until Kaikoura, an ideal place to camp for a few days off the coast and with the huge mountains at our back. But something is left out of the logical itinerary, so for now it is left out. What we include is the following:
- Queen Charlotte Drive: a beautiful coast road (with curves, many curves) but with very beautiful landscapes.
- Abel Tasman National Park: the ideal is to make a trekking of several days, sleeping in the park, although a walk of a few hours is not bad either.
- Westport: the city doesn't have much but the neighbor Cape foulwind, a first contact with the West Coast and with a seal colony.
- Pancake rocks: formations to strata that the force of the sea has carved on the rocks. They say they look like pancakes on top of each other ... well judge it yourself.
- Franz Josef and Fox glaciers: Although the retreat of these glaciers is a worrying issue, they are still surprising.
- Haste: It is the last town we are from the west coast, approach its wild beach but watch out for sandflies!
- Blue Pools and Wanaka: two mandatory stops on the way to Queenstown. The first is a path that follows the course of a river, where if you are brave you can jump from a bridge at a considerable distance. Wanaka is a small town on the shore of a lake, they call it the little Queenstown.
- Queenstown: Although it is the world capital of risk sports, it is also worth a visit even if you do not plan any activity beyond “photing”.
- Milford sound: It is one of the most famous tracks in the world but you don't have to be a hiker to enjoy these incredible landscapes. You can join a boat tour of the fjords and waterfalls.
- Catlins: a park with many surprises, the most interesting: Slope Point, the southernmost point of the country and the Nugget Point, a slap of the wonderful nature.
- Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula: one of the most beautiful cities in the country and a place where, with any luck, see funny penguins in their habitat.
- Moeraki boulder: dinosaur egg-shaped stones in the middle of the beach, what the hell are they?
- Pukaki and Tekapo Lakes: if we leave the coast for a good reason, the panoramic view of these lakes is one of the most beautiful we have seen in our lives.
- Mount cook: Approach even if only for traveling the 50 km of road. Once there there are several trekkings approaching the highest mountain in New Zealand. An adventure
- Banks Peninsula: with French influences and spectacular landscapes.
- Christchurch: hit by the earthquake of 2011 you can still see the strong injuries it caused.
Here is an interactive map of the tour, we hope it can help you plan your van vacation in New Zealand! This could be a basic route:
If you need more info on what to see in detail, costs and reasons to visit New Zealand, do not miss our guide, written after having lived in the antipodes for 9 months 🙂
