Alex and I spent a week on wheels with Apollo Motorhomes travelling to some of the most beautiful places in South Island. In this blog, i’ve put together everything about our trip including our budget, tips and full itinerary.

If you decide to travel on wheels like we did, I recommend hiring a Campervan or RV with Apollo. We travelled around South Island in the Euro Deluxe. It had all the essentials, shower, toilet, fully equipped kitchen and internal heating. Below I’ve mentioned a few apps to download before hitting the road that can help you plan.

ApolloConnect – your must-have travel companion! If you’re travelling with Apollo this app is going to be your best friend! You’ll have access to how-to’s & safety videos about your vehicle, great deals and camping spots!

Campermate – This app will show you the best deals and top spots where you can set up for the night including freedom camping spots. 

Book Me – if you’re into adventure, tours, attractions, food or any activities. It will show you all the hot deals up to 90% off! It’s actually insane how much you can save.

Below I have put together how much it cost the two of us for our 7 day road trip in South Island. All prices in AUD.

• Flights – Brisbane to Christchurch (return) $700/each
  We found deals through sky scanner and then bought straight from the airline (Virgin AU & Emirates)
• Petrol – Roughly $450
• Food – $150 spent on groceries and $170 eating out & daily coffees
• Sim Card – $52 with Vodafone. We only got one Sim card and I would hotspot Alex when he wanted it. There was a Vodafone stand at the airport before we went through customs.
• Spending Money – $200 spending money for actives we wanted to do.
• RV – We travelled with Apollo Campervans! Find your camper price HERE

⋆ Day 1 – Christchurch / Picked up our RV from Apollo, bought all of our groceries, got familiar with the RV and set up for our trip.
⋆ Day 2 – Lake Tekapo, Lake Pukaki
⋆ Day 3 – Mt Cook Village
⋆ Day 4 – Queenstown / Glenorchy
⋆ Day 5 – Omarama Hot Pools, Valley Views Glamping
⋆ Day 6 – Blue Pools / Lake Wanaka
⋆ Day 7 – Headed Back to Christchurch // Return RV // Flight at 6 pm.

I was a a bit hesitant booking a New Zealand trip during winter but I’m glad we did. There are a lot of pros and cons whilst travelling during this time of year. This time of year is popular for snowboarding in Queenstown and not so much exploring other parts.

Pros

• Not many people on the roads
• It’s beautiful
• Snow cap mountains
• Snowboarding / Ski season
• It’s Cheaper – accomodation, campers, flights, activities
• Hot Springs are more enjoyable in the winter!

Cons

• It’s cold.
• It’s not Lupin or Lavender season.
• Weather is unpredictable

You will know when you arrive because you’ll see the milky-turquoise colour from a distance. Tekapo is a cute town and I recommend grabbing a coffee at The Greedy Cow. If you have time I also suggest eating breakfast at Our Dog Friday and enjoy the history they have in their cafe.

This lake is my favourite out of the two. I love that you can see Mt. Cook in the distance and other beautiful surrounding mountains. The photos do not do this place justice. We had some poor weather during the day which was unfortunate but it cleared up just for sunset. We didn’t think we would see Mt. Cook this trip but the clouds moved just in time!

In reality, it’ll be like 3 hours because you’ll stop every few km. There is so much beauty to see!

TIP: Fill up your petrol tank in Pukaki before you head off to Aoraki/Mount Cook. Pukaki is the only petrol station in the area.

A hub surrounded by mountains where you can stay with the option of camping, motel or hotel. We spent only a few hours here but there are so many things to do here. I could spend days-even weeks here!

We missed out on The Hooker Valley Track which is one of the most popular one.

I recommend doing this hike for sunset! It was fairly easy, just be prepared for a few stairs! It was super neat to see part of NZ’s longest glacier. Sitting on the rocks watching the reflection of the mountain fade away as the sun disappeared was totally worth the hike (and the cold).

Queenstown! I had zero expectations. The only thing I knew about Queenstown was it was good for snowboarding and skiing. It blew me away! I definitely felt a vibe here and it was beautiful! I wish we were able to spend more time here.

We took the Skyline Gondola up to the top and Alex had fun on the luge. When you get to the top you see amazing views overlooking Queenstown. There’s a restaurant and a few shops including the Jelly Belly store. If you do go, grab the Bean Boozled game. It’s disgusting but hilarious!
Skyline Gondola – $44 / per adult

Cookie Bar – Whilst walking around town, we came across the Cookie Bar. Well, we actually smelt this place before we saw it. Writing this, I’m beginning to crave their hot chocolate and cookies. oh YUM! This just hit the spot on the cold morning.

Fergburger – Well this is something I’ve been looking forward to for a LONG time coming. The famous Fergburger! My honest opinion? It wasn’t great. In fact, I’ve had a better burger at Hungry Jacks. I even ate meat for this place! Ok, I might be a bit harsh, it was ok. I was pretty disappointed though.

Why Glenorchy? The little red hut, thats why!
That is honestly the only reason why we drove in this direction and i’m so happy we did! The drive from Queenstown to Glenorchy, in my opinion, might be one of the best scenic drives this entire trip. You will need more than 45 minutes so plan accordingly.

We took a break from the RV (not that we really needed it) and spent a night over looking Waitaki Valley at Valley Views Glalmping! This place is so magical and I could not recommend staying here enough! I wrote a separate blog about this experience x

Click here to read more about Valley Views Glamping

What is a trip to New Zealand without a quick stop to some hot pools? (ps. this is only 40 minutes away from Valley Views Glamping) I didn’t want to miss out on the pools so I booked this previously before coming to NZ. I decided to secure a 4pm slot so we could spend our time in the tub watching the light fade away. This is the perfect way to unwind. What caught my eye about Omarama Hot Pools is they re-fill it with fresh mountain water, it’s wood fire lit and chemical free! They also have the option of having a private tub so you don’t have to share the experience with anyone else.

Private hot tub for two (2.5 hours) // $49 PER PERSON

We left the glamping spot around noon and headed to Blue Pools Track. I had to see this place so it was definitely worth it the detour. We thought Lake Tekapo was blue! This pure glacial water was probably the bluest water i’ve ever seen. As I mentioned above, one of the pros of travelling this time of year is there’s only a handful of people around! With only three other vehicles in the parking lot, we had this place to ourselves majority of the time. The locals told us that the water is freezing all year round but that didn’t stop Alex from jumping off the bridge (typical Alex).

On our way to Wanaka we saw this guy on the side of the road! I’ve always been so fascinated with these fluffy cows (Highland Cattle to be exact) but i’ve never seen one up close! All he wanted was the greener grass on the other side of the barb wire. We did our good deed for the day and helped him out 🙂

And that’s where our journey ended and the camera went away! We spent our last night in Wanaka hoping to do Roys Peak in the morning for sun up. Unfortunately due to timings, it just didn’t match up!

If you are in the Wanaka area and you like Mexican food, you MUST try Amigos Mexican Grill. It was the beeeest Mexican I’ve had in a long time!