Top 14 Places To Visit In New Zealand’s South Island In 2021
If you’re thinking of planning a trip around New Zealand, now is the best time to travel the South Island. The hotspots and some of the best places to visit in the South Island are as quiet as they’ve ever been and seeing these places without massive human obstruction is an opportunity not to be missed! Covid-19 has forced us to look within our own backyard for inspiration and we’re totally okay with that. We love travelling around our own country and having travelled the South full time for the last year now, we have a pretty good idea of the spots not to be missed in the South Island!
New Zealand’s South Island is without a doubt one of the most beautiful places in the world. Being born and bred down these ways we may be a little biased, but we reckon after you’ve toured the South Island you’ll wholeheartedly agree with us! We’ve got snow capped mountains, golden beaches and dense native rainforest all within a couple of hours of each other. It’s a small place but you need a good amount of time to really experience it all. A phrase many of us kiwis say is that you can live your whole life in New Zealand yet you still won’t see it all…
With that being said, there are definitely a few select places that are absolute must sees in the South Island for anyone visiting. We could have easily listed 100 places (this island is just too good), but we don’t want to overwhelm you with information so we’ve managed to narrow it down to our top 14 places to visit in New Zealand’s South Island. Including some of the well known hot spots (they got popular for a reason) and our personal favourite lesser known gems.
To make it easy for you guys we’ve even gone ahead and created a checklist and the perfect SOUTH ISLAND ROAD TRIP route including all of these 14 places + a bunch of others we know you’ll love - Keep reading to get access to this!
In no particular order let’s jump into it! Best places to visit in the South Island of New Zealand…
1. Milford Sound
Milford Sound/Piopiotahi, also known as “the eighth wonder of the world”, is a well known place in New Zealand you definitely don’t want to miss. Huge mountain peaks, waterfalls, wild rivers and lush beech forest is just the start of what you’ll experience in this magical place! We’ve experienced some of our best moments in the Fiordland National Park and also some of our worst….we rolled our beloved van Larry on black ice during a winter visit :(. Nevertheless we continue to come back time and time again to get our Milford fix.
Our guide to travelling Milford Sound is full of helpful tips and ideas of where to visit!
Where to stay in Milford Sound.
2. Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park
Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park is in the heart of New Zealand’s most epic mountain ranges. Home to the highest mountains and longest glaciers. Incredible to visit any time of the year but is just mind blowing during the winter time. With no light pollution you can witness some of the clearest skies and most beautiful Milky Way scenes. The stunning landscapes, hiking, photography opportunities, sunrises, sunsets and epic campgrounds are just a few of the reasons we highly recommend visiting the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. When asked where our favourite place in New Zealand is, Aoraki is always the first image that pops into both of our heads.
We love it here so much we’ve created a full guide to the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park including our ideal 3 day itinerary in the park.
3. West Coast
The untamed natural wilderness of the West Coast is a dream. Such wild rugged beauty that has you picking your jaw up off the floor. The best part of the West Coast (in our opinion) is around the glaciers - Fox Glacier & Franz Josef Glacier - although the whole coast from Haast up to Karamea really is quite spectacular. You’ve got the mountains, ocean and lush bush all right next to each other. Seeing our tallest mountains from the West side reflected in one of our famous lakes - Lake Matheson - is a sight to see and a moment that you will remember forever. If you’re not sure what else to do on the coast don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with our best spots to see on the West Coast blog! It’s true what they say the West Coast is the best coast!
The image pictured above is one of our favourites but took forever to get! Seeing this place in the right conditions can be tough. We tell you all about it in The Ultimate Guide To Lake Matheson.
4. Hakatere Conservation Park
The Hakatere Conservation Park also more commonly known as the Ashburton Lakes is one of our favourite off the beaten track spots. In fact it feels like our very own secret as very few people actually make the effort to go in here, so we always have it all to ourselves. Only a couple of hours out of Christchurch this park is full of snow capped mountain views, epic hikes and bike trails, pristine lakes and some of the best camp sites. As so many decide to miss this park and continue South to NZ’s tallest mountain Aoraki, this place stays untouched. We’re always encouraging people to pop this spot on their South Island road trips and have heard time and time again that this has become one of their new favourite spots…you won’t be disappointed!
What to do in the Hakatere Conservation Park?
5. Wanaka/Hawea
Wanaka is a little (but growing steadily) resort style town not far from Queenstown. It’s the gateway to the Mount Aspiring National Park and is next to some of New Zealand’s best ski fields. If you’re into any kind of snow sports, water sports, hiking and photography this whole area has so much to offer. We love the hikes in the area and the camp sites along Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea. This place is an awesome summer destination and the lakes come to life with all of those with boats and jetskis.
Wanaka’s home to arguably New Zealand’s most Instagramable spots - The Wanaka Tree and Roy’s Peak Lookout (above). While everyone bags these spots because their ‘overdone’, don’t let that put you off seeing some truley magical views. Ask around for the lesser know spots and local favourites
6. The Catlins
A lush waterfall haven tucked away at the bottom of the South Island. The Catlins Coast is full of several incredible waterfalls all within 10-20 minutes of each other. Not only are there plenty of waterfalls but you’ll find caves, beautiful quiet beaches, wildlife such as seals and penguins and an incredibly photogenic lighthouse in Nugget Point. The perfect place to visit any time of year and during any type of weather. The waterfalls are awesome to view during or after heavy rainfall and if it’s raining, no worries! It just adds to the mood and lushness (if this isn’t a word, it is now) of the place. Many leave this off their itineraries as it is slightly out of the way but we think it’s well worth taking a couple of days to explore the area and the Catlins Brewery (the Nuggety Point Stout is the goods!). Add it to your list NOW! ;)
Best waterfalls to visit in the Catlins. - 5 of the best waterfalls in the Catlins you’ll love!
7. Lake Rotoiti
Lake Rotoiti is absolutely stunning no matter the weather! We’ve visited in torrential downpours and almost loved it more than a sunny day. Like Milford Sound when it rains this place really comes to life which creates such a mystical mood. If you’re into photography you can’t go past this spot! The lake is located in the Nelson Lakes National Park, an hour and a bit out of Nelson near a gorgeous little town called Saint Arnaud. There are 2 DOC run campgrounds that you can stay at around the lake if you’re travelling in a van and these are some of the best lakeside camp spots in the South Island. We highly recommend the West Bay camp for cute little bush pozzies to park your camper in while you explore the many beautiful walks in the area.
8. Golden Bay
Although the South Island is known for it’s mountains and lakes and seems to be the favourite winter destination, we have our very own tropical oasis sitting at the top of the island. Golden sand and crystal blue waters are what you’d expect at your average Golden Bay beach.
One of our favourite places to visit heading towards Golden Bay is the Cobb Valley. This place is one of those lesser known spots that feels like a locals special. We loved the Lake Sylvester track in The Cobb and if you download our checklist this along with many other amazing spots will be listed to help you plan the best South Island road trip ever!
9. Kaikoura
Kaikoura is one of the highlights on the East Coast known for it’s abundant wildlife and incredible seafood. There’s a real quirky, relaxed kind of energy that hits you when you arrive in this town. The place is fun and the people are lovely. Kaikoura is one of those places in New Zealand where you’ll be sitting on the beach staring at a stunning mountain view. If you’re into surfing, hiking, fishing, eating & drinking and the cutest sea life around then this place is definitely the place for you! A must do hike in Kaikoura is Mount Fyffe.
As massive animal lovers the main reason we come to this town is for the wildlife. Driving along the coast if you’re coming from Christchurch is to be fair, a super dangerous and distracting drive. Keep your eyes on the road and off the seal colonies that dominate the whole coastline (as hard as it is). After the earthquakes the access road was completely cut off and still to this day is a work in progress. Can you imagine that. A countries state highway 1 shut off for several weeks and a town completely stranded. We won’t go into that in to much depth as we’ll be here for hours but this place is well and truly up and running and as good as ever. So go and support the local business’ of Kaikoura and prepare for a cuteness overload.
10. Glenorchy
Glenorchy is an absolute paradise located about 30 minutes out of Queenstown. The drive from Queenstown to Glenorchy alone is seriously impressive as you weave around the edge of Lake Wakatipu. The small town is surrounded by mountains, lakes, rivers and beech forests, and backs onto two of New Zealand’s national parks - Mount Aspiring and Fiordland. A gateway to some of our most famous hikes like the Routeburn Track and also the backdrop to some of the scenes in Lord Of The Rings. An absolute must for a nice day trip or a weekend getaway! Make sure to continue on towards Paradise and beyond!
11. Queenstown
If you’ve heard of New Zealand then no doubt you’ve heard of Queenstown. There is a reason for that. Pre Covid this little alpine town was attracting 3 million people each year! That’s a crazy amount of people for one small town but not surprising. Queenstown has something to offer everyone. If you’re an adventure seeker or someone who wants to laze around with a glass of wine, this place has it all! We generally tend to avoid the crowds but Queenstown is one place we’ll deal with the hustle and bustle. It’s honestly one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever been and we just love going back.
One of the best things to do in Queenstown is the “secret” Moke Lake Lookout Track.
12. Motueka
Motueka is a super cool quirky town that we fall in love with every time we visit. Located in the Tasman region about 30 minutes out of Nelson. We love this town for many reasons including the beer and food, the local swimming holes and the incredible beaches! The sunrises are absolutely incredible and there is a real community feel about the place. The locals are unique but ever so friendly and it’s just one of those places you could quite easily never leave. Being the gateway to the Abel Tasman National Park it attracts plenty of visitors and it should definitely be on your list too!
13. Banks Peninsula
The Banks Peninsula seems to get left off everyone’s South Island itineraries, which is such a shame. This part of the country is truly stunning and really isn’t that out of the way. If you’re planning on visiting Christchurch, then definitely add Akaroa to your list of places to visit. Only an hour out of Christchurch and well worth the drive. The drive alone is quite spectacular as you weave around the cliffside passing multiple little bays. There is a lot to do on the Banks Peninsula so to get you started we’ll list a few of our favourite spots.
Akaroa - A beautiful little town known for it’s water activities such as swimming with the dolphins.
Okains Bay - A stunning beach that you can drive on! Also one of our favourite campgrounds near Christchurch.
Pigeon Bay - Photo pictured above was taken on the Pigeon Bay Walkway.
Hilltop Tavern - You can’t beat the views from up here combined with a cold bevvy!
14. Arthurs Pass
The Arthurs Pass is a little township tucked away in the mountains. Halfway between the East and the West Coast, Arthurs Pass is home to some pretty epic hikes, waterfalls, mountains lakes and if you’re lucky you might even spot a kea flying around! This is hands down one of our favourite roads to drive in New Zealand as the scenes are just magnificent. In fact the whole drive from Porters Pass to Arthurs Pass will blow your mind! Give yourself enough time when planning your visit to take it all in.
The highlight in the Arthurs Pass is definitely the Devils Punchbowl Falls the tallest waterfall and certainly most powerful in Canterbury!
Now we know there are obviously so many other incredible places to visit around the South Island, but hopefully this gives you a little bit of inspiration to start planning. Enjoy your travels and as always…
Toitu Te Whenua // Leave The Land Undisturbed
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Before you go…
We’d love to know where your favourite spots on the South Island are to inspire our next trip. Drop us a comment below!