Northburn 100 South Island New Zealand itinerary - Britz

Nine nights and 850 kilometres in a loop from Queenstown in a campervan, through Central Otago and down to the coast, timed around the Northburn 100.

The race is an ultramarathon run on a high country station above Cromwell, with distances up to a hundred miles over ground that climbs and drops repeatedly, and a campervan solves the obvious problem of where to sleep and recover near the start line.

Wanaka comes first on its lake, then Cromwell, with the Lake Dunstan Trail running along the water on cantilevered boardwalk, which is among the best cycle trails in the country. The Lindis Pass follows into the Mackenzie Basin, then Twizel and Aoraki Mount Cook, with the Hooker Valley track crossing three swing bridges to a glacial lake below the highest mountain in New Zealand. Oamaru and Dunedin close the loop, with the Moeraki Boulders on the beach between them, spherical concretions weathered out of the cliff.

Britz supply the camper and the day-by-day plan, and the hire is priced live per vehicle rather than per person; campsites, fuel, ferries, park fees and activities are all extra, with a nil-excess insurance pack available at booking. Ten days allows for the race and several days either side of it, which is the sensible way to use an event like this. Campsites near Cromwell fill around the race weekend. The Lindis and the Mackenzie are open high country where the weather changes quickly, and the Hooker Valley is best walked early in the day.