Christchurch to Nelson Road Trip - Britz

Nine nights and 1,135 kilometres from Christchurch up to Nelson and Golden Bay in a campervan, with the published route returning south over the Lewis Pass.

Waipara and Kaikoura come first, where the seals lie on the rocks at Point Kean and the whale watching goes out over a canyon close inshore, then Blenheim in Marlborough and Picton at the head of the Queen Charlotte Sound.

Havelock and Nelson follow, the Queen Charlotte Drive between them running along the water on a road of continuous bends, then Motueka and the Takaka Hill, which climbs over marble country into Golden Bay. Takaka is the base for Farewell Spit, a thirty-kilometre sand bar curving out into the Tasman that is a bird reserve and can only be visited on a licensed tour. St Arnaud, Nelson Lakes and Hanmer Springs carry the route back to Christchurch.

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 for 1,135 kilometres is a comfortable pace, and Golden Bay is the part worth the extra effort: the Takaka Hill is a slow climb in a camper and most itineraries stop at Motueka instead. Te Waikoropupu Springs near Takaka hold some of the clearest fresh water ever measured. The loop back over Lewis Pass avoids a one-way relocation fee. Ten nights is enough to include both Golden Bay and Nelson Lakes, which the shorter northern loops have to choose between.