Christchurch to the Top of the South Island: 11 Day Food and Wine and Outdoor Itinerary - Britz

Ten nights and 1,250 kilometres in a loop from Christchurch in a campervan, between the Marlborough vineyards and Abel Tasman.

Kaikoura gets two days, which is the right allowance: the Seaward Kaikoura range drops almost straight into a deep canyon, so sperm whales feed within a few kilometres of shore, and the seal colony at Ohau Point sits beside the road with a waterfall behind it where the pups swim in season.

Blenheim and the Marlborough wine country follow, where most of New Zealand’s wine is grown and the cellar doors are close enough together to be cycled between. Picton and Nelson come next, then Kaiteriteri and Motueka for Abel Tasman National Park, where granite headlands and golden beaches are walked or kayaked in sections with water taxis filling the gaps.

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. The run home doubles back nearly three hundred kilometres down the same coast, which is the one weakness of the route and unavoidable given the geography. Eleven days leaves time for two-night stops at both Kaikoura and Abel Tasman. Whale trips are weather dependent and no sighting can be promised. What the route does well is pair the two things the top of the island is known for, the wine and the coast walking, without asking for a long drive between them.