Queenstown to Christchurch via Milford Sound and the Catlins - maui

Thirteen nights and 1,600 kilometres from Queenstown to Christchurch in a campervan, the long way round by Fiordland and the Catlins.

Moke Lake comes first, twenty minutes from Queenstown on an unsealed road, a small lake in bare hills with a basic campsite and no buildings, then Glenorchy at the head of Lake Wakatipu, with the Mount Crichton loop track on the way back, which passes an old gold miner’s hut and a slot canyon.

Fiordland follows, with Milford Sound at the end of the road through the Homer Tunnel and the Lake Marian track nearby, a steep climb to an alpine lake in a hanging valley. Invercargill comes next, then Kaka Point and the Catlins coast, and Dunedin with its Scottish inheritance and the albatross colony on the peninsula. The Lindis Pass turns the route inland, tussock country that turns gold in low light, then Aoraki National Park and the Hooker Valley track before Christchurch.

The camper and the day-by-day plan come from maui, 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. Fourteen days for 1,600 kilometres is a slow pace, which is what makes the walking possible: Lake Marian, the Hooker Valley and the Mount Crichton loop each want most of a day. The Moke Lake road is unsealed, which is worth checking against the hire terms. Milford cruises need booking. This is a one-way hire, so a relocation fee is worth checking at booking, and the Catlins are the part of this route most itineraries leave out and the part worth the extra days.