New Zealand Food Trail: Auckland to Queenstown - maui

Ten nights and 1,800 kilometres from Auckland to Queenstown in a campervan, both islands by way of the food and wine regions.

Hamilton and Rotorua come first, the second in the geothermal belt, where hangi cooked in the ground is still done properly at the Maori villages, then Napier in Hawke’s Bay, the warmest and driest of the major wine regions, where the Gimblett Gravels produce the best syrah in the country.

Wellington follows, which has more restaurants per head than most cities and a serious coffee culture behind it, then the Cook Strait ferry to Picton on day five, and Blenheim in Marlborough, where most of New Zealand’s sauvignon blanc is grown. Nelson comes next, with hop gardens, breweries and the Saturday market, then Punakaiki and Franz Josef down the West Coast, and Wanaka before Queenstown.

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. Eleven days for 1,800 kilometres and two islands means the driving days are real, so this is a highlights run rather than a slow tour. The Cook Strait ferry takes campervans and needs booking well ahead. Cellar doors in Marlborough sit close enough together to be cycled between, and bikes can be hired in Blenheim. The Bluff oysters and the Kaikoura crayfish are not on this route, which is worth knowing. This is a one-way hire the length of the country, so a relocation fee is worth checking at booking.