Christchurch to the West Coast Glaciers via Haast - Apollo

Six nights and 1,355 kilometres in a loop from Christchurch in a campervan, inland to the lakes and round by the West Coast glaciers.

Tekapo comes first across the plains, under one of the largest dark sky reserves in the world, then Wanaka, and Haast over the pass, the quietest of the three alpine crossings and the most heavily forested, with the Blue Pools on the way over.

Paringa and Franz Josef follow up the coast, where a glacier comes down through rainforest almost to sea level, which happens in very few places on earth. Hokitika comes next, the centre of the pounamu trade, with the gorge inland running an improbable milky blue, then Punakaiki, where the Pancake Rocks are limestone weathered into stacked plates with blowholes beneath them, and Westport, before Hanmer Springs and its thermal pools with a full day there.

The camper and the day-by-day plan come from Apollo, 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. Seven days for 1,355 kilometres is a real pace for this route, since the West Coast road is slow and the stops are spread out. Several metres of rain fall on that coast each year and the weather decides the programme, so the glacier walks and helicopter landings need booking and a flexible attitude. Sandflies are a genuine nuisance there and repellent is not optional. The loop format avoids a one-way relocation fee.