Queenstown to Christchurch via the West Coast - Mighty

Six nights and 1,237 kilometres from Queenstown to Christchurch in a campervan, the long way round by the West Coast and Nelson.

Wanaka comes first, then Franz Josef over the Haast Pass, where a glacier comes down through rainforest almost to sea level, which happens in very few places on earth, and the helicopter landings on the ice are the way most visitors see it, with the walk to the terminal face the free alternative.

Greymouth follows up the coast, with Punakaiki north of it, where the Pancake Rocks are limestone weathered into stacked plates with blowholes beneath them that perform best at high tide. Nelson comes next over the Buller Gorge, then Blenheim in the Marlborough vineyards, and Kaikoura, where sperm whales feed over a submarine canyon a few kilometres offshore, before the run down to Christchurch.

The camper and the day-by-day plan come from Mighty, 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 1,237 kilometres covers three corners of the island and means real driving days, so this is a crossing with highlights rather than a tour. The glacier trips need booking and are weather dependent, and the West Coast takes several metres of rain a year. Whale trips at Kaikoura are weather dependent too, with no sighting promised. This is a one-way hire, so a relocation fee is worth checking at booking.