South Island's best hikes - Britz

Ten nights from Christchurch to Queenstown in a campervan, built around the walking rather than the driving, with most nights spent at free and low-cost campsites.

Castle Hill comes first, a field of limestone tors on the Canterbury side of the alps that is a climbing and bouldering site, then Arthur’s Pass, where Scott’s Track climbs steeply out of the village towards the Avalanche Peak ridge and kea work the car parks, with Klondyke Corner and Lake Pearson for the nights either side.

Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki follow, then Mount Cook, where the Hooker Valley track crosses three swing bridges to a glacial lake below the highest mountain in the country and is the best short walk in New Zealand. Cameron Flat on the Haast road comes next, near the Blue Pools, where glacier-fed water runs over pale river stone, then Diamond Lake and Wanaka, and Te Anau and Milford Sound before Queenstown, with Queenstown Hill above the town as the last of the climbs.

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. Eleven days gives the walks the time they need, which a shorter version of this route could not. Several of the campsites on it are Department of Conservation sites, cheap or free and basic, so a self-contained camper matters more here than on other routes. Scott’s Track and Avalanche Peak are steep and exposed and not a wet-weather proposition. This is a one-way hire, so a relocation fee is worth checking at booking. Boots, layers and a reliable forecast do more for this trip than anything else.