South Island - Zuidereiland

South Island (Te Wai Pounamu) is part of New Zealand.

Regions

Towns

• Christchurch - The English-style city with the world's best collection of Gothic Revival architecture. Unfortunately completely destroyed by a severe earthquake in February 2011 (see page about Christchurch)
• Blenheim - Sun and Sauvignon Blanc
• Dunedin - The Scottish city, proud of their rugby, their students and their beer and home to the New Zealand factory of Cadbury chocolate.
• Invercargill - The Southern City
• kaikoura - Whales and beautiful scenery
• Nelson - The sun city, a favorite tourist destination of the "Kiwis" themselves
• Picton - Gateway to the Marlborough Sounds
• Queenstown - A tourist Mecca high in the mountains
• Wanaka - Lakeside town with skiing and scenery

Other Destinations

• Franz Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier - Ice, wonderful forests and the wild sea.

Info

Language

Arrive

Aeroplane

Christchurch International Airport in Harewood (about 8km west of Christchurch City Centre) is the main airport on the South Island. Since this airport is used in the summer months (October to March) to supply the polar stations in Antarctica, the runways are suitable for landing and taking off with the largest aircraft. As a result, Christchurch has direct connections to Singapore, Tokyo and Dubai, among others.

From the smaller airports in Dunedin and Queenstown there are flights to a number of destinations on the Australian East Coast. From Queenstown, this mainly concerns flights during the winter season, as Queenstown is a large winter sports area.

from the North Island (Auckland, Rotorua, Wellington, Palmerston North and napier/Hawkes Bay) are there direct flights to Christchurch, Queenstown, Nelson, Blenheim and Picton.From Christchurch are there a few flights a week to New Zealand's Chatham Islands

Boat

The Interislander and Blue Bridge Ferry maintain the ferry service between Wellington and Picton. In summer there are up to 10 departures per day. For crossings by car, timely reservation is necessary, foot passengers and cyclists can always join, but must make a reservation at least 1 day before departure. Reservations can be made at all offices of the AA (Automibile Association) and all tourist offices, recognizable by the green black logo with the letter i.

Travel around

Aeroplane

There are airports for domestic traffic in Christchurch, Nelson, Picton, Blenheim, hokitika, Queenstown, Dunedin, Te Anau, Timaru, Wanaka and Invercargill.

Air New Zealand/Air NZ Link operates domestic flights between most of these airports and to destinations on the North Island.

Australian low-cost fighter Jetstar flies from Christchurch and Queenstown nasty Wellington, Rotorua and Auckland.

Southern Air flies with small Turboprop aircraft between Invercargill and Stewart Island.

Bus

InterCity maintains daily bus services between all major places in the South Island. Reservations are mandatory and can be made at all tourist offices (recognizable by the "i" logo and all offices of the Automoblie Association) as well as at shops and hotels that act as agents for InterCity, recognizable by the sign with the InterCity logo.

Train

Passenger trains are still running on 3 lines on the South Island.TraNZscenic operates the daily boat train Christchurch-Picton -v.v. and the TraNZalpin Christchurch-Greymouth -v.v., a spectacular east-west rail journey through the Southern Alps.

The Taieri Gorge Railway is a museum line from Dunedin towards Middle March. This line winds through all kinds of beautiful rock formations to the end point at Pukerangi. From here you can continue by bike on a cycle path built on the old section of the railway or by bus further to Queenstown.

Car

Are there still reasonable to well prepared roads on the Noordereiland, except for the SH1 of Picton nasty Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill you can forget this in the South Island.

The majority of the main roads (indicated as SH, State Highway) are asphalted, but due to the mountainous area in most of the South Island you can count on 80 to 100 km/h being the highest attainable speed. Therefore, count on the fact that you cannot cover more than 300 to 400 km per day.

However, the lack of speed is more than compensated for by the beauty of the landscape you drive through.

Except for the aforementioned SH1 and SH6 between Blenheim and Nelson, you will encounter very little traffic on most roads, making driving in the South Island even a relaxing activity.

To look at

Routes

The most interesting routes on the South Island are:

SH6: Blenheim- Nelson- Westport- Greymouth- Hokitika- Glaciers- Wanaka

Coming off from the exit of the SH1 Picton you drive through agricultural and horticultural areas to the city of Nelson, gateway to the Abel Tasman National Park (indeed named after the Groninger Abel Tasman, discoverer of New Zealand). After Nelson the landscape becomes increasingly mountainous and through the spectacular Buller Gorge you enter Westport a West Coast port town mainly focused on exporting coal from the West Coast mines (from Buller Gorge follow a short stretch of SH67 to get to Westport). From Westport, SH6 south follows the West Coast of the South Island. Pass by the spectacular Punikaki Rocks (also known as the "Pancake Rocks"), then to Greymouth, the largest city on the West Coast and terminus of the TraNZalpin railway from Christchurch. Approx. 1 hour south of Geymouth the SH6 comes out in Hokitika, the center of the processing of Greenstone or New Zealand Jade. After Hokitika, the forest becomes denser and greener. This is the area also known as the "Wet-Coast" given the average annual rainfall of over 4 meters! After about 1 hour and 45 minutes drive from Hokitika you arrive in Franz Josef Glacier one of the two glaciers at this latitude closest to the sea. Here you can take a helicopter flight with landing on the glacier. From here it is another half hour drive to Fox Glacier, the other large glacier on the West Coast. It is recommended to spend the night in either Franz Josef or Fox Glacier. From Fox Glacier the SH6 becomes quieter and after about 2 hours you arrive in Haast Township. Here is a restaurant, hotel and gas station. From here it is still more than 1 1/2 hours drive via the Haast Pass to Wanaka where this route ends.

SH7: The Lewis Pass route (Christchurch- Westport)

This route starts in Christchurch. From the city follow SH1 in (north) direction Picton to the village of Waipara. This is where SH7 begins. The landscape is becoming increasingly hilly and in the distance you can already see the foothills of the Southern Alps. About 20km past the village of Culverden is the exit (via SH7A) to Hanmer Springs, a hot springs village. After this exit, SH7 continues up to the Lewis Pass which forms the boundary between Canterbury and West Coast counties. In Reefton, turn right (SH69) towards Inangahua Junction where SH69 joins SH6 and follow the last part of the Buller Gorge to Westport.

SH73: Arthurs Pass Route (Christchurch - Hokitika)

Although the train route from Christchurch to the West Coast is the most spectacular, SH73 by car is also recommended. The route starts in Christchurch Center or at Christchurch Airport. In either case, drive to the Russley Road (SH1)/Yaldhurst Road (SH73) intersection. From here you follow the SH73. The first part, up to Darfield, goes through the (flat) Canterbury Plains. In Darfield is the exit of the SH77 to the winter sports area Mt.Hutt and the winter sports village of Methven. SH73 turns right here and begins its climb to Arthurs Pass after the village of Springfield. The landscape is getting rougher and the further you go to the West, it is also much greener. Arthurs Pass is the highest point of the route and this is where SH73 rejoins the Chrischurch-Greymouth railway line. South Island) in the village of Otira. A tunnel has been constructed for the railway between Arthurs Pass and Otira. After Jacksons, the road leaves its parallel route to the railroad again. You can either turn right here (Lake Brunner Road) and drive inland to Lake Brunner (Moana), Stillwater Junction and Greymouth, or follow SH73 to Kumara Junction, where it joins SH6 to Hokitika and the Glaciers.

Wanaka, Queenstown & Milford Sound Route (Wanaka-Queenstown-Te Anau-Milford Sound)

The route starts in the town Wanaka. Follow signs for SH84 Cardrona Valley Road. About 15 minutes after leaving Wanaka you will see the Cardrona Café on the right side of the road, recognizable by the oldtimer in front of the door. Cardrona is one of the ski areas near Wanaka. You are now driving on the Crown Range road. Note: the last part of this road descends very steeply! You will arrive at Arrow Junction near Queenstown on the SH6. Follow this road along Lake Hayes to Frankton Junction. Here you can go straight on via SH6A to the center of Queenstown. However, this route follows SH6 to the left, past Queenstown Airport and Lake Wakatipu, the largest lake in the South Island. If you're lucky, you'll be able to see the special spectacular route the big planes take that land in Queenstown: From above the valley that ends at Mt.Nicholas, the flight takes a sharp turn to the North and over Lake Wakatipu the final descent to the Queenstown airport. You continue on SH6 along the southern arm of Lake Wakatipu to Kingston and Five Rivers. Here you turn right onto SH97. In Mossburn turn right again onto SH94 towards Te Anau. Via Te Anau the SH94 eventually ends in Milford Sound. Please note: the last stretch of SH94 goes through the rather narrow Homer Tunnel (traffic control with traffic lights) down steep hairpin bends to the tour boat car park in Milford Sound. Tip: For a visit to Milford Sound and a cruise, it is advisable to do this in one day from Te Anau or Lake Manapouri (about 20 km from Te Anau) and to spend the night in Te Anau or Manapouri. This will save you at least 4 hours of extra driving (Queenstown-Te Anau -v.v.). Most buses (the big crowds) don't leave Te Anau until around 9 am, so it is important to leave Te Anau before 8 am if you want to avoid the big crowds on the SH94 between Te Anau and Milford.

To do

• Visit to the International Antarctic Center next to the airport in Christchurch
• Hot water bath in one of the springs in Hanmer Springs
• Visit a Greenstone Grinding Shop in Hokitika
• Create and helicopter ride above Franz Josef Glacier or Fox Glacier
• make a cruise on Milford Sound
• Swim with the dolphins or on whale safari in kaikoura
• Wine tasting at one of the many vineyards around Nelson
• Bungee jumping in Queenstown
• Multi-day walking tours ("tramping") along one of the well-known tracks in the many National Parks. Information at the Department of Conservation/ Te Papa Atawhai

Food

Going out

Safety

Road safety: As most roads are 2-lane and not very busy, some road users may start to use it as a race track with all the dangers that entails. It is also possible that non-New Zealanders are distracted by the beautiful landscape and pay less attention to the road with all possible fatal consequences.

If you plan to run a "track" in several days, please report it to the office of the D.O.C. (Department Of Conservation/ Te Papa Atawhai) instead of departure and sign out again at the place of arrival. Besides the fact that this benefits your own safety, it is mandatory to buy so-called "overnight tickets" with which you can spend the night in huts en route. These tickets and stacks of information about the tracks (including the condition of the path and the weather forecast) are available at the offices of the D.O.C.

If you go into nature off the beaten track, you run the risk of getting caught on the way secret cannabis plantations to stop. The fact is that hemp plants thrive in New Zealand nature and it seems to be very lucrative to grow cannabis. If you notice something like this, try to unobtrusively document the exact location of the plants and warn the Law enforcement or an official of the D.O.C. and try to give them the location as accurately as possible.

all around

This article is still completely under construction . It contains a template, but not yet enough information to be useful to a traveler. Dive in and expand it!