Lakes and Glaciers: South Island Self-Drive

Nine days on the South Island at your own pace, covering the West Coast glaciers, Queenstown, Fiordland, and the Mackenzie Basin in a loop that begins and ends in Christchurch. The rental car is collected at Christchurch Airport and returned to the same location; the route runs out through Arthur's Pass and back through Lake Tekapo. Three activities are included. The International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch is worth two hours at any point on days one or two — a substantive museum covering Antarctic exploration with live penguins and an immersive storm simulator. In Queenstown, the Skyline Gondola takes you to Bob's Peak at 450 metres for the lake and mountain panorama, and the TSS Earnslaw steamship — a 1912 coal-fired vessel that has crossed Lake Wakatipu since the era when the high-country farms had no road access — takes you to Walter Peak Farm for a gourmet BBQ lunch. This is the premium BBQ lunch version of the Walter Peak excursion, not the standard farm show. Milford Sound is listed as an optional on the free day in Queenstown — the self-drive round trip is 287 kilometres each way and approximately 12 hours. It is worth adding if your schedule and energy allow, but it is not in the base price. The glacier region gets two nights, giving you a full day across both Franz Josef and Fox without rushing, with a weather buffer for the optional heli-hike. This is a tour for you if you want the South Island's western circuit at a measured pace, with the freedom to decide how much you do at each stop.

• ◆Self-drive — 8-day rental car with zero or reduced excess liability, Christchurch loop
• ◆International Antarctic Centre — Christchurch's Antarctic gateway museum included
• ◆West Coast glaciers — two nights to explore Franz Josef and Fox at your own pace
• ◆TSS Earnslaw to Walter Peak — 1912 steamship crossing with gourmet BBQ lunch included
• ◆Aoraki Mt Cook and Lake Tekapo — the Mackenzie Basin on the return to Christchurch

Day-by-Day