The drive from Nelson in the north of the South Island to Queenstown in the south is one of the greatest road trips in New Zealand if not the world. The scenery along the way is dominated by the Southern Alps and The Tasman Sea. In between there are rain forests, rivers, lakes, pastures, and hardly any human habitation. Indeed most of the vehicles on the road in the summer are fellow travellers. The drive is just short of 900Km and does not need to be rushed as there are many things to see and do along the way. There are a number of ways to break up the journey depending on how much time you have available, we did it over four days which I think is about the absolute minimum.
Day 1. Nelson to Hokitika
Day 2. Hokitika to Franz Josef
Day 3. Franz Josef to Wanaka
Day 4. Wanaka to Queenstown
The following photographs are in the order taken travelling down the coast.
