Five New Zealand road trips that earn the hype

1. The Milford Road, Te Anau to Milford Sound

119 kilometres that begin in lakeside farmland and end between kilometre-high fiord walls, via beech forest, the Eglinton Valley’s glacial sweep, mirror lakes and the rough-hewn Homer Tunnel. It is the best drive in the country and it is not close. Do it early (before the day-trip coaches land around 11), allow two hours each way plus stops that will happen whether you plan them or not, and fuel up in Te Anau because there is none past it.

2. The West Coast, Westport to Haast

Four hundred kilometres where the Southern Alps fall directly into the Tasman Sea. Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki (time it for high tide when the blowholes fire), the glacier towns, Lake Matheson’s dawn reflections, then the Haast Pass through World Heritage rainforest. Drive it north to south so the ocean is on your side, and give it two days: this coast punishes hurry with the best scenery you never stopped for.

3. The Southern Scenic Route, Queenstown to Dunedin the long way

The connoisseur’s pick: Te Anau, then the Catlins’ waterfalls, sea lions, petrified forest at Curio Bay and the country’s southernmost point at Slope Point, before Dunedin’s wildlife peninsula. Almost no tour coaches, penguins at dusk, and the constant feeling of having found something. Best October to April; some Catlins side roads are gravel, all worth it.

4. The Coromandel Loop, from Thames

The North Island’s classic: the pohutukawa-lined Thames coast road, over the ranges to Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach, returning via Tairua. Two hundred winding kilometres that distil the Kiwi summer. Go midweek in December or in March to have it at its best, and treat the tide table as itinerary: Hot Water Beach works two hours either side of low.

5. The Forgotten World Highway, Taumarunui to Stratford

155 kilometres of saddles, tunnels and the self-declared Republic of Whangamōmona (passport stamps at the hotel bar, population double digits). New Zealand before the tour buses found it. One section is unsealed, most rentals now permit it, and the correct amount of fuel is a full tank from Taumarunui. Pair it with Taranaki’s volcano-and-surf coast for the most original North Island week available.

Three more, for the second trip

• The Crown Range, Queenstown to Wanaka: New Zealand’s highest sealed road at 1,076 metres, an hour and ten of switchbacks with the Cardrona Hotel halfway. Chains carried in winter, and the Kawarau Gorge as the alternative when the sign says so.
• Arthur’s Pass, Christchurch to Greymouth: the road the TranzAlpine shadows, with the Otira Viaduct and the kea at the summit car park. Three hours 15, and the way to cross if the train is full.
• The Kaikoura coast, Christchurch to Picton: rebuilt after the 2016 earthquake, with seals at Ohau Point and crayfish from a caravan. Two and a half hours to Kaikoura, and the Coastal Pacific train runs the same coast from September to April if you would rather watch it than drive it.

Every one of these is a half-day drive that people try to do as a two-hour transit. The five above and the three here are the days to plan the trip around, not the gaps between the days.

Direction and time of day

Direction is half the drive on every one of these. Run them the wrong way and the sun is in the windscreen and the sea is on the far side.