A visit to New Zealand isn’t complete without taking a trip to the beautiful South Island, which enjoys year-round tourism. In this article, I will outline an incredible backpacking New Zealand South Island itinerary. The stunning scenery here will astound you, so let’s get started.
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Getting to the South Island
I woke up to the buzzing of my phone. Bleary-eyed, I wondered who on earth would want to call me at 7.30 in the morning. Then, it dawned on me. Yep, it was the ferry company in Wellington. They politely asked if I was ready to arrive for boarding, as the boat was about to leave. I was still in Auckland. And I had booked the ferry for the wrong day. Whoops.
A new phrase I picked up in New Zealand is ‘cruisy’. Meaning easy, relaxed, no worries. My inaugural trip to the South Island was not getting off to the cruisy-est of starts. But I was confident that things would work out. When travelling, there’s always an element of keeping the faith and hoping everything will fall into place somehow.
Thankfully, this time my optimism was well placed. The lovely people at Bluebridge ferries responded to my pleading email and generously transferred my booking to the next day. Now all I needed to do was catch my flight to Wellington and all would be sorted.
I’m not going to tell you how I almost left my coat behind on the check-in counter at the airport. That would just be embarrassing. Nothing to do with my fuzzy head from drinking lashings of ginger beer with kumara (sweet potato) vodka at a party the night before. Oh no.
Arriving in Wellington
So, I made it to a very soggy Wellington. Sadly for all the fancy-dressed Rugby Sevens revellers, it insisted on raining all day.
With my own hastily put together outfit, I hit the town with my friend Chloe. We got amongst the action but, like the weather, the general mood was a little dampened, so we were sensible. Meaning I made it in plenty of time the next day to catch my rebooked ferry. Excellent.
The cruise across the Cook Strait was a little choppy, but I comfortably read and slept through the four hours. Then it was time to disembark.
The huge ferry door slowly opened. I followed my fellow passengers – some still drunk and glitter-speckled from the Sevens celebrations – blinking into the sunlight. We weren’t in Wellington any more.
Rest in Picton
A top tip from Chloe led me a short walk from the ferry terminal – along Gravesend Place, past Picton cemetery and up the hill to the brilliantly named Tombstone Backpackers hostel. Here, they invite you to ‘rest in peace’.
Entrance is through a heavy wooden coffin-shaped door, but there’s no need to fear. Waiting on the other side is a warm welcome from the cheery and helpful host, Lynne, who showed me around.
On the day I arrived she was a little frustrated because her computer had ‘given up the ghost.’ While I don’t think the pun was intended, I enjoyed it.
This bright and clean accommodation offers free breakfast, granite-tiled bathrooms and plenty of comfortable spaces to rest your weary bones. This includes a blissful hot spa pool overlooking the harbour.
Book your bed at Tombstone Backpackers hostel.
Hitchhiking to Nelson
My next error was not pre-booking my bus to Nelson in time.
With Lynne’s help, I overcame my nerves and hitchhiked all the way to my hostel in Nelson. Luckily, everyone was friendly and kind, and I didn’t run into any problems.
I even ended up with a bag full of fresh local green-lipped mussels, which I cooked for dinner that night. It was a gift from a driver delivering goods to supermarkets.
The next day, the eye-catching big orange Stray bus picked me up from outside the hostel. It was a hot sunny Tuesday afternoon and I was excited about the travels that lay ahead. I had heard so much about the places we were about to visit.
Abel Tasman
Our first stop on our backpacking New Zealand South Island Itinerary was somewhere special: Abel Tasman National Park.
Here it is so remote you can’t even pick up a signal on your mobile phone. It’s so beautiful that many of my Stray traveller friends have named it their favourite stop on the South Island.
We enjoyed a group BBQ and an evening walk along the beach. The next day we spent sunning ourselves on a catamaran cruise.
Afterwards, we hiked back to our camp through the jungle, complete with waterfalls and spectacular beach views along the way.
Franz Josef
My next highlight was Franz Josef, a small town resembling a ski resort. Tourists come here to check out the famous glacier. It’s one of only four in the world which sits alongside a temperate rainforest.
The clement weather meant the helicopters could fly us up to the glacier for our hike. With the sun shining, our enthusiastic guide used his pick to forge steps in the ice for us to climb. We filled our water bottles with the clear water trickling through the blue ice and explored the caves we found. Our icy expedition was followed by a complimentary dip in the local (very) hot spa pools.
Later I enjoyed a kayaking trip and visited the kiwi centre. Here, you can see these shy nocturnal birds up close. In the evening we danced the night away at a Valentine’s Day party. I certainly felt the love for this place.
Read all about my kayaking trip in Franz Josef here.
Wanaka
Wanaka was one of my favourite stops. The Stray bus stays overnight at this beautiful lakeside town surrounded by mountains.
The great thing is, you are always invited to hop off and back on the tour as you wish. Another bus will be on its way in a day or so. So hop off is what I did with a new friend from the bus tour.
Here, we visited Puzzling World, with its mind-boggling exhibitions and walk-through maze. We also climbed to the summit of Mount Iron to admire the views and spot the frolicking wild rabbits. Then we sampled excellent local wine at the Rippon winery and played a very competitive game of Frisbee golf.
Book your ticket to Puzzling World here.
Queenstown
Queenstown is possibly the most famous tourist town in New Zealand.
It’s known for being the home of extreme sports, from bungee jumps, to sky dives, canyoning, snowboarding and much more. There are also a lot of bars. The legendarily juicy, meaty Fergburger is a Queenstown foodie highlight.
I didn’t opt for launching myself from a cliff or aeroplane this time. Instead, we took a leisurely trip on the cable car to the top of the mountain. Here, we appreciated the panorama and raced around Queenstown Luge, a high altitude go-kart track.
For me, the best thing about Queenstown was not the town itself, but the surrounding countryside which was simply breathtaking.
Breathtaking scenery while backpacking New Zealand South Island
When you’re travelling around on the comfortable Stray bus between destinations it’s tempting to take a nap. But do that and you’ll miss out.
I couldn’t take my eyes away from the majestic, sunlit views out of the windows. It was captivating.
Receive a 5% discount if you reserve your Stray bus tour 6 months prior to departure – book here.
There are often stops en route for photo opportunities. One of them saw us taking a picnic by a mountainside lake so blue you can hardly believe it.
Milford Sound
Milford Sound is another well-known stop on the South Island, famed for its cruises.
Here we embarked on a short boat trip around the Sounds. We weaved between the mountains and up into the gushing waterfalls, saying hi to seals showing off along the way.
Stewart Island
At the far south of New Zealand lays the country’s third largest land mass: Stewart Island.
This is an optional, but unique trip on the Stray tour. A few of us braved the choppy waters of the ferry crossing to check out this picturesque place.
With just one supermarket and one restaurant in the harbour-side town, it’s a quaint island. Here, there are opportunities to spot kiwis and penguins (sadly we saw neither) and hike through the pretty countryside.
Mount Cook
One of the most magnificent places we visited during the tour was Mount Cook.
Our hostel in the village was overlooked by enormous snow-capped mountains. A very peaceful area, we took some hikes to explore the local scenery.
Rangitata
At Rangitata I faced my fear and decided to try white-water rafting again, after my first not-so-amazing attempt. I needn’t have worried.
At Rangitata Rafts we received a thorough briefing from the friendly instructors. The three-hour trip through the increasingly energetic rapids was much more how I’d imagined whitewater rafting to be.
It was a lot of fun and we were laughing and smiling the whole way. As always for this pursuit, it’s not without its risks. Luckily we paddled well and – with a little luck too – we sailed over the highest grade rapids without any incident.
We even took a stop to climb some nearby rocks and jump into the water, with varying degrees of grace. I was very nervous, but I did it!
Kaikoura
Our final stop before we returned to Picton was Kaikoura. This tiny town offers incredible experiences of whale watching and swimming with wild dolphins.
Read all about my trip to Kaikoura here.
Backpacking New Zealand South Island itinerary: an epic adventure
It’s good to leave with things you’d still like to do, as it gives you an excuse to go back.
Maybe now I’ve jumped off the rock at Rangitata, I’ll have the courage to come back to New Zealand’s South Island for a sky dive.
My tour of the backpacking New Zealand South Island itinerary was certainly one to remember. I wouldn’t hesitate to do it all over again. Travelling with Stray was ‘cruisy’, indeed.
If you’re backpacking in the South Island, don’t miss the opportunity to visit the resilient city of Christchurch.
Now, read about my North Island adventures in New Zealand.
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