New Zealand’s South Island - Lonely Planet · 2018-07-26 · New Zealand’s South Island (Te Waipounamu) Queenstown & Wanaka (p192) The West Coast (p236) Christchurch & Canterbury
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Peter Dragicevich, Brett Atkinson, Andrew Bain, Samantha Forge, Anita Isalska
This tour of South Island highlights takes in a remarkable range of landscapes, offering diverse experiences from wine tasting to whale-watching to ice tramping.
Begin in Christchurch, the South Island’s culture capital. Get a caffeine buzz at Supreme Supreme, then stroll through the pedestrian-friendly CBD to Christchurch Art Gallery and Canterbury Museum. Wander along the Avon River in the Botanic Gardens, and tour the city on the historic tram before heading up the Gondola for excellent views.
City-saturated? Take a day trip to pretty Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula, then head north for whale-watching in Kaikoura. Continue through the Marlborough wine region and the harbour town of Picton, before whiling away a day or two in the Marlborough Sounds.
Detour west past artsy Nelson to ecofriendly Golden Bay before heading down the West Coast where Punakaiki and the glaciers – Franz Josef and Fox – are just the tip of the iceberg. Go crazy in adventurous Queenstown, be mesmerised by Doubtful Sound and chill out around the sleepy Catlins. Back up the East Coast, drop in to Scottish- flavoured Dunedin, then detour through the Waitaki Valley to the snowy heights of Ao-raki/Mt Cook and Lake Tekapo, before rolling back into Christchurch.
Cast adrift from ancient Gondwanaland and uninhabited by humans until around 800 years ago, the South Island boasts a remark-able range of land and sea creatures. Experi-ence this veritable menagerie on this tour.
From Christchurch, travel to Akaroa to swim with Hector’s dolphins, New Zealand’s smallest and rarest. Squeeze in a return trip up the coast to Kaikoura for whale-watch-ing and swimming with NZ fur seals, before travelling south to Oamaru. A wonderful historic precinct and a fascination with steampunk draw visitors, but nature buffs should make a beeline for the little blue pen-guin colony, which comes alive at dusk.
From Oamaru continue south to the Otago Peninsula to spot more little blue penguins, as well as their extremely rare, shuffling cousin, the yellow-eyed penguin (hoiho). Join a tour to meet seals and sea lions before admiring the royal albatross colony on nearby Taiaroa Head. A seaborne journey with Elm Wildlife Tours is another essential Otago Peninsula experience.
Continue to the rugged, Catlins, where penguins, Hector’s dolphins and sea lions are all visitors at Curio Bay. Leave the Is-land at Bluff for kiwi-spotting on wild and idiosyncratic Stewart Island/Rakiura.
10 DAYS Animal Planet
Fruits, vegetables, seafood, dairy, game, grapes, hops – the fertile South Island is paradise for foodies. If you want to tantalise your tastebuds then this is your place.
Hop into gear around Nelson, widely re-garded as the nation’s craft-brewing capital and home to microbreweries such as Hop Federation and Townshend. Head over to Marlborough, NZ’s best wine-touring ter-ritory, then down the South Island’s rugged East Coast to Kaikoura for delicious sea-food at rustic eateries. Graduate to classier dining at the vineyard restaurants of the Waipara Valley – Pegasus Bay and Black Estate are great for leisurely lunches.
Head into Christchurch to sample the restaurants around Victoria and New Re-gent Sts, and Lyttelton, and don’t miss the Christchurch Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. Craft heaven awaits beer buffs at Pomeroy’s Old Brewery Inn and the Brewery.
From Christchurch continue south to North Otago and award-winning eateries such as Riverstone Kitchen in Oamaru and Fleur’s Place in Moeraki. Emerson’s and Speight’s are the breweries to check out further south in Dunedin before loading up the car with locavore goodies from Dun-edin’s Otago Farmers Market.
10 DAYS
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MA
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say
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to P
arad
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re’s
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ther
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t it’s
all
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ews
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very
di
rect
ion.
(p21
9)
PAR
AD
ISE
31PLAN
YOUR TRIP O
FF tH
e Be
at
en
tr
aC
K
373373
OUR READERS Many thanks to the travellers who used the last edition and wrote to us with helpful hints, useful advice and interesting anecdotes: Ivo Thonon, Jim Corum, Andrew Wintle, Angus Mackay, Prue Biddle.
AUTHOR THANKS Brett AtkinsonThanks to all of the i-SITE, DOC and infor-mation centre staff who helped on the road, especially Glenn Ormsby and Mariet van Vierzen in Kaikoura. Cheers to the innova-tive chefs and inspired craft brewers of New Zealand for surprises and sustenance, and to Carol for support on occasional beach, island and city getaways. Thanks to my fellow authors, and my appreciation to Tasmin Waby at Lonely Planet for the opportunity to once again explore my Kiwi backyard.
Andrew BainThanks primarily to Jason and Megan Hopper, who took me to the heights of the mountains and let me take them to the depths of Queen-stown’s basement bars. Gracias to Robyn Co-lumbus Pester for a host of information, and the myriad business operators who answered my many queries along the journey. To my
greatest gifts – Kiri and Cooper – a big thanks for rolling with it as ever as I wandered in and out of NZ and our other life.
Samantha ForgeThank you to the many wonderful Kiwis I met throughout the South Island for giving so freely of your time, knowledge and kindness. Thanks to Karyn, my travelling companion in Central Otago, for the cake and compan-ionship. And finally, huge thanks to the other Team NZ authors for their friendship and generosity, and to everyone at LP responsible for piecing this puzzle together, especially the lovely Tasmin Waby.
Anita IsalskaHuge thanks to Tasmin Waby for bringing me aboard Team NZ, and to my fellow writers for being wonderful to work with – especially the above-and-beyond input from Andrew Bain, Brett Atkinson and Peter Dragicevich. Thanks for helpful suggestions from Nathan Watson and the Mountain Safety Council, patient counsel from numerous i-SITEs, blunt input from Tamara Goodwin, and Jane Atkin’s great wisdom. Thank you Normal Matt, not for accidental acrobatics in Cardrona but for energetic driving, cruising and pub-hopping in Fiordland.
SEND US YOUR FEEDBACK We love to hear from travellers – your comments keep us on our toes and help make our books better. Our well-travelled team reads every word on what you loved or loathed about this book. Although we cannot reply individually to your submissions, we always guarantee that your feedback goes straight to the appropriate authors, in time for the next edition. Each person who sends us information is thanked in the next edition – the most useful submissions are rewarded with a selection of digital PDF chapters.
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THIS BOOK This 6th edition of Lonely Planet’s New Zealand’s South Island guidebook was curated by Peter Dragicevich, and researched and written by Brett Atkinson, Andrew Bain, Samantha Forge and Anita Isalska. The previous edition was written by Charles Rawlings-Way, Sarah Bennett, Peter Dragicevich and Lee Slater. This guidebook was produced by the following:
Destination Editor Tasmin WabyProduct Editors Joel Cotterell, Kate Chapman, Tracy WhitmeySenior Cartographer Diana Von HoldtBook Designer Michael WeldonAssisting Editors Michelle Bennett, Janice Bird, Andrea Dobbin, Jennifer Hattam, Victoria Harrison, Jodie Martire, Lou McGregor, Kristin
Odijk, Monique Perrin, Simon WilliamsonCover Researcher Naomi ParkerThanks to Jennifer Carey, Daniel Corbett, Jane Grisman, Liz Heynes, Andi Jones, Anne Mason, Claire Naylor, Karyn Noble, Mazzy Prinsep, Kirsten Rawlings, Jessica Ryan, James Smart, Angela Tinson
sea lions 139Selwyn District 96-7senior travellers 357skiing & snowboarding 21,
40-4, 42, 40, 43, 44Cardrona 233Coronet Peak 203,
43, 43Craigieburn Forest
Park 96Hanmer Springs 92Lake Tekapo 106Mt Hutt 99Mt Lyford 94Queenstown 202-3Remarkables, the 203Selwyn District 96Twizel 113Waitaki Valley 122Wanaka 228
skydiving 47Fox Glacier 246Franz Josef Glacier 250Motueka 291Queenstown 207
Skyline Gondola 202, 189Slope Point 160smoking 359snorkelling, see diving &
St Bathans 144stargazing 106Stewart Island/Rakiura 13,
169-74, 170-1, 172, 13Stirling Point 168surfing 47
Christchurch 73Curio Bay 160Dunedin 132Kaikoura 317
swimmingChristchurch 73Dunedin 132
TTakaka 297-300Takaka Hill 297Tasman, Abel 327-9
Tasman District 288-302Tasman Glacier 109taxis 372Te Anau 182-6, 184
day trips from 150-1Te Waewae Bay 151, 175telephone services 18, 362television 349-50, 359That Wanaka Tree 227theatre 346Timaru 102-5, 103time 18, 362tipping 361toilets 362tourist information 362-3tours
Conservation Park 113Ship Creek 242Southland 152-5, 152St Arnaud Range
Track 288St James Walkway 64-5
380
IND
EX T-Y
Stewart Island/ Rakiura 171
Takaka 298Takaka Hill 297Tasman Glacier 109Te Anau 183Te Araroa 39transport 39Wanaka 196-9, 227Wangapeka 301West Coast 240-1Westport 266-7Wilkin Valley Track 234-5
Transitional Cathedral 72, 58
transport 32-3TranzAlpine 17, 76,
260-1, 17travel to/from the South
Island 366-7travel within the South
Island 32-3, 367-72trees 338-9Tuatapere 180Twizel 112-13
UUlva Island 170-1University of Otago 132
Vvaccinations 358vegetarian travellers 52visas 363-4visual arts 346, 350volcanoes 336volunteering 364
WWaipapā Lighthouse 160Waipara Valley 63, 94-6Waitaki District 120-8Waitaki Valley 121-2Waitangi, Treaty of 330, 331Waiuta 271walking, see trampingWanaka 56, 192, 195, 225-
Anita Isalska Fiordland & Southland, West Coast Anita Isalska is a travel journalist, editor and copywriter. After several merry years as a staff writer and editor – a few of them in Lonely Planet’s London office – Anita now works freelance between Australia, the UK and any Alpine chalet with good wi-fi. Anita writes about France, Eastern Eu-rope, Southeast Asia and off-beat travel. Read her stuff on www.anitaisalska.com.
Peter Dragicevich After a successful career in niche newspaper and magazine publishing, both in his native New Zealand and in Australia, Peter finally gave into Kiwi wanderlust, giving up staff jobs to chase his diverse roots around much of Europe. Over the last decade he’s written literally dozens of guidebooks for Lonely Planet on an oddly disparate collection of countries, all of which he’s come to love. He once again calls Auckland, New Zealand his home – although his current nomadic existence means he’s often elsewhere.
Brett Atkinson Marlborough & Nelson Brett Atkinson is based in Auckland, New Zealand, but is frequently on the road for Lonely Planet. He’s a full-time travel and food writer specialising in adventure travel, unusual destinations, and surprising angles on more well-known destinations. Craft beer and street food are Brett’s favourite reasons to explore places, and he is featured regularly on the Lonely Planet website, and in newspapers, magazines and websites across New Zealand and
Australia. Since becoming a Lonely Planet author in 2005, Brett has covered areas as diverse as Vietnam, Sri Lanka, the Czech Republic, New Zealand, Morocco, California and the South Pacific.
Andrew Bain Queenstown & Wanaka Andrew Bain prefers adventure to avarice and can usu-ally be found walking when he should be working. His writing and photography feature in magazines and newspapers around the world, and his writing has won multiple awards, including best adventure story and best Australian story (three times) from the Australian Society of Travel Writers. He was formerly commis-sioning editor of Lonely Planet’s outdoor adventure series of titles, and is the
author of Headwinds, the story of his 20,000-kilometre cycle journey around Australia, and Lonely Planet’s A Year of Adventures.
Samantha Forge Christchurch & Canterbury, Dunedin & Otago Samantha became hooked on travel at the age of 17, when she arrived in London with an overstuffed backpack and a copy of LP’s Europe on a Shoestring. After a stint in Paris, she moved back to Aus-tralia to work as an editor in LP’s Melbourne office. Eventually her wanderlust got the better of her, and she now works as a freelance writer and editor. Samantha also wrote the Plan, Understand and Survival Guide chapters.
OUR STORYA beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 that’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime – across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end – broke but inspired – they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their first travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies. Lonely Planet was born.
Today, Lonely Planet has offices in Franklin, London, Melbourne, Oakland, Beijing and Delhi, with more than 600 staff and writers. We share Tony’s belief that ‘a great guidebook should do three things: inform, educate and amuse’.
OUR WRITERS
Although the authors and Lonely Planet have taken all reason-able care in preparing this book, we make no warranty about the accuracy or completeness of its content and, to the maxi-mum extent permitted, disclaim all liability arising from its use.
Published by Lonely Planet Publications Pty LtdABN 36 005 607 983