Stage 1: Christchurch
As my hometown, it was easy to find activities to keep us busy. I personally like to find locations off the beaten track if I can, so along with some usual highlights I arranged for visits to some places that even Christchurch locals may not have heard of.
Ōhinetahi
It took years of me living in Christchurch before I happened across Ōhinetahi in Governors Bay, just south of Christchurch.
“Celebrated for over 1.25 hectares of stunning gardens, Ōhinetahi is also home to two galleries, sculpture and woodland trails, and a significant 19th century homestead.”
It costs adults $20 to enter and children are free. Take a picnic as there are no food or drink options on-site.
Ilam Gardens, Mona Vale, and Hagley Park
Perhaps not surprising that, for my garden-loving parents, I mostly took them to the gardens that help enforce Christchurch’s name as the Garden City. Hagley Park in the central city is the largest and most obvious, while Mona Vale is also very much worth a visit (did you know they have a fernery? Just behind the rose garden).
Ilam Gardens makes for a good quick visit, but aim for the spring months.
The Port Hills and Gondola Café
The Port Hills are just minutes’ drive from the central city and offer incredible views, excellent walks, and highly enjoyable driving. It’s worth noting that, since the earthquakes, it’s not possible to drive all the way along Summit Road, so we visited from the east end and parked at the base of a short walk up to the Christchurch Gondola café. We followed this by driving back and around to Lyttelton along a stunning section of road that had to be rebuilt following the earthquake. Make sure you visit the London Street Bookshop in Lyttelton as well.
Tip: If you’re planning to drive up to the café at the top of the gondola, make sure you set your navigation for either Red Rock Café or Gondola Summit Station. If you set it for ‘Christchurch Gondola’ you’ll find yourself taken to the start of the gondola with a reasonable drive ahead of you to get back to the top!
Ferrymead Heritage Park
It’s been a long time since I visited Ferrymead Herritage Park, and I don’t know if they’ve added extra attractions since I was last there or I’d missed them on my first visit, but there is now heaps to see at the park. Along with their old-fashioned streets and buildings, there are large warehouse buildings showcasing aircraft, cars, and fire engines. Well worth another visit if you haven’t been recently.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children (or $40 for a family pass) while children aged 5 and under are free.
Stage 2: Kaikōura
Christchurch to Kaikōura: 2h 25m
Kaikōura is a coastal town famous for its whale watching, seal colonies, and seagulls (which, surprisingly, are at risk). What’s perhaps lesser known to those new to the area are its stunning roads. State Highway 1 can be known for its long, mindless straights, but on the approach to Kaikōura you’re treated with fantastic driving roads. You then hit the coast and finding yourself driving right alongside the Pacific Ocean. All of these roads are in excellent condition, largely due to their restoration following the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake.
At 2.5 hours from Christchurch with another 3.5 hours to Nelson, Kaikōura is a good place for an overnight stop on your tour of the South Island.
Kaikōura’s Seal Colonies
While whale watching is something to add to your bucket list, those on a budget can take a beautiful walk around the Kaikōura peninsula to view the seal colonies for free. January turned out to be the perfect time to visit, with hundreds of seals basking along the rocks, many with their seal cubs happily playing nearby. The seals are well used to visitors and make for an entertaining stop, particularly for young children. The walk itself offers easy beach and hill walking with fantastic vistas.
Stage 3: Blenheim
Kaikōura to Nelson is a good half-day drive, but can be broken up by stop in Blenheim. Blenheim, the most populous town in the Marlborough region, is known as a gateway to the wineries of the Wairau Valley and the area is rich with vineyards.
Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre
Despite living in Christchurch, I knew little of Blenheim and was delighted to find that Blenheim is home to the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, boasting the title of “Marlborough’s leading visitor attraction”.
This aviation museum is where famous New Zealand director Sir Peter Jackson hosts his personal collection “… and through his generosity a series of dioramas, created by Wingnut Films and enhanced by lifelike mannequins by Weta Workshop combined to provide a museum experience, never seen before its opening in 2006.”
Tip: There are two ‘halves’ to the museum, one for WW1 and one for WW2. Both are excellent, but if you’re short on time and have young children in tow, ask the friendly staff for their recommendation of which is best. We chose WW1 due to the Sir Peter Jackson connection.
The Runway Café
With the museum visit completed, it was time for lunch. Rather than heading back into Blenheim (a ten minute trip in and then ten minutes back out, adding 20 minutes to our journey to Nelson) I found a fantastic place called The Runway Café.
Perfectly ‘on theme’ with our aviation museum visit, the Runway Café features a huge aircraft on its lawn. Even better, you’re allowed to enter the aircraft to take a look around, at a cost of $5 each.
Not a bad backdrop for our Škoda Kodiaq!
Stage 4: Nelson
It’s a real joy to drive through Blenheim’s vineyard-lined roads, and then through the pass taking you from the Marlborough region to the Nelson region. Pelorus Bridge makes for a good stop here, but in all honesty, we carried on driving as the kids were asleep and I didn’t want to wake them (parents will understand my reasoning, here!).
Höglund Art Glass Studio & Gallery
We happened across Höglund Art Glass Studio & Gallery simply by driving past and seeing a sign for it. It turned out to be well worth the detour with its fine collection of sculptured glass products/art.
We were lucky enough to visit just as a glass-blowing demonstration was taking place. Two members of the studio’s team were creating glass bowls while talking to a watching crowd about their process. It was fascinating to watch.
Toad Hall, Motueka
Toad Hall is an interestingly named café and produce store. I was intrigued as to why this came up as such a prominent suggestion in Google Maps when we were looking for somewhere to eat, and when we arrived there, I soon learnt why. This venue is much larger than it looks from the road and is hugely popular, as you can tell from its 2,200+ Google Reviews.
Both the store and the café offer a huge amount of fresh food options, with many of the ingredients grown on the property. While large and very busy, on-site parking was easy and we were served quickly. There’s also a playground for the kids. Very much worth a stop for brunch or lunch.
Stage 5: Tākaka
A visit to Tākaka has been on my wishlist ever since my wife and I visited the region for our honeymoon. Tākaka itself is a fairly artsy town with more craft shops than you’d expect for the size of the area, but it also acts as a great ‘home base’ for visiting some of New Zealand’s most beautiful natural attractions.
Ngarua Caves
A small detour on the journey from Nelson to Takaka, Ngarua Caves offers an awesome opportunity to see what lies beneath the Takaka hills (not to mention a chance to give the kids a break on what is otherwise a very windy road!).
Listed as one of the ‘101 Must Dos’ for Kiwis, as they say: “Discover the stunning Ngarua Caves with its extensive and breathtaking variety of stalagmites and stalactites, also featuring an excellent skeletal display of the extinct moa. Scheduled tours suitable for people of all ages are provided from the car park, please note the caves cannot be visited unattended.”
Tip: Regardless of the weather above, it’s cooler in the caves so be sure to take a jersey. Torches aren’t required as the cave is illuminated and the guide carries torches in case of emergencies.
Wharariki Beach
Perhaps one of my favourite destinations in New Zealand, Wharariki Beach is a remote location that offers a wide, wild stretch of beach with huge rock formations out to sea.
As reported by Stuff, the beach was made world famous when it was chosen as an official Microsoft login background and rolled out to millions of computers around the world.
The beach itself is magnificent to visit, especially when you manage to escape the crowds. It’s a one hour drive from Tākaka and there’s a small café at the car park. We stopped at the nearby Old School Café on the way back, which was also worth a visit despite appearances from the roadside!
Stage 5: St Arnaud and Murchison
On the return half of our loop, we arranged for a stay at St Arnaud. St Arnaud may not feature much in the way of more commercial attractions (although it does have an interesting boat museum), but it is home to a stunning lake and a range of walks.
On the journey from St Arnaud to Hanmer Springs, stop at Murchison to visit the Rivers Café before carrying on to the beautiful Maruia Falls.
Lake Rotoiti
St Arnaud is to the home to Lake Rotoiti, which features a highly ‘Instagramable’ photo opportunity. As well as walks around the lake, I’d recommend carrying on further to Lake Rotoroa for the Braeburn Walk which will take you through native New Zealand bush to a secluded waterfall.
Maruia Falls
Between Murchison and Springs Junction you’ll find the sensational Maruia Falls, as beautiful as it is accessible. The carpark is just off the main road and a short two-minute walk along a well-formed gravel path will take you to the base of the falls.
Stage 6: Hanmer Springs
St Arnaud to Hanmer Springs: 3 hours
As the longest leg on our journey, the kids did start to struggle a little, but the stop at Maruia Falls and promises of water slides at Hanmer Springs helped keep their spirits up.
Hanmer Springs itself is famous for its highly-popular hot springs, which are worth spending a few hours at. I didn’t take any photos at the springs, but can instead introduce you to a nice sculpture walk as well as an animal park.
Hanmer Forest Walks
Hanmer Forest offers a large number of bicycle trails and walks. Some walks that are perfect for families include the Hanmer Forest Sculpture Walk and the fairy doors that you’ll find at Dog Stream Reserve. Those looking to stretch their legs can even combine these walks and end in Hanmer Springs town centre for lunch.
Hanmer Springs Animal Park
The Hanmer Springs Animal Park offers a nice break from the springs itself, particularly for those with young children.
“Hanmer Springs Animal Park is set rurally on 6 hectares, amidst spectacular mountain views, 10-15 minutes walk from the village of Hanmer Springs. We have 2 hectares of purpose-built farm park where you can relax and wander freely among our friendly animals in a clean and peaceful setting.”
Back to Christchurch!
From Hanmer Springs, it’s a 1h 45m drive back to Christchurch. On the way it’s worth a quick stop at one of the two cafés at Waikari before carrying on past Frog Rock and then alongside the vineyards of Waipara.
I hope you’ve found some value in my journey and I’ve managed to introduce you to at least one location off the beaten track that you may otherwise have missed.
And the Škoda Kodiaq?
In many ways, I couldn’t have asked for a better car for our family road trip. As mentioned, we took two vehicles on the trip as there were six of us (four adults, two children) plus luggage, but at each holiday home we’d park up, offload the bags, put the Kodiaq back into 7-seater mode, and then use that as our vehicle to explore the region together. This allowed for good conversation between the adults while on the road and the children in the third row of seats chatted happily, each with side storage pockets to keep their toys and drink bottles. Even with the back row of seats in place, the middle row had heaps of space – the middle row of seats can also slide forwards and backwards as needed – while the boot was large enough to take our four day-pack rucksacks.
This may be my last tour in a ‘new’ Škoda Kodiaq RS as the brand-new model is due to arrive shortly! I’ve just spoken with our Sales Manager, Chris Willetts, who tells me we should see the first of our demonstrator vehicles in Christchurch from next week (at time of writing, it’s 11 Feb 2025).
Be sure to learn more about the new Kodiaq for yourself, or check out our pre-owned and ex-demonstrator Škoda SUVs here.
Next time… the lower half of the South Island!
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