South Island

The best swimming is at the top of the island, around Nelson and Tasman Bay. Kaiteriteri, the golden coves of the Abel Tasman coast and the long sweep of Golden Bay have clear, sheltered water and sand that turns orange in late light. From January to March the sea there reaches about 19-20°C, cool but comfortable on a sunny day, and the region's sunniest weather makes Nelson the natural base.

Elsewhere the beaches are scenery more than swimming. The east coast around Christchurch and Kaikoura is cold and often rough, the West Coast is wild surf and driftwood, and the far south is chilly all year. A family that wants a few beach days can build them in at the northern end, but few come to the South Island for the sea.

Eating here is about produce and wine rather than a cuisine. Marlborough, around Blenheim, is the home of the crisp Sauvignon Blanc the country is known for, and Central Otago, around Cromwell, Bannockburn and the Gibbston Valley near Queenstown, grows fine Pinot Noir in a dry, mountain-ringed landscape. Cellar doors with long lunches among the vines are among the real pleasures of a trip.

The sea supplies the rest: crayfish sold from roadside shacks at Kaikoura, Bluff oysters in winter, green-lipped mussels in the Marlborough Sounds and salmon farmed in glacial canals. Lamb, good cheese and a solid café culture with excellent flat whites are found nearly everywhere. Queenstown and Christchurch have the widest range of restaurants, while small towns can be limited to pub meals and fish and chips.

The island's heritage is young and mostly colonial, and it is pleasant rather than a reason to travel. Dunedin has the richest set: Scottish-founded streets, a grand Flemish-style railway station, the university's Gothic quadrangle, the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and, on the Otago Peninsula, Larnach Castle. Oamaru's harbour quarter of pale limestone warehouses is one of the best-preserved Victorian streetscapes in the country.

Christchurch has the Canterbury Museum, the Christchurch Art Gallery and the Botanic Gardens beside the Avon, and its centre is shaped by the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. Smaller places add character: French-founded Akaroa, the gold-rush cottages of Arrowtown, and Hokitika with its pounamu carving tradition. Māori history is present in museums and place names, but there are few great monuments to visit.

Queenstown is the one place built for going out. Its compact lakeside centre fills with backpackers, ski crowds and adventure-sport visitors, and its bars stay busy late in both the winter ski season and the summer. Christchurch has a sociable spread of bars and small clubs, and Dunedin's student population keeps its pubs and bars lively during term.

Away from these three, nights are quiet. In most towns, and certainly in the national-park villages, the day starts early and evenings end with dinner, a beer and, on a clear night, the stars.

This is one of the great outdoor places of the world. The Southern Alps run the length of the island, rising to Aoraki/Mount Cook above turquoise glacial lakes like Tekapo and Pukaki. Queenstown and Wanaka sit among mountains and lakes with tramping, mountain biking, jet boating and skiing from June to October, and the Routeburn and Milford Tracks lead into Fiordland, where Milford and Doubtful Sounds drop from rainforest-hung cliffs into the sea.

The variety is the point. The West Coast has the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers and the Punakaiki rocks, Abel Tasman offers coastal walking and sea kayaking, Kaikoura has sperm whales, dolphins and fur seals, and the Otago Peninsula has albatross and yellow-eyed penguins. Dark-sky reserves around Tekapo add a night sky that few places match. Weather changes fast in the mountains, and the west is very wet.

Days out here are mostly to small towns and wine country rather than cities. From Queenstown, the gold-rush village of Arrowtown, lakeside Wanaka and the wineries of the Gibbston Valley, Cromwell and Bannockburn are easy drives, and the old mining town of Clyde lies a little further. From Christchurch, Akaroa on its volcanic harbour is about an hour and a half away, with the Waipara wine valley and the spa village of Hanmer Springs in the other direction.

In the north, Nelson makes a good base for Marlborough's vineyards around Blenheim and the arts-and-crafts villages of Tasman Bay. Dunedin pairs with Oamaru's Victorian quarter. The list is pleasant, but these are modest places, and the longest journeys on a trip are usually to landscapes, not towns.

The South Island suits families who like the outdoors. It is safe and informal, and campgrounds with cabins, kitchens and playgrounds make travelling with children easy, whether by car or campervan. Many activities work for younger ages: the gondola and luge rides above Queenstown, short glacier and forest walks, wildlife trips on the Otago Peninsula, and boat outings from Kaikoura or Akaroa where children can see dolphins up close.

Christchurch has the most made for children, with the International Antarctic Centre, Orana Wildlife Park and the Botanic Gardens. There is no large theme park or aquarium, and the main challenge is distance: several hours in the car between highlights. Families do best picking two or three bases, such as Christchurch, Queenstown and Nelson, rather than touring the whole island.

A car or campervan is the normal way to see the island, and driving is part of the experience: roads are quiet, well kept and spectacular. They are also mostly two lanes, often winding, with one-lane bridges and mountain passes such as Haast and Arthur's Pass, so journeys take longer than the map suggests. Queenstown to Milford Sound is around four hours each way, and Christchurch to Queenstown takes most of a day.

Public transport is limited to intercity coaches and a few scenic trains, notably the TranzAlpine across the Alps from Christchurch to Greymouth. Queenstown, Nelson and Christchurch's centre are easy on foot, and tours cover the main sights, but independent travellers without a car lose a lot of flexibility.

Shopping is a sideline here. What is worth buying is local: merino and possum-merino knitwear, outdoor clothing and gear, and pounamu, the New Zealand greenstone, carved in workshops in Hokitika on the West Coast. Queenstown's centre has outdoor shops and a few upmarket boutiques, Christchurch has the largest range of mainstream shops, and Nelson has craft studios and a weekend market. Beyond that, expect souvenir shops and small-town high streets.

The South Island is an expensive place to travel. Queenstown in particular charges high rates for rooms and meals in summer and during the ski season, and the experiences many visitors come for, such as fiord cruises, glacier and scenic flights, jet boats and guided walks, are costly. Eating out anywhere is priced well above Southern European levels, and a hire car or campervan is a large part of most budgets.

It is possible to travel more cheaply. Campgrounds with cabins, hostels and simple Department of Conservation campsites are widespread, supermarkets make self-catering easy, and much of the best scenery is free to walk into. Christchurch, Dunedin and the smaller towns are noticeably cheaper than Queenstown.

The performing arts are modest and concentrated in the two cities. Christchurch has its own symphony orchestra, a professional repertory theatre, the restored Isaac Theatre Royal and the Town Hall for concerts, and Dunedin has a long indie and guitar-music tradition with gigs in small venues around the student quarter. Queenstown has bands in bars, especially in winter. Outside these places, live performance is occasional, and nobody plans a trip here around it.

The South Island is a calm place to slow down, with a little real bathing. Hanmer Springs, a small alpine village about an hour and a half from Christchurch, has been built around its thermal pools since the late nineteenth century and is the place to stay for it. Hot pools near Tekapo look out over the lake and the dark night sky, there are rainforest pools at Franz Josef and private hot tubs above the river near Queenstown, and remote springs such as Maruia sit in beech forest.

Beyond that, the restorative side comes from quiet: lakeside lodges, farm stays and long empty roads. Queenstown can be busy, but most of the island moves slowly and empties out at night.