Travel New Zealand

Driving top to bottom.

New Zealand: the land of Kiwis, rugby and amazing beaches. Many people have the idea New Zealand is a tiny little country at the bottom of the world. However, to drive from the tip of the North Island to the bottom of Stewart Island takes a lot of driving time and two ferries. When superimposed on a map of Europe, it stretches from Denmark to the bottom of France.

The journey from Cape Reinga, (pronounced Ree-anga) the northernmost tip of the country to Wellington at the bottom of the north island is a 13-hour drive. Then, there is a 3-hour ferry trip to Picton, the little south island town where the ferry docks. Driving from Picton to the Bluff, the southernmost tip of the south island is another eleven hours on the road.

There is currently just the one ferry route running between the Bluff and Oban on Stewart Island, the Stewart Island Experience with a scheduled sailing duration from about one hour. Although Stewart Island looks small on a map next to the South Island, it is large; 64 km long, 40 km across at its widest point, with a 700 km coastline. There are only 20 km of roads. You can’t walk around the island in a day or even in ten days and hiking…