Top Of The South (Island) A Self-Drive New Zealand Road Trip (Part 1)
21/10/2025Discover rare wildlife, dramatic coastal landscapes, fresh seafood and artisanal food, beer and wine in New Zealand’s stunning Top of the South Island. Known for its mild climate and relaxed pace, this region offers breathtaking coastal drives and endless opportunities to explore nature or connect with local creators, farmers and food producers.
The ultimate New Zealand road trip, the Top of the South takes you through ever-changing scenery (coastlines, mountains, rivers and vineyards) all within a compact and easily navigable region.
Hikers and cyclists of all levels will find accessible trails across the region. On the water, enjoy sailing the Marlborough Sounds, kayaking in the Abel Tasman, surfing, white-water rafting on the West Coast or jet boating in Hurunui’s braided rivers.
Food lovers will delight in local flavours…fresh crayfish in Kaikōura, world-renowned Marlborough King Salmon, Nelson’s sheep and goat cheeses, wild Mānuka honey from the West Coast and premium North Canterbury meats.
Rural areas offer a deep connection to the land, while towns and the city of Nelson are alive with arts, culture and great coffee. Nelson features the vibrant Saturday Market, Suter Art Gallery and buzzing café culture. Explore Havelock, Picton and Kaikōura for seafood and heritage. In Hokitika, discover wild food, brews and gold rush history. Hanmer Springs offers alpine beauty and boutique shopping.
For unforgettable views, flavours and experiences, the Top of the South is a New Zealand road trip at its best.
Christchurch to Hokitika via Arthur’s Pass:
Having collected my bags from the Christchurch Airport carousel I made my way to the Europcar hire desk in the main terminal to obtain the keys to my Hybrid Toyota Yaris Cross Hatchback. It was the first time I had hired a Hybrid and I was looking forward to getting some good kilometres per litre of petrol on my 10 day Top of the South road trip.
Once I had negotiated the exit roads out of the airport I was soon on State Highway 73 heading west towards Arthur’s Pass and Hokitika on the West Coast. As I drove the first 10 kilometres, speckles of rain started peppering the windscreen. It would eventually turn to steady rain for the whole journey. Unfortunately, this also meant the spectacular views that this region has to offer were under a veil of cloud and at times dense fog. It also slowed my driving-time down significantly, due in part by being unable to overtake slow moving trucks.
Hokitika Beach Sign
Hokitika to Motueka, Nelson Tasman via Westport:
(Total Distance 340 kilometres)
Finally I made it to Hokitika and the ‘wild’ West Coast where I checked into my apartment in one of the more unique overnight options I’ve encountered in quite a few years, The Hokitika Fire Station Boutique Accommodation. (Please read the accompanying article on each accommodation en-route).
By 6.30pm I had made it in steady rain to the Woodstock Hotel Craft Bar & Eatery for dinner, about an 18 kilometre round trip out of the town centre. It was originally established in 1870 and from the outside it looked like an original tavern…grimy exterior and all. However it has over the last century played many roles including a public house, community meeting place, post office and even a morgue.
I walked into a country pub-style welcome from the lady bartender and found what you’d consider a modern-day tavern. It had a range of high and low tables with plenty of locals and a few overseas tourists seated at them. Sadly it displayed a lack of TLC with slightly tattered carpets and an array of bric-a-brac on the walls, which along with the square-shaped bar were decorated with fairy lights. Even the menus were shabby and ‘well thumbed’.
I ordered a Woodstock Brewing Co. draft lager that they micro-brewed on the premises and from the menu a surf and turf for my main, skipping the starters. It was only after I’d placed my order the bartender informed me all of their seafood was frozen but the sirloin steak was excellent. She was right on both counts. I therefore left most of my seafood and vegetables on the plate, as they were also from frozen packets. At least the Australian cabernet was nice and smooth. www.woodstockhotel.co.nz
Overnight the full extent of the onshore storm had hit Hokitika and rain was lashing the streets outside my apartment. I had been notified that the planned Six Glacier Helicopter ride the next day had been cancelled as they could not fly in such conditions. To be honest, it was atrocious weather, but something the locals were used to, as this is one of the wettest locations in New Zealand outside of Fiordland.
So at 9am I walked around the corner from the Fire Station in pouring rain to enter the delightfully brightly lit Thatcher & Small Bar and Restaurant, billed as ‘a harmonious blend of vintage charm and contemporary elegance’. Locals it seemed had embraced this concept as tables quickly filled up. My signature go-to breakfast dish is always Eggs Benedict…this one was on a muffin with crispy bacon and didn’t disappoint. www.thatcherandsmall.co.nz
Due to the weather, a local contact I knew in Hokitika had arranged for me to join a carving workshop at Bonz ‘n’ Stonz. Founded in 2000 by master carver, Steve Gwaliasi, Bonz ‘n’ Stonz is a place where the ancient traditions of pounamu (New Zealand greenstone), kōiwi (bone), or anga (shell) carvings are brought to life. This is the town’s premier greenstone and shell carving retail shop and back-of-house workshop.
I entered their shop and met my carving instructor Paul, who led me into their workshop. Inside were three rows of benches with spinning bench-top wheels with water flowing from small pipes onto them at each workstation. The first wheel was a diamond-cutting blade to shape the pounamu and the rest were thicker shaping wheels with diamond surfaces and then finally there were polishing discs.
Whether you are a traveller seeking a hands-on experience, an artist drawn to the craft, or someone wishing to shape a personal taonga (treasure), Bonz ‘n’ Stonz is a space to carve, create and connect to the land, the ocean and the traditions that bind us across the Pacific. In this immersive experience, you’ll learn about the deep significance of carving in Māori culture, by designing your own unique piece and shaping it with your own hands. Choose from pounamu, kōiwi or anga…each with its own story and wairua (spirit).
Paul it turns out had only been a carver for two and a half months, but had quickly picked up the skills necessary to produce some impressive works of art. He’s come a long way from his previous job…20 years as a beekeeper. After picking out my rough piece of greenstone
Great Coast Road
Paul used the diamond cutting wheel to roughly shape the piece to a design that I had picked from a finished pendant I had spotted in the retail shop. After about two hours, between the two of us we had fashioned a uniquely one-off pounamu pendant, which now proudly hangs around my neck. www.bonznstonz.co.nz
One adventure not to be missed should the weather gods be kind is a Six Glaciers Helicopter Snow Landing with Precision Helicopters. From spotting remote locations where pounamu is found to historic deerstalker huts, you’ll be taken back in time. These extraordinary flights are far from civilisation with six mind-blowing views of glaciers: Wilkinson, Ramsey, Dainty, Lornty, Leeb and Clark. On your return, capture the magical 360-degree views during a snow landing. www.precisionhelitours.com
For a more traditional exercise lace up your hiking boots and walk 1.2 kilometres along the Hokitika Gorge Track. From the western end of the carpark it’s an easy undulating 15 minute walk through mature nature forest to a viewpoint overlooking the river. After a further 250 metres of wandering track, the Upper Hokitika Gorge Suspension Bridge enters a forest canopy of Miro, Rimu and Kamahi. The bridge offers spectacular views of the famous blue waters flowing through Hokitika Gorge, amid mature forests and the foothills of the Southern Alps.
With the rain still coming down I checked out of my accommodation and headed the car north up the west coast for a one hour drive to the settlement of Punakaiki…a village built around the tourist attractions known as Pancake Rocks & Blowholes and Paparoa National Park.
En-route I stopped for lunch at the Monteith’s Brewery Restaurant in Greymouth. It began life in 1868 in the West Coast town of Reefton. In 1927 they moved the brewery lock, stock and barrels to the present site and it has remained here ever since. (Note: the actual brewing on-site was decommissioned during Covid and no longer operates).
I was met by Kate the Duty Manager and Tour Guide who suggested I order a light lunch which consisted of a paddle-board menu of chilli garlic prawns, sweet chilli sauce, coriander garnish and jalapeño mayo with a tasting of three beers…a Golden Lager, an Original Ale (based as close as possible to the first 1868 beer), and a Black Beer (based on a recipe from the 1927 relocation ale). For dessert I had a homemade Tropical Creme Brûlée with mango and passionfruit compote topped with coconut flakes…it was to die for. www.thebrewery.co.nz
Punakaiki or Punangairi? The name Punakaiki has puzzled Māori and Pākehā since it first appeared on maps. The word doesn’t make sense in the Māori language, so where did it come from? Poutini Ngāi Tahu, the Māori of the West Coast, believe the correct name is Punangairi – a nod to the blowholes. Puna = spring or pool and Ngairi = stormy waters.
Explorer Charles Heaphy was the first person to write down ‘Punakairi’ in 1846. But when his journal was published in the Nelson newspaper, the typesetter seems to have misread his cursive handwriting as ‘Punakaiki’… and the name stuck.
In Punakaiki I found the Paparoa Experience and Paparoa National Park Visitor Centre located right across for the Pancake Rocks & Blowholes Track. The Paparoa Experience blends Māori culture with history and geology in an interactive multimedia exhibition that immerses visitors in the unique aspects of Paparoa National Park. It brings visitors closer to the trails and treasures of its mountainous coast as you splash underground to discover the amazing time capsule of limestone caves and creeping critters, and finish by feeling the full force of the Pancake Rocks & Blowholes! Beware…it is very noisy! www.paparoaexperience.com
To see the Pancake Rocks & Blowholes take the 1.1 kilometre, all-weather paved-trail (I can attest to it as I walked it in a gale with sideways sheets of rain) around the curious limestone formations of layers of pancake-shaped rocks and blowholes. Blowholes are formed from a mixture of compressed water and air escaping through the caverns below and being forced upwards creating an enormous wall of sea-spray. Expect to see spectacular views, geological oddities, coastal forest, rich birdlife and, if you’re lucky, marine mammals on this walk.
I next checked into my accommodation further down the coast at Punakaiki Treescapes. (Please read the accompanying article on each accommodation en-route). Six kilometres north of my accommodation I ducked into the Punakaiki Hotel & Beer Garden for dinner to escape the rain, the only place to order an evening meal with a pint of beer or a glass of wine.
On this Thursday night it was almost full, with a mixture of locals, backpackers and tourists. Fairy lights once again were strung above the bar. I ordered fish and chips and found out they only had orange roughy… to be honest it tasted better than I thought. After a glass of red wine I called it a night and headed back to my private escape for a nightcap. www.punakaikirocks.co.nz
Motueka, Nelson Tasman to Blenheim via Picton:
(Total Distance 230 kilometres)
The next morning I knew it was going to be a monumental drive of 250 kilometres to reach my next accommodation at Motueka River Lodge. Overnight the storm had started hitting the West Coast with full force and I knew driving in these conditions would test most drivers. Instead of waiting for the Pancake Rocks Cafe to open at 8.30am, I left my accommodation at 7.30am and drove straight past my planned breakfast spot. It started out as a coastal route but this was unseen as the cloud was down to the road level with rain lashing the foreshore and highway.
By the time I reached Westport the rain had not eased up. I filled the petrol tank knowing that the next stretch of road had limited service facilities. I still had 200 kilometres to go to reach my next accommodation, hopefully by 12.30pm.
My one and only view of the Buller River Gorge
I traversed the Buller Gorge and only saw one glimpse of it due to low-lying clouds and mist before finally arriving under slightly blue skies at the Motueka River Lodge. (Please read the accompanying article on each accommodation en-route). I’d made it. It was time to drop my bags and get ready for my afternoon adventures in a region of New Zealand I’d never visited before.
At 1.15pm, Lucy my tour guide from Nelson based, Wine, Art & Wilderness, arrived for my Bespoke Moutere Artisan & Wine Tour, picking me up in a flash black Mercedes and off we went.
There are 10 cellar doors within range of the Motueka River Lodge out of 18 vineyards in the wider region. In terms of what makes this region tick, forestry outranks agriculture, which is mainly apples but in 3rd place fishing is followed by dairy and lastly tourism ranks in 5th place. From a tourism perspective Abel Tasman National Park is the number one drawcard, followed by Nelson Lakes, Golden Bay and local wine tours. www.wineartandwilderness.co.nz
We were soon sitting at an outdoor table at Moutere Hills Vineyard where a presentation of four wine samples from their cellar was offered as a tasting: We started with a Riesling (crispy, with hints of apple and honeysuckle), followed by a Viognier (fragrant, complex and velvety). Our 3rd tasting was a Moutere Hills Merlot (bold and dark with hints of blueberries). Finally we tasted a Sarau Reserve Chardonnay (very buttery with hints of oak). Sarau is the name of a nearby old German settlement.
Lunch was also in the form of a platter known as the ‘Moutere Hills Long Board’…local feta with roasted red capsicum mousse, red cabbage puree with smoked duck plum gel, chicken curry with roti and nan bread, seared tuna with chipotle mayo and Karachi chicken with house-made noodles. all served with a bowl of pan seared broccoli with miso and toasted almonds. Simply delicious! www.mouterehills.co.nz
We next moved onto Flaxmore Vineyards. This is possibly unique as instead of featuring a restaurant alongside their vineyard they have their own art gallery. Stuart Anderson, the owner, met us in his tasting room as fantails swooped in and out of the eaves. He began by offering a selection of wines from his 9-hectare slopes. First in line was his Pinot Rosé 2023, then a Pinot Gris 2024, followed by a lovely tasting 2022 Chardonnay and finally two 2022 Pinot Noirs – a Sou-Wester and a Nor-Wester (hence the prevailing winds for each location of grape vines). My pick of the tasting was the Flaxmore Rosé, very smooth with strong hints of strawberry. www.flaxmore.co.nz
Our last stop for the day was to visit the studio of Michael MacMillan – Sculptor. Michael, an artist and sculptor, works from his studio in Upper Moutere in the Nelson Tasman region. He is well known for his large outdoor sculptures and limited edition bronzes. Michael’s work is bold, reflective, textured, carved and kinetic. While polished aggregate is the medium that Michael is best known for, his works also include classical and contemporary bronzes and innovative creations using French Oak.
Michael’s Art Gallery was purpose built 10 years ago. It’s an artwork in itself, blending traditional materials and traditional craftsmanship. One half of the gallery is also a dedicated Country Homeware Shop where visitors will find all manner of original kitchen and homeware items. www.michaelmacmillan.co.nz
Dinner that evening was prepared by Motueka River Lodge’s in-house private chef, Alistair Forster, who is a local legend in these parts. The first course was a small platter of two dishes: chicken with filo pastry and a peanut satay sauce, and then a soup of Jerusalem artichokes and garlic cream topped with Jerusalem artichoke crispy flakes. For the entree the chef served a Lumina Lamb with jus on a bed of steamed broccoli above a yellow squash puree and a side of corn and roasted cauliflower. Stunning in presentation and taste. www.motuekaaccommodation.com/ dining
After a light breakfast the next morning, Lucy from Wine, Art & Wilderness picked me up again to transfer me to Kaiteriteri Beach, where I boarded a small inflatable in Stephens Bay, (just around the headland) to join a group for a day cruising with Abel Tasman Charters on their 44ft launch, Torea (the Māori name for the Red Beak Oyster Catcher). Brett was our skipper for the day with Angus his right-hand man. Brett has been a skipper for 23 years and knows these waters like the back of his hand.
As we slowly left the bay behind, all we could see on this cerulean blue sky day was a few odd kayakers and the occasional private fishing boat heading out to catch snapper. On board were a Florida honeymoon couple, an older husband and wife couple from Germany and a younger Swedish couple. Our first stop was to see if we could spot some seals off Adele Island, but there were none to be seen. Motoring north it was obvious that kayaking is one of the most popular water sports in the region with many groups dotting uninhabited beaches or out at sea enjoying the calm waters.
The Abel Tasman National Park was established on the 18th December 1942, 300 years to the day after Abel Tasman visited the region. Abel Tasman was the first European explorer to look upon New Zealand as we know it today, when he anchored in Golden Bay in 1642. Tasman mistakenly responded to the sound of a challenge from a Māori horn with a pipe and gunfire. This meant accepting a challenge by the locals, which led to a war canoe approaching Tasman’s rowboats. A skirmish occurred, lives were lost on both sides. Abel Tasman up anchored and sailed away, never to have set foot in the area that now bears his name.
We dropped anchor in Te Pukatea Bay, where the couples on board chose to either go kayaking or hiking a 45 minute headland walk on the Te Pukatea Bay Track while lunch was being made. I opted to take a shorter direct walk to the headland’s lookout point which took me about 15 minutes. Back on board Brett and Angus had prepared a wonderful cold lunch with an array of platters including smoked fish, all served with a local Rosé or a Stoke Pilsner Ale brewed in Nelson. www.abeltasmancharters.co.nz
At about 4.30pm I picked up my hire car from the Motueka River Lodge (Please read the accompanying article on each accommodation en-route) and drove for an hour to my next accommodation at Pihopa Retreat, Nelson. Only minutes from the centre of town Pihopa (in Maōri this means Bishop) was the former residence of the Bishop of Nelson. The original house built in 1858, was torn down and rebuilt in 1925. Today it still stands across from the original chapel built in 1877.
By 6.20pm I was sipping cocktails and nibbling on canapés by the pool. At 7pm our taxi driver arrived to take myself and another couple from Oklahoma to one of Nelson’s fine-dining establishments, Hopgood’s & Co. Restaurant.
The restaurant was buzzing with every available table booked out. I choose the 5-course set menu, which included: Whitebait, Hake (fish), Pig Cheek, Beef Tri-Tip and Caramel Yogurt Cake. Out of all five dishes the only one I disliked was the Pig Cheek. I could have opted to try a different sample of wines with each dish but instead ordered a glass of Smith & Sheth Syrah from Hawke’s Bay.
Next morning, once I’d finished my Pihopa Retreat breakfast of salmon and scrambled eggs with bacon, (located in a small part of the original chapel), I made my way on fairly empty streets to the town’s famous jewellery shop, Jens Hansen – The Ringmaker. His fame as one of New Zealand’s finest ring makers did not go unnoticed when Peter Jackson chose him to design THE famous RING used in The Lord of the Rings. As a side note, on Prince Charles and Camilla’s first visit as a couple to New Zealand, Camilla was presented a gift…a Jens Hansen Golden Kiwi pendant – which is still produced and very popular with today’s buyers. www.jenshansen.com
I was then back in the driving seat for a two-hour journey to Picton – half of it on coastal switchback roads that took all of my concentration. This famous Top of the South port is best known as one of the two Cook Strait crossing points between the North Island and the South Island. I quickly parked the car, dropped my bags at the Cougar Line Water Taxi terminal and then grabbed a bite to eat at Toastie Lords…a well-known small Picton waterfront dining establishment that is frequented by locals and visitors alike.
At 1pm I boarded the Cougar Line Water Taxi and within minutes we were out in what is considered one of the jewels in the Top of the South’s encrusted crown – the Marlborough Sounds.
Twenty minutes later we had docked and I was heading with Ben, my driver on some narrow switchback roads to my nights accommodation at Portage Resort (Please read the accompanying article on each accommodation en-route) – one of the Marlborough Sounds first commercial tourist resorts dating back to at least 1939, with an old sepia tone photograph dated 1875 showing a number of huts dotting the bay.
Dinner that evening was in the Portage Resort Restaurant. Unfortunately the kitchen had run out of prawns, so I ordered fried squid and snapper from their standard in-house hotel menu that mainly caters to visitors either beginning or ending their hike on the Queen Charlotte Track.
After a Portage Resort breakfast of Eggs Benedict with accompanying mushrooms, tomato, spinach and bacon on ciabatta bread (one of the best so far), I caught the Water Taxi back to Picton and located my car in the nearby carpark. www.cougarline.co.nz
View from Portage Lodge, Marlborough Sounds
Picton to Blenheim to Kaikõura:
(Total Distance 130 Kilometres)
It only took a 25 minute drive arrive in the heart of Marlborough wine country, where I was meeting up with Kat and Roo, the owners of Explore Marlborough Wine Tours – a bike rental company that is somewhat unique.
After a quick briefing and hands on instructions we were off down the road lined with row after row of grapevines that were turning to dark honey and mustard colours as autumn started to tighten its fist. On their map of the region surrounding their base, Explore Marlborough use a number of intertwining paths and roads leading to numerous vineyards of which guests have the option to choose three or four tastings and lunch during a half-day, four-hour bike hire.
Explore Marlborough was started 10 years ago but has rapidly expanded in the last three years when Kat and Roo bought it. They offer self-pedal or alternatively e-bikes for Half-day or Full-day options of self-guided exploration. Half-day and Deluxe Full-day options are also available if you require Guided Biking Wine Tours. Visitors can also request custom- tailored itineraries for Guided Group Tours as well as Private Tours. As New Zealand’s largest wine growing region with over 30 cellar doors, you will be spoilt for choice. Explore Marlborough also offer free pick-up and drop off from your accommodation of choice. www.exploremarlborough.co.nz
We had chosen three vineyards within pedalling distance, the first stop of which was Wairau River Cellar Door (which, a day after I returned home, I saw their wine being poured for some USA Top Chef TV show contestants). We were seated outside for lunch at Wairau River’s Number 11 Restaurant in the warm afternoon sun as a breeze softly blew fallen leaves across the courtyard. From the menu we ordered plates of a half-dozen oysters, a beetroot and goat’s curd with a burnt orange vinaigrette, Cloudy Bay clams with a sweetcorn chowder and cornbread, market fish pie with silverbeet and puff pastry, lamb Henry, zhoug, yogurt, za’atar and curry leaves, and a salted cucumber with sour cream and dill pickles – the market fish pie was the star of the show.
Their tasting block of four wines consisted of an elegant Reserve Sauvignon Blanc fermented in oak barrels – with about 80% of all vines grown, it is by far the most popular wine variety in this region. Next an oak barrel Reserve Chardonnay, then finishing with two red wines, an Estate Pinot Noir fermented for 10 months and an oak barrel Reserve Pinot Noir fermented for 15 months – both were very elegant, robust wines to finish with our lunch.
The 2024 Botrytised Riesling… WOW! Intently concentrated luscious flavours are stacked into this wine. The botrytis (a greyish powdery mould which is deliberately cultivated on grapes for certain wines) concentration is classic, defined by a honeyed tastiness that mingles with the fruit derived marmalade and dried apricot characters. I bought two to take home! It was that good. www.wairauriverwines.com
We next rode our e-bikes to Forrest Vineyards where Julie informed us the vineyard was first planted in 1980 and now has over 80 hectares. It turns out their signature label, The Doctors, is a low alcohol (9% to 9.5% volume) range of wines, which are mostly exported to the UK and, as you might have guessed, is often snapped up by doctors. The tasting consisted of a Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, a Riesling, a Rosē and a fine Pinot Noir – my favourite. www.forrest.co.nz
For one last vineyard on our bicycling tour, we chose to hop off our saddles at Nautilus Vineyards…a well-known New Zealand brand. Nautilus was first planted in 1985 and is now recognised as a 6th generation wine company. We first tasted the Nautilus 2022 Chardonnay, a very buttery and quite complex wine, with restrained seasoning, which is fermented in 225 litre French oak barriques. It was then on to tasting a Nautilus Southern Valleys Pinot Noir 2020 (oak-barrelled for 8 months) and then a 2020 Nautilus Clay Hills Vineyard Block 3 WB Pinot Noir (oak-barrelled for 11 months). All of these grapes are hand picked that ripened on the clay hills and lower slopes of the Southern Valley, as opposed to the flat vineyards, that most Marlborough vineyard estates are planted. www.nautilusestate.com
It was only a short drive to St. Leonards Vineyard Cottages (Please read the accompanying article on each accommodation en-route), set on 45 acres on the outskirts of Blenheim. This luxurious rustic retreat is housed in four former traditional farm buildings, which have been refurbished: The Shearer’s Quarters, The Woolshed, The Winemaker’s Cottage and The Stables.
Dinner that evening was at Restaurant Sasa. The restaurant offers indoor or outdoor dining options, including a covered deck for sunny days or you can enjoy a balmy summer’s evening next to the romantically lit pool.
There is a fantastic choice of meals from their delicious Japanese menu. I dined on deep-fried king prawns for starters and Tofu Champroo – a well-balanced Okinawa stir-fried dish with pork, tofu and vegetables. Their chefs use locally sourced produce, so the menu changes regularly.
Editor: (Part 2 of Shane’s Top Of The South adventure will continue in our next issue)
Facts:
The author would like to extend his sincere thanks to all the tourism boards that contributed and worked together in planning and arranging, The Top of the South itinerary, accommodations, attractions and meals en-route.
West Coast:
Slow down for a soak or fly high over ice and snow, explore the greatest of outdoors or cosy up in a cliff-top retreat. From its stunning coastline to the epic peaks of the Southern Alps, the West Coast is a place of stunning natural beauty and the ideal spot for a getaway. Whether the hills are calling your name or you prefer a more laid-back approach to taking some time out, there is no better place to re-set, recharge and reconnect. www. westcoast.co.nz
Nelson Tasman:
Stunning natural landscapes, inspiring arts and delectable produce awaits you in Nelson Tasman. Nelson Tasman has an incredible arts and events scene, an exciting and diverse range of food and beverage producers and an indelible connection with the outdoors. Along with a vibrant array of fresh produce and artisan products, boutique wineries, craft breweries and award-winning cider makers can all be found in this part of the world. www.nelsontasman.nz
Marlborough:
From the Marlborough Sounds to the ultimate food and wine experience, there is an adventure waiting for everyone. Dreamy sunsets, calm reflections and star-filled nights – you couldn’t ask for a more inspiring backdrop to create fun-filled holiday memories with your loved ones. Explore the four valleys that create Marlborough, where passionate people live, work and play. www.malboroughnz.com/explore
Europcar Christchurch Airport: Their car rental station is located within the Airport’s Main Terminal at ground level. If you’re arriving on a domestic flight, the rental pick-up area is just opposite the luggage carousels for your convenience. To return your rental vehicle, follow the signs to Rental Vehicle Returns Carpark. Christchurch International Airport is just a 20-minute car ride to the city centre. If you are renting a Hybrid for the first time, like I did, ask for someone to show you all the intricacies and tips on how everything works. It will definitely save you time in the scheme of things. www.europcar.co.nz/en-nz
