This is the itinerary we have decided for our two-week road trip in the South Island of New Zealand: at this time Oliver is 5 years old and Emily is 3.
Staying in the car for many hours is not easy even for children like Oliver and Emily who are used to traveling: I think trains and busses are much easier options. BUT to get around New Zealand the only options are the car or the camper van, which we decided to avoid this time, because it's winter and we'd like to have our first camper van experience in spring/summer (and we did, please check out the related posts!).
To help the kids, before leaving I prepared a map with the stops and for each one I chose a representative photo of what we'll see (I chose what I know they'll like the best, but there is a lot more).
And this is the itinerary that Alex prepared with all the stops and the options in every place (including museums, wildlife, cafes etc that were recommended online). We know we won't do everything, but it's great to have options already picked out when you're on the road: we'll do as much as we can as long as everybody's happy.
We're leaving on July 24th and coming back August 10th (2020). Please check out the article "20-day road trip in New Zealand South Island with kids" in the recommended posts to see what we actually managed to do.
Itinerary
As you can see, everyday there's something for the kids, but also for mommy and daddy: some trips might be more difficult than others (I'm thinking Tekapo Adventure Tour and 3h Hooker Valley trek, for example), but we'll make the most of them.
Fri, Jul 24
Christchurch (1)
Get car
The Grange B&B
Margaret Mahy Playground
Sat, Jul 25
Drive to (2) Geraldine (2:00h) (10-12)
Take the scenic highway
Check out big playground
Drive to (3) Fairlie (0:37h) (13-14)
Have lunch at Fairlie Bakehouse
Check in to Airbnb
Farm tour
Sun, Jul 26
Wake up in Fairlie (3)
Drive to (4) Lake Tekapo (0:30h)
Tekapo Adventure Tour (10am)
Lunch (Greedy Cow Cafe)
Snow tubing
Stay overnight
Mon, Jul 27
Wake up in Tekapo (4)
Drive to (5) Mt Cook Village (1:40h) (10)
Stop at Lake Pukaki
Check into Hotel Hermitage
Hooker Valley Trek (3:00h loop)
Stay overnight
Tue, Jul 28
Wake up in Mt Cook (5)
Drive to (6) Wanaka (2:30h) (13-14)
Puzzling World
Drive to (7) Queenstown (1:00h)
Check into Airbnb
Walk around
Stay overnight
Wed, Jul 29
Wake up in Queenstown (7)
Go on the steamship cruise (1:30h)
Ice skating
Stay overnight
Thu, Jul 30
Wake up in Queenstown (7)
Drive to (8) Glenorchy and road to paradise (1:00h x 2)
Sono la fondatrice de La Tela, creatrice del podcast Educare con calma e dal 2019 viaggio a tempo pieno con la mia famiglia Alex, Oliver ed Emily. Mi ritengo una visionaria pessimista: so come voglio cambiare l’educazione e che genitore ho scelto di essere, ma la maggior parte dei giorni mi sembra di scalare pareti di vetro. Ma forse proprio per questo so come aiutarti quando mi scrivi: perché ci passo anche io per quel disagio e ti dico le verità scomode con gentilezza e senza giudizio.
