Natural Wonders of New Zealand — Self-Launched

Land at Christchurch Airport and take the £8 Purple Line bus or a shuttle into the city centre. Base yourself near Cathedral Square or Addington. Get a NZ SIM/data eSIM (Spark or One NZ, ~£15 for 30 days), pick up an AT HOP card, and take an evening wander through the rebuild-era city and along the Avon on the Terraces. Stock up on groceries — self-catering is the biggest single cost saver on this trip.

🚌Airport bus ~£8

🛏Hostel dorm or budget double, Christchurch CBD (~£22–35)

• →Arrival and SIM/data setup
• →Avon River / city centre orientation walk
• →Grocery shop for the road

Book an InterCity coach Christchurch → Tekapo → Mount Cook Village (roughly £35–45, 5h). Break at Lake Tekapo for the turquoise lake and the Church of the Good Shepherd; the Tekapo Springs hot pools are a good £10 add-on. Continue into Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park and stay at the village (book the Hermitage or the Mount Cook YHA well ahead — it is tiny). In the afternoon walk the Kea Point track (2h return) for glacier and peak views. The scenic ski-plane flight over the Tasman Glacier (~£250) is the splurge alternative.

🚌InterCity coach ~£40

🛏Mount Cook Village YHA or backpackers (~£35–50)

• →Church of the Good Shepherd, Lake Tekapo
• →Kea Point Track (2h return)
• →Optional: scenic flight over the Southern Alps (~£250)

InterCity coach Mount Cook → Dunedin (~£40, 6–7h) with a change in Twizel/Oamaru. If you can, break the journey at Oamaru's Victorian old town and walk down to the Moeraki Boulders (short detour off SH1, ~£6 by local shuttle or a 20-min walk from the bus stop at Moeraki). Arrive in Dunedin, walk the Octagon and pick up Dunedin Craft Beer or the Otago Museum for free. Book the Royal Albatross Centre talk/tour at Taiaroa Head (from ~£25–35) for tomorrow morning.

🚌InterCity coach ~£40

🛏Hostel or budget hotel, Dunedin (~£25–38)

• →Oamaru historic precinct
• →Moeraki Boulders
• →Octagon and Otago Museum

Morning: local bus hop or rented bike out to the Otago Peninsula for the Royal Albatross Centre guided tour (~£30) — the only mainland albatross colony on earth. Then InterCity coach Dunedin → Invercargill (~£30, 4h), local bus or shared shuttle to Bluff (~£8), and the Stewart Island Ferry across Foveaux Strait (~£85 return, 1h — book at stewartislandexperience.co.nz and take the early afternoon sailing). Alternatively fly Invercargill–Oban (~£100 one way, 20 min). Settle into Oban and walk the waterfront for kiwi-sign spotting after dark.

🚌Coach ~£30, Bluff shuttle ~£8, ferry ~£85 return

🛏Oban backpackers or holiday park cabin (~£30–45)

• →Royal Albatross Centre tour
• →Foveaux Strait crossing
• →Oban village evening walk

Walk the short Oban tracks in the morning (Ackers Point is a good 2h return) or join a guided kiwi-spotting tour (~£60). Afternoon: water taxi to Ulva Island predator-free bird sanctuary (~£25 return) and walk the island's tracks — saddleback, kaka, robins, weka and, with luck, kiwi at dusk. Cheaper than the package but self-booked. Rakiura National Park tracks are free; carry your own water, food and insect repellent.

🚌Water taxi to Ulva Island ~£25

🛏Oban backpackers or holiday park cabin (~£30–45)

• →Ulva Island self-guided walk
• →Ackers Point Track
• →Optional night kiwi tour (~£60)

Morning ferry back to Bluff (~already paid in return ticket), shuttle to Invercargill, then the InterCity coach up the Southern Scenic Route to Te Anau (~£35, 4h). Afternoon free: walk the Lake Te Anau foreshore control gates track or visit the small wildlife/bird sanctuary near the town. Book your Milford Sound cruise for tomorrow now — Natura/Cruise Milford and Jucy both run boats from ~£55–75, and Te Anau is the cheaper place to sleep before heading to the fjord.

🚌Coach ~£35 and shuttle ~£8

🛏Te Anau backpackers or holiday park (~£28–40)

• →Lake Te Anau foreshore walk
• →Book Milford cruise
• →Optional bird park

Early coach down the Milford Road (Te Anau → Milford, ~£35; spectacular Mirror Lakes, Homer Tunnel and Monkey Creek stops) — book the combined coach+cruise via Jucy or GreatSights (~£95–120 including the 1h45 fjord cruise past Stirling and Bowen Falls). Back to Te Anau in the afternoon, then the InterCity coach to Queenstown (~£25, 2h). Arrive for sunset over Lake Wakatipu.

🚌Milford coach + cruise ~£105, Queenstown coach ~£25

🛏Queenstown hostel (book early, town is pricey) (~£35–50)

• →Milford Sound coach-cruise day
• →Homer Tunnel and Milford Road stops

Choose your own adrenalin: bungee at Kawarau Bridge (~£120), the Skyline gondola and luge (~£30), or a free hike up Queenstown Hill (2h return) or along the Frankton Arm. The TSS Earnslaw steamship sailing on Lake Wakatipu is a gentler ~£45. Fergburger is the obligatory cheap dinner. Book tomorrow's shuttle to Arrowtown and the West Coast coach in advance.

🚌Local buses / on foot

🛏Queenstown hostel (~£35–50)

• →Queenstown Hill hike or Skyline gondola
• →Optional Kawarau bungee (~£120) or TSS Earnslaw (~£45)
• →Fergburger

Join the daily InterCity/GreatSights coach Queenstown → Fox Glacier (~£45–55, 6h) — it stops at Arrowtown, crosses the Crown Range, passes Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea and crosses the Haast Pass into Westland. In Fox, walk the Lake Matheson loop (1.5h) for the classic reflection shot, or to the terminal of the Fox Glacier at dusk for glow-worms on the way back. Helicopter glacier flights (~£250) are the optional splurge.

🚌Coach ~£50

🛏Fox Glacier holiday park cabin or hostel (~£30–45)

• →Arrowtown stop
• →Lake Matheson reflection walk (~1.5h)
• →Glow-worm walk at night

Walk the Franz Josef Glacier valley track (free, ~1.5h) in the morning, then coach up the coast stopping at Hokitika (greenstone workshops, free to browse) and the Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki (short loop walk). InterCity's Nelson service via the Buller Gorge gets you to Nelson Lakes — get off at St Arnaud (~£35–45 total). St Arnaud is a one-street village: book your bed at the backpackers or Nelson Lakes Motels in advance.

🚌Coach ~£40

🛏St Arnaud backpackers (~£28–40)

• →Franz Josef Glacier valley walk
• →Pancake Rocks, Punakaiki
• →Hokitika greenstone shops

Coach St Arnaud → Nelson (~£25, 2h), drop bags, then take the Abel Tasman water taxi from Kaiteriteri or Marahau for a self-guided walk-and-boat combo (~£60–70 for a water taxi drop at Bark Bay or Torrent Bay and pickup at Anchorage, 3–4h walking). Sea kayaking options start around £75. Back to Nelson in the evening; Nelson has a great cheap Saturday market.

🚌Coach ~£25, Abel Tasman water taxi ~£65

🛏Nelson hostel or budget motel (~£25–40)

• →Abel Tasman coastal walk (self-guided)
• →Water taxi along the golden beaches
• →Optional sea kayaking (~£75)

Coach Nelson → Kaikoura via Havelock and the Marlborough Sounds (~£30, 3.5h — Blenheim/Marlborough wine country on the way if you want to break it). Afternoon coastal walk to the Kaikoura Peninsula seal colony (free, 2h) and a good fish-and-chips at the pier. Book tomorrow's dawn whale-watch with Whale Watch Kaikoura (~£85–95) or a cheaper dolphin swim/seal swim if the budget is tight.

🚌Coach ~£30

🛏Kaikoura hostel or holiday park (~£28–42)

• →Kaikoura Peninsula walkway and seal colony
• →Seafood at the pier

Morning whale-watch flight or boat (sperm whales year-round, ~£90), then the coach to Picton (~£18, 2h) and the Interislander ferry across Cook Strait through the Marlborough Sounds (~£45–60 walk-on, 3.5h — book a few days ahead; the Kaitaki and Aratere have deck views of dolphins). Arrive Wellington evening; hostels cluster around Cuba Street and Te Aro.

🚌Coach ~£18, Interislander ferry ~£55

🛏Wellington hostel (~£30–45)

• →Whale watching (optional ~£90)
• →Marlborough Sounds ferry crossing

Free-ish day in the capital: Te Papa national museum (free), the cable car to the Botanic Gardens (~£5), the waterfront promenade, and Zealandia eco-sanctuary (~£25 by shuttle, or a long walk). Cuba Street for coffee and cheap eats. If you are a Lord of the Rings fan, the Weta Workshop tour is ~£30.

🚌Cable car ~£5, local buses

🛏Wellington hostel (~£30–45)

• →Te Papa (free)
• →Botanic Gardens and cable car
• →Zealandia (optional ~£25)
• →Cuba Street

Coach or train north: the Northern Explorer scenic train Wellington → National Park (~£90, 5h; book early and sit on the left for Ruapehu views) is the memorable option, or InterCity coach (~£35). Settle at National Park Village (backpackers or the Whakapapa holiday park). Check the mountain weather forecast and book a Tongariro Alpine Crossing shuttle for tomorrow (~£30 return) — the crossing only runs if the forecast is decent.

🚌Coach ~£35 or Northern Explorer ~£90

🛏National Park Village backpackers (~£28–40)

• →Scenic rail/road journey
• →Tongariro weather check

If the weather is good, hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing (19.4km, 7–8h, free apart from the £30 shuttle) — Emerald Lakes, Red Crater, views of Ngauruhoe. If not, walk the shorter Taranaki Falls or Tama Lakes tracks. Afternoon/evening coach to Taupo then Rotorua (~£30). Stop at Huka Falls on the way (free) — and see the Waikato River jet-boat churn through it.

🚌Crossing shuttle ~£30, coach to Rotorua ~£30

🛏Rotorua hostel (~£25–40)

• →Tongariro Alpine Crossing (weather dependent)
• →Huka Falls
• →Evening in Rotorua

Self-book Te Puia (day pass ~£35–45) for the Whakarewarewa geothermal valley, kiwi conservation centre, Maori Arts and Crafts Institute carving school and the cultural performance with haka — the budget-friendly equivalent of the operator's included cultural day. Add the free Kuirau Park steaming mud pools, or a hangi-style buffet at Te Puia (~£30). Afternoon: Rainbow Mountain or Redwoods Whakarewarewa Forest walks (free).

🚌Local bus / on foot

🛏Rotorua hostel (~£25–40)

• →Te Puia geothermal park and carvers' school (~£40)
• →Maori cultural performance with haka
• →Kuirau Park and Redwoods tracks

Coach Rotorua → Thames/Whitianga (~£30–35, 4h with a change at Hamilton or Thames — InterCity). Local taxis or the Hahei shuttle get you to the east coast. Hire a spade (~£5) and dig your own thermal pool at Hot Water Beach two hours either side of low tide, then walk the coastal track to Cathedral Cove (1.5h return, free). Sleep in Hahei holiday park or Whitianga backpackers.

🚌Coach ~£32

🛏Hahei holiday park cabin or Whitianga hostel (~£30–45)

• →Hot Water Beach thermal pools
• →Cathedral Cove coastal walk
• →Optional kayak or glass-bottom boat

Morning coach to Auckland (~£25, 3h), then InterCity north to Paihia in the Bay of Islands (~£35, 4h). Evening: walk the Paihia waterfront and Waitangi Treaty Grounds foreshore. Book a dolphin/ Hole in the Rock cruise with Fullers or Explore Group (~£65–85) for tomorrow, and the Cape Reinga day trip via a local operator (~£100) if you want it.

🚌Coach ~£60 total

🛏Paihia hostel or holiday park (~£28–42)

• →Auckland transit
• →Paihia waterfront evening

Full-day dolphin cruise out to Cape Brett and the Hole in the Rock (~£70–85). Optional add-on: swim with wild dolphins (a licensed operator, ~£120) or stop at Urupukapuka Island for a walk. Alternative for less: the passenger ferry to Russell (~£12 return) for the historic village, Pompallier Mission and Flagstaff Hill. Evening fish and chips on the beach.

🚌Boat cruise ~£75

🛏Paihia hostel or holiday park (~£28–42)

• →Hole in the Rock dolphin cruise
• →Optional dolphin swim (~£120)
• →Ferry to Russell alternative (~£12)

InterCity coach Paihia → Auckland via Opononi (~£35, 5h) with stops around the Hokianga Harbour; the coach route passes near Waipoua Forest — the kauri giants Tane Mahuta and Te Matua Ngahere are reachable with a short detour or a Footprints Waipoua guided night walk if you have time. Arrive Auckland evening, walk the Viaduct and book a hostel in Ponsonby or the CBD.

🚌Coach ~£35

🛏Auckland hostel (~£30–45)

• →Hokianga Harbour
• →Waipoua Forest kauri (optional detour)
• →Auckland Viaduct evening

SkyBus or the Airport Express from the CBD to Auckland Airport (~£10, 45 min). If you have time before the flight, the free Devonport ferry view on the harbour or the Auckland Museum (£15) fills a morning.

🚌SkyBus ~£10

🛏Departure

• →Airport SkyBus