Milford Sound, Monkey Creek by Trey Ratcliff (Creative Commons)
A road trip through New Zealand is the best way to see the country’s amazing and diverse natural beauty, including jagged mountains, scenic beaches, steep fiords, rolling pasture lands, active volcanoes, trout-filled lakes and raging rivers. Not only does New Zealand provides a variety of accommodation facilities for anyone on a trip in the country, but it’s one of the most popular family holiday destinations this year too!
There are quality hotels, luxurious lodges, camping grounds and sites in many places around the country, and the larger cities have restaurants that offer excellent meals for travelers. A 460-mile road connecting Wellington and Auckland is the best stretch to see most of the diverse parts of the country, and other great roads include Gentle Annie and Twin bridges roads. Let’s take a look at New Zealand’s Best Road Trips.
The Lost World Highway
The Lost World Highway is the oldest road trip route in New Zealand. It stretches for 160km from the North Island central plateau, across the Taranaki mighty mountain and the west coast. The route passes across crinkly landscape and through dense forests, tunnels and gorges, and people traveling through this route have the chance to see some of the best sights and attractions in the country. From the highest waterfall in the North Island, to the unforgettable Tangarakau George, there’s so much to see and do here that it’s hard to know where to start.
Mount Taranaki (Creative Commons)
Milford Sound Drive
Milford Sound Drive has some of the must-see attractions in New Zealand. The 120km drive stretches from Te Anau across the south island to the Milford Sound, and there are numerous historical monuments on this route, including incredible landscapes, lakes, open plains, forests and mountains.
Some of the most popular natural attractions for families include beautiful rivers of roaring water, the Homer Tunnel architecture, mirror lakes, Key Summit hiking and the towering Southern Alps. Additionally, there are campsites along the Milford Sound Drive for families to base themselves while exploring the area.
The Catlins Route
The Catlins are located on the southeastern corner of south island of New Zealand, and this route presents people with rugged beauty, stunning waterfalls, vistas trees and epic coastal spots. It is also home to numerous wonderful sights and attractions such as the gentle sloping mainland of New Zealand, a massively stunning blowhole, spectacular cliff tops, waterfalls, forests and colonies of sea lions. This is archetypal New Zealand and if that’s what you’re looking for then the Catlins Route is the one for you – try grab yourself a flight at http://www.cheapflights.com.au/flights-to-New-Zealand/ before the winter months really set in.
West Coast of the South Island?
The New Zealand South Island West Coast drive route is one of the best trips in the world. The most popular stretch of road can be found from Greymouth through Arthurs’ Pass National Park to Haast Pass. The trip is made more interesting by mountain ranges covering the South Island with peaks that are 3000m high.
Additionally, tourists are normally attracted by blue glaciers and glacier rivers, surfing beaches, geological spots, lush forests, Maori sculptures, the State Highway 73 curvy road and possum pies. Thankfully, there are a variety of accommodation facilities including luxurious guesthouses, cozy hostels and remote campsites, however it may take three days to completely explore the west coast.
