How I plan a 2-Day South Island Road Trip: Wanaka to Tekapo

Doing a road trip in South Island means you have many mountains and lakes as your companions. In this article, I’ll share where I stop and do along the way from Queenstown to Christchurch in 2 days. Here’s my itinerary for your reference:

Departure from Queenstown > Cromwell > Wanaka Town (stay 1 night in neighbor town - Albert town) > Mount Iron Track > Lake Pukaki > Lake Tekapo > Christchurch

Table of Contents

• 1. Cromwell

• 2. Wanaka Lavendar Farm

• 3. Lake Wanaka

  • Nature - Mount Iron Track

  • Food - Coco Hut Asian Food Truck

  • Food - The Black Cat Wanaka

  • Food - Big Fig Wanaka

• 4. Lake Pukaki

• 5. Lake Tekapo

1. Cromwell

50 minute drive from Queenstown, a fruit town. Here you can buy fresh fruit and relatively cheap honey (compared to those sold in Queenstown shopping center). I personally stopped by a store called Jackson Orchards and bought one jar of honey, which costs $17.99NZ for 375g. I also saw their Manuka honey sold at $39.99NZ, which is very competitive and I recommend you to buy here if you are interested.

2. Wanaka Lavendar Farm

40 minute drive from Cromwell. I spotted this place on google map by chance and was thinking why not taking a look, so I did. Even though it’s kinda out of season when I visited (the Lavender season in South Island is between December to January, and I was in South Island in February), I still saw some. I didn’t buy ticket to get inside the farm but I went to their nice store to check out some lavender products. If you are interested buying things like lavender oil & soap, you may want to visit here since it’s on the way. And also, they provide restroom, so it’s a good chance to release your needs. 😂

3. Lake Wanaka

5 minute drive from Wanaka Lavendar Farm, Wanaka Tree is an iconic landmark in town. People say the tree is beautiful, but I was indifferent to it when I saw it lol. I actually enjoy Pembroke Park and Wanaka Station Park nearby more.

Nature - Mount Iron Track

3 minute drive from Wanaka Town (where Wanaka Tree is located) and Albert Town (where my Airbnb is located), recommended by my airbnb host and I love it! You can park your car here and start to hike from there. I love it because you can see the whole Wanaka Lake at a higher point. And on top there are some boards that tell you the evolution of the lake. That’s Interesting, isn’t it!

Food - Coco Hut Asian Food Truck

In Wanaka Town. If you have Asian appetite like me, this is where you can go. Where it is located is actually a mini food truck park I would say, and you have other options like Mexican food and Pizza there to choose from.

Food - The Black Cat Wanaka 

In Wanaka Town. As someone born in Boba kingdom Taiwan, I swear to get one wherever I visit a country. It’s so interesting to see how the boba is adopted into local preference around the world and surprising to see some of them are almost as authentic as what we have here (Leak: except those boba places in big cities around the world, the most authentic one I have ever had is in Chile!)

Food - Big Fig Wanaka 

In Wanaka Town, recommended by my Airbnb host and I like it as well! You first choose the plate size (Small $17 / Medium $24 / Big $30), and choose the dishes you want. They have vegetarian options as well. The dishes not only look delicious, but also taste fresh! I felt getting healthier after finishing the meal 😊

4. Lake Pukaki

2 hour drive from Wanaka Town. This is actually not in my original plan, I stopped because I was attracted by the unusual color of the lake. The famous Mount Cook can also be seen at this viewpoint. In addition, they provide restroom here 😁. It seems restrooms are available for those viewpoints along the way, so you don’t have to worry about restroom availability at all. If you are not in viewpoint areas, public restrooms are also available in towns (ex: Omarama and Geraldine). And you can spot them quick because there are sign boards when you reach to the towns.

I was actually surprised by the restroom sign in towns, thinking how considerate it is and wondering if this is also related to New Zealand’s early closed business hours? Because stores close at 16:30, restrooms in stores are not available after business hours. To fulfill human’s basic needs, they decided to build public restrooms and put signs in every town. Just my guess. Welcome real info from locals 😄

5. Lake Tekapo

30 minute drive from Lake Pukaki. People come here for 3 reasons:

1. Stargazing

2. Lupine flowers (November - December)

3. Aqua green and pastel blue lake

There are relatively more hotels here than in Wanaka Town. I guess people want to stay over to do stargazing at night. But I’d say you don’t have to insist spending 1 night here to see stars. When I stayed in Albert town, I also saw stars full of sky just right outside my Airbnb. I guess the difference is that stargazing around a lake sounds more romantic 🤣; it’s not Lupine season when I visited in February, which is a shame. But the Aqua green I saw on Wishing Well is very appealing. (video recorded here on my instagram) And if you walk towards The Church of the Good Shepher, the color there is close to pastel blue. Just by looking at the lake, my mind got peaceful instantly. 🧘‍♀️