Day 01: Christchurch > Lake Tekapo

We took a red-eye flight thinking it would be a great idea because it aligned with Gemma's usual night sleep.

Wah, wrong call.

She was so excited and overstimulated because this was the first trip where she was more aware of the plane and surroundings. She stayed awake way past bedtime and only slept around 4am. By then she was overtired, cranky and basically cried the plane down.

Luckily we managed to coax her to sleep eventually, but she only got around 3-4 hours of sleep before we landed.

After landing in Christchurch, we collected our car and that was when we realised one of the designated drivers could not drive because he did not bring his actual physical driving licence.

First stop after leaving the airport was Woolworths to stock up for the first house. There is one right after you exit Christchurch airport, which is very convenient for families doing a self-drive trip.

From there, it was a long first day: drive to lunch, then continue to our Airbnb near Lake Tekapo.

We stayed one night in Lake Tekapo mainly for the stargazing around the Church of the Good Shepherd area. The sky is beautiful, but with kids, please also prepare yourself for the post-flight meltdown.

That night, because Gemma barely slept on the flight, she cried nonstop for almost 2 hours between 10pm to 12am before finally falling asleep.

So parents, mentally prepare. The first day may not be the cute dreamy road-trip day you imagine. But kids are adaptable lah. By the next day, she settled much better.

Day 02: Lake Tekapo > Mount Cook > Twizel

We checked out and went to Jack Rabbit Cafe near the lake for breakfast. The view here is insane, and the food was pretty good too.

After exploring Lake Tekapo, we drove towards the Mount Cook area and stopped at Mt Cook Alpine Salmon for salmon sashimi.

Just note that this is more of a takeaway stop. There is no proper dine-in seating inside, so you buy the salmon and eat outside at the benches around the shop.

After that, we continued towards Mount Cook for a short hike and some views.

If you are travelling with a baby or toddler, please remember they may suddenly decide to sleep at the exact timing you are supposed to hike. Be prepared to baby-carry 9-10kg up the trail. Make sure you have the strength for that haha.

We stayed in Twizel instead of Mount Cook because it made the drive to Queenstown shorter the next day.

For this trip, we were really covering the main areas and changing accommodation almost every 1-2 nights. If you have more time, I would recommend slowing down and staying longer in each place.

By the time we reached Twizel, it was already nightfall, so we just had dinner at the Airbnb and called it a night.

Day 03: Twizel > Queenstown

We started with breakfast at Mint Folk & Co after checking out, then drove from Twizel towards Queenstown.

Along the way, High Country Salmon was a much better salmon stop for us compared with the Mount Cook one. You can feed salmon there, the stop feels more complete, and there is food as well.

If you need a pit stop between Twizel and Queenstown, I would consider this one.

This was also the day we underestimated how much time we needed with 2 toddlers.

We had an Onsen Hot Pools booking in Queenstown, but because of the drive, toddler timing and our own poor buffer, we missed it.

Travelling with kids can be unpredictable, so if you are booking anything with a strict timing, please buffer properly. I would say be prepared to miss 10-20% of what you planned for the day.

And again, New Zealand speed limits are strict. We tried to rush and got stopped by the police. No chance given.

After that, we checked into our Queenstown Airbnb, explored town, bought groceries and had dinner.

Day 04: Milford Sound day tour

We booked a day tour to Milford Sound instead of self-driving because the drivers really needed a break.

The tour came with a bus and several photo stops on the way to the cruise. I specifically picked an Airbnb near the pickup point because the pickup was around 7:30am and we had two toddlers with us.

With kids, walking distance to pickup point matters a lot.

That said, the pickup process was quite stressful. We were only told to wait for a bus with a specific logo, but there were many tour buses coming to the same area. The bus was also late, so we kept wondering whether we had missed it.

Thankfully the right bus appeared in the end and off we went.

If you are deciding between Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound, my honest take is this:

Milford Sound is better if you want something beautiful but straightforward. It is still a long day, around 10 hours in total, but it is good enough for a been-there-done-that experience.

Doubtful Sound is for those who have more time and want the full overnight cruise plus internet detox. But our experience was affected badly by weather, so continue reading before you decide.

We got back quite late, grabbed dinner near town and called it a night.

Day 05: Queenstown shopping day

This was supposed to be our skydiving day, but it got cancelled because of the weather.

In fact, this became a running theme of the trip. So many things got cancelled that at some point I was just like… okay lah, shopping it is.

We had Ferg Burger for lunch. It was good, but the queue was insane.

Then we went up the gondola for the luge, all ready to play, and guess what?

Cancelled again due to weather.

Yuppp.

So we went back down to town for more shopping before dinner at FINZ Seafood & Grill. I would recommend FINZ because the food was pretty good.

After that, back to the Airbnb to pack because we were checking out the next day.

Day 06: Doubtful Sound overnight cruise

This was our Doubtful Sound Cruise day.

The journey there was long. We drove to the main cruise centre, parked overnight, took a small boat, changed to a bus, then changed to the actual cruise again.

By the time we boarded the cruise itself, half the day was already gone.

What we totally did not expect was zero internet connection. Like really zero.

Some of us had work to clear, so it was a shock. There was also no option to buy internet onboard. It became an instant internet detox whether we liked it or not.

The experience of sleeping overnight in the fjord was actually calming and quite nice. The surroundings were beautiful and peaceful.

But because of the bad weather, the extra onboard activities were all cancelled. We mostly stayed inside the cruise for 2 days and 1 night.

So would I recommend it? If you have time, like the slow nature experience and are okay with no internet, yes. But if you are short on days or easily affected by cancelled activities, Milford Sound is safer.

Day 07: Doubtful Sound > Wanaka

We had breakfast on the cruise, then took all the transport back to the main cruise area.

After collecting our car, we drove to Wanaka for one night.

I actually wished we stayed a bit longer in Wanaka because the accommodation was the nicest one of the whole trip. The view right outside was gorgeous, like postcard level, and there was a huge lawn area for the kids to run around.

But the famous Wanaka Tree itself was honestly underwhelming to me.

It is really just a tree standing in the water. If you are already passing by, okay can see. But if you need to specially detour for it, I would say do not need.

We also wanted to try a famous restaurant there, but it was fully booked. So please make dinner reservations beforehand, especially in smaller towns where there are fewer options.

Day 08: Wanaka > Franz Josef

We checked out and drove to Franz Josef because we wanted to take the heli ride over the glaciers.

Kids below 2 were allowed, so we were very excited.

But guess what?

Cancelled again because of the weather.

At this point, it really felt like the whole trip was just a road trip with no activities done.

We went to see a "glacier", but honestly there was not much glacier left to see. There was also another onsen in town that I wanted to try since we missed the Queenstown one, but it was fully reserved and we did not have any spare days.

This is why, if you come in winter, I would recommend staying 2-3 nights in key places so you have space for reschedules. Do not copy us and stay only 1 night in most towns if your main activities are weather-dependent.

Dinner saved the night though. We had a good meal and good wine, so at least the day ended nicely.

Our Airbnb also had an outdoor onsen pool, but with the cold weather, toddler bedtime and pure tiredness, we had no energy to set it up after the kids slept. Every night we just wanted to KO.

Day 09: Franz Josef > Greymouth > Christchurch

We tried our luck again with the heli ride in the morning before leaving.

This time our hopes were high because we were already suited up and brought to the helipad. Then suddenly the pilot made the call to cancel because of weather.

What a trip.

This was also where we parted ways with the rest of the family because our flight home was from Auckland. There was no more redemption flight back from Christchurch, and I was not going to pay for business class flights as usual.

So we had to make our way to the North Island.

We returned the car and took the TranzAlpine train from Greymouth to Christchurch for one night before collecting our campervan the next day.

The train ride was around 4 hours and scenic. Finally, an activity that Gemma actually got to experience.

After reaching Christchurch, we checked into our hotel and had dinner around the hotel area.

Day 10: Christchurch > campervan pickup

We had half a day in Christchurch before collecting the campervan.

This day was actually fun because the weather was finally nice and we managed to do proper activities: punting boat, Riverside Market, tram around the city and playground.

Then we went to pick up the campervan, and this was where the trip went wrong.

First, we underestimated how long the campervan handover and introduction would take.

By the time we left for the holiday park, it was already late. The drive also took much longer than expected because campervans are not like normal cars. You cannot drive fast or everything starts falling around inside.

We wanted to drive to a campsite near the Interislander ferry terminal, about 500m away, so that we would not need to wake up early the next morning. But what I researched as a 4-hour drive became closer to 6 hours, so we had to stop at another campsite further away.

By then, we were tired, anxious and had zero mood to cook or wash up.

And because it was winter, eating outside the campervan was impossible. Walking to and from the shower facilities was also torture because it was so cold.

By this point, we already knew the campervan was a bad call for this itinerary.

We also thought Gemma could sleep on the bed while we drove, but nope. Everyone must be seated and buckled up while the campervan is moving. So honestly, for our kind of fast road trip, it was not much better than a normal car.

Day 11: South Island > North Island ferry > Lake Taupo

Thye woke up super early to continue driving because what was supposed to be a 10-minute drive to the ferry became around 2 hours from our substitute rest stop.

Thank god we made it.

We had proper breakfast onboard the ferry, so at least that part was okay. After reaching the North Island, we continued with the campervan and headed towards Lake Taupo.

Please do not be crazy like me and plan 3-4 days around Auckland/North Island with a campervan and long distances.

When we returned the campervan later, the staff was shocked we drove more than 300km in 3 days. Apparently most people do around 100km plus. I also do not know how we did it.

Kudos to Thye because he really pushed through the heavy driving. I took over some parts, but he did most of the heavy lifting.

The North Island days were better because we finally managed to do more activities, although some still got cancelled.

We stopped by a fish shop for lunch before heading to a holiday park at Lake Taupo.

We chose holiday parks instead of freedom camping because we did not want to use the campervan toilet or shower and then deal with clearing everything. It is definitely more expensive, about $60 per night, but in winter, freedom camping did not feel fun to us.

The campervan became more like a movable hotel: drive, park at facility, sleep. That's all.

Day 12: Lake Taupo > Agrodome > Rotorua

We stopped at Lake Taupo because we wanted to take the floatplane.

Cancelled due to wet weather again.

But the never-say-die spirit in me kicked in. At this point, Gemma had only properly experienced the train ride, so I found a 10-minute heli ride that was willing to take us up.

Better than nothing.

We actually had another heli ride booked the next day, but my hopes were already so low that I just took whatever activity could still happen.

After that, we went to Agrodome Farm.

This was pretty fun for kids because there was a tram ride and we could feed animals like sheep, alpaca and elk. The only thing was the rain made everything muddy, so we did not enjoy it as much as we could have.

There was also a sheep show with audience interaction, and of course I had to volunteer Gemma up.

Overall, I think Agrodome is a good pit stop if you are travelling with kids.

After that, we headed to Rotorua city and treated ourselves to a proper steak dinner after surviving the campervan drives.

Day 13: Rotorua > Auckland

We went back to try the floatplane again, but the plane was taken out because of the weather and would be unavailable for a few days.

They changed us to a helicopter ride instead, and this time, luck was finally on our side.

We managed to take it.

Even though we already did a short heli ride the day before, this one was a bigger helicopter and took off from the lake, so it still felt like a different experience. I still think the floatplane would have been awesome though.

And guess what? We were the last ride before the rest of the flights for the day got cancelled again.

So yes, if you want to follow this itinerary, I would really recommend using it for spring or summer instead.

After that, we went to Rotorua Skyline Luge.

This was not in my original plan, but because the Queenstown luge got cancelled and I was so sian from all the failed activities, we decided to just go for it.

NO REGRETS.

The luge was so fun. It is very different from Sentosa in terms of route, scenery and speed. Highly recommend if you have time.

Because of this last-minute luge plan, we chiong-ed to Auckland later than expected.

The moment we reached Auckland city, we were so happy because we were basically done with the campervan portion. We even booked a hotel for the night because we just wanted a proper shower and a normal room.

Thankfully, we found a hotel that could accommodate campervan parking.

Life felt normal again haha.

We spent the rest of the day around Viaduct Harbour for lunch and Japanese skewers for dinner, then went back to the hotel to rest properly.

Day 14: Auckland > return campervan > home

We checked out and went to return the campervan.

They have a shuttle that can bring you to the airport, but please buffer extra time for drop-off, checks and the shuttle timing.

Also remember to dump rubbish, waste and water before returning the campervan.

Overall, the campervan itself was not bad. It just did not suit my very packed itinerary.

I think campervan would be better if you fly into Auckland and do a slower 4-5 day route nearby, with 1-2 hour drives between campsites and activities. Not our 4-5 hour drive per journey kind of madness.

If you ask me to plan this again, I would either:

• spend 14 days just on South Island, or
• do 19-21 days if I really want to cover both South and North Island properly.

This trip was too kiasu even for me.

It was actually the first time I felt more tired on a trip than back in Singapore. We were so glad to be home.

But I still really love New Zealand.

It is SO pretty, so calming and so picturesque everywhere. I would not mind going back again, just with a slower plan next time.