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South Island

Table of Contents:
Regions / Cities / Other destinations / Culture and History / Get around / South Island (New Zealand) attractions and sightseeing / City tours / Good restaurants and cheap meals / South Island (New Zealand) nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs. / Hotels, youth hostels, lodging / Stay safe / Get out

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The South Island of New Zealand is much smaller in population but larger in land area than the North Island. Spectacular alps and fiords, large beech forests, beautiful beaches and sounds in the north. If it declared independence from its smaller, more consumptive and less productive northern neighbour, the South Island would be one of the richest countries in the world and traditionally claims to be the Mainland with many residents proudly proclaiming themselves 'Mainlanders'

Regions

Marlborough
Nelson Tasman or Top of the South (includes Golden Bay)
West Coast including Buller and Westland
Canterbury
Otago
Southland

Cities

The South Island has several cities; these are some of the more prominent:

Christchurch - the largest city in the South Island, the only International Airport in the South Island with a cross runway.
Dunedin
Invercargill
Nelson - favourite tourist destination of Kiwis themselves
Wanaka

Other destinations

Culture and History

The South Island of New Zealand is the larger of the two main islands though it has fewer people and is sometimes referred to as the 'Mainland' - especially by South Islanders. Geographically it is dominated by the Southern Alps and the Canterbury Plains.

Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill and Nelson are the main cities, though the main attractions are rarely in the cities. All four cities are very different. Christchurch is the largest and has a certain Englishness to it though it is definitely a New World city. Dunedin was settled by Scottish Presbyterians and is very proud of those roots. It also feels older than other cities in NZ because it was built by goldrush money in the late 19th century but has since been surpassed by bigger and brasher cities to the north. Nelson is still very young by European standards (although it was the second founded city in New Zealand) but has a very South Pacific feel with palm trees and a huge and beautiful white sand beach. Nelson's bay is sheltered and vacationer-friendly.

It should be noted that beautiful beaches are a dime a dozen in NZ, and some of the best do not average one visitor per day.

There is a minority movement for independence - often somewhat tongue in cheek.*[1]

Much of the travel interest is in the smaller towns: Queenstown; Wanaka; Kaikoura; Te Anau; Hokitika; Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers. Other attractions are notable for the lack of towns: Fiordland, Marlborough Sounds, the Southern Alps.

Get around

Buses are a cheap way to get around the South Island. InterCity Coachlines is New Zealand’s national coach company with daily services connecting all over the South Island. It’s sister company Newmans coaches provides premium tourist point to point travel and daily sightseeing tours to all major tourist destinations including Mt Cook, Milford Sound and the West coast Glaciers of Foxand Franz Josef Glaciers. InterCity also offer the New Zealand’s most versatile transport called Flexi-Pass. Flexi-Pass. is sold in blocks of time, just like a prepaid phone card, and enables the holder to travel anywhere on the company’s extensive network. Passes start at 15hrs, which is enough o travel from Auckland to Wellington in the North Island. Flexi-Pass hours can also be used to travel on the Interislander ferry and on Kings Dolphin Cruises to Cape Brett and the famous “Hole in the Rock”. There are a number of smaller bus companies who operate no frills shuttle services. Many roads in the South Island are winding, so travelling a long distance in a bus can be a safe and relaxing way to travel.

South Island (New Zealand) attractions and sightseeing

Spectacular scenery

City tours

The South Island has become the home of Adventure Tourism. That is, ordinary people being encouraged to do crazy things; such as jumping off a bridge with a rubber band tied to their ankles, riding in a jet boat or rubber raft.

Things to do include:

Otago Central Rail Trail A 150km trail on disused railway lines between Clyde and Middlemarch for walking, cycling and horse riding.

Good restaurants and cheap meals

Crayfish - from the seas around Kaikoura
Mussels - farmed in the Marlborough Sounds
Scallops - from the seabed off of Nelson
Lamb

South Island (New Zealand) nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs.

Wine - from Marlborough or Cental Otago.
Beer - watch out for the local brews.
Fruit Juice - in Cental Otago.

Hotels, youth hostels, lodging

Amber House, 46 Weka Street, Nelson +64-21-202 4961, [2]. Open all year, basic bed and breakfast in a lovely 1897 Villa that used to be a School for Girls and little boys. Traditional Rose Garden with the oldest walnut tree in the South Island hidden away at the back of the plot. One of the few that still offers a cooked breakfast. No satellite TV but it does have very fast Broadband. Quiet until the owner's kids come home from school when it's bedlam until they go to bed about 20:30hrs. I've got to declare an interest in that I'm an editor of Wikipedia articles on Amber and Cabragh Houses...NZ$69 - NZ$80 single - double (party of 4 from NZ$37pppn)