This morning you collect your Maui Ultima 2-berth campervan from the Auckland Māngere depot. Your self-drive adventure begins. Head south through lush green countryside to Waitomo. At 12:30 pm, gear up for the legendary Black Labyrinth Tour. Float down an underground river, jump off waterfalls and drift beneath a glittering ceiling of glowworms inside Ruakuri Cave. Duration: 3 hours. Continue through farmland and lake country to Rotorua, New Zealand’s most dramatically geothermal city. Check into your holiday park powered site for the night.

Start the morning at Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. Walk at your own pace past vivid orange and emerald volcanic features on well-defined tracks. Allow 90 minutes. Head south past Huka Falls and the vast Lake Taupo. Continue through the volcanic landscape of Tongariro National Park, dominated by Ruapehu, Tongariro and Ngauruhoe. Drive through hill country and along the Kapiti Coast to reach Wellington, New Zealand’s vibrant capital. Check into your holiday park for two nights.

A full day to discover Wellington. Begin at Zealandia Eco-sanctuary, a lush native forest just 13 minutes from the CBD. It is home to over 40 rare species including tuatara and kiwi. Head to Miramar for the Weta Workshop Tour. Expert guides take you behind the scenes of the studio behind The Lord of the Rings and Avatar. Finish the afternoon with a Wellington Cable Car return trip from Lambton Quay. Enjoy spectacular views across the city and harbour from the Kelburn lookout.

An early start for the iconic Interislander Ferry from Wellington to Picton. It departs at 8:45am and your campervan travels with you. The 3.5-hour crossing through the Marlborough Sounds is one of the world’s most beautiful ferry journeys. From Picton, drive the dramatic Pacific Coast Road south. Stop at Ohau Point to spot the fur seal colony. Pass through the whale-watching town of Kaikoura and continue through the Waipara wine region to Christchurch. Check into the Sudima Christchurch Airport Hotel for a well-deserved night’s rest.

Today’s drive is one of New Zealand’s most spectacular routes. Head north-west across the Canterbury Plains and into the Southern Alps via Arthur’s Pass. Descend into the raw, lush beauty of the West Coast. At Punakaiki, walk the short paved track to the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. These layered limestone formations date back 30 million years. At high tide, blowholes send enormous walls of spray into the air. Allow 45 minutes. Check into Punakaiki Beach Camp for the night.

Enjoy stunning seascapes as you drive south from Punakaiki to Greymouth. Continue through Hokitika, known for its pounamu (greenstone) and rainforest treetop walk. Head further south to the Glacier region. Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers are among the most accessible glaciers in the world. Rivers of ice tumble down valleys into lush temperate rainforest – it is a landscape unlike anywhere else on Earth. Settle in at Franz Josef Holiday Park for the night.

This morning, join a guided Franz Josef Glacier Nature Walk with Glacier Valley Eco Tours. Wander through ancient podocarp rainforest, discovering wild orchids, glacial rivers and mountain waterfalls. A hot drink is included. Duration: 3 hours. The road south passes through Haast, the Blue Pools and Thunder Creek Falls. Continue through Queenstown and on to Te Anau, the gateway to Fiordland National Park. Arrive at your holiday park on the shores of Lake Te Anau for the evening.

Today you enter one of the most remote places on Earth. From Manapouri, cruise across Lake Manapouri and travel by coach through dense Fiordland rainforest to your vessel. Spend the afternoon cruising Doubtful Sound’s hidden coves and waterways, watching for dolphins and fur seals. Explore the shoreline by kayak or tender boat. Enjoy a three-course buffet dinner on board, then spend the night in a private cabin with ensuite bathroom. Wake to a hearty cooked breakfast before returning to Manapouri.

Depart Manapouri and travel through the southern lakes, past Kingston and along the shores of Lake Wakatipu with The Remarkables mountain range as your backdrop. Pass through Queenstown and continue north-east through the Kawarau Gorge and golden tussock landscape of the Mackenzie Basin. Arrive at Lake Tekapo, where the Church of the Good Shepherd sits solitary on the lakeshore framed by the Southern Alps. The skies above Lake Tekapo are among the darkest in the Southern Hemisphere.

Drive one hour to Aoraki Mt Cook National Park for a guided Hooker Valley Walk. Pass two swing bridges and a terminal glacier lake filled with icebergs. Allow 4 hours. Return to Tekapo and visit the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre at the Hermitage Hotel. In the evening, travel by bus to Mt John Observatory for the Dark Sky Summit Experience. Expert astronomy guides bring the Southern night sky to life. The Milky Way, star clusters, planets and distant galaxies are yours to discover. Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes.

A final morning at Lake Tekapo before driving east across the Canterbury Plains to Christchurch. Drop your campervan at the Maui Christchurch depot. Transfer to the Distinction Christchurch Hotel in the city for your final night. Christchurch has reinvented itself as one of New Zealand’s most vibrant and creative destinations. The evening is yours to enjoy.

Enjoy a final cooked breakfast at the Distinction Christchurch Hotel. Transfer to Christchurch Airport for your departing flight. Thirteen days, twelve nights and two extraordinary islands. We hope to see you back in New Zealand soon.