The South Island Glacier Loop: A 10-Day Campervan Itinerary from Christchurch

Quick summary: This ten-day campervan loop from Christchurch visits glaciers on both sides of the Southern Alps. It crosses Arthur’s Pass to the West Coast, spends three nights at Franz Josef and Fox, crosses the Haast Pass to Wānaka, then heads over the Lindis Pass to Aoraki/Mount Cook and the Tasman Glacier, before returning through the Mackenzie Basin. It’s around 1,250 km, with spare mornings for the weather on both sides of the mountains.

At a glance
Length	10 days, 9 nights
Start and finish	Christchurch loop
Total driving	Around 1,250 km
Glaciers	Franz Josef, Fox, Tasman, Hooker and Mueller
Longest day	Around 330 km, Mount Cook Village to Christchurch
Highlights	Arthur’s Pass, a West Coast heli-hike or flight, Lake Matheson, the Haast Pass, the Hooker Valley

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What does the loop look like?

Day	Route	Distance	Highlights
1	Christchurch to Arthur’s Pass	Around 150 km	Castle Hill, Devils Punchbowl Falls
2	Arthur’s Pass to Hokitika	Around 100 km	Ōtira Viaduct, Hokitika Gorge
3	Hokitika to Franz Josef	Around 135 km	Lake Mapourika, the hot pools
4	Franz Josef	Local only	Heli-hike or flight; the glacier valley
5	Franz Josef to Fox Glacier	Around 25 km	Spare morning; Lake Matheson at sunset
6	Fox Glacier to Haast	Around 120 km	Lake Matheson at dawn, Knights Point, Ship Creek
7	Haast to Wānaka	Around 140 km	The Blue Pools, Thunder Creek Falls
8	Wānaka to Mount Cook Village	Around 210 km	The Lindis Pass, Lake Pukaki, Peters Lookout
9	Aoraki/Mount Cook	Local only	Hooker Valley, Tasman Lake, a ski-plane flight
10	Mount Cook Village to Christchurch	Around 330 km	Lake Tekapo, the Canterbury Plains

Days 1 to 3: Over the Alps to Franz Josef

Cross Arthur’s Pass to the West Coast, stopping at Castle Hill, the Ōtira Viaduct and Hokitika, and arrive at Franz Josef on Day 3. See Christchurch to the glaciers and Franz Josef by campervan.

Days 4 and 5: The West Coast glaciers

Take a heli-hike, a snow-landing flight or a twin glacier flight on Day 4, with Day 5’s morning as a back-up. Move on to Fox Glacier for Lake Matheson at sunset. See glacier experiences.

Days 6 and 7: South Westland and the Haast Pass

Drive the wild coast south to Haast, then cross the pass to Wānaka, with waterfalls, the Blue Pools and lakeside lookouts along the way. See Haast by campervan.

Days 8 and 9: Aoraki/Mount Cook

Cross the Lindis Pass and drive along Lake Pukaki to Mount Cook Village, staying two nights at White Horse Hill or one there and one in Twizel. Walk the Hooker Valley, visit the Tasman Glacier viewpoint, or take a boat trip or ski-plane flight. See Aoraki/Mount Cook Village by campervan.

Day 10: Back to Christchurch

Drive through the Mackenzie Basin, with a stop at Lake Tekapo, and across the Canterbury Plains to Christchurch. If you can, add an eleventh day and break the journey at Tekapo.

Can you drive this RV loop in the other direction?

Yes. Going anticlockwise visits Mount Cook first and finishes over Arthur’s Pass. Both directions work; clockwise puts the West Coast early in the trip, when there’s more flexibility to wait for the weather, while anticlockwise saves the West Coast for later.

How can you change the loop?

• Add Queenstown between Wānaka and Mount Cook, around 70 km from Wānaka.
• Add Lake Tekapo as an overnight on Day 10.
• Shorten it by dropping Hokitika and driving from Arthur’s Pass to Franz Josef in one day.

For the full South Island picture, see our sister site’s South Island 10-day loop.

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Frequently Asked Questions