SOUTH ROAD TRIP JAN 2026

A quick account of my last road trip South – for my archive & for vicarious travel & research!

After staying home all Xmas holidays I knew I needed to do another rod trip South, to pickup the De Vere 507 enlarger (relocation post here) – I started sound design on the film Black Sheep 2 early Feb, so I also knew it needed to be before then! And while I could have caught the ferry & driven straight down & back in 3 days, thats not how I roll. When given an opportunity my ethos is to maximise the possibilities from it.

This trip was faster than my last road trip South – then 10 days & this time: 7 days. This trip I also travelled anticlockwise, last time was clockwise. For example on both trips I cross Haast Pass, but each time in a different direction, which encourages having different experiences.

I’ll do a quick day-by-day account below, with links to where I stayed. I had a great experience every single day, but a few times only because I chose to. I could easily have had a sub par experience if not for exerting myself. Overall, an excellent Summer road trip – 3 days down the West Coast, a few days in Central Otago with an epic 4WD mission, and a few rainy days on the East Coast on my way home.

This was my route:

Here’s where I went:

SUNDAY JAN 18 WELLINGTON 8AM > BLUEBRIDGE FERRY > PICTON > PUNAKAIKI – N1
JAN 19 PUNAKAIKI > LAKE KANIERE > HAAST – N2
JAN 20 HAAST > JACKSON BAY > HAAST PASS – N3
JAN 21 HAAST PASS > CLYDE > OBELISK > CLYDE – N4
JAN 22 CLYDE > OBELISK > MIDDLEMARCH > DUNEDIN – N5
JAN 23 DUNEDIN > PALMERSTON > WAIMATE > ASHBURTON – N6
JAN 24 ASHBURTON > BLENHEIM – N7
SUNDAY JAN 25 BLENHEIM > PICTON 2PM > BLUEBRIDGE FERRY > HOME

SUNDAY JAN 18: BLUEBRIDGE FERRY > PUNAKAIKI – N1

As usual I was up early on a Sunday morning, and caught the 8am Bluebridge ferry. I had been a little nervous as the particular ferry I was booked on in both directions, a week prior developed a fault which meant one crossing went from Wellington to Picton and back to Picton, as the huge ramp that we drive down to get off the ferry failed. They got it back to Welli, and unloaded using three cranes to lower the ramp. Me reading the news: which ferry is it? Oh shit, the same one I am booked on. I checked alt bookings and A WARNING: all ferries by all companies was booked out until late February! If you don’t plan ahead during peak season you will NOT be crossing.

But my fears went away when 2 days after the issue, the ferry was back running reliably. Kudos to the engineers who would have dealt to the issue, and to capitalism as with totally booked out schedule, even a day offline is costing the owners a LOT! AND causing chaos, ruining holidays etc… I read of people who had to be back for work so had no other choice but to leave their vehicles, fly home & return later to get their vehicles.

AGAIN: if you are travelling during peak times – holidays, school holidays etc – book your ferry crossings by at last a month ahead. Of course weather can mess with your plans, and for the ferries the weather to be aware of is large Southerly swells. Check the usual YR.no and Metservice etc in the days leading up to your ferry crossing, but closer to the time Swellmap is more valuable.

I was off the ferry & in sunny Picton by soon after midday, and headed towards Blenheim and then cruising down the Wairau Valley, impressed by how little traffic there was – as per avoiding rush hour in Welli to get to the ferry, another Sunday bonus! My next stop was Murchison for a quick visit to a fave junk store, with main scores being some small resonant metal tools. Filled up with gas & back on the road soon after, through beech forests and out to the West Coast. I arrived to Punakaiki about 5.30pm and checked in to my accomodation for the night. While I planned to camp out as much as possible, for the first night I booked a ‘River-side cabin’ at Punakaiki Beach Camp.. If you like campgrounds then it is excellent, and not to rain on anyones parade but after getting the keys to my cabin my stomach filled with dread as I very slowly drive through the campground, with tents, camper vans etc everywhere… Thankfully, the river side cabins are a short walk away from the hoi polloi, and once I got to my cabin it was quiet & calm. But the cabins consisted of a super comfy bed, a small fridge & kettle & a little deck with a couple of chairs – all with a view through flax to the river.

As I started to think about dinner, the idea of using the shared cooking facilities similarly filled me with dread, so I headed back out & went for a drive, looking for somewhere both deserted & scenic, to have a BBQ for dinner. I tried a few options North of Punakaiki but all were busy so I drove South, past a turn off to a freedom camping beach side spot (McMillan Road Freedom Camping Area) which I knew would also be busy & eventually I turned off the main road & drove out Burke Rd… to an epic & empty beach! The spot is known as Barrytown Marine Reserve -Punakaiki It is not a camping site…

After being up since 5am it felt like the first time I could stop, soak up the atmosphere, breathe in the salty air & chill the fck out.

drone view looking South, towards Greymouth:

drone view looking South, towards Punakaiki:

I parked so as to use the car to shelter my BBQ from the light wind off the sea, and spent a blissful couple of hours, eating, drinking, flying the drone etc… I was amused by how an aerial top-down view these tracks looked simultaneously both ancient and bogan….

Sunset wasn’t until 9.09pm so I had no rush, and eventually drove back to Punakaiki & had a very peaceful sleep in my cabin. Despite my misgivings about campgrounds, I was impressed how quiet & private the riverside cabins were…

DAY 2
I was up earlyish, had a shower (the campground was busy even at 7am!) – I checked out & drove North a bit, to find a spot by the beach to make some toast on the BBQ & have some ice coffee. I knew I had a 5+ hour drive to my next destination, plus an hour or two of stopping to take photos, so it was going to be a big day. While the Punakaiki rocks & blow holes are an essential stop if you’ve never been before, I’ve been so many times I will now only allocate time to a visit if I know the storm is raging & the blow holes will be worth recording. On a sunny calm day, they are still worth a visit but ideal conditions are high tide & a big swell. In all my visits I’ve only encountered ideal conditions twice… and it was scary/fantastic!! But also interesting to see all the development around the area has been completed, with shops & paid parking dominating.

As it was a calm sunny day – hot, even! – I got on the road, & headed South to Greymouth with a constant eye on the weather as my main aim for the day was to revisit a photo location at Lake Kaneiere. I have shot it 2 or 3 times before, but never in ideal conditions, whatever they are lol. I stopped there on the way home on my last road trip, and shot it with XPAN and with the Linhof Technorama… Those results were good, but it was drizzling & I was pushed for time – this time the weather was good & I planned so as to spend an hour or two there, to explore possibilities & get a shot!

Onwards….