Top Gear’s guide to the 10 best driving spots in New Zealand

Heard New Zealand is an amazing place for a road trip? You’re not wrong. Late last year I drove a Hyundai Santa Fe some 5,000km around New Zealand, visiting subscribers for a magazine story but mainly touring all the best bits that New Zealand has to offer.

So from North to South, here’s the TG guide to the top 10 places to go if you enjoy driving.

Photography: Rowan Horncastle

1: Muriwai Beach

Now, point of order right at the start. Hire car companies will not thank you for yomping about a beach in a rental Corolla. So don’t tell ‘em. And don’t break down or get stuck. So yeah, we’re off to a flyer here. And there’s more: to drive on many beaches in NZ you need a special permit and have to carry that and a photo ID. The speed limits close to the entrances and exits are 30kmh, elsewhere it’s 60kmh.

And there’s plenty more common sense rules: don’t drive in the soft sand, take a tow rope and spade, watch the tide times, don’t run over dogs and birds and don’t pick a fight with a wave.

Abide by all that and you can still have a terrific time on the beaches out here. There aren't a lot of people around, and those that are there tend to be there for the same reason you are: having a laugh driving about on a soft surface.

We didn’t make it as far as Ninety Mile Beach (actually ‘only’ 90km long) up in Northland, but if you can spare the time that’s the place to go as it’s actually a recognised highway.

2: Whakapapa

The centre of North Island is dominated by the peaks of the Tongariro National Park. No roads cross between the peaks and only two go any distance up the flanks of Mount Ruapehu to the ski fields of Whakapapa and Turoa. Both are well worth driving. Even if, like us, in late spring you can still run the risk of sudden snowfall.

At the bottom of the roads you’re amongst lush vegetation, but that soon gives way to grassier slopes, which become more rocky and exposed as you climb towards the Whakapapa ski station at 1,630 metres. Ruapehu itself tops 2,797 metres – besides skiing most people come up here for the hiking, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing reputed to be one of the greatest one-day hikes in the world.

For driving this is the best North Island has to offer for open, well sited, well surfaced roads with a great combination of tight and open bends. Doubtless I’ll be put right in the comments: Route 5 from Napier to Taupo, route 4 from Whanganui to Tohunga Junction and the bay of Plenty coast road from Opotiki to Gisborne, all are awesome. But also so long and twisty you might eventually get fed up. You don’t get places fast out here.

3: Desert Road

We’re basically around the other side of Ruapehu, where the so called Desert Road (it’s actually Route 1) runs across the volcanic plains. It’s mostly straight, with a couple of plunges down canyons just to keep you on your toes. A better way of doing that is venturing along the dirt track that leads to the remote Tukino ski field (much more low key and inaccessible than Whakapapa). The going’s not too tough, the scenery is spectacular, there are rivers and watersplashes and very few other people around. Unlike Route 1 itself.

4: Kaikoura Coast Road

Come here to be blown away by the combination of sea, mountains, vegetation and shiny new road structure rather than the driving itself. It’s the main road south towards Christchurch through the top of South Island so it’ll be busy. But that doesn’t stop it being breathtaking, both in terms of its scenery and the artful twists and turns of the road as it arcs along the coast.

Stop by Nin’s Bin if you’re in the mood for some colossally overpriced (but utterly delicious) crayfish. A lot of the road is new, rebuilt after the Kaikoura earthquake ruptured the whole area back in 2016. As is the case across the whole of NZ, watch the speed limits, the police are very… active.

5: The road to Rodin

Unfortunately we can’t get you a pass to drive on Rodin’s remarkable test track. But you don’t need to anyway because the roads around that area are superb. Loads of elevation change, loads of corners, mostly very tight and twisty. It’s called the Inland Road and it’s a way of getting to Christchurch and ensuring you see precisely no other cars.

Just be warned though: as far the eastern side of South Island goes, this is it for good driving roads. It’s mostly flat featureless farmland from here to the southern tip of the island. OK, Akaroa is cool, but tourist traffic drives slowly. As in S-L-O-W-L-Y.

So, if you can, once you’re past Rodin (it’s just a little south of Mt Lyford), get to Waiau, cross the river and turn west up the Lewis Pass. That’ll keep you busy until you hit the west coast some 150 miles distant.

6: Lake Pukaki

That’s what it’s called. And aside from one or two engaging corners, you’re here for the views. And the colour of the water. Hashtag no filter. The road between the lakes is flat and barren with emptiness for miles. Just be warned that police radars have better range than your eyesight.

Slow down and use your eyes to admire. If you’re heading south, you’ll go past Tekapo first, the nearest NZ has to an anonymous Nevada lakeside town. You can – and should – drive through it without blinking. But wait, above it is a place definitely worth a stop: Mount John Observatory. You may not be in to star-gazing, but you’ll enjoy the road up the hill. And the view from the top is just absurd. Just be aware it’s a private road, and closes after dark. Good café at the top though.

There are roads up both sides of Pukaki. The main one runs to Aoraki, NZ’s highest mountain, while the one up the east side becomes a gravel road, but it does run past the bewilderingly brutalist Tekapo B power station and, if it’s open, allows you to follow the canal road back towards Tekapo. Gravel roads. Largely deserted. Yes. Just yes.

7: Lindis Pass

Now, people talk about the Lindis Pass as a great driving road. It’s not. It’s merely one of the few passes that manages to scrabble between the mountains of the Southern Alps that form the spine of South Island. There are two much further north: Lewis Pass and Arthur’s Pass, and both knock socks off the Lindis. It flows nicely enough, but there’s no challenge here, it’s all pretty safe and easy and the scenery stops at ‘impressive’, never straying into ‘casually magnificent’.

One of the mains reasons for this is the knowledge of what lies ahead. Once south of the Lindis you’ll be in amongst some of the most stunning landscapes to be found anywhere on God’s good earth. So get past this bit.

8: Queenstown

Not a road, just a good base from which to explore some utterly remarkable areas with breathtaking backdrops around Every. Single. Corner. Some are dead ends because you’re heading up to ski resorts such as Coronet Peak and Double Cone, but that means you get to enjoy different views on the way back down. And discover what brake fade is all about.

These are the views you’ve seen in Lord of the Rings – especially the road up Lake Wakatipu to Glenorchy as a load of filming was done up there. Again, you’ll be turning round at the end as the mountains put a hard stop to your progress.

The Crown Range Road does go all the way north to Wanaka, but once you’ve done the main ascent and have got to Cardrona, you’re better off hanging a left further up the hill to the alpine resort. Good road. Gravel. More on this soon. Interesting fact for us car nerds. On the other side of the valley from the resort is SHPG: Southern Hemisphere Proving Grounds. It’s where car firms come to get some winter testing during summer in the northern hemisphere. And it’s predictably top secret.

But anyway, any road, anywhere in this area is going to be good. Drive through the Kawarau Gorge to Cromwell, it’s stunning. And when you get there stop in at the Highlands Motorsport Park. The track is awesome, but what’s most remarkable (aside from the toilets. They’re called Loo With A View for a reason) is the museum. Corking collection of cars.

9: Skippers Canyon

I’ve talked about gravel roads a bit already. But this is the Daddy of them all. Skippers Canyon is billed as the most treacherous road in New Zealand. Having done it I can see why. There are signs warning you about what you’re about to undertake at the start. And there’s a reason for this: once you start in, you can’t duck out. There is literally nowhere to turn round for several kilometres. Best of luck if you meet someone coming the other way.

You can get along it in a family hatch. Probably. Gnarly off-roadiness isn’t the issue. It’s the lack of safety barriers. Because of the drops. You think it’s a bit sketchy near the top, soon after you drop in from the Coronet Peak road, but that crumbling edge held together with traffic cones and hope is nothing compared to what happens once the track edges down to join the Shotover River. Gulp.

Sheer walls, drops of several hundred feet and a narrow path blasted out of the cliff face. The relief once past soon sours when you remember this is the only way out as well. Originally built to service the gold mining camps this road still has that sort of wild vibe about it, the kind of road that slaps you on the back and wishes you luck, but won’t do a thing to look after you.

Done it and got an appetite for more? Head back to Cromwell and go in search of Duffers Saddle. Another great name. Another sketchy dirt road to nowhere in particular.

10: Milford Sound

Milford Sound. Even if the name isn’t familiar, the view up this stunning fjord will be. It’s got to be New Zealand’s most famous view. Getting here isn’t the work of a moment. Less than 45 miles from Queenstown as the crow flies, but a 180 mile drive. Worth it. Apart from the bit between Lowther and Te Anau. Bit pedestrian that section, compared with the mountains and lakes ahead and behind.

Best bit for feeling like you’re a mid-western pioneer is the section through the Eglinton Valley. Best bit to drive is what comes next. From here past Lake Gunn, through the Homer Tunnel and down to Milford Sound was my favourite drive in the whole of New Zealand. Miles from civilisation, low cloud, heavy rain and water pouring off the mountains and into the pounding rivers. Spectacular. A genuine adventure drive in a regular family SUV.

Tip: do it early in the morning before the coaches spoil the view. And when you get to the end don’t forget to hop on a boat and experience the sound itself. The scale of the place is boggling, waterfalls as high as the Eiffel Tower yet they look like dribbles from a bath tap against the towering mountains.