Land Transport

The Roads That Actually Justify the Campervan

SH85 and 87 are the reason to have a campervan in the first place. These two highways cut through the Maniototo and Ida Valley in a way that Queenstown Region and Wanaka Region just can't match - wide open, unhurried, and full of detours you'd never find if you were just ticking boxes. I'd take this route over an extra day in either of those spots every single time.

Get Off the Main Road

The towns along the way are half the point. St Bathans, Naseby, Waipata, Ophir - none of them are obvious stops, but that's exactly why they work so well from a campervan. You pull in when you feel like it, have a pie or a pint, and move on. If you're into getting off the sealed stuff on two wheels, the High Country Trail runs motorcycle tours through the kind of Otago back country most people only see from a distance. Worth knowing about if that's your thing.