Cromwell to Christchurch

After one night at a vacation rental in Cromwell, we headed to Christchurch to complete the final leg of our roadtrip across New Zealand's South Island. Along the way we stopped to visit the Clay Cliffs near Omarama as well as Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. It was late by the time we arrived at our vacaton rental in Christchurch and we were hungry! We walked to Basmati's Indian Eatery for a delicious dinner. During the walk back to our vacation rental, we ate ice cream from Duck Island and played in one of New Zealand's many fabulous playgrounds.

Visiting Clay Cliffs

Our first stop after leaving Cromwell, on our way to Christchurch was the Clay Cliffs. As we approached the Clay Cliffs, several unofficial looking signs suggested we put $10 or $20 dollars in a roadside paybox. We didn't. And, as far as we could tell once we reached the parking lot, there was no official fee to visit there. This was somewhat of an impromput stop for us and we weren't well prepared. I was wearing slipon sandals which weren't conducive to climbing the steep, loose rocks. We didn't climb very far but our visit to Clay Clifs was a good way to break up our long drive.

Exploring Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park

After our short hike to the Clay Cliffs, we continued on to Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park for another short hike before reaching our final destination in Christchurch.

You can view the Wheels Up for New Zealand 2026 trip page to see all my blog posts, photos, and Wanderlog info.